Good morning, everyone. On Christmas Day, the Green Bay Packers will take on the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium. Temperatures for this game will be in the 40s and 50s on Sunday, which is unusually cold for Miami. For the Packers, it will be a quick thaw before they go back to below zero temperatures in Green Bay. In terms of the game itself, it will be a tough one. There will be plenty of Green and Gold-clad fans in the stands, including me. Here are my thoughts on what the Packers need to do to keep those fans happy and keep their playoff hopes alive.
On offense, the Packers need to play a more consistent game. What will help that cause is a running attack that is efficient. As long as the offensive linemen do their job, Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon (also Patrick Taylor) should be able to follow the holes made and run for good chunks of yards. For the running plays themselves, they need to be from under center instead of shotgun. That way, the backs can have a running start to the ball (especially in the case of AJ Dillon). If the running game is efficient, then it will open up everything else offensively, including the play-action passing game. Aaron Rodgers has plenty of weapons to throw to against a Dolphins pass defense that is one of the worst in the NFL. Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, Allen Lazard, Randall Cobb, Marcedes Lewis, Robert Tonyan, plus the running backs are all valuable weapons for Rodgers. Both the QB and the WR need to be on the same page so the throws are accurate and caught each time (I won’t go over the signal controversy that was on the news lately). The offensive line (most likely without David Bakhtiari again) needs to do its job on every side to protect Rodgers and give him time to find an open man. Most importantly, the Packers need to be consistent in putting together long drives that end in a touchdown each time. In other words, play “keep away” to keep Miami’s offense off the field. The more touchdowns, the better for the Packers to have a good chance at winning this game. Yes, they haven’t played well in Florida as of recently (they won this year in Tampa, but it was ugly as heck). I hope that the offense doesn’t screw up in terms of penalties and turnovers.
On defense, the Packers will have a tough test in front of them. The Dolphins offense has plenty of weapons, including running back Raheem Mostert (who ran over the Packers as a 49er 3 years ago in the playoffs) and the WR duo of Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. Joe Barry will have his hands full with how to handle these guys. He and the players need to have a great game in order to save their season. The first step is to keep the ground game in check. The defensive front, which includes Kenny Clark, Preston Smith, Jarran Reed, and (hopefully for more than 9 plays) Devonte Wyatt, needs to get past the Dolphins O-Line and tackle the ball carrier for minimum gain. If the running back gets past the line, then the second level needs to make sure to wrap him up and make the tackle to prevent a large gain. If the Packers have any hope of making Miami one-dimensional on offense, then they can’t allow a 200-yard game to Mostert. In terms of defending the pass, the pass rush needs to get home a number of times to force Tua to throw errant passes that could be intercepted. If Tua had any time, then he can throw it to Hill or Waddle and let them speed past the defense for a touchdown. I hope that the defensive backs play the receivers well, with Jaire Alexander being on Tyreek Hill most likely. As high scoring as the Miami offense is, it’s not immune to mistakes. The defense has to take advantage of any opportunities for a fumble or an interception. For example, a strip-sack needs to be recovered by the defense and an interception can’t be dropped by anyone. Third down conversions need to be kept to a minimum regardless of how long it is. I’m tired of seeing the defense giving up third and 15 due to “Charmin-soft” coverage. Even on third and 4, the defense sometimes plays 7 yards away from the line of scrimmage. I hope that there’s less of that on Sunday. I kinda get, once again, that they want everything in front of them. When it keeps happening over and over again, it’s bordering on insanity. When the Dolphins get in the red zone, the defense needs to keep them from getting into the end zone too many times and force them to 3 points. The Packers fans should help with messing up Miami’s offense at points. Hopefully the defense does their part on Sunday.
On Special Teams, the Packers need to avoid any mistakes that could give Miami extra momentum. For example, field goals and punts need to be protected from any blocking attempt by the line. Jack Coco needs to snap each ball accurately to Pat O’Donnell on both field goal and punt attempts. O’Donnell should be able to punt the ball deep in Miami territory when he is called upon (which is hopefully not too often). He also needs to secure each hold for Mason Crosby to make the field goals. I want to give a shoutout to Crosby. On Sunday, he will break Brett Favre’s record for consecutive starts in a Packers uniform. They’re both, for the moment, at 255. Crosby will be at 256 on Christmas Day, which is a great accomplishment for him. Hopefully he celebrates this day with making each kick. In the return game, Keisean Nixon should be ready to get a lot of return yards. I really want him to get that kick return touchdown after coming up short a few times. It would definitely be a Christmas miracle if it happens. The blockers need to create the holes for Nixon to run through. I would be angry and disappointed if a potential kick return TD is nullified by a dumb penalty that is nowhere near the return man. On punts, the return man (either Nixon or Randall Cobb) needs to make smart decisions with the ball. If there is no room for a return, then he needs to fair catch the ball cleanly. On the other side, the Packers coverage unit needs to make sure that no long returns are allowed. I have a feeling that most of the kickoffs on Sunday will be touchbacks, so that may be avoided altogether. Rich Bisaccia’s unit will be ready for anything.
Overall, it will be a tough game for the Packers. Complimentary football needs to be played on all sides for the Packers to steal a win from the Dolphins and stay alive in the NFC playoff race. Regardless of the outcome, I pray that no player on either team gets seriously injured on Sunday. I’ll be here on Monday or Tuesday with my recap of the game whether it’s a win, loss, or tie. Have a Merry Christmas, everyone. Go Pack Go!
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