Packers: 3 Matchups to watch vs Vikings in Week 8
By Kenny Jilek
Jamaal Williams vs. Eric Kendricks
Aaron Jones is out for the second week in a row and Jamaal Williams is coming off a big week where he went over 100 yards from scrimmage and he’ll look to do that again against the Vikings in week eight.
Standing in his way will be a stellar Vikings linebacker core, specifically Eric Kendricks. Kendricks is one of the best linebackers in the league with his great combination of speed and strength. Kendricks is a good run stopper, but even better in coverage against running backs.
Teams used to use linebackers to cover Aaron Jones, but quickly started putting safeties and even cornerbacks on him once he started wreaking havoc on them in the passing game. The Vikings have the luxury of having a good enough coverage linebacker to cover running backs and especially the slower Jamaal Williams.
Williams is a solid receiving back with good hands and can bounce off tackles in the open field, but he may lack the speed to shake Kendricks in one-on-one routes. Also, if Rodgers checks it down to Williams, Kendricks is a stellar tackler and could snuff out any opportunities for extra yards.
In the week one meeting between the two teams, both Williams and Jones had four catches, but they combined for just 31 yards. With the star Jones out this week, Williams will have to find a way to get open and give Rodgers an outlet to throw the ball when he’s in trouble.
Running the ball, the Packers will need to stick to either inside runs with Williams as we saw the futility of outside zone schemes against athletic linebackers against the Buccaneers. They’ll need to stretch the defense horizontally with jet sweeps as they did in week one when Tyler Ervin had three carries and Allen Lazard had one as well.
If Williams can run the ball effectively enough to keep the defense honest and open up play-action and make a few big catches, this offense should be clicking just like it was when they opened the season in Minnesota