5 Takeaways from Green Bay Packers vs. Rams
The Green Bay Packers are coming off of a win against the Rams in a game where they started slow once again but managed to secure a halftime lead. Here are five things I noticed when reviewing the film this week.
Offensive changes happened
For the first time in weeks, a scheme change happened visually, and it seems that the Packers’ best offensive weapon, Aaron Jones, finally received the amount of carries that a proper running back one deserves. While the offense was far from perfect, seeing Jones receive the carries that he deserves not only was proven again but also opened things up for the offense and Jordan Love. While it seemed these changes should’ve been made a few weeks ago, seeing the offense get into a rhythm and show flashes was big.
The passing game found success
While there still weren’t as many looks over the middle, there were finally some this week, which is a significant improvement. One specific play that you can see an attack over the middle would be the beautiful design behind Luke Musgrave’s touchdown. The play featured two swing pass options, one to each side, with Jones and AJ Dillon, then featured a delayed streaking Luke Musgrave over the middle for the touchdown.
The play was designed for Love to be able to make a read but also use the footwork that he has been learning to fool the defense and draw them toward the swing passes. In other passes, Chrisitan Watson and Love connected for a deep shot, while Dontayvion Wicks was also sent out on more routes than usual, which he won the majority of. If the offense can keep up the changes in the scheme and let Love figure it out after having an established run game, you should see the points in the first half start to come.
The Defense Stood Out
The defense could not have responded better after a bad week against the Vikings and losing a defensive leader in Rasul Douglas. While they didn’t face Matthew Stafford, nonetheless, they figured out how to contain the wide receiver room of Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua while also giving up less than 70 rushing yards for the second straight week. All of that, combined with allowing only three points and forcing a turnover, means that this defense set the offense up about as good as they could have.
How Can The Defense Respond?
While the defense doesn’t have Rasul Douglas anymore, they stepped up this past week for the second straight game. Jaire Alexander is listed as doubtful for Pittsburgh, so it will be interesting to see if the defense responds coming off of a two-game stretch where they have shut down the run, and their most recent game was arguably their best of the year.
Who Is Going To Step Up?
With this team finally breaking the tough stretch of losing, as well as trading a defensive leader recently, this Green Bay Packers team is going to find out a lot about themselves here soon. One thing to look for will be if Carrington Valentine and Anthony Johnson Jr. can stack their positive performances from the last game to build momentum for the next game.