Good afternoon, everyone. On Sunday afternoon at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England, the Green Bay Packers will take on the New York Giants. There are a couple of firsts on Sunday. For starters, this is the first time the Packers have played in London since the International Series started in 2007. In addition to that, Sunday’s game is the first time that both teams have a winning record coming into the game (both teams are 3-1 to start the season). As always, I am here to give you my thoughts on what the Packers need to do to win their first London game and improve to 4-1 on the season. Without further delay, let’s get started.
On offense, the Packers need to play four excellent quarters of football (of course, this goes for defense and Special Teams as well). It all starts with how well the offensive line plays. They need to do a great job creating the holes for Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon to run through the Giants defense. In passing situations, the linemen need to protect Aaron Rodgers from any sacks or pressures. In case of blitzes, an additional blocker needs to pick it up and give Rodgers plenty of time to throw to his receivers. Those receivers include Allen Lazard, Randall Cobb, Romeo Doubs, Christian Watson, Robert Tonyan, Marcedes Lewis, plus the running backs. For Rodgers, the most important thing is to get rid of the ball in rhythm and avoid throwing any interceptions. For the receivers, they need to run their routes and catch each ball (other than throwaways). As always, the Packers need to sustain long drives in all four quarters, converting third downs and avoiding any and all turnovers (plus penalties). When they get in the red zone during these long drives, they need to score touchdowns each time instead of settling for field goals. If there has to be a clutch game-winning/sealing drive, then the Packers need to get that done to come out of London with a win. I’m sure the Matt LaFleur/Aaron Rodgers-led offense will be able to do that.
On defense, the Packers have a very important goal: keep Saquon Barkley in check. Barkley is the Giants’ best offensive weapon, both in the running game and the passing game. Joe Barry needs to get his defense ready to stop Barkley for minimum yardage and keep him from dominating the game. If they are able to do that, then the pass rush can get after Daniel Jones, who I will give credit to for trying to play on Sunday with an ankle issue. The problem is that he might not be able to be a threat with his legs. As a result, he may be a sitting duck in the pocket. Kenny Clark, Preston Smith, Rashan Gary, and the rest of the defensive front should be able to get past the linemen and get to Jones early and often. Even if Jones doesn’t get sacked, the defense might pressure him to throw a pass that can easily be intercepted by anyone on defense. Jaire Alexander, Rasul Douglas, Eric Stokes, Darnell Savage, and the rest of the defensive backfield need to cover the Giants’ “who’s who” of a receiving corps and help tackle any ball carrier. I really hope that this is the week that the Packers get a pick-six. I don’t care who gets it for the Packers. Most importantly, the Packers need to keep the Giants from sustaining any long drives on offense. If they get in the red zone, the Packers need to force New York to settle for field goals. Any and all turnovers are acceptable for the Packers defense, including a strip sack and a pick six. I hope that the Packers can get things done and keep this game from being too stressful.
On Special Teams, all the Packers need to do is to avoid crucial mistakes that could give the Giants any extra momentum. For example, Amari Rodgers can’t muff any punts that could be recovered by New York and give the Giants a short field to work with. In order to avoid this, he needs to secure each fair catch. In situations where he has room to run, he needs to run north while evading defenders and following the blocks (and also hope that there’s no illegal block or holding penalty). On the other side, the coverage unit, which includes Rudy Ford and Keisean Nixon, needs to keep the Giants from returning any punts or kickoffs for a lot of yards. In addition to continue making all of his field goals and extra point kicks, Mason Crosby needs to kick each ball out of the end zone for a touchback to avoid any chance of a long return. Pat O’Donnell needs to continue his great punting ways and pin the Giants deep in their own territory when he is called upon (which I hope is very little). Jack Coco and the rest of the line all need to do their jobs well, with Coco snapping the ball accurately to Pat O’Donnell and also helping protect kicks from being blocked. As long as they avoid mistakes and penalties, I’m sure the Special Teams unit will help Green Bay win in London.
Overall, I’m looking forward to the game tomorrow morning (it starts at 9:30 Eastern). It will be a different atmosphere in London, but I have no doubt that there will be a lot of Green and Gold in the stands cheering the Packers on. No matter what happens, I pray that there are no further injuries for either team and that they get back home safe from England after the game. I’ll be here for my postgame thoughts on this game either on Sunday evening, Monday, or Tuesday. Have a wonderful weekend, everyone. Go Pack Go!
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