Good afternoon, everyone. The 2020 NFL season has officially started. For the Green Bay Packers, their first game will be on the road against the Minnesota Vikings. Last season, the Packers swept the season series against Minnesota, including a 23-10 win in Week 16 at U.S. Bank Stadium that clinched the NFC North for Green Bay. As the Packers prepare to take on the Vikings on Sunday, I want to share my thoughts on what they need to do to start the season at 1-0.
On offense, the key for the Packers is to get the run game going right from the start. I have plenty of confidence that Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams will get plenty of rushing yards against a Vikings defense that does not have Danielle Hunter (due to injury) and Everson Griffen (due to free agency). I hope that rookie RB AJ Dillon makes an impact in Week 1 to take some pressure off of Jones and Williams. If the Packers get the run game going early, that can open up the passing game, led by QB Aaron Rodgers. In my opinion, Rodgers has plenty of targets to throw to despite the Packers not getting a top receiver in the draft. I have hope that Allen Lazard, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, and Equanimeous St. Brown will be great compliments to Davante Adams at WR. I also expect the running back and the tight ends to get some catches against Minnesota’s defense. As always, the offensive line needs to protect Aaron Rodgers and create the running lanes for everything to work smoothly. There is some worry about the right side of the O-Line due to a knee injury to Billy Turner, but I think that the Packers have some good depth to replace Turner, including Rick Wagner and Elgton Jenkins. One thing that the Packers don’t have to worry about is the crowd noise because there is no crowd at all. There will be piped-in noise, but I don’t think that will mess up the offense that much. As always, winning the time of possession battle will be a key to victory for Green Bay. They can do this by committing no turnovers, avoiding silly penalties, and converting third downs (preferably ones less than 5 yards). When they get in the red zone, they need to score touchdowns instead of settling for field goals. I think that the offense will be more efficient this year in the second year under Head Coach Matt Lafleur. Hopefully there is not a lot of mistakes on Sunday afternoon.
On defense, the key for the Packers is to shut down the Vikings’ run game, which is led by RB Dalvin Cook. There is a bit of worry with injuries to Kamal Martin and Montravius Adams, but I have confidence that the defense will contain the run game. If they can do that, then they can get after QB Kirk Cousins and make his life miserable in the pocket. I am excited to see the pash rush this year, led once again by Za’Darius Smith, Preston Smith, and Kenny Clark. I also hope that Rashan Gary makes a big jump in his second season in the NFL. It would not be surprising for the Packers to get a few sacks of Kirk Cousins on Sunday afternoon. Pressuring Cousins, at the very least, should cause him to throw some errant passes that could lead to interceptions by Green Bay’s secondary (which includes Jaire Alexander, Kevin King, Adrian Amos, and Darnell Savage). The defense also needs to cover the receivers and tight ends for Minnesota, including Adam Thielen and Kyle Rudolph. One thing that the defense needs to do is to eliminate the chance of chunk plays by the Vikings offense. The way that the defense can do this is to make sure that there are no missed or broken tackles. They also have to keep them from converting third downs for the whole game. This can be made easier by shutting them down on the first play of the set of downs with a sack or a tackle for loss. The defense also can’t allow any touchdowns in the red zone by the Vikings. I hope that the Packers defense gets a few turnovers through interceptions or strip-sacks, which will give the offense more chances to score touchdowns. I have plenty of confidence that defensive coordinator Mike Pettine will come up with the right schemes to shut down offenses all season long, starting with Sunday against Minnesota.
On Special Teams, the Packers need to avoid silly mistakes that could give the Vikings unexpected momentum. The returners on kickoffs and punts need to be smart with the ball if there is no chance for a big play. Fair catches and not fumbling the football are key for the returners that are wearing the Green and Gold. If there is a chance for a big play, the blockers need to create the lanes for the returner to go through without committing a holding or block in the back penalty. On the other side, the Packers need to make sure that there are no big returns by Minnesota. With some teams still having kicking problems, I am glad that Mason Crosby is still a Packer (only him and Rodgers are left from the Super Bowl XLV team of 2010). He needs to continue making every single kick, including field goals and extra points. JK Scott is back as well, and his job is to punt the ball deep in Vikings territory. Long snapper Hunter Bradley has to do his part in snapping the ball accurately for every punt and field goal (plus PAT) attempt. The blockers on those attempts need to do their job of not allowing any blocks. On the other side, I hope that there is a blocked punt or field goal by Green Bay not just on Sunday, but in multiple games this season. I have plenty of hope that the Special Teams unit will be good at avoiding silly mistakes in 2020.
If the Packers do all of these things, then they will start the season and NFC North at 1-0. This season will bring an extra bit of worry for everyone. In addition to hoping for no additional injuries, I am hoping that the players, coaches and other staff are smart off the field and avoiding any chance of contracting COVID-19 (knock on wood). If they avoid doing so, then a full season will be played all the way to the Super Bowl in Tampa. For the Packers, it all starts with Week 1 against the Vikings. Hopefully Green Bay starts the season on the right track. Stay tuned for my post-game thoughts on either Sunday night or sometime on Monday. Have a great day, everyone. Go Pack Go!
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