Hey everybody, welcome to the first mid-week chat of the season. Sorry I couldn't do one last week ... the travel schedule got in the way. But here we are and I see questions coming in already so I'll get started.
Great "what you might've missed" this week on OL blocking adjustments...Love the Xs & Os... more please!
Appreciate that. As the title of the piece suggests, I try to find things on the film that aren't readily viewable live or with instant replays. There are always interesting nuggets to share.
What do our playoff chances look like with Love hurt?
It's Week 2 bro.
What is the latest status for Jordan Love?
Well, I wrote the story Monday after LaFleur's press conference with my reading of the tea leaves, which is that they're prepping Willis to start Sunday but there seems to be optimism Love won't be out for long. He's not going on IR, and without saying week-to-week, LaFleur's comments indicate to me he's week-to-week.
Mike, I don't to continue the hip-drop conversation...but after watching some highlights from the Philly game, I saw an offensive play hip-drop Xavier McKinney after his interception...do you know if the NFL will be imposing hip-drop penalties on both sides of the ball? I feel like I already know the answer...
Great question. No idea.
How is it looking for Jordan on Sept 22? I have tickets in Nashville for that game.
I can't really say. But if LaFleur wasn't officially ruling Love out for this week yet, then they're going to evaluate continually and see where he is.
Please, be supportive of Malik Willis Packer Fans! Mike, I want the fan base to support our back-up. What you have seen of him how has he been at practice? Thanks!
We haven't seen him run any 11-on-11 at practice, because we don't get to see those portions during the regular season. So I honestly can't comment on how he's looked.
Hard to be violent or aggressive when you can't trust your footing. I was surprised that Evan Williams didn't get on the field, but...this defense is gonna take time, both in execution and playing time for different players for the best results.
Coaches can get an idea during the offseason and training camp what players are good at and how to put them in the best positions to succeed. But we saw with the offense last year that you still have to play real games before coaches truly find that out. I don't believe it'll take as long with the defense because that unit has more veteran players, but there are some young guys getting significant snaps or will be.
Should Josh Jacobs be expected to be utilized more to help Willis out?
I'd say the running game in general -- Jacobs, Emanuel Wilson and Willis himself. He rushed for a total of around 100 yards in this three QB starts for Tennessee as a rookie.
Hi Mike, long time reader, first time typer. What was the best non-football part of Brazil? Were you and Mr. Wesley able to explore?
Not really. We got to see some different parts of the city on the bus ride to practice and back on Thursday, and on the long bus ride to the stadium on Friday. But otherwise we didn't venture out.
Didn't see much on the stat sheet for the TE position last week (don't have the streaming service of the week, so didn't see the game). Situational? To many other targets? Health?
Tucker Kraft played almost 4x the snaps Luke Musgrave did, and Kraft had one explosive gain on a reception. Love tried to hit Musgrave twice downfield and was picked off once.
How do you not go crazy with fans calling the new DC a failure after one week without a shutdown defense?
I'm old enough to understand the instant gratification world in which we live. I also understand fans' frustrations with the same shortcomings on defense, but every season is a new one, as is every game. This too -- Philly is darn good. The defense got three turnovers and a pair of three-and-outs. It gave the offense the chances it needed.
Should he start, what will you be looking for from Malik Willis' performance?
I don't know to be honest. The Packers have to come up with a way to move the chains, whatever it takes. I think they'll rely on the running game -- the Colts gave up 200-plus rushing vs. Houston, probably because they were so focused on Stroud -- but key plays will be in Willis' hands as well. Find a way to get him comfortable and in a rhythm and try to make the most of it. Dropping back and just firing deep downfield is likely not the answer.
Any idea on MarShawn Lloyd's availability Sunday?
Nope. First injury report of the week comes out later today.
It seems ML is keeping the seriousness of JL's injury pretty close to the vest. Is part of that just gamesmanship -- making opposing coaches have to prepare for either Mallik or Love?
That could be part of it. I honestly don't know. But plenty of information gets protected all the time so I can't say I'm surprised.
Do you know how the team plans on not getting into penalty trouble again?
The pre-snap stuff is what I would expect to see cleaned up. Motion penalties and such are just a lack of focus and shouldn't continue.
What is it the staff is seeing to name Willis the stater over Sean Clifford with 2 full training camps under his belt and what you would have to think a better understanding of the offense?
I don't want to speak for the coaches, but through the offseason and training camp in Year 2, Clifford turned the ball over too much. That's the biggest reason in my view they looked elsewhere for QB2. At that position, you have to protect the football.
Seems like we need to get pressure on QB with our front 4 ....to assist entire defense. How did we spread out the snap count to keep our def line fresh?
I thought the snap counts were spread out pretty well. I'll look them up and put them in Friday's Inbox. But you're right, the front four needs to get pressure, and it was sporadic vs. the Eagles. The directive to contain Hurts and not let him run around played into that as well.
Hi Mike, you're definitely right about the 'local market' issue, from my question in Inbox today. Any idea what it would take for the league to change that definition? Do the owners have input on that or is it purely a league decision?
The league is the owners in that respect. They'd have to change the system as it's currently established, or get it changed in the TV contracts or whatever. I've never heard it even being discussed, so don't hold your breath. It's been this way forever.
Thoughts on our new kicker?
He got off to a decent start and then missed a kick he needs to make. Watching it live from our press box view, it looked like a miss-hit to me. The ball didn't come off his foot the same as his other kicks. It didn't look right off his foot, so it wasn't just a question of accuracy.
In regards to Bryan, you have plenty of Eagles fans complaining about their new defense and how they allowed 29 points to GB. Really good offenses in an offensive league are gonna get their points. My point with the last comment was that I saw defenders in positions to make plays - just missed way too many tackles.
I agree, and tackling should improve after Week 1. The field issue didn't help either team in that regard. The Eagles whiffed on a bunch of tackles too. They were just better in the red zone on both sides of the ball. That's really what decided the game.
Anthony Richardson presents a unique set of skills, especially with some of the throws he made last week. Do you see the defense being able to contain his running and deep passing ability? Secondly, the Texans shredded the Colts run defense, even with Love being out, can we establish the run early and dominate in that aspect of the football game? Or do you see them running a heavy blitz package with Willis in and knowing we want to run the ball.
Richardson hit three big passes vs. Houston but didn't get much else in the passing game. The Packers have to protect against those big plays, like Brown's 67-yard TD in Brazil. Defensively, I expect the Colts to load the box and make Willis beat them with his arm. The Packers will have to establish the run and keep that defense honest, but it'll be a tough task because they'll be daring Willis to throw the ball. Short, quick completions might be a quasi-running game in this contest.
Will Edgerrin Cooper play more this game?
LaFleur indicated as much. Every time I see that guy on the field, his speed jumps out. It's impossible not to notice.
Based on pretty good success against Hurts running the ball, do you forecast a similar game plan against Richardson?
We'll see. Letting a QB run all over the place gets demoralizing, and I think the Packers have ways they can tighten up some coverages to give the pass rush an extra beat. I don't see the Packers wholesale changing their game plan just because they lost. They did some things that worked vs. a running QB.
A competent officiating crew would also improve "penalty trouble." Just saying.
Yeah, the two defensive penalties on the last long drive by Philly were head-scratchers obviously. But a lot of stuff on the offense wasn't the officials' fault.
For the O-line handing off blocks, is there communication during the play or just individual awareness based upon protection call?
It's awareness, chemistry, timing, all of that. It's the kind of thing that can't be repped in preseason games because defenses don't show the same kind of blitzes that challenge protection units like in the regular season.
Do you IF Love gets cleared this week or even next week LaFleur would actually consider starting him or do you think it would be a limited capacity type situation we see?
Once Love is cleared, he's playing. The Packers are generally very conservative when it comes to medically clearing players, so once that green light is given, it's a green light.
When is the debut of the white helmets?
Houston, Oct. 20.
They could be a little more aggressive against Richardson than they were against Hurts because although Richardson has a massive arm, it's not like he has AJ or Devonta to throw too. I know a few Colts weapons are underrated, but still not the same thing.
Careful. They had two guys with catches of 50-plus vs. Houston last week, and one guy had two of them.
On the play where Love got hurt, if Jacobs hadn't reacted quickly to catch the desperation backwards pass, what would have happened? Would he have been allowed to advance the ball, or could the game have ended on a 10-second runoff?
It was a live ball because it went intentionally backwards. Anybody could've picked it up or recovered it.
Lots of movement on and off the Practice Squad in the past two weeks. It seems the search for depth never ends. Do the guys BG added have more upside then the ones released, and, how can they be sure if that's the case if they did not go through training camp with the Packers?
That's what you have a personnel department for. They make those evaluations and if they feel there are players out there better than the ones in here, they're going to give them a look. The expanded practice squads allow for a lot more of that than previous years.
Why were clear length questions not solved pregame. Can't practice squad players test running and cutting full speed before game starts?
As I said in Saturday's Inbox, I think the players need to do that before the game -- full-speed testing. Feeling good about your footing in warmups at warmup speed isn't thorough enough.
Was about to make the "very conservative" comment on clearing players, but you did. I'm sure the long term for the player is the key there, but it's interesting how differently some teams seem to handle it. have players ever commented on it?
I've heard plenty of players over the years say and feel they're ready and they're just waiting for the go-ahead from the medical staff. It's pretty common. Players always think they can play. The smart ones know the medical staff has their best long-term interests at heart.
How much improvement should we expect from Jaire Alexander?
He had an up-and-down game against a really good offense and some really good weapons. The big TD to Brown was disappointing, for sure. He had a pass breakup and an INT. The defensive holding in the fourth quarter was a phantom call. Can't put that on him. But he knows he can play better. He has before and will again.
Hi, not a question, just a remark. Leaving out the loss and obviously Love's injury, Fridays game was really incredible for me and a lot of other South American fans (not only Brazilians, as I also know of Argentinan, Chileneans and fellow Uruguayans like me traveling to the game). We are passionate for this team and to get the oportunity of being able to watch them live in a stadium filled with fellow Packers (and NFL) fans from all over the world was indescriptible. I know the burden of logÃstics of traveling so far, but I just wanted to put intro words how awsome it was to be able to live that experience, even for one game, for a whole lot of people who usually have to follow from afar. From a still awed fan from Uruguay: Go pack go!
Thanks for sharing, Gabriel. I sincerely regret the Packers weren't able to pull out a victory for all the fans who were there as a once-in-a-lifetime type of deal. Felt the same after leaving London two years ago. Both games had incredible atmospheres with incredible support from GBP fans. It's too bad the Packers didn't take advantage either time.
QB2 has had very little time to build connection with the guys he'll be throwing to. How much is on LaFleur this week to design a game plan he can be successful with?
A lot, and it's on everybody to make the most of every practice rep today, tomorrow and Friday to get everyone on the same page.
Regarding the "tush push", I noticed several times in the game where our RB was still upright in a kind of scrum where there were GB players around that seemed like they could have add a "push" to the pile but they didn't. Is that because that used to be illegal (or maybe still is but not being enforced)?
No, it's not illegal. But the other offensive guys aren't going to push if a defender has a grasp of the ball carrier's leg. A guy can be upright but still have nowhere to go and a push would only add to the chance for injury.
What was the reason we had 12 on the field when Jayden Reed first scored? To me, that was the too much air out of the momentum balloon that started the slide.
Love was trying to hurry up and catch the Eagles subbing to get a free play for 12 men, but someone was trying to sub for the Packers as well. It was an obvious communication error from the sideline.
With the new "just spot it on the 30" kickoff system...are we down to a few cold weather outside games all year where there may actually be a return?
Overall in Week 1, returns were up quite a bit from Week 1 last year, so maybe it's headed in the right direction. There will still be a lot of touchbacks, but if the return percentage creeps closer to 40-50%, I think the league will be satisfied. I saw one article indicating kickers are expected to get better at dropping kickoffs between the goal line and the 5, which will produce more returns, as the season goes along. We'll see.
We know about Jordan Love going down on Friday, but I haven't heard anything about Josh Myers. How's he doing?
He's fine. He was cramping up at the end of the game and got some IV fluids right after.
Hi Mike, on the Love's INT, was Musgrave supposed to turn earlier and catch that ball or was it just a bad throw by Love?
I don't know the scheme's rules and responsibilities well enough to answer that. I did see a video review by former backup QB Kurt Benkert who indicated Musgrave has to cut off the charging safety by flattening his route more.
How's the weather look for the home opener?
Slight chance of rain perhaps, but it's only Wednesday.
The more things change the more they stay the same, why is tackling such an elusive skill for this club?
I always expect tackling issues in Week 1. It's almost inevitable. What has been disheartening with this defense over the years is midseason games where suddenly there are missed tackles galore, and it needs to be an emphasis again to get it corrected. I'm not going to assume that'll happen again. Hopefully it won't.
Brewers need to be seeded 1st or 2nd, can't beat BOTH Philly AND LA....agree? or?
The difference between getting a bye out of the wild-card round and possibly having to go through both Philly and LA to get to the WS feels mammoth right now. But none of the wild-card teams will be slouches by any stretch. Arizona and San Diego have been playing really well in the second half, and the Mets are hot right now too. It's anybody's for the taking, honestly, in the NL. It's often turned out like that even with certain teams as heavy favorites. Nationals, Padres and D-backs have all had their years as wild cards.
Expecting a heavier blitz rate this week?
I don't like to make those predictions. Given the Colts passed for just 41 yards outside of three long completions last week, I would expect an emphasis on curtailing the big play.
Just wanted to shout out a "thank you" for doing this chat. It's always a lot of fun and usually pretty informative.
Usually? LOL. Thanks anyway. With that I'm going to sign off. Thanks for all the participation today, folks. Enjoy the rest of your week.
