On Saturday the Packers got to see the first piece of the puzzle in forming the roster. On the negative side, surprisingly the offensive line struggled against the Texans, particularly in the run game and Josh Jackson played his way off the team, having been traded on Tuesday to the Giants for defensive back Isaac Yiadom. On the other hand, so far Josh Meyers looks the part of a starting center and Oren Burks is revitalized in Joe Barry’s new defense. Here’s some key questions going into joint practices and preseason week 2 with the New York Jets.
- Who will emerge in the guard competition?
In the first live action, none of the guards were particularly. That was even more clear when Packers coaches inserted rookie Royce Newman into the competition during Monday’s practice as well as moving Ben Braden into working with the first team offense. Offensive line coach Adam Stenavich needs to get the best out of his guards while Elton Jenkins holds down the LT position while David Bakhtiari continues to heal from his ACL injury. It’s critical to see growth from the interior of the offensive line this week versus the Jets. - Can the Packers edge rushers create pressure?
Often due to poor coverage, particularly by now traded Josh Jackson, the edge rushers of the packers provided little pressure to Houston’s Quarterbacks. While the Packers are already 3 deep with Smith, Smith and Gary, it would be extremely beneficial to find a 4th rusher that can collapse the pocket. Recently claimed Chauncey Rivers looked pretty explosive in limited snaps and Tipa Galeai has been praised by the coaches as having potential as a pass rusher. With another week under their belts, both are competing for what is likely one roster spot. They will be pushing the limit to show they can contribute. - Will Devin Funchess continue to play his way onto the roster?
In his first game action in almost two years, Devin Funchess showed that he is still a matchup nightmare, hauling in 6 catches for 60 yards. He also showed soft hands and good route running. At times, he looked like the best player on the field for the Packers offense. He may just be too good to keep off of the roster. However, if he wants to cement a roster berth and force the Packers to keep additional receivers, he will need to show up again in a big way this week against the Jets. - How much time, if any, will Jordan Love miss?
The biggest story coming out of the game was the unknown status of Jordan Love. In the first half, he looked decisive and made good reads overall. He showed exactly what the Packers thought they were getting in the 2020 first round pick. However, he also had mistakes that are common of a young QB such as throwing into double coverage and turning the wrong way on a 4th and 2 play action pass. The biggest development was that it was reported after the game He had an MRI after the game on his throwing shoulder. While it showed no structural damage, his status for this upcoming game is undecided. This preseason is critical to his development, so any missed time would be extremely unfortunate.
Jordan is a lifelong Packer fan who grew up in Idaho and now lives in Seattle, Washington. You can follow him on twitter at @jordantwolf.
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