It’s a rough week for Packers positives but we do what we have to do here.
- Jordan Love did not tear an ACL, despite what I saw on seven different TikTok channels and 13 or 14 different twitter accounts. Love will reportedly likely miss three weeks. Which is a lot better than missing all of the weeks.
- Jayden Reed heard Matt LaFleur say that number one receiver questions make him want to vomit and said, “hold my ipecac”. The sophomore receiver had 4 catches for 138 yards, a carry for 33 yards and two total touchdowns. Almost all from the slot. Great start.
- Though Josh Jacobs started slow, he ended up averaging over five yards per carry and Emanuel Wilson averaged over 11. Look for these two to shoulder the load over the next few weeks.
- Speaking of the run game, the offensive line generally had a positive performance. Two of the five best PFF scorers on the day were Zach Tom, Elgton Jenkins and Jordan Morgan. It’s interesting to point out that when Josh Myers went down with cramps, Elgton Jenkins shifted in to center and Jordan Morgan came in to play guard. Rasheed Walker and Sean Rhyan both had average grades and both had very tough assignments. I think offensive line will be a strength of this team.
- On the defensive side, there were a lot of missed opportunities, mistakes and plain bad play but it wasn’t the same old bad defense. They pressured Jalen Hurts while keeping him in the pocket, they stopped him on designed runs, they forced turnovers, they did fairly well against the run outside of a few big plays, they changed up the looks, they made pressure happen. It was definitely a different defense.
- The biggest positive on defense was prob Edge Cooper and I’d guess we’d all agree that the sooner they can get him on the field full time the better. Cooper had an 85.9 PFF grade and looked like the quickest player on the field on some plays. I wouldn’t be shocked if the three starters in base are Quay, Cooper and Ty’Ron Hopper by the end of the year.
- The next best player on defense was new addition Xavier McKInney, who had a pick and seemed to be the only defensive player to not make a bad mistake or miss a bad tackle all night.
- It may seem like a bad thing that Rashan Gary, Kenny Clark, Karl Brooks, Javon Bullard, Jaire Alexander and JJ Enagbare all had bad games, and it is, but it’s certainly a positive that at least a few of those players won’t have a bad game next week.
Mike Price is a lifelong Packers fan currently living in Utah. You can follow him on twitter at @themikeprice.
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