Jump to content

Week 1: Packers @ Saints in Jacksonville GDT


mikebpackfan

Recommended Posts

Who:  New Orleans Saints, a team renown for beads and such  vs. your Green Bay Packers, a team renown for being "in the moment"
 

What: A professional football game.

When:  Sunday, September 12, 2021  3:25 LFT

Where: [s]New Orleans[\s], err, Umm, no [s]Dallas[\s], oh wait, no, Jacksonville

How Can I Observe:  Packers Radio Network with Wayne Larrivee and Larry McCarren or, in Technicolor, on Fox with Aikman/Buck/etc.

Fearless Prediction: there will be an uncomfortable amount of references to cramping

 

Cool pics to really round out this bad boy:

EnchantedWealthyAfricanbushviper-size_re 

heywake.0.gif

DifferentVictoriousFlatcoatretriever-max

5dd762f7e4957.image.jpg?resize=1476,1282

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thoughts on the game:

Packers -4 seems to be what the Vegas lines have settled on after opening at Packers -1. This is technically going to be a neutral site game in Jacksonville, but it's a homegame for the Saints so they controlled the tickets. You fully expect their stands to be rowdy and rocking but the outdoor TIAA isn't anything like the closed in Superdome. That will certainly help.

Last year the Packkers finished the season with a point differential of +140. They lost Corey Linsley and most other parts stayed the same short of the addition of the draft picks including rookie starter at Center Josh Myers. Stud LT David Bakhtiari will be out until Week 6 which will cause some offensive line shuffling. It seems likely that we'll see a starting lineup of Jenkins-Runyan-Myers-Newman-Jenkins. The Tackles both matchup well against the bigger power ends of the Saints in Davenport and Jordan, but Cameron Jordan is a stud even as he gets older and is capable of giving anyone trouble. It wouldn't be shocking to see the Saints try Jordan inside to try and give him a better matchup against Newman. With the addition of the 17th game, it seems likely that the Packers will be around +140 again this season.

Last year the Saints finished the season with a point differential of +145. Both teams had their seasons end with losses to the eventual champion Buccaneers in the playoffs. Between injuries and roster departures, the Saints have had some serious turnover of their top groups. The most significant loss will be Drew Brees who is being replaced by Jameis Winston. Coming into last year, the Saints top two receivers were Michael Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders, on Sunday their top two will be Marquez Callaway and Tre'quan Smith. Adam Trautman is in at TE over former Packer Jared Cook. The running game is still going to be looking good with the return of all five starters along an elite offensive line and stud RB Alvin Kamara.

There was similar turnover on defense. Cameron Jordan and Marcus Davenport still play the ends, but Sheldon Rankins and David Onyemata have been replaced with Malcolm Roach and former Packer Christian Ringo. Montravious Adams is the third DT off the bench. Damario Davis is still in at MLB, but his previous partners Alex Anzalone and Kiko Alonso are out, replaced with Kwon Alexander and Kaden Elliss. Marshown Lattimore continues to standout at CB, with Desmond Trufant and Ken Crawley manning the other two spots instead of Janoris Jenkins and Patrick Robinson. Marcus Williams and Malcolm Jenkins remain as one of the better Safety duos in the league. 

With significant fall off at QB, WR, and DT, this Saints team strikes me as more of a +90 team rather than a really competitive squad. Much will come down to how Jameis Winston can be molded into the Sean Payton offense. Regardless, I don't love this matchup for the Packers defense. Winston is a QB who will make back breaking mistakes if forced into it, but that requires pressure to be applied early. That's something this Packers team has stayed away from as a philosophy the last several years and something Joe Barry has never demonstrated a love for. 

Ultimately, this looks like a Packers win, albeint not a comfortable one. 

 

Edited by AlexGreen#20
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

ff87001d.png  vs  148px-New_Orleans_Saints_logo.svg.png

 

I didn't size those logo's, they came that way - but clearly the Packers are viewed as the Superior team on Sunday

 

https://www.packers.com/news/dope-sheet-packers-saints-open-season-in-jacksonville

  • The Packers are 2-0 in Kickoff Weekend games against the Saints. Green Bay won the last season-opening matchup between the two teams, 42-34, on Sept. 8, 2011, when QB Aaron Rodgers threw for 312 yards and three TDs with a 132.1 QB rating to lead the Packers. 
  • This will be the second time Green Bay has opened a season in Jacksonville, having previously beat the Jaguars, 27-23, in 2016. Overall, the Packers are 3-1 in Jacksonville, with both victories coming in the month of September.
  • Packers at Saints:   All-time regular season: 17-9

    Head to Head: LaFleur 1-0 vs. Payton     

  • MLF became just the second NFL head coach since 1967 to win 13-plus games and a division title in both of his first two seasons, joining Seifert (1989-90).
  • In his first season leading the Packers in 2019, became the first coach in club history to lead the team to the playoffs in his debut season. Also led the largest one-year win improvement in team history (plus-seven wins).

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, AlexGreen#20 said:

It seems likely that we'll see a starting lineup of Jenkins-Runyan-Myers-Newman-Jenkins

Good stuff but I still have to pick at this. I think if Jenkins plays both tackles at once we'll lose

Edited by Norm
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.




×
×
  • Create New...