Packer 2021 Team Discussion 2.0

[Fear The Chorizo]

Tampa is a tough matchup for Philly, because the Buccaneers are just really tough to run on, and the Eagles are a running team - putting their offensive success mostly in the hands of a young quarterback on the road against Brady doesn't sound like a winning formula.

 

If they can get into a low scoring grinder of a game, who knows...but i don't see Tampa losing that game.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

I don't think the Eagles should be overlooked by Tampa.

 

Bucs beat them 28-22 this season, with Tampa starting out with a big lead, only to have Philly chip away throughout the second half.

 

Luckily, this one will be played at Raymond James.

 

The Bucs were a much healthier team when they played the Eagles the first time as well. Now the team resembles a MASH unit. This weekend's game will be a true test of whether Brady's playoff juju can overcome a suspect surrounding cast.

[TURBO]

I don't think the Eagles should be overlooked by Tampa.

 

Bucs beat them 28-22 this season, with Tampa starting out with a big lead, only to have Philly chip away throughout the second half.

 

Luckily, this one will be played at Raymond James.

 

The Bucs were a much healthier team when they played the Eagles the first time as well. Now the team resembles a MASH unit. This weekend's game will be a true test of whether Brady's playoff juju can overcome a suspect surrounding cast.

 

 

Look for the Brady / Gronk show!

[Fear The Chorizo]

Awesome news to hear Z.Smith healthy enough to try ramping up for the playoffs - even if he's not close to the player he was, having him in the OLB rotation is a huge boost for quality depth. And honestly if he is healthy, he probably is the best player on that side of the ball not named Kenny Clark at this stage of his career with Alexander still being kind of dinged.

 

One item I've been trying to understand better is what may be leading to Savage's recent struggles in coverage on defense - he's seemed to be exposed in recent weeks a bit, but I also wonder just how much of that has been due to how well GB's corners have been playing on the outside even without Alexander, and opposing offenses are gameplanning slot receiver/TE/RB as the focus of their passing attack. Stokes has been really, really good and we all know Douglas has made some big plays too - getting Alexander back in any capacity really could strengthen their secondary, and it wouldn't surprise me to see him plugged in as a slot corner in obvious passing situations to help with coverage between the numbers.

[OldHeidelberg]

Like a lot of us I had started to get skeptical of these guys returning but now that it is starting to happen I am hoping that was the plan all along. Get them all not only back but healthy and rested. 3 all pros and a few other good players back and playing well would really make us a tough out. They probably need to get through the divisional round before they get too much impact from them but watch out once they all get settled back in.

 

It's weird because last week the talk on Z seemed to be that there was a rift with management and he had played his last down in GB.

[CheezWizHed]

Seeing Z-Smith being cleared this morning got me pumped. Even if he is limited to 10-15 snaps, what a huge boost to the team. Not only will teams have to deal with Gary-Z-Clark-P in pass rush sets, but that is 10-15 snaps less of our backup OLBs that is probably our weakest position on the team.

 

I'm also curious about how Alexander will change our D. With a bum shoulder, they are going to keep him out of the slot I'd assume (i.e. further away from potential run-game action). I've always seen Douglas as more an outside CB and preferably in zone, but perhaps he can play slot. But Sullivan hasn't been bad there either. And of course Stokes has been great outside with his speed. I wonder if they would just move Alexander around with the other teams' #1 WR and shuffle Douglas/Stokes accordingly? The #1 WR normally doesn't run block too much.

 

And it was great to see Myers and Bakh back yesterday. Myers and Runyan combo-blocked some big holes yesterday - a thing of beauty. Bakh looked himself too, which is great to see. Nijman clearly was being held back to step in after Bakh was ready for a break, but I still wonder if he might shift to RT and move Turner to RG. I was a bit surprised to see Patrick over Newman. I knew Newman would be out if Jenkins moved back inside (Jenkins-Myers-Runyan), but still surprised to see Patrick favored over him.

 

I also don't see Lazard diminishing that much with Cobb back in. He run blocks so much, he is almost more like Tonyan's replacement than Cobbs. His uptick in production came when Tonyan was out.

[FVBrewerFan]

I've lost track due to some personal stuff the past fews days. Other than Tonyan and Mercilus, who else is not coming back for the playoffs? Jenkins, Turner?

[homer]

Jenkins for sure but Turner may be back.

[nodakfan17]

Prior to Week 1, I made these predictions in the original thread that capped out at 98 pages:

 

Record: 12-5

Result: Loss in NFC Championship Game

Rodgers: 40 TD / 11 INT; 110.0 Passer Rating

Pro Bowl: Rodgers, Adams, Jenkins, Alexander

 

Positive Surprise (O): A.J. Dillon

Positive Surprise (D): Henry Black

Negative Surprise (O): Randall Cobb

Negative Surprise (D): Za’Darius Smith

 

Jordan Love is the QB in 2022

2022 is a lost season for ‘cap repair’

 

Never did I think they’d go 13-3** with significant injuries to Bahktiari, Jenkins, Alexander, and Za’Darius Smith. Kudos to this team for a really fun year of football.

 

My predictions were a mixed bag. Quadzilla is a legit RB1b. Henry Black is probably just a guy. Cobb helped this team, but missed time per usual. Za’Darius missed 16.5 games (I had a hunch he’d disappoint after missing camp and complaining about not being named a captain). I actually think Rodgers is back (or retired) in 2022.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

I've lost track due to some personal stuff the past fews days. Other than Tonyan and Mercilus, who else is not coming back for the playoffs? Jenkins, Turner?

 

Jenkins tore his ACL, so he's done till at least August, if not into the 2022 season. Turner had an MCL tear, though, so he should theoretically be back.

 

Other than Tonyan, Mercilus, and Jenkins, the only other players who were seeing any time who are out for the year are RB Kylin Hill and OLBs Randy Ramsey and Chauncey Rivers. I'm not sure what the statuses of Ty Summers or Malik Taylor are.

[PeaveyFury]

Jenkins for sure but Turner may be back.

 

Reports yesterday were that Turner finally cleared COVID protocols, but MLF couldn’t say if he’d start practicing tomorrow or not.

[OldHeidelberg]

Bucs getting Fournette and JPP back along with a couple of others, seems like there has been talk about Cowboys getting healthy as well. So it’s not just the Pack, maybe new IR rules allowing guys back late on all teams.

[TURBO]

Bucs getting Fournette and JPP back along with a couple of others, seems like there has been talk about Cowboys getting healthy as well. So it’s not just the Pack, maybe new IR rules allowing guys back late on all teams.

 

Neither Buc player will be 100%, and I'm guessing will be used sparingly (or until they are hurt again). Bucs REALLY need Fournette in a bad way.

 

LaVonte David is the guy they need the most to try and stop that Philly run game. Without him, things can get dicey. Glad Shaq is coming back though!

 

Still going to be lacking in WR. Now they lost Grayson who has been excellent since Godwin went down. That leaves Evans, Perriman and Johnson, with Scotty Miller as well (whose only real claim to fame was that back breaking bomb he caught against the Packers in the NFC championship game last season)

 

Gronk will have to play a big role in this one!

[OldHeidelberg]

Jaire, ZSmith, Cobb, and Turner all practiced today. Bakh did not they are calling it load management.

[OldHeidelberg]

So it will be Rams/Cards/Eagles/Niners next week, long term weather looks like cold weather game. Which team would have bigger issues with the cold? Jimmy G has small and injured hands but niners can run it. Philly has the best running game in the league. Rams like to pass. I guess in a real cold game bring on the Rams?

 

But weather aside obviously Philly is what we want as that means Tampa is done.

[Underachiever]

I'm still not over the overwhelming sentiment during baseball season that Brewer fans wanted St. Louis and LA to play in the wild card and have someone knock off the Dodgers because the Brewers were a better matchup with the Giants and then the Brewers lost to the Braves. If you fear Tampa as an opponent the most, why would you want to play the team that beat them? If Philly punishes TB with a ground game, that would seem to be a nightmare scenario for the Packers. NFL has a number of recent examples of Wild Card teams winning it all: six in the last 20 years. I worry about everybody.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

I'm still not over the overwhelming sentiment during baseball season that Brewer fans wanted St. Louis and LA to play in the wild card and have someone knock off the Dodgers because the Brewers were a better matchup with the Giants and then the Brewers lost to the Braves. If you fear Tampa as an opponent the most, why would you want to play the team that beat them? If Philly punishes TB with a ground game, that would seem to be a nightmare scenario for the Packers. NFL has a number of recent examples of Wild Card teams winning it all: six in the last 20 years. I worry about everybody.

 

Football is much more match-up driven than baseball. Baseball really boils down to pitcher vs. batter (and random outcomes) over and over. Football is entirely schematic, way less random. A recent example would be 2019 when the Packers drew Seattle in the 2nd round. Seattle split with SF that year in two nail-biter games, but they were a poor offensive line and didn't really run the ball. Their offense played in GB's hands a bit, and the Packers knocked them off. SF threw 6 passes and embarrassed the Packers, twice.

 

So yeah, sure, everyone has a chance to win and all the teams left are some level of good. But give me Jalen Hurts over Tom Brady.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

I'm still not over the overwhelming sentiment during baseball season that Brewer fans wanted St. Louis and LA to play in the wild card and have someone knock off the Dodgers because the Brewers were a better matchup with the Giants and then the Brewers lost to the Braves. If you fear Tampa as an opponent the most, why would you want to play the team that beat them? If Philly punishes TB with a ground game, that would seem to be a nightmare scenario for the Packers. NFL has a number of recent examples of Wild Card teams winning it all: six in the last 20 years. I worry about everybody.

 

Because Tom Brady playoff juju rivals St. Louis Cardinal playoff juju. The sooner that Brady is out of the playoffs, the better IMO. The Packers are better than any team they will be facing in this year's playoff field. But it's the playoffs. Any team can beat the Packers if Green Bay comes out playing like crap. But Tom Brady stands a much better chance of beating a cold Packers team than Jalen Hurts does.

Edited January 13, 2022 by Ron Robinson's Beard

[SeaBass]

I'm still not over the overwhelming sentiment during baseball season that Brewer fans wanted St. Louis and LA to play in the wild card and have someone knock off the Dodgers because the Brewers were a better matchup with the Giants and then the Brewers lost to the Braves. If you fear Tampa as an opponent the most, why would you want to play the team that beat them? If Philly punishes TB with a ground game, that would seem to be a nightmare scenario for the Packers. NFL has a number of recent examples of Wild Card teams winning it all: six in the last 20 years. I worry about everybody.

Tampa hasn't exactly been playing inspiring football over the last month or so. Does that mean anything? Maybe not. But I don't think it means that if Philly beats them that all of a sudden the Packers should be extra afraid of Philly. I'd rather play against a team with Jalen Hurts at QB than Tom Brady. That's the easy call for me.

[Fear The Chorizo]

2019's Packers team got embarrassed by the 49ers by running at will against them in large part because their offense wasn't capable of scoring enough points to force San Francisco out of that type of gameplan, and they were a 3-and-out machine that kept the Packer defense on the field way too much. GB's defense that year also had a huge weakness in the front 7 with MLBs and DL outside of Clark, which was the 49er offenses' strength at the time. They would get killed with basic off tackle and stretch runs because Martinez couldn't move laterally and the line would get sealed off at will.

 

This year's defense can be run on a bit, particularly with misdirection and designed cutback runs, but teams still need to pass the ball in order to move the chains because the MLB personnel is a big upgrade, Clark is having an all pro-caliber year and the other DL are playing much better even if the names are mostly the same as 2019. Plus, the biggest thing GB has going for them is their offense can put points on the board consistently and do so with a ball-control, balanced offense that can function in bad weather if it needs to and keep their defense fresh.

[homer]

2019's Packers team got embarrassed by the 49ers by running at will against them in large part because their offense wasn't capable of scoring enough points to force San Francisco out of that type of gameplan, and they were a 3-and-out machine that kept the Packer defense on the field way too much. GB's defense that year also had a huge weakness in the front 7 with MLBs and DL outside of Clark, which was the 49er offenses' strength at the time. They would get killed with basic off tackle and stretch runs because Martinez couldn't move laterally and the line would get sealed off at will.

.

 

That's exactly what Cleveland did this year.

[Fear The Chorizo]

2019's Packers team got embarrassed by the 49ers by running at will against them in large part because their offense wasn't capable of scoring enough points to force San Francisco out of that type of gameplan, and they were a 3-and-out machine that kept the Packer defense on the field way too much. GB's defense that year also had a huge weakness in the front 7 with MLBs and DL outside of Clark, which was the 49er offenses' strength at the time. They would get killed with basic off tackle and stretch runs because Martinez couldn't move laterally and the line would get sealed off at will.

.

 

That's exactly what Cleveland did this year.

 

Sort of, but GB won that game and maintained a 2 score lead until about 5 minutes left in the 4th quarter, and the Browns still threw it 36 times - the Browns ran the ball well because they are a top-5 running team, but they weren't running it at will to the point where they dictated the entire game. And despite Mayfield playing terribly and throwing 4 INTs, much of the Browns' early offensive success moving the ball came off the pass, not just running the ball 9 straight plays. GB's offense basically vanished after their opening 2nd half drive that resulted in a FG, too - which led to GB getting ground down defensively with a series of long drives as the 2nd half wore on and actually made what should have been a blowout a one-score game late.

[adambr2]

Whitney Mercilus practiced today? Isn't he out for the season?

[PeaveyFury]

Whitney Mercilus practiced today? Isn't he out for the season?

 

Apparently this is legit. If he's able to play, they kept that about as quiet as possible.

 

Getting Mercilus and Z back for the playoffs would make for a silly good rotation for pass rush situations.

[homer]

Whitney Mercilus practiced today? Isn't he out for the season?

 

Apparently this is legit. If he's able to play, they kept that about as quiet as possible.

 

Getting Mercilus and Z back for the playoffs would make for a silly good rotation for pass rush situations.

 

Whoa this is big. Mercilus + Z>>>>Galeai + Garvin