Cheering for the Determined Green Bay Packers: Week 1 Victory and Optimism
NFL Week 1 is the week of hype, but the Packers are a team simmering with potential while the media downplayed them, considering them dead after the departure of Aaron Rodgers (I hope for him to come back healthier and stronger; my prayers and love are with him) and the departure of a few other players. They came into this opening week and showcased what they’ve got, so…
If someone is worthy of celebration and hype, it’s the Green Bay Packers.
Offense
You can start the praise with any one of the Packers’ players, but boy, did Matt LaFleur outplay the Bears and the expectations of media. When everyone was expecting a setback with a new QB under center and second-year rookies leading the receiving room, Coach LaFleur made early decisions in the offseason. He believed in his QB and the system he could generate for him, drafted the guys he wanted, and trusted his second-year players to step up. He also relied on Joe Barry to make this weaponized defense function well.
He tailored a perfect system for Jordan Love to take advantage of his experienced RBs in both running and receiving, while also giving Love throws that he can make to boost his and the team’s spirit and allow the receivers to gain more on-field experience.
Secondly, the offensive line (OL) deserves a big shout-out. They provided Love with clean pockets to go through his progressions and waited patiently for receivers to get open in the passing game. They even ran 15 yards downfield to create screens for the RBs. The new right tackle, number 50 Zach Tom, lived up to the hype of his second year as a fourth-round rookie, while David Bakhtiari and Elgton Jenkins showed some greatness. Number 69 proved his words that he doesn’t need practice because he is a molded and experienced veteran at the highest level. He showed confidence before the game and within the game. David Bakhtiari, as well as Elgton Jenkins, played 92% of the snaps, as did Zach Tom, the second-year rookie.
When you watch the game, you might think that Jordan Love didn’t throw much, but first, he didn’t play as many snaps as Fields(74) and (55) for Love played. Also, that was the design — to throw effectively. He had a 15/27 record with 255 yards, 3 TDs, and no interceptions, resulting in a rating of 123 RTG. That’s pretty impressive for a guy who sat on the bench for three years.
Romeo Doubs was spectacular. He came into this game with a questionable hamstring injury, while Watson, last year’s second-round pick, was missing due to a hamstring issue. Despite his injury, Doubs played 48% of the snaps, securing 4 receptions, 26 yards, 2 TDs, and converting 3 first downs.
Jayden Reed showed some flashes on both offense and special teams, highlighting his versatility. While Keisean Nixon will be used for defensive snaps, Reed emerged as a valuable asset in punt and field goal returns. He proved to be a diverse offensive weapon, capable of lining up in various positions.
Defense
The Packers entered this game knowing that last year, despite injured Erik Stokes, they were a good pass defense team but struggled to defend against the run. There’s no need to repeat how many yards RBs and QBs ran through that Green Bay defense last year, so the mission was clear: to maintain the good pass defense and enhance their run defense.
The Packers were also missing beef in their pass rushers, and they lost defensive linemen in the offseason, but oh boy, they improved a lot according to what we saw in the preseason and against the Bears.
Personally, in 2022 Week 2 against the Bears, with a fully healthy defense, they played a total (DL and LB) of 11 players, with 3 of them playing 10% or less of the defensive snaps and 4 players who played more than 80% of the snaps.
In Week 1 against the same Bears in 2023, they played with 12 players in total, and each one of them played more than 20% of the defensive snaps, but none of them played more than 80%. This shows versatility and an abundance of players that you can rotate.
We were able to see that the Packers’ defense was strong, stopping back-to-back short-yardage runs of(3rd and 1 and 4th and 1). I’m sure Joe Barry will love reviewing it with Coach Matt LaFleur.
Keisean, despite making a misread mistake that caused Mooney’s touchdown for the Bears, showed that he can play some meaningful snaps in the defense this season. The tackle for loss (TFL) he got, where he sent Chase Claypool reeling into empty space and took down the running back with a big hit, was impressive. And he has a good approach to the game.
Final thoughts
Finally, we should not sleep on the Packers; instead, we should let them go against tougher opponents and see where they will reach.
But as a fan and in a rivalry game, or simply the biggest historic game in pro football, we should enjoy, be, and believe in our team, coach, and system.
