Packers 1, Me 0

Yes that’s right, in my “Way too early predictions,” I had the Packers losing to the Bears. Not because I thought the Bears were better, or because the Packers continuing to be dysfunctional, but because I felt the moment would be too big for Coach LaFleur and all the newcomers. So, here we sit, Green Bay Packers 1-0, me 0-1, LOL.

The Packers defensive Free Agent signings paid instant dividends Thursday night. Sacks by the Smith’s and a critical drive killing interception by Amos were all front and center in the victory. A Free Agent signing who we didn’t hear his name called was OG Billy Turner, for an offensive lineman that’s a good thing. I was surprised that LT David Bakhtiari was called for 2 Holding Penalties, very uncommon for him. Defensive Coach Mike Pettine and GM Brian Gutekunst have to be ecstatic with the performance of the defense and FA’s. Additionally, draft picks performed well also. Darnell Savage had several pass break ups and Rashan Gary applied pressure on Bears QB Mitch Trubisky in his limited snaps. With the performance of the starters it will be an asset to the Packers to be able to bring Gary into the mix at the pace of their choosing.

Matt LaFleur’s offense showed flashes of what we’ll see in the coming weeks. Specifically the touchdown and field goal drives were what we expected out of LaFleur’s offensive scheme. I think the biggest issue faced by the offense was the failure of the running game. In an offense that is predicated on the running game and play action, one has to be able to produce more than 49 yards rushing. I did make note that the offense moved well when they connected on the short passing game, which opened up the run as well. Like Aaron Rodgers stated post game, the Bears defense is very good and will cause many offenses issues. Aaron also shared, the offense needs to get out of the huddle more quickly and become more efficient. It is true without playing a down during the Pre-Season, the offense had timing issues and looked disorganized at times. We will see improvement in the next weeks.

Bring on the Vikings! It’s funny how the Vikings haven’t played a snap in week one, and yet they are trolling the Packers, their week 2 opponent. A word of advice to the Vikings, don’t look past the Falcons. The Packers have a decided advantage over their North Division opponents. In the next six weeks, the Packers have five games at Lambeau, two of them against division opponents Vikings and Lions. In my earlier predictions I had the Packers coming out the gate at 4-4, then finishing the season strong at 8-0 or 7-1. We shall see, if week one was any indicator, I may (hope) have a worse record than the Packers. The Eagles and the Cowboys are going to be monumental tasks for the Packers in the first half of the season. For now take care of business and the Vikings in week two, September 15th.

As Always, Go Pack Go!

PackerGreg