The biggest reason for Davante Adams not getting the recognition he so richly deserves was the fact that he was overshadowed by Jordy Nelson. As a rookie, he was an ok player for his position. He caught 38 passes for 446 yards and 3 touchdowns, good for 11.7 YPR. Since 2016 though, he has shined statistically. He’s caught the most touchdowns of any wide receiver in that span (28). 196 total receptions for 2,349 yards as well.
Now, those aren’t the only reasons why he deserves that type of recognition as a wide receiver. His game tape speaks for itself as well. His footwork and speed off the line are second to none among wide receivers. He’s actually the fastest wide receiver off the line this season, according to Pro Football Focus. His catch percentage has also gone up since his first year (2014). In 2014, it was 57.6% (out of 86 total targets). It has since gone up steadily with the exception of 2015 (53.2%). In 2016, it was 62%. 2017, it was 63.2%, and in 2018, it’s 66.2% through 6 games.
The biggest reason why Adams deserves top five recognition is that he performs at his best even without Aaron Rodgers throwing to him. In 2017 with 2nd stringer Brett Hundley at quarterback, Adams had 47 receptions for 543 yards and 5 touchdowns. With Aaron Rodgers at QB in 2017, he had 29 receptions for 285 yards and 5 touchdowns. He also performed great while in the shadow of Jordy Nelson from 2014-’17. Adams and Rodgers have become a very prolific QB/WR duo over the past few years (266 receptions for 3,157 yards, and 31 total touchdowns).
Because of that, I along with plenty of others within Packer nation firmly believe that he deserves to be in the top five among wide receivers in the NFL today.
Green Bay is 3-2-1 heading into Los Angeles after their bye to face the undefeated 7-0 Rams and are impressively healthy for a team known for getting the injury bug to bite during pivotal points in past seasons. Out of the entire 53 man roster, only three players were listed as questionable on the latest injury report. Randall Cobb (confirmed IN via NFL Insider Ian Rapoport this morning) was the biggest name listed (Hamstring), but was a full participant during practice on Friday. The other two players were OT Jason Spriggs (Ankle), and rookie WR Equanimous St. Brown (Knee). Both Spriggs and St. Brown were limited during Friday’s practice.
As for the Rams, WR Cooper Kupp now ruled OUT as confirmed by NFL Insider Adam Shefter. OLB Trevon Young was listed as doubtful on LA’s injury report. Kupp hasn’t participated in practices for LA since Wednesday. Young didn’t participate on Thursday or Friday.
When speaking of the matchup itself, most sports media members and NFL experts seemily are counting Green Bay out which isn’t a good idea. ESPN’s Football Power Index is only giving Green Bay a 20.1% chance to beat LA. Overall, Green Bay is 9-3 under Mike McCarthy when coming off of a bye, 9-2 with Rodgers at QB. Offensively, Green Bay ranks 4th in both total offense (421 YPG) and passing offense (317.3 YPG), and they’re 20th in rushing offense (622 YPG).
Defensively, they’re 8th in total defense (328.3 YPG), 5th in passing defense (211.8 YPG), and 22nd in rush defense (116.5 YPG). Other than rush defense, Green Bay has been stellar in each of the other remaining defensive categories. A big turnaround from last season, where they ranked 26th defensively, and 22nd offensively.
The Rams on the other hand, are ranked 2nd in total offense (446.4 YPG), 7th in passing offense (293.3 YPG), and 1st in rushing offense (153.1 YPG). LA’s offensive attack will definitely test Green Bay’s defense as well as Mike Pettine’s scheme. It’s going to be very interesting to watch how it plays out.
Defensively, LA ranks 7th in total defense, (327.4 YPG), 9th in passing defense (227.3 YPG), and 12th in rushing (100.1 YPG). Again, they will test Green Bay on offense as well. LA’s front seven on defense vs Green Bay’s offensive line is a very intriguing battle that I will be watching closely in the game. Also, how well Aaron Rodgers performs against the intense pass rush from LA, led by Aaron Donald. I’m also looking forward to how well Green Bay’s rushing attack fairs against LA’s defensive front. It’s going to be a very physical battle to watch.
Overall, this game is very intriguing from both an offensive and defensive perspective, at least on paper. Both teams have nearly identical rankings on both sides of the ball and I personally can’t wait to see how it all plays out. This will also be the first game in NFL history to feature two QBs from the same college facing off (Goff vs Rodgers, Cal-Berkeley). Both teams will be looking to pull off the win by any means necessary and that’s what makes this game such an interesting and important one at this point in the season. I see Green Bay pulling it out late by a score of 35-31.
This Week’s matchup on Sunday October 28th will be a struggle between the (7-0-0) 1st place LA Rams and the 2nd place (3-2-1) Green Bay Packers. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:25 pm at The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California.
The Packers, are coming off a good “BYE” week after defeating the San Francisco 49ers last week on Monday Night Football. A game predicted to be dominated by the Packers came down to a game winning field goal by Mason Crosby in the final seconds to seal the win 33-30.
The Rams star quarterback, Jared Goff, threw for 2 touchdowns and star running back, Todd Gurley rushed for two touchdowns and caught a 12-yard pass in the win over the 49ers. The Rams also forced 4 turnovers destroying the 49ers 39-10.
The Packers this week after having been plagued with injury earlier this season hope to come back with a healed Aaron Rodgers, Geronimo Allison and Randall Cobb to put an end the Rams winning streak. The last time the Rams went 7-0 was back in 1985.
These teams have met 94 times including 2 playoff appearances. They played together on October 26, 1937 with the Rams; then known as the Cleveland Rams, the Packers won 35-10. The last meeting between these two NFC rivals was on October 11, 2015 with the Packers winning 24-10. They are tied in the series 46-46-2.
This week’s “Ultimate” pick have the Packers coming out on top in a shootout 37-34.
The Green Bay Packers need to be physically and mentally prepared as they hit the road to face the undefeated Los Angeles Rams late Sunday afternoon at the LA Coliseum.
Both teams are coming off victories over the San Francisco 49ers. The Packers are 3-2-1 after a 33-30 home win over the 49ers a few Monday nights ago. The Rams defeated the 49ers 39-10 in Santa Clara last Sunday, improving their record to 7-0 and remaining the only undefeated team in the league.
Aaron Rodgers is practicing without his knee brace, welcome news for any Packer fan. Although Randall Cobb and Geronimo Allison have been limited in practice, they should be ready to go on Sunday, and the Packers will need every body they can get. The rookie receivers got some valuable playing time the last few games, and even if Cobb and Allison are able to play, I think the rookies will still be on the field quite a bit and will be counted on to make some plays in the passing game.
Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams need to provide a running threat to keep the defense honest. The Packers cannot afford to settle for field goals instead of touchdowns. I have said this many times before, but this is not the 49ers they are playing. They cannot miss so many scoring opportunities and expect to win on Sunday.
The Rams have made a lot of moves to improve the defense, and it has paid off so far. Sam Shields is back in the league and is one of the additions. Another major move was acquiring Packer nemesis Ndamukong Suh. Aqib Talib is another player who had numerous incidents both on and off the field. Marcus Peters has had success in the league with Kansas City and is now on the Rams. However, the biggest defensive move the team made is extending the contract of Aaron Donald, possibly the best defensive player in the league, although Khalil Mack is also in that conversation.
QB Jared Goff is definitely a candidate for League MVP, although Patrick Mahomes of the Chiefs is probably the front runner right now. When he isn’t finding his talented receivers such as Robert Woods and Brandin Cooks, he is handing the ball off to Todd Gurley II, the league’s leading rusher. The Rams are a well-balanced offense, leading the league in rushing and 8th in passing. The Packers need to be extremely disciplined all game long. Getting some turnovers always helps.
This will be the first meeting between the two teams in the regular season since the Rams moved back to Los Angeles from St. Louis. This will be the Packers’ first game vs the Rams in LA since 1991, when they lost 23-21 at Anaheim Stadium. The Packers’ last game vs the Rams at the LA Coliseum was in 1978, a 31-14 victory by the Rams. The last Packers’ game at the LA Coliseum was a 29-16 victory over the Los Angeles Raiders in 1990. Of course, the biggest game at the LA Coliseum in Packer history was their 35-10 win over the Kansas City Chiefs in the first ever Super Bowl.
The bye week came at a great time for the Packers. They are now at 3-2-1 and have shown a lot of flaws, even in their wins, and that includes the 22-0 shutout over Buffalo. Even though they won, they looked very underwhelming at times in their last game vs the 49ers. If that same defense shows up on Sunday, they will be in big trouble vs the Rams.
Mike McCarthy knows that he is a coach on the hot seat. Despite all of the success he has had in Green Bay, many of his critics point out that he always started the season with either Rodgers or Brett Favre at quarterback. Fans want another Super Bowl Title, and another season out of the playoffs might seal his fate.
McCarthy has responded to criticism before. In 2016, the Packers were 4-6 and looking terrible, especially on defense. However, they turned it around and ended up in the NFC Championship Game that season. If they are to make a trip to the playoffs once again, they more than likely have to do better than 1-4 in these next 5 games.
Entering last Sunday’s games, the Bears led the division. They ended the day in last place. That just shows that this division is there for the taking. Even the Lions added a defensive player in a trade with the Giants. Any team in this division can win the NFC North, and that includes Detroit.
The point spread varies from day to day, but the Packers are currently 9.5-point underdogs for this game. Whoever wants to bet against Aaron Rodgers, especially after a week off, do so at your own risk. The LA Coliseum will be rocking on Sunday, even though I expect a sizable amount of Packer fans at the game. The league was considering having these two teams play in London this year, but the Rams obviously did not want to give up this home game and these ticket sales for a game overseas.
The Packers are not quite the underdogs that the Bills were to the Vikings earlier this season, but Buffalo has proven that the games are not decided in the betting lines, but on the field. I expect the Packers to be very motivated and I think McCarthy has a trick play or two up his sleeve.
I hardly get butterflies when the Packers play games like this one. It’s when they play the winless teams where I get nervous. Let’s get a huge statement win on Sunday and show the rest of the league that we are for real and we are coming. Let’s get loud and energetic in Los Angeles and cheer the Packers to victory on Sunday!
What a football game this turned out to be! The Packers looked like they were in big trouble, but they rallied and defeated the San Francisco 49ers 33-30 on the final play of the game at Lambeau Field.
Playing under the bright lights in Green Bay on Monday Night Football, the 49ers got the ball first and wasted no time, driving down the field for an opening drive touchdown. The Packers answered back quickly, and it looked as if they might outlast SF on offense. No way would their offense hang with GB, right?
Unfortunately, the Packers took a huge step back on defense in this game. When they weren’t being gashed for huge chunks of yards on the ground, quarterback C. J. Beathard was looking like a polished veteran out there, not the turnover machine that he has been in games throughout the season. Of course, it’s easy to look good when receivers are wide open, and I mean seriously wide open. How does a team that lost at home to the Arizona Cardinals come into Green Bay and put on a show on offense? The Packers found themselves trailing 24-20 at halftime, and it was incredible that they weren’t trailing by more than that. The two fumbles by SF (1 on a punt return by D. J. Reed and 1 by receiver Kyle Juszczyk on a reception) kept the score close.
The Packer offense wasn’t much better this game. Aaron Rodgers was under pressure much of the night. When he wasn’t sacked, he was throwing the ball away, even getting called for another intentional grounding penalty, his third so far this year. There were too many breakdowns in the red zone once again, forcing them to settle for field goals instead of getting touchdowns. A good example of this offense that frustrates many Packer fans to no end happened in the fourth quarter. Trailing 30-23, they drove to the SF 11 with under 9 minutes to go in the game. They ended up burning a timeout, and after a scramble by Rodgers, they faced a 4th and 3, which they did not convert. Since the Packers couldn’t stop a dry tissue on defense most of the game, chances of victory seemed to fade away quickly.
It was at that point that the Packers actually started playing defense, forcing 2 punts. The Packers got the ball back and found Davante Adams in the endzone for his 2nd touchdown of the game. The 49ers got great field position due to a good runback during the kickoff plus a personal foul by the Packers for a late hit out of bounds. Beathard tried to hit Marquise Goodwin, who burned the Packers twice in the game for touchdowns, but Kevin King made a huge athletic play for the interception, the huge turnover the Packers needed all game.
For a moment, it looked as if the Packers would have to settle for overtime since they weren’t getting anything going on offense, but an illegal contact penalty by Richard Sherman (still strange to see him wearing anything but a Seahawks’ jersey) on a 3rd and 15 wiped out a sack and kept the drive alive. From there, Rodgers scrambled up the middle for 21 yards, spiked the ball, and then really went to work. The next 3 plays are as follows:
An 8-yard pass to Davante Adams
A 19-yard pass to Equanimeous St. Brown
A 19-yard pass to Davante Adams
All 3 receivers ran out of bounds to stop the clock.
After an incomplete pass to Adams, probably just to burn some more time off the clock, Mason Crosby was sent in for a 27-yard FG attempt, which he nailed as time expired and sent the fans home with a win.
After Crosby struggled mightily in Detroit, he was 4/4 on field goals in this game, including a 51-yarder, and was 3/3 in extra points. Hopefully this means that he got his groove back.
With the victory, the Packers are now 3-2-1. A win is a win. That doesn’t mean that the Packers don’t have some major holes that they must fix if they are to make any kind of a playoff run or to even make the playoffs for that matter. I know that many fans are calling for Mike McCarthy to be fired, and one win vs a team we should have handled easily won’t change their minds. I hardly feel like celebrating either, even though I enjoy Packer wins more than almost anything. Moving forward, I want to see the Packers start games like they are a team on a mission. They too often come out flat and very sloppy. This is unacceptable, especially when you are on a national stage like Monday Night Football. The Packers may have won this battle, but they are not out of the woods yet, and neither is Mike McCarthy.
Either way, the Packers got the win, and they now head into their bye week. That gives the players and coaches a chance to take some time off and get prepared physically and mentally for the huge stretch of games they will be facing. The schedule after the bye is no joke. They return to action on October 28 with a road game vs the Los Angeles Rams, the only undefeated team in the league.
We will see what this team is made of during the next month or so. For now, enjoy the win and the bye week Packer fans!
Green Bay has had an up and down season so far. 2-2-1 record with the 49ers up next on Monday night Football. Thus far, both the offense and defense for Green Bay have yet to click on all cylinders. With the Bears losing, a win on Monday night could swing momentum into Green Bay’s favor in the division heading into their bye week next week.
The running game has also been less than impressive through the first 5 weeks. The leader in yards is #1 on the depth chart as well, Jamaal Williams. He currently has 53 carries (leads the team) for 195 yards (also leads the team), and a 3.6 YPC average. Second is Aaron Jones, who has 24 carries for 147 yards and 6.1 YPC (leads the team). Now, for a guy who was a staple on offense last season to only have 24 carries through 5 weeks (roughly 8 carries per game), is just blasphemous. He needs to be featured more on offense.
It would open up Green Bay immensely and in turn, also take the pressure off of Rodgers and his injured knee. You could play action pass a lot more with an effective run game and so far, Jones has provided that although his stats don’t necessarily state it this season. In 2017, he had 81 carries for 448 yards, and 4 touchdowns (5.5 YPC average). The season isn’t over yet but, Green Bay will be more successful as a team if they incorporate Jones in the offense more effectively, especially if Jones’ pass protecting skills get better for 3rd down plays.
Lastly, it would balance out the offense a lot more too. So far, passing yards outweigh rushing yards for Green Bay. 1,572 pass and only 506 rush. That has to change and I believe using Aaron Jones more in the offense will do that for them. Having a run game to lean on will only make them that much more dangerous on offense as well with teams now having to gameplan defensively for both the run and the pass. All in all, Green Bay could become an instant threat on offense with Jones as the primary running back.
This Week’s Prime Time Monday Night Football on October 15th will feature a battle of the “Bays” starring the Green Bay Packers and the San Francisco 49ers. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:15 at Lambeau Field.
The Packers, (2-2-1) are coming off a poor, sloppy performance against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field, losing 31-23. The 49ers, (1-4-0) are coming off an embarrassing loss to the Arizona Cardinals. The 49ers are without the potential star quarterback Jimmy Grarappolo; he is out for the season with a torn ACL. His replacement, rookie quarterback C. J. Beathard and company, have been plagued by injury and had 5 turnovers in the loss to Arizona.
A frustrated and at times struggling performance by Aaron Rodgers, along with the help of the Lions defense, fumbled twice. However he still managed to throw for 442 yards and 3 touchdowns. Aaron, playing against a weak defensive front line of the Lions had more than ample time to toss the ball downfield only to be held back by the Lions tough secondary. The Packers entire team, except for Davante Adams, were riddled with misplays and frustrating senseless penalties. Dependable, longtime place kicker Mason Crosby had the worst game of his career, missing 4/5 field goals and 1 extra point.
The Lions, (2-3-0) star quarterback, Matthew Stafford, threw for only 183 yards and 2 touchdowns. Legendary star running back Lagarrett Blount easily powered himself in for 2 more touchdowns setting up the win for the Lions.
Now the San Francisco 49ers are coming to Lambeau Field for a Monday Night battle of the “Bays”. The 49ers, (1-4-0) are sitting in last place in the NFC West tied with the Arizona Cardinals.
These teams have met just 66 times including 7 playoff appearances. They played their first game on November 26, 1950 with the Packers winning 25-21. The last meeting between them was on October 4, 2015 with the Packers winning 17-3. The Packers lead the series 35-30-1.
This weeks “Ultimate” pick has the Packers coming out on top 35-9.
The Green Bay Packers will once again play under the bright lights, this time on Monday Night Football as they play host to the San Francisco 49ers.
The Packers are 2-2-1 after their rough performance at Detroit last Sunday. The 49ers fell to 1-4 after a 28-18 home loss last Sunday to the previously winless Arizona Cardinals.
The Packers need to finish drives with touchdowns. It doesn’t matter who is out there on offense. Aaron Rodgers is trying to tough it out with his knee injury, but he was nowhere near at the top of his game at Detroit, losing a pair of fumbles and missing some open receivers. Aaron Jones needs to be featured in the offense a lot more. He had only 7 rushes last Sunday vs the worst run defense in the NFL in Detroit. That simply will not get it done. The status of Randall Cobb and Geronimo Allison is still up in the air as both receivers are listed as questionable on the injury report. If they can’t go, it is obviously up to the rookie receivers to make plays on the field. They got their feet wet last Sunday in Detroit. I trust that they put in a lot of time in practice this week with their timing with Rodgers and learning how to run their routes effectively.
The 49ers got a huge dose of bad news when their franchise quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo tore his ACL earlier this season. C. J. Beathard actually has a higher completion percentage than Garoppolo, but he is turnover-prone, something that the Packers need to take advantage of on Monday night. SF doesn’t feature a lot of household names on offense, but they can move the ball effectively at times, but many of their drives end in turnovers or field goals. The 49ers have the league’s worst turnover differential with a -8 (a league-worst 3 takeaways and 11 giveaways, trailing only Jacksonville, who has 12.) The Packers are at -2 with 6 takeaways and 8 giveaways. I expect them to at least draw even for the season after this game.
Hopefully the Packers are kicking plenty of extra points instead of field goals, but Mason Crosby will have the spotlight on him whatever the situation is due to his 4 missed FG attempts and a missed XP at Detroit last Sunday. The Packers did not punt at all in the Detroit game. Teams usually win when that happens, but turnovers and settling for field goals (which obviously ended in misses before Crosby was sent out there towards the end of the game to make one and give him a dose of confidence) often lose the game for you, even if your punter never sees the field.
The bottom line is that last week’s performance was not acceptable. The team has yet to put together a full game on offense. At 2-2-1, the Packers are a mediocre team right now. There have been articles predicting the Packers to miss the playoffs. That does not sit well with Packer fans, who expect greatness out of this team, especially when you have a team with Aaron Rodgers. They have too often looked like a team poorly prepared at the start of games. Even when they win, like Week 1 vs the Bears, they often need to rally to do it. Many fans have been calling for Mike McCarthy to be replaced for some time now, and the calls will only get louder if the Packers lose on Monday night. There is no excuse whatsoever to lose at home to the 49ers. If they do that, they don’t deserve to make the playoffs.
I expect the Packers to come out like a team on a mission this Monday night. A 3-2-1 record would not be great, but it would be something to build on as they head into their bye week. Let’s have a great performance on the field and a great performance by the fans this Monday night. It’s winning time.
The Green Bay Packers dropped to 2-2-1 after an uninspiring performance at Ford Field.
Three turnovers in the first half, missed field goals, and the inability to get the ball into the endzone all contributed to a 31-23 loss to the Detroit Lions.
The bad day just got started when the Packers forced a punt on Detroit’s opening possession. Instead of the Packers taking over deep inside their own territory, the ball hit Kevin King, the Lions recovered, and they were in business early in the game.
Aaron Rodgers lost the ball twice on sack/fumbles. With Randall Cobb and Geronimo Allison sidelined, Rodgers tried to do a lot to extend plays, but he should have gotten rid of the ball sooner. Instead, his fumbles led to 10 points for Detroit.
Mason Crosby had the worst game of his career, missing 4 field goals and even an extra point. Mike McCarthy brought him out there late in the game to try to give him some confidence back, and he nailed a 41-yard field goal, his first points of the game. Whether or not that will translate to results in later games remains to be seen.
It’s obvious that those field goal misses obviously hurt. It would be easy to say that all of the misses (13 points total) were the main reason why the Packers lost on Sunday. However, we don’t know how the dynamic of the game would have changed had he made those kicks.
Those 3 turnovers (to Detroit’s none), sloppy defense, and the inability to finish drives all contributed to the loss. Make no mistake about it, those FG misses hurt, but the inability to execute in the red zone set up that bad performance by Crosby. The Lions had less than 300 yards of total offense, but trust me, that was not a good defensive performance by the Packers on Sunday afternoon.
Where do we go from here? It’s back to the drawing board for this Packer team. Crosby is going through a bad stretch right now as he also missed an extra point for the second straight game, but I don’t think the team is considering a change at this time. If his struggles continue into next week and beyond, then I think they will consider bringing in someone else.
This is obviously not the position we wanted the Packers to be in after 5 games. They have the toughest part of their schedule coming up after the bye week. They need to get this turned around right now.
Next up for the Packers is a home game on Monday night vs the San Francisco 49ers. There is a lot of work for them to do before the game, and I am sure that they will be very busy this week. Until then, take care Packer fans.
The Green Bay Packers, (2-1-1) will be traveling to Detroit to play the Detroit Lions, (1-3-0) on Sunday, October 7th at Ford Field in Detroit. Kickoff is set for noon central time.
The Packers are sitting in second place among the NFC North, just one game behind the Chicago Bears while the Lions are sitting in last place.
The Packers defense showed up to play Sunday as they surprised everyone with a 22–0 shutout over the Buffalo Bills. The Packers defense prior to Sunday’s game had allowed 27.7 points per game and 386.7 yards of opposing offense. This marked Green Bay’s first shutout since Oct. 31, 2010 against the Jets and was the first shutout posted by the Packers at Lambeau Field since a 26-0 victory over the Detroit Lions on Oct. 18, 2009.
The Lions on Sunday held a tight challenge against the Dallas Cowboys, only to lose in the final seconds, 26-24.
The first meeting between these NFC Northern Division teams occurred in 1930 with the Packers winning 47–13. The Detroit Lions were then the Portsmouth Spartans, changing their name in 1934. The infamous rivalry began in 1932, and have met twice a season since, making it the longest continuously-running rival in the NFL. The last meeting between the rivals was January 1, 2017 with the Packers winning 31-24.
Since the beginning, the Packers have won 100 games and tied 7. The Lions have won 70 games.
The Lions record is deceiving, they are a decent team headed by their new coach. I’m keeping this one close in the win column. “Ultimately” The Pack comes out on top 24-21.
