Good evening, everyone. The Green Bay Packers are back from their bye week and ready to play the last 4 games of the regular season. On Monday night, they will take on the Los Angeles Rams at chilly Lambeau Field. If the Packers have any hope of making the playoffs, then the first step is to take care of the Rams at home. Here are my thoughts on what the Packers need to do to get to 6-8 on the season.
On offense, the Packers need to have a balanced attack of run and pass. It helps that the Rams defense will be without Aaron Donald. Regardless of that, the Packers’ offensive linemen need to create the holes for AJ Dillon and Aaron Jones to run through for plenty of yards. It is up to the backs themselves to follow the holes and evade/truck defenders on their way to those yards. I have no doubt that the backs will be used in the passing game as well. Speaking of the passing game, it should be doing better now that Romeo Doubs is returning from an ankle injury that he suffered back in Week 9. I think that Aaron Rodgers will play better after a little rest for his thumb and ribs (though he might get thumb surgery in the offseason). Doubs, Christian Watson, Allen Lazard, and Randall Cobb can be great weapons for Rodgers to throw to on Monday night. Nothing can be done without good pass protection. Therefore, it’s up to the O-Line (minus David Bakhtiari, who is still recovering from an appendectomy) to make sure that Rodgers stays upright all game long. If they are able to do that, then Rodgers should be ably to throw accurately to his receivers. They, in turn, need to run their routes and catch every pass that isn’t a throwaway. Most importantly, the Packers need to sustain long drives by converting third downs, playing efficient football, and avoiding any penalties or turnovers that can mess up Green Bay’s chances of winning on Monday night. As long as everyone does their part on offense, I think that the Packers can put up over 30 points on the Rams defense.
On defense, the Packers need to focus on keeping the Rams one-dimensional on offense. This is a game that the defensive front needs to dominate because the Rams are entering this game as a team unable to run the ball well. If the Rams do any rushing attempts, the defense needs to make sure that the runner gets tackled for minimum gain. At quarterback, it would normally be Matthew Stafford. Unfortunately, he has a spinal contusion injury that knocked him out for the remainder of the season a couple of weeks ago. Desperate for a quarterback not named John Wofford or Bryce Perkins, the Rams acquired Baker Mayfield, who the Packers are familiar with. Last Christmas, Baker threw 4 interceptions to the Packers as his Browns lost 24-22. I do give him credit for leading a comeback win over the Raiders in his first game with the Rams. With that being said, the defense needs to make sure that Baker doesn’t have a good night. The cold weather and the crowd will help matters for the defense, but the players on the field need to do their part. The pass rush needs to get home and force Baker to throw errant passes that can be picked off. The defensive backs, including Jaire Alexander and Rasul Douglas, need to cover the receivers well and not allow any easy catches (when they are allowed to do man anyway). It should be no problem for Green Bay’s defense seeing that Cooper Kupp is not suiting up. Whoever is catching balls for the Rams (other than Van Jefferson) needs to not be given any freebies. Most importantly, the Packers defense needs to keep the Rams from sustaining too many long drives on offense. Winning on early downs and forcing long third downs, and then stopping them on third (and fourth) down can help the Packers accomplish this goal. If they get into the red zone, the defense needs to force LA to settle for field goals instead of allowing touchdowns. The defense also needs to take advantage of any potential opportunities for a turnover, whether it be an interception of Baker or a strip sack. I have hope that the defense can keep the Rams in check, even if Joe Barry has one foot out the door.
On Special Teams, the Packers need to keep the mistakes to a minimum. For instance, they cannot allow any field goals or punts to get blocked by the Rams. The line protecting the kicks, including long snapper Jack Coco, needs to block any defender from getting near a kick. Coco needs to snap the ball accurately to Pat O’Donnell, who needs to secure the hold for Mason Crosby. Even in chilly conditions, I’m confident that Crosby will make each field goal and extra point attempt. When he is called upon (which hopefully is not that often), O’Donnell needs to punt each ball deep into Rams territory. It would be an added bonus if the ball went out of bounds, negating the need to cover a potential return. If the return man decides to run it back, the coverage unit has to make sure that he doesn’t have a big return that gives the Rams a good field position. This is also the case on kickoffs, which I hope are touchbacks each time. On the other side, Keisean Nixon (plus whoever else they use) needs to make the most out of any return opportunity. The blocks need to be followed and defenders need to be evaded by the return man. I still wish for a kick return touchdown that would no doubt cause the Lambeau Field crowd to go nuts. If there isn’t a return opportunity, then the ball needs to be fair caught cleanly by Nixon or anyone else. I have faith that Rich Bisaccia’s unit will play well on Monday night.
Overall, I’m looking forward to watching this game. The Packers should be rested and ready to take on any challenge during these last 4 games. I hope that the Packers can take care of business against the Rams at home. Regardless of the outcome, I pray that nobody on either team gets severely injured during this contest. I’ll be back on Tuesday for the recap of the game. Have a good night, everyone. Go Pack Go!
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