The Packers Starters vs. Injuries
Matt LaFleur said that he expects many of his starters to make their debut tomorrow night and play for one quarter. It is paramount that the coaching staff airs on the side of caution and calls a very conservative game to protect their starting unit. Conversely, the defensive starters need to play intelligently and not take ANY unnecessary risks when pursuing the ball and stopping the ball carrier. This game should be seen strictly as a contest to knock the rust off and get some game reps. This is a new era of football and teams often take 4-5 weeks to get in-game shape. The players must work themselves into game shape gradually and save their hard hits and heart-stopping plays for the regular season.
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The Packers Offense vs Itself
The Packers offense has been struggling with consistency early on during the LaFleur era which is to be expected when learning a new system. As a result, the prescription to fix the inconsistencies of the new offense is to play the entire first quarter of their preseason debut. The offense does not need to reinvent the wheel by taking unnecessary risks and calling any trick plays. Instead, they need to focus on grasping the terminology and mastering the foundational plays of the playbook. If the offense can master foundational plays and become more consistent by the end of the preseason they can really hit the ground running during the early part of the season and be running on all cylinders for a potential playoff push in December.
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Mason Crosby vs. Sam Ficken
It is clear as day that the Packers want to move on from Mason Crosby as they claimed Sam Ficken in April and tried to trade for Kaare Vedvik last week. Crosby had a down year last year which was, largely due to the debacle he had in Detroit. Either way, my gut feeling is that the Packers will give Sam Ficken every opportunity to win this job as moving on from Crosby would save them $3.6 million in cap space. I think the Packers should be careful in this process and remember that the grass isn't always greener on the other side and that Crosby is a proven commodity.
Matt LaFleur said that he expects many of his starters to make their debut tomorrow night and play for one quarter. It is paramount that the coaching staff airs on the side of caution and calls a very conservative game to protect their starting unit. Conversely, the defensive starters need to play intelligently and not take ANY unnecessary risks when pursuing the ball and stopping the ball carrier. This game should be seen strictly as a contest to knock the rust off and get some game reps. This is a new era of football and teams often take 4-5 weeks to get in-game shape. The players must work themselves into game shape gradually and save their hard hits and heart-stopping plays for the regular season.
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The Packers Offense vs Itself
The Packers offense has been struggling with consistency early on during the LaFleur era which is to be expected when learning a new system. As a result, the prescription to fix the inconsistencies of the new offense is to play the entire first quarter of their preseason debut. The offense does not need to reinvent the wheel by taking unnecessary risks and calling any trick plays. Instead, they need to focus on grasping the terminology and mastering the foundational plays of the playbook. If the offense can master foundational plays and become more consistent by the end of the preseason they can really hit the ground running during the early part of the season and be running on all cylinders for a potential playoff push in December.
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Mason Crosby vs. Sam Ficken
It is clear as day that the Packers want to move on from Mason Crosby as they claimed Sam Ficken in April and tried to trade for Kaare Vedvik last week. Crosby had a down year last year which was, largely due to the debacle he had in Detroit. Either way, my gut feeling is that the Packers will give Sam Ficken every opportunity to win this job as moving on from Crosby would save them $3.6 million in cap space. I think the Packers should be careful in this process and remember that the grass isn't always greener on the other side and that Crosby is a proven commodity.
