Final thoughts on Green Bay Packers tough road test in Tampa Bay
By Paul Bretl
The Green Bay Packers travel to Tampa Bay for a Week 3 matchup with the Buccaneers in what should be a very tough road test.
To get you ready for the game, I have my final thoughts on the Green Bay Packers’ upcoming matchup just as I do every game day.
-From the sounds of it, David Bakhtiari is going to play, giving the Packers OL a massive boost and doing so against a very good opponent. Tampa Bay leads the league in sacks and loves to blitz. With that said, this will only be Bakhtiari’s second appearance since his ACL injury; realistically, there will be some rust to shake off, just as there was for Elgton Jenkins a week ago.
– I would expect the OL to be Bakhtiari at left tackle, followed by Jon Runyan, Josh Myers, Royce Newman, and Elgton Jenkins. Maybe at some point, we will see Yosh Nijman at right tackle this season, but as Josh Sitton and Billy Turner have told us previously, simply switching sides on the OL isn’t as easy as it sounds.
– Establishing and sticking with the run game will be a must for the Green Bay Packers’ offense. Not only are they depleted at receiver with Sammy Watkins on IR and Christian Watson reportedly out, but if the Packers become too pass-heavy against this Bucs front seven, it will spell trouble, just as it often has in the past when Green Bay turns one-dimensional.
– One big question that I have is if picking up rushing yards isn’t coming easily, or the Packers fall behind, will they get impatient and pass-happy? We’ve seen this often in their losses under Matt LaFleur, with it most recently happening in Minnesota Week 1.
– While the Packers may be thin at the wide receiver position, we can’t forget about Robert Tonyan, Aaron Jones, and AJ Dillon in the passing game–all of whom will play big roles in Tampa Bay.
– At this time, we do not know Marcedes Lewis’ status for the game. He is currently listed as questionable, but his availability is a must for the Packers, especially with the importance of getting the ground game going.
– I would love to see this Green Bay Packers defense play aggressively. Tom Brady gets the ball out at the second fastest rate in football, according to PFF ($$), so I would expect a lot of quick passes on Sunday. To counter this, the Packers can play their CBs closer to the line of scrimmage and also try blitzing Brady, something they still haven’t done this season. One concern I have is that if they sit in their cover-2 shell, Brady will happily take the easy completions all day, putting together long scoring drives.
– The Bucs aren’t overly efficient running the football, but they are committed to it, with Leonard Fournett ranking top-5 in total rushing yards through two games. The Packers have struggled to slow the run game and have had issues with tackling. Again, this is another reason I would like to see them play aggressively, with an extra defender in the box at times. Just like the Packers, the Bucs are missing some key pass-catchers–force them to win downfield.
– The special teams unit was okay in Week 1 and much improved in Week 2. Let’s see if they can maintain that momentum. In what could end up being a close and low-scoring game, a special teams’ miscue could be the difference between a win and a loss.
– As Matt LaFleur said, the Packers’ offense has a great challenge ahead of them. Pick a key defensive category, and the Tampa defense is, in all likelihood, at the top of that list or close to it. This front seven, in particular, has the ability to wreck games.
– The Packers offense we saw against Chicago is the same one we need to see the rest of the season. A good run-pass mix, the ball being spread around in the passing game, and a heavy dose of Jones and Dillon.
– A key matchup to watch is Kenny Clark against Bucs’ center Robert Hainsey. Hainsey has been solid through two games but is inexperienced, and the best way to disrupt Brady is with quick pressure up the middle. Clark has been excellent through two games this season, already with 10 pressures.
– I’ll be curious to see how many snaps Rashan Gary and Preston Smith play. Both have been on the field for more than 80% of the defensive snaps this season, which is an unsustainable pace. As I wrote recently, this speaks to the lack of depth at the edge rusher position.
– With the light boxes that Joe Barry tends to play with, the safeties have to be active against the run, and so far, both Adrian Amos and Darnell Savage have struggled in that regard.
– As I wrote in my X-Factors article, Quay Walker can have a big impact on Sunday’s game, both in helping against the run and also in trying to erase any YAC from the quick passing game.