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There will be plenty of players worth keeping an eye on in Green Bay's preseason opener against the Houston Texans.
The annual tradition of getting overly excited for the preseason is officially upon us, as the Packers gear up to face the Houston Texans at Lambeau Field on Saturday night.
Whilst most of the key starters will be on display for a series at best, and the plays being ran will be aggressively milquetoast, there are still plenty of things to keep an eye on in Green Bay’s preseason opener.
Jordan Love
All eyes will be on the second-year quarterback as he takes his first snaps in an actual football game for the Green Bay Packers.
Love has made strides in his first full training camp, flashing some of his tantalising arm talent but also making some of the mistakes that young QBs are susceptible to.
Has Love been taking more risks in practice than he ordinarily would in a game setting? Can he cut out the mistakes without losing his gumption to push the ball down field?
Packers’ fans’ first glimpse of Love in semi-real NFL action will provide some answers.
The RB3 Battle
The competition for the number three running back spot looked to be an intriguing one entering camp, and so it has been.
Packers’ pundits have been left baffled that Kylin Hill was only a seventh-round pick, and he appears to have his nose in front of Patrick Taylor and Dexter Williams right now.
Taylor has impressed in his own right since coming off the PUP list, while Dexter Williams is running out of time to prove he should stick around for another year.
With everything to play for, all three backs should be running hard, which should make for a fascinating watch.
Eric Stokes
Stokes has experienced a baptism of fire in his rookie training camp, regularly being burned by the lethal combination of Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams.
But as defensive backs coach Jerry Gray pointed out, not every NFL quarterback or wide receiver is of the same standard as the two All-Pros.
The opposition Stokes will face on Saturday night will certainly not be of that caliber. Will Stokes show off his first-round pedigree and earn some confidence from his coaches?
T.J. Slaton
The ‘Get Kenny Clark Some Help’ campaign has been tirelessly at work for years, and Brian Gutekunst finally answered the bell this April by bringing in T.J. Slaton.
It may be a big ask for a rookie fifth-round pick to come in and make an instant impact, but this weekend’s game against the Texans provides Slaton with his first chance to show out.
Slaton has caught the eye in practice with more than just his unignorable size, batting down a couple of passes and even getting his hands on a pick six.
His competition for reps alongside Clark isn’t exactly formidable, so Packers fans will be hoping Slaton announces his arrival on Saturday.
Ben Braden vs Jon Runyan Jr.
The Packers’ starting offensive line is rounding into shape, with only the left guard spot seemingly still up for grabs.
Braden and Runyan Jr. have been splitting reps with the first team so far in camp, and the first preseason game will give both men a chance to stake their claim for the full-time gig.
Runyan Jr. may have a slight edge at the moment, having proven his ability to get the job done when playing in a pinch last year.
Based on how the Packers operated last year, Braden and Runyan Jr. may rotate throughout the season based on the match up, but that won’t stop the two heavyweights from trying to prove they are the best man for the job.
Texans are such a dumpster heap, I think we are deep on OL, RB and even WR to where late 2nd quarter early 3rd quarter O should be clicking against their scrubs, I think Love puts up a big game.
Texans are such a dumpster heap, I think we are deep on OL, RB and even WR to where late 2nd quarter early 3rd quarter O should be clicking against their scrubs, I think Love puts up a big game.
I went 105+
I hope you are right. I expect there to be some early jitters and miscommunications with some receivers. Throw in a fluky tipped INT and the rating goes down. I figure they'll start pretty conservative, plenty of running and quick/short passes. But Love does have a gun and would be awesome to see 1 or 2 big shots to MVS for TDs.
I'd say low 90s. Probably a low YPA as we run a lot of high percentage routes.
Palmy - "Very few have the ability to truly excel regardless of system. For many the system is the difference between being just a guy or an NFL starter. Fact is, everyone is talented at this level."
I'd say low 90s. Probably a low YPA as we run a lot of high percentage routes.
This is where I am at too.
Honestly I think I primarily want to see him play it pretty safe and make smart decisions with the occasional wow play. If he connects on like 2 passes over 20 yards I will be very happy.
I'm keeping my expectations low as it sounds like he has been inconsistent in camp.
I bet they play Love 3 Qtrs and Benkert gets the 4th Qtr.
I think the following players will not play:
Rodgers, Adams, Cobb, Gary (more because injury), Smith, Smith, Clark, Jones, Jaw, Amos
I expect a completely vanilla and safe game plan for the offense. I think the Packers are going to try and make this as easy as they can for Love.
One thing I am interested in is Silverstein said Love is wildly inaccurate on even his shorter passes. Screens are all over the place, he sails short crossers, etc. I’m interested to see if Silverstein is exaggerating or if it holds merit.
nothing more dangerous than a wounded mosquito...I just hope the Texans don't repeat their performance from the joint practice where they cheap-shotted Sternberger (concussion), hit late and were generally dickheads. MLF was not happy and I have zero faith in HC David Culley being able to control his team.
I expect a completely vanilla and safe game plan for the offense. I think the Packers are going to try and make this as easy as they can for Love.
One thing I am interested in is Silverstein said Love is wildly inaccurate on even his shorter passes. Screens are all over the place, he sails short crossers, etc. I’m interested to see if Silverstein is exaggerating or if it holds merit.
Justis had a video of all his Family Night throws and he completed 7 of 9 with begelton dropping a long deep pass in the end zone. I would say accounts claiming he is wildly inaccurate are themselves inaccurate.
I agree on the vanilla game plan.
Palmy - "Very few have the ability to truly excel regardless of system. For many the system is the difference between being just a guy or an NFL starter. Fact is, everyone is talented at this level."
Screw that, I don't want a vanilla dink and dunk offense.
Assuming Love isn't getting hammered by a bad OL, don't need to do anything crazy, but let Jordan try to push the ball downfield.
It's his first real snaps, let him air it out a little.
I would say if you can get him comfortable and in a rhythm then sure. Comfort is key in this first outing, in my opinion. Push it in the next game and even more so in the game after that.
Palmy - "Very few have the ability to truly excel regardless of system. For many the system is the difference between being just a guy or an NFL starter. Fact is, everyone is talented at this level."
I hope we do a lot of RO, I want to keep it simple with high % throws to build Loves confidence, lots of running, I voted middle at 85 to 95 rating which is fine for his first game.
Screw that, I don't want a vanilla dink and dunk offense.
Assuming Love isn't getting hammered by a bad OL, don't need to do anything crazy, but let Jordan try to push the ball downfield.
It's his first real snaps, let him air it out a little.
I would say if you can get him comfortable and in a rhythm then sure. Comfort is key in this first outing, in my opinion. Push it in the next game and even more so in the game after that.
I'd rather see a stat line of like 8-17 with 150 yards and a TD and 2 picks with a couple highlight real plays than him going 11-13 for 90 yards with like 8 catches by RB's on checkdowns.
Also, essentially counting Jordan Love as a rookie, what fun preseason this is gunna be. There isn't one rookie plus Love I'm not really excited to watch, other than maybe McDuffie.
Love, Stokes, Myers, Rodgers, Newman, Slaton, Jean Charles, Hill, who from that list are we not incredibly bullish on right now. Isn't a guy on that list who I don't think will contribute on the field this year other than Love and Newman.
Throw in Van Lanen the former GB area prep star and UW Badger into that mix for fun.
Screw that, I don't want a vanilla dink and dunk offense.
Assuming Love isn't getting hammered by a bad OL, don't need to do anything crazy, but let Jordan try to push the ball downfield.
It's his first real snaps, let him air it out a little.
I would say if you can get him comfortable and in a rhythm then sure. Comfort is key in this first outing, in my opinion. Push it in the next game and even more so in the game after that.
I'd rather see a stat line of like 8-17 with 150 yards and a TD and 2 picks with a couple highlight real plays than him going 11-13 for 90 yards with like 8 catches by RB's on checkdowns.
My assumption for Saturday is that we will see more of the latter. More TE/RB passes than passes to WRs. Being his first live action in like 20 months I wouldn't mind it.
Palmy - "Very few have the ability to truly excel regardless of system. For many the system is the difference between being just a guy or an NFL starter. Fact is, everyone is talented at this level."
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