Green Bay Packers: 3 Matchups to watch in Week Two
By Kenny Jilek
Packers TEs vs. Lions LBs
Last week, the Green Bay Packers played against one of the best linebacker tandems in the league of Anthony Barr and Eric Kendricks. Both drop into coverage very well and are comfortable running with tight ends deep down the field. As a result, while the Packers’ tight ends had some nice blocking highlights, they didn’t have a single catch. Josiah Deguara had a 12-yard reception, but that was lined up as a fullback.
This week, they will have a much easier time with Lions linebackers that aren’t bad, but nothing like the Vikings guys. Christian Jones was the linebacker who played the most snaps on Sunday at 68 percent. Jarrad Davis was next at 54 percent. These two players will be tasked with covering the Packers’ tight ends and possibly Deguara, who is listed as questionable.
Despite playing 44 snaps on Sunday, Jones had just one assisted tackle and was really a non-factor. Tackles aren’t everything, especially when talking about pass defense, but he and Davis just haven’t been known as playmakers in their years in the NFL.
The Green Bay Packers’ offense included a few shots to tight ends when they thought they had a good matchup. They put Jace Sternberger outside and tried to run him on a go, and they ran Deguara up the seam to try to stretch the defense vertically. Nothing deep to these guys worked, but that was because of the Vikings’ impressive linebacker and safety play. The Lions don’t have those kinds of guys, so expect a couple more of these shots, and I predict one of them will actually hit this week.