The best team in the NFC North will faceoff against the worst team in the division — no, not the Lions. The other worse team in the division. It’s the game no one has been waiting for: The 5-1 Packers against the 1-5 Minnesota Vikings.
As noted below, RB Aaron Jones will not be participating in this game. Also, despite practicing a bit this week, WR Allen Lazard will also not be participating. Lazard is young and learned the hard way about sacrificing his body so frequently on plays. Now that he has cemented his place on the team, he should play slightly more conservative when he does return(most likely next week).
Billy Turner will be starting for the absent LT David Bakhtiari.
On the other side of the ball, Vikings’ RB Dalvin Cook is expected to play today after previously being listed as questionable with a groin injury. Cook is averaging 98 rushing yards a game and is one of the few good things going for Minnesota offense right now.
Inactives:
Full Injury Report[As of Friday]:
Weather:
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Really no reason why the Pack should drop this game, but I bet Cook has a good day too. It’s actually funny to me how much the debate has been about Will Fuller. Yeah he can play and would help the offense, but our DC has no interest in stopping the run & we don’t have the players to do it anyway. Thursdays game should tell us much more about the team than today’s will. Now let’s all have a moment of silence for Killer – perhaps you were too beautiful for this world my friend. Stay healthy, wear a mask, and enjoy what should be a curb stomping of a division rival friends.
Go Pack Go.
Why does this team continually have issues stopping the run?? I am sick of Pettine. Some of it is the players, but I feel schematically this team team just never has its players in good positions
I agree. Our defense can NOT stop the run at all. Pettine is really bad.
Because the Packers are the biggest pussies in the NFL. Thats why. Stopping the run is an attitude. Packers dont have it.
Simply put; this Packer Defense is FECKLESS.
feck·less
/ˈfekləs/
adjective
lacking initiative or strength of character; irresponsible.
“a feckless mama’s boy”
As i said last week. The trade that needs to be made first is for Watt. They aint going anywhere in the post season with this front seven.
Congrats to Dean Lowry for his first sack since 2018. Really earning that money being that stud stopping the run and all.
Well I was right about Cook, looks like I was wrong about the curb stomping. Fuck.
What a joke! No one can catch the ball. The defense is a total SHIT-SHOW, and by the end of Thursday evening, they will be 5-3. Typical “Trap game” that the Packer brain trust shit the bed on. Clearly, the Packers have SERIOUS issues with player assessment and player execution (especially on defense). They are NOT that good, nor does this Packer brain trust CARE if they are! They just want to buy up land to develop around Lambeau field . . . Fuck talent acquisition! The. Dumb. Fans. Will. Still. Pack.The. Stadium . . . NOT my feelings guys!
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Mark Murphy and B. Gutekunst NEED TO GO AWAY now! They are the problem. The BOD? Next in line, but they are immune I believe. Sad, but this is why I have not said much so-far this year. Because I believe that they are NOT a very talented team, and are at best a mid second-tier team in a shitty division. Rodgers is also struggling with the SAME style of defense that bothers him (same one as TB ran I believe). SAD.
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ML can design plays all day long, but the talent is NOT THERE, nor is the defensive coaching (Sullivan playing about 10 yards off of the line? On a 3rd and 8????? THAT is coaching! Or players not focusing! This loses games. It appears as if the very same players that were having great years last year, are mostly having sub-par years this year. Coaching? Player focus? Both? What a mess!
Rodgers had some struggles in the second half, but I don’t blame him. The running game just wasn’t all that good, especially after the first couple drives. Billy Turner was probably the one bright spot on the offensive line holding up well a second straight game, which was a pleasant surprise. I wanted to give Gutekunst a chance, but I am about out of patience. The defense has good rankings in some stats, but at the end of the day they have to limit scoring. Does anyone honestly believe they will play well against San Fran? I don’t
It seemed as if their focus (the defense) was not there today until the very end . . . Perhaps they just mailed in their game thinking that it would be a walk in the park? It appeared that in the last few moments of the second half they awoke from their game long nap . . . Coaching! coaching! coaching!
They have talent. What they dont have is a fucking leader.
Under no circumstances can Aaron Jones be allowed to leave. Offence is too bland without him.
Rodgers played well besides a few misfires. Had a few absolute dimes, and two incredible mental plays (catching 12 players on the field and on the last drive making sure they were in a legal formation so that there wasn’t a penalty. He needed to get rid of that ball at the end, but that’s not remotely the reason they lost. Elgton Jenkins had his worse game as a pro. ESB dropped two balls that were maybe difficult catches, but should have been caught.
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Don’t get me started on the defense. I am laughing at you, not with you.
Well fuck me Kay Adams……
12 seconds left….The vikings rush 3..the Packers keep 6 in to block, and still can’t get the job done. Would keeping in 7 or 8 help?
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Not that it should have ever got to that point.
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Everything i said in the past about the Packers beating losing teams, or a 1 win team….disregard.
With that said, The queens won, and they earned it.
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Next year, lets hit the draft hard and spend some cash in free agency and shore up this defense. After you sign Pettine to an extension.
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In another trainwreck involving self proclaimed “Superman”.
Patriots down 21-24 on Buffalos 19 yard line, 2nd and 10 with 37 seconds left. Cam Newton runs around the left edge and…fumble (lost).
Remember when Cam would give game balls to the kids at the end of the game and everyone thought he had a heart of gold and was such a great guy?
That only happens when he…..wins. If he loses…the kids can go kick rocks.
I can’t stand that fuckstick.
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Kay Adams IS one sexy woman.
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Gute needs the boot! (that is my mantra!) I started it!
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Yep and Cam Newton is all about Cam Newton . . . Kind of like Trump is ONLY about Trump . . . No color barrier with malignant narcissism . . .
I’d give her a shot at the Title.
I live in the Washington Football Team market. Unfortunately this game was on. Was that Dalvin Cook or Colin Kaepernick running? Talk about no answer. Mikey P has to go, preferably tonight. Why wait?
Without question Pettine should go! As well as Gute needs the BOOT!
As always, i defer to Howard relating to the X’s and O’s of NFL football. I think i have more of a GM mind and he’s more head coach.
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But it seems to me that in the first half the Packers could run the ball, and receivers got open (generally speaking). But it looked to me that the Packers suffered from a poor run game and tighter coverage in the second half.
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Am i reading that right?…..outcoached possibly?
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In another thought, Jenkins was on a path to improving his penalty count over last season. Lets hope his 2 holding penalty’s was an anomaly.
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I’d bitch about the defense, but that horse is dead.
You are being too generous with the Defense. They were NOT a horse! They were a slug . . .
To me the offense’s problem in the second half was getting into some long down and distance plays caused for the most part by penalties from Lewis and Elg. I do think LaFleur went away from the run and short passing game in those situations. The other potential issue was the Packers were behind and it looked like the defense couldn’t stop the Vikings offense, causing the Packers to press on offense.
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Penalties on both sides of the ball really hurt the team. I won’t get into the pick the flag up call on the Tonyan coverage/PI. Speaking of penalties when the Packers burned about 20+ seconds getting lined up after Tonyan’s late catch, MVS still lined up offsides. Should have been a penalty on MVS and a 10 second run off.
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It is hard to tell on the broadcast view, but I could hardly ever count more than 9 or 10 Vikings on defense in the second half, meaning they were keeping one or two safeties deep after they scored to go up by 7. The couple of times the broadcast showed Kendricks running deep with Adams there was a couple of other defenders bracketing Adams.
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I want to say something about the Packers defense just like I did after the TB game. Look at the ILBs! The Packers ILBs line up 5 to 6 yards behind the line of scrimmage. Teams like the Vikings and TB line up 3 to 4 yards behind the line. To me when you line up that deep at ILB, as the Packers do it allows the offensive lineman,TEs, and fullbacks to be able to get to your ILBs easier/quicker on combo or reach blocks, and when pulling. You could say it helps the Packer ILBs drop into coverage, but when you are playing in high winds and a run first and short passing game what is wrong with allowing you ILBs to be able to get to the holes quicker and disrupt blocking schemes? With that said the Packers ILB’s missed the holes a lot in this game. I won’t even get into the CBs playing so far off.
I was waiting for the flag on MVS to be thrown, never came.
I should recognize Sternberger as he was productive today, as was Tonyan.
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As much as some will bitch about the defense, of which i have no problem. I’m not giving the offense a free ride. Whether it was coaching or whatever, i don’t care, the offense doesn’t get a pass.
8 points in the 2nd half, that’s it?
The queens have the 29th ranked defense, give up 32PPG, very little pass rush, one of the worst secondary’s in the league and
we score only 8 2nd half points?
Davante Adams averaged only 7.6 YPC against those boys….am i reading that right?
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It wasn’t just the defense.
And yet some of you fuckers think the WR room is good enough, lol.
Here is something else that bothers me. They lined up in the base defense for 39/52 snaps. And yet still got run on. It’s not like they were playing dime the whole time
Watch Carson Wentz make believe he has a brain @ 8:40 remaining in the 1st quarter.
Analysis
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The good
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I feel Rodgers and Williams both played pretty well on offense. Sternberger looks to finally be hitting a grove and until they got behind and felt the pressure from the defense not showing up…loved their game plan in the windy weather.
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The bad
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There were two plays that summarized this defensive shit show.The cook screen pass touchdown confirmed to me…that savage is pretty much irredeemable. To watch him fail to elude a lineman and hopelessly flail as cook glided by closed the book on him being anything above average in my eyes. I feel like he’s heading toward the mount Rushmore of terrible first round db picks along with Buckley, antaun edwards, and Ahmad carrol. Quentin rollins had more impact on games he was absolutely atrocious.
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The second play was on either the first or second touchdown drive. The vikings had a 3rd and 7 or so and bebee ran this little crossing route and picked up an easy ass first down. I knew it was going to be a long day.
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Also…I have mostly praised la fleur but that could change quickly if he doesn’t inspire some passion on the defensive side of the ball. Why isn’t he at his defense on the sidelines pumping them up / telling em heads are gonna roll if they don’t get their shit together?
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One thing I always admired about belichik is the accountability on his teams. When marginal players fucked up he would replace them…and it was effective in eliminating complacency. When gute first took thr job I thought it was said or written somewhere that he would always be churning the bottom of the roster…yet I see no accountability whatsoever.
Why is ty summers still on the team?
How long are we going to put up with Montravois adams getting snaps?
No wonder ybr defense doesn’t improve when shit tier underperforming players don’t have to worry about job security.
Good post Stig
Stigg…i have, in years past, previously spoken against keeping players on the roster that aren’t contributing, unless just as a role player, keeping them specifically for something they do very well.
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I’ll agree that Belichick was the master, but he also has fallen off the cliff it would seem. I think that may be the reason that Brady is no longer there. He hasn’t replenished his wide receiver core to satisfactory levels. Cam had talent around him to mask his faults in Carolina, he doesn’t have that luxury in New England.
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Random: Through 7 games, Russell Wilson has 26 TD passes…..WOW
Also……D. K. Metcalf is a man amongst boys.
Metcalf gave the Seahawks like 900 yards his rookie season as a late 2nd round pick last year if memory serves. This season must be off the charts.
Belichik is a victim of his own success. He draws the line on overpaying with caution…but even be isn’t impervious to losing without a good quarterback. Let’s see if he differs from the packers front office and learns from his mistake.
One thing to note is kraft went over his head when he wanted to install Jimmy g as his qb. They would have a young qb in his prime…one who may or may not be a better fit in New England than San Francisco.
I just can’t take this shit anymore. If the game is going fine and they are ahead by a score or so, the team mostly hums along as the pass rush can do it’s thing. But the minute they are down a couple of scores, it seems like it’s over. This team isn’t built to come from behind because they can’t stop the run and the offense isn’t explosive outside of play action passes, which only works when there is the threat of a run game. Is Preston Smith still on the team or is it still his cardboard cutout? Guy is getting paid too much money to be invisible (and at times be a liability). To me, it seems the defense may have some individual talents, but they don’t play together as a team. There is zero gap control. They don’t gang tackle. They don’t force turnovers. Speaking of turnovers, where is Darnell Savage, wasn’t he drafted fairly high to be a ballhawk safety? Nope, instead he is too busy taking terrible angles in the run game. Defense doesn’t have to be this hard. But for some reason, the Packers make it so. Keep in mind this team has no real avenue for improving next off-season besides the draft, and if anything, they may regress, because there is no way they are resigning Aaron Jones, David Bakhtiari, Corey Linsley. They will be lucky to resign one of them. Who are the only offensive starters returning next year? Billy Turner and Elgton Jenkins? This year is their last chance, that’s the sad reality of it. And unless something changes over the next couple months, they will flame out
The packers rank 32nd in terms of tackling according to Pro Football Focus. I can believe it
NEWS ALERT:
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Bill Micheals had an epiphany, he has been enlightened!!
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The Big Unit talked about something he read in social media yesterday, and how much it got him to thinking about it, and maybe agreeing with it.
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He said somebody wrote…..” Somebody needs to call the Packers front office, and let them know they are wasting away Rodgers last years”. As if this thought never came into his head before.
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Because of that, i know he doesn’t read comments from this website, as i’ve heard (and made) that same comment for years here. Now to be fair, make no mistake, Bill can be a clueless F when he has the blinders on. He used to work for the Packers and has that blind kool aid loyalty thing going on. (think Larry McCarren). I remember his blind loyalty when he would emotionally make apologies for and have McCarhy and Thompsons back until the last hour. Then after they were let go, he would (pretend) that he’s agreed with those moves for years.
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I’ll say it again, he puts on a pretty good local sports show, especially citing he has no competition. But sometimes….he’s as phony as a 3 dollar bill.
so over the Murphy regime…Condos,ice skating rinks,sledding hills..all while ticket prices goupand quality of team is in the crapper.
Lambeau is now what your grandma always wanted it to be. A Hallmark Christmas movie.
We never deserved A-Rod – I’m basically on the #freeaaron campaign at this point. Let him finish out his career in a place where they’ll surround him with talent. Someplace warm, a place where he doesn’t have to be around mouth breathing covidiots – a place that doesn’t get angry when the NFL puts “End Racism” in the endzone. An organization that doesn’t ignore the defensive line and MLB positions, an organization that doesn’t “outsmart” everyone on draft day & pick a tweener college D end and make him play linebacker (or pick a QB who basically didn’t make the team).
#freeaaron
If the front office does ANYTHING right this year,that is what they should do. Trade Aaron to a team that’s close and willing to put in the effort to get to the big dance. You cant blame guys like the Smiths either,if they seem not playing at full steam. Last year they were so close,just needed a few parts. What does Gute do? Trades up for a QB,basically telling all the veterans that “hey, we just don’t think you are the team that can win this thing” so they plan for the future. That’s got to be frustrating for the veteran players as well. Very disappointed in the front office yet AGAIN\
I agree ..FREE AARON RODGERS…