Hey everybody, thanks for logging on today. Hope all is well. I see questions coming in already, so keep them coming and I'll get rolling.
Good afternoon Mike. What kind of reception will Micah Parsons get in Dallas?
I'm not in tune with the Dallas fan base, but my sense is that the fans blame ownership for Parsons not being around anymore, not Parsons. But we'll see.
All this talk of Super Bowl, undefeated season is all out the window. Need to stay in the moment as this is a long season. Don't get too high, don't get too low.
Exactly. That was a rough loss that shouldn't have happened, but if it prevents a loss like that from happening again, it'll be worth it. 14 more (and hopefully more after that) to go.
I asked this last week and you suggested I hold off, so here it is again. Is there any advantage either to M Parsons or the Cowboys, given that they know each other so well? Or is it just a case of analyzing his play in a new system?
Parsons may be going against some linemen that he's faced in practice over the years, but I don't know where the advantage actually lies in that situation.
Both teams' offensive lines look to be pretty banged up heading into this game. We saw last week what an elite pass-rusher playing against backup OLs can do to a game plan. Is there a key matchup that could decide the game up front? Not to chortle, but boy am I glad Parsons is in green and gold this week.
I would expect the Cowboys to give due attention to Parsons. Meanwhile, Rashan Gary has 4 1/2 sacks in 3 games, so he's taking advantage. I also heard Kenny Clark got hurt last week so I'll be watching their injury report to see what's up with him. (Update: Clark is not on Dallas' injury report.)
Mike As mentioned in this morning's inbox about details in the game against the Browns, on the last pass play before the Browns winning field goal; Could the Packers had held the runner up before tackling them or held them on the ground 3 seconds without incurring a penalty for delay of game to kill the clock?
The best option for not getting a delay call would've been to wrap him up but not put him on the ground, as long as he can't get away. Trying to sit on the guy on the ground is going to draw a flag for sure. But all that's easy to say from here. The Browns executed a good play and got their guys up to the line for the spike. Credit to them.
What do you anticipate is higher, Cowboys sacks of Jordan Love, or Parsons sacks of Dak?
The Cowboys have only four sacks all season thus far, so the Packers need to make sure they continue to struggle pressuring QBs.
At least we escaped significant injuries like Bosa and Harris for the the 49ers and Chargers. Stay healthy and in the moment and everything else will take care of itself
Injuries can rear their ugly ahead at any time. It's a constant game of adjustment, both for short-term and long-term injuries.
How about moving Elgton Jenkins back to guard and putting someone else at center?
I seriously doubt that'll happen.
I feel it is better to let one slip in a weird sequence of events/plays than getting drubbed in a blowout.
In a week-to-week league like this, to me a loss is a loss, and losing a game you should've won leads to more regret and one you might be thinking about later on when looking at standings/scenarios/etc.
Last week's loss to a team we have beaten shows the importance of being able to have a good solid, consistent running game. How do you think the Packers are going to address that with Dallas? Maybe they should be more creative with the run plays or theaten the deep pass.
The Packers attacked down the field in the passing game in the first two weeks, especially against Washington. That's how you make a defense pay for focusing on the run. That didn't happen in Cleveland because they couldn't protect the QB.
At some point we will probably win a game we should've lost, so I figure it all evens out.
Usually does. Not always, but usually.
Mike, what are Dallas' biggest issues on Defense?
They aren't pressuring QBs at all, so they're getting picked apart. Losing Parsons was a massive blow to their pass rush and they're still working to pick up the slack.
I mostly have had to follow the chat for the games. I have not noticed "dropped":the pass. Has dropped pass not been an issue this year.
No, it hasn't. Fingers crossed that continues.
I saw our offensive line as a strength of the team. Now I'm not so sure. What happened last week? Did they forget how to block with those extra day off?
The unit had a bad day and young players getting shuffled around to different positions caught up with them against a tough front. I thought the O-line was pretty darn good in the first two games. I don't think it's suddenly a weakness on the team due to one rough game.
How's the Cowboy run D? It would be nice to see the Packers' ground game get going after the debacle in Cleveland.
They're giving up 110 rushing yards per game on average, which isn't horrible by any means. But Clark's health could play into that this week.
Jenkins allowed a couple of sacks. Result of poor play, just strong defensive line or not playing with same linemen?
From what I saw, the Packers were struggling on the interior picking up the stunts and twists the Browns were running with their rushers. Whether that was communication, technique, familiarity with the guy next to you, or all of the above, I'm not sure.
How do the Packers keep the JerryWorld streak going? Those who were around 2 years ago for the playoff game pretty much all had a good day, and even Jacobs had over 100 scrimmage yards and a TD in his one visit there with the Raiders.
The Packers have scored a ton of points in that building. Every game has been high-scoring. Just have to keep scoring down there.
Wish we could have moved the pocket to the edge. Giving us the option to run or pass. The run game did better outside of the tackles. Could that be an option moving forward?
The Packers have tried it all with the run game, every week. Inside, outside, end arounds with WRs, direct snaps, etc. They'll keep trying different stuff to keep the defense honest.
The sooner Josh Jacobs gets a consistent rhythm the better and more relaxed Love will be.
I don't think there's been an issue with Love being relaxed until Cleveland's pass rush. But I think it's going to take the passing game finding a rhythm first, then Jacobs will.
With the bye looming is it just better to rest Zach Tom and give him adequate time to heal or is his injury one that is going to linger all season long?
Given the one-snap cameo last week, with extra rest coming off the Thursday night game, I highly doubt Tom is going to play this week. I'd be very surprised if they don't give him through the bye week and see how he's doing Week 6.
Mike…..lost in the disappointment of last week's loss was another dominant defensive performance. It seems like championship-caliber teams led by an innovative offensive play-caller/Head Coach, whether it's Reid or McVay most recently, or even Brian Billick in the past, ultimately get over the hump with a dominant defense.
Defense like that is what will keep you in every game. Cleveland's certainly does. The first two weeks, the Packers' offense started strong and they were in control throughout. This past week, the offense was struggling more, even with the lead, never threw the knockout punch, and the team paid for it. But this defense overall is playing really well, even without generating a lot of turnovers.
Thats exactly what the Packers need. At least110 rushing yards/game!
That would help, and I think they'll get there. But they have to make opponents pay with an effective passing game out of the gate first. That's how the Packers beat the Lions as convincingly as they did.
I still am confused about the Matthew Golden play. It seemed like he didn't fight his balance, like catching the pass was the key and the play was over. I've watched it several times and I just don't get it.
It's hard to say. I don't know what it's like to run 22 mph or so and reach up to catch a ball over your shoulder. If he didn't have his balance to continue, then he didn't.
Golden and Savion Williams look like dynamic players. Do you anticipate seeing more of them this week?
The more they produce, the more we'll see them.
I've been excited to watch the plays with Savion Williams; I feel it's just the beginning. Thoughts on his performance to date and potential?
He's intriguing with the ball in his hands. I'd say it's been hit or miss so far. What got lost in all the chaos at the end of last week's game is after the Browns TD, he returned the ensuing kickoff to the 40 to give the offense great field position. That was a great sign for him.
how do they fix all these silly penalties
Great question. For all the mistakes last week, the penalties were at the top of the list for me, especially the two presnap ones at the end. The false start moved the FG back 5 yards, and the offside gave the Browns 5 free yards to start the last drive. Those 10 yards proved to be enormous to me. I don't know how to fix that other than the players fixing it themselves.
The play ln the 4th quarter, deep in our own territory, up 10-0, the long completion to Golden if that was thrown a little bit better, he could have taken it to the house and converstaion we are having today probably would have been different.
Maybe, but the last thing you want to do as a QB with that look is leave that throw too far inside where a defender could close on it. Love threw it outside because nobody was out there. It was the safe play.
What did coach say to the Packers after a loss like that, or is it not really necessary?
I don't know. I'm not in the locker room right after the game. I'm waiting in the press conference area for the coach to come in.
With the reputation for being conservative with injures, why do you think they had such a miss with Tom? you think the player had undue influence and wanted to play?
Hard to say. LaFleur said they'd have discussions about how all that occurred. It was obviously a mistake for Tom to play when on a garden variety snap he only lasted for one.
I would love the option to "thumbs up" or "heart" a comment in the Live Blog on game day- any chance the media team can work on that for us? Thanks for all the work that goes into those on- they are appreciated!
That would be fun but we don't control the platform. That's an issue out of our hands. But thanks for following along.
a number of times you mentioned our pass game needs to open up the run. Seems like last year the run game never needed much help and that was what opened up the pass. What has changed?
Defenses got a whole offseason to study Jacobs running the ball in this offense. Last year that was a new concept. It's not new, opponents have adjusted, and now the Packers have to adjust to. This game never stays the same. Never.
We need to remember the Packers have given up the fewest points of any team in the league through three games. Defense wins championships...
44 points in 3 games ... that'll play. If it's 44 over the next 3, I expect the Packers to be 5-1.
I don't feel like I've heard a lot about Edgerrin Cooper's performance so far this season. I'm really anticipating he will be a true star; how's he looked? Any flashy plays, or just excellent routine ones? Any noticeable weaknesses?
He had a relatively quiet game for him in Cleveland. I thought he was a force in the first two games. The Packers didn't blitz Flacco much, so that might be why he didn't show up quite as often. I think Hafley figured Flacco would be getting the ball out of his hands quickly, which was true, so he wasn't going to compromise the coverage with a blitz that wouldn't have time to get home. He blitzed some, but not as much.
What are your keys to keeping our streak going on Dallas' field?
Reduce the penalties, protect the ball, and finish drives. I think the Packers will be able to move the ball on the Cowboys, but they can't settle for field goals all night.
Mike, what do we make of the NFC North as a whole? Huge mixed bag in terms of teams and how they're playing I believe. Thoughts?
The Lions aren't going anywhere. They've bounced back in a big way the last two games. The Bears might've righted the ship, so we'll see where that goes. Minnesota looks to have a good defense, and KOC is a QB whisperer so that offense is always going to be a threat. This division will be no picnic.
I saw an interesting comment in Inbox on the timing of play calls coming into the huddle and was thinking that could impact the mental preparation aspect for the line as well. Did Coach comment on the late play calls and also subsequent timeouts being used to avoid a delay of game penalty?
I don't know if that affected the linemen or not. It shouldn't, not in a road stadium that wasn't loud and was half GB fans. There have been a lot of other issues LaFleur has addressed the past few days, so that hasn't been asked about yet.
what do you think defenses are doing now to stifle the run that they weren't doing before?
They've willing to add a run defender and play man coverage on the receivers. Those are opportunities a passing game has to capitalize on. Which the Packers did in the first two games. As I said, when you can't protect your QB, man coverage can hold up long enough to work.
...and 14 of the 44 were garbage points. Plus a 4 yard TD drive
Right.
Pro football is difficult. The aging of head coaches is noticeable.
And website editors.
I have nothing but "Love" for Jordan. I think he is our franchise guy and will be, but we do have a really strong and versatile back-up. Do you see value in putting Malik on the field for certain situations where an RPO is advantageous?
Love runs plenty of RPOs himself, and he was taking off and running a couple of times vs. the Browns. They're already using Savion for some direct snaps, I don't see them taking more snaps away from Love by putting Willis in there.
Watching the Lions' offense Monday night, the one thing they possess that we don't at this point is a RB like Gibbs that can literally make himself small between the tackles and pop out on the other side. If MarShawn Lloyd can return and remain healthy, he will add a different dimension to the offense…..if not, I could see Williams spelling JJ and receiving some carries.
Lloyd's forthcoming addition to this offense will be interesting, as will the reinsertion of Christian Watson at some point. We haven't seen everything this offense has to offer. Not even close.
We fans are often asking you about the performance of individual players. Do you actually watch film or are you far too busy for that?
I watch the film on Mondays usually, as long as nothing more pressing comes up.
Do you think there will come a time when the social media shock type reporting will lessen in influence or will it just continue to intensify?
The latter. The genie isn't just not going back in the bottle, it's reproducing.
The special teams blunder reminded me of the 2021-2022 playoff loss to san francisco, though that was more of a total collapse. Is last week indicative of deeper problems or a temporary lapse?
We'll find out this week. Once a blocked FG like that is on tape for all your opponents to see, you're going to be challenged in that area until you prove you've fixed it. Teams will be attacking in those instances for the foreseeable future.
You mentioned the Lions playing their first game with new OC and DC in Week 1. Sometimes its not who you play but when you play them.
It's often that. The Packers were playing a desperate 0-2 team last week, as were the Cowboys. Stuff like that happens in this league all the time.
Did you watch the Detroit game on MNF? Multiple times when the Lions had the ball, I said to myself why don't the Packers ever try some of those plays. I think a lot of our 3rd down problems is a lack of creativity and of course, execution. Being too predictable on 1st and 2nd down doesn't help either.
I think the Packers' offense has proven to be creative and productive enough as long as guys aren't false starting or getting called for holding.
what will Watson bring if he is able to practice and play after the bye
Another guy, along with Golden, who can take the top off the defense and has to be respected as such.
Other than, "The other guys get paid too" what basic concept about the game do you think the fans overlook or ignore?
How fast it moves. Play calls have to be sent in quickly, on both sides of the ball, not to mention personnel substitutions, etc. So many decisions are made in a matter of seconds. We get days afterward to dissect everything, and that's part of it from the outside. The people making those split-second calls, that's what they do and they get paid handsomely to do it. But that doesn't mean it's easy.
What, specifically , can a FG protection unit do to improve those results other than "play better"?
LaFleur was pretty clear the protection unit got "lifted" or leveraged at the point of attack on the FG, which usually is a sign of fatigue and/or a mental lapse in fundamentals in terms of body positioning.
With all the blocked kicks have teams discovered a weakness?
I chalk it up to a weird week in the NFL, but that's a lot of film out there on blocked kicks now for everyone to examine.
Yes. and now the Packers are playing a somewhat desperate Cowboy team at home coming off an embarrising loss. Better be prepared.
Exactly. The Cowboys hung with the Eagles in Week 1, then survived an OT shootout at home in Week 2, and then got it handed to them in the second half in Chicago in Week 3. They are going to give Green Bay everything they've got.
All the crazy wide open receivers against Washington disappeared. What happened??
It was a different defense on the other side.
I don't remember the last time the Packers had allowed the fewest points in the league, granted it's early. How does this defense stack up to previous editions?
We'll see how the season plays out, but this has a chance to be the best defense here since, in my opinion, the second half of 2014 when that team really got rolling.
Mike…..as much as I enjoy reading (and occasionally contributing) to II, I really enjoy your chats. Love the diversity of questions and your rapid responses. Thanks for all your work.
I appreciate the audience and participation. If nobody cared, they wouldn't log on.
The Packers played great games against DET and WAS. Then had a rough one against CLE. It's EXACTLY like the girls soccer team I coached last year. We only won one game, but tied two against the two best teams in the division. Go figure! (Oops... I brought up soccer. Sorry!)
Ha, you're forgiven.
A couple of comments ago, you mentioned the Browns being desperate and that situation affected the outcome. Players are paid professionals who are coached hard every week. Can the mindset really make that much of a difference? It would seem to me that players would try to bring their A-Games every week.
They do, and sometimes when you're behind, you get put away, and other times, you hang around and have a chance at the end. Once the Browns got it to 10-3 and had the Packers backed up inside their own 20 (thanks to a penalty on the KO return), you could sense that defense smelling blood. Then the INT happened and the rest of the game was chaos.
Is it time to move field goals back 8 or 9 yards from LOS rather than 7? A couple of yards is generally not critical.
All FG snaps have been 8 yards now for a long time.
I love the defensive effort the Packers have brought. It would be great if we could match it up with a potent running attack.
I think it's coming. Honestly I do. The Packers need to get healthy up front and make teams fear the passing game a little bit and they'll get there. It's still early.
What do you see as being more important in this game, Dallas's Defensive Line, or Dallas's Offensive line?
The Cowboys just lost Booker on their O-line for a few games, and the way the Packers get after QBs, I would say their O-line is the bigger key for them.
I just looked and the browns will play the lions and vikings the next two weeks. I hope someone else looses to them or I'm not going to hear the end of it from my sons-in-law from Michigan and Minnesota!
I'm very interested to see how the other NFC North teams do against Cleveland. The Browns were missing their two starting OTs (and their LT is now out for the season), which is a very limiting factor with their passing game, but Judkins looks like a dangerous RB. That offense needs to complement their defense better but I'm not sure that's going to happen.
Has Chicago truly been able to right their ship or was Dallas just that bad?
Ben Johnson called out his team (and coaching staff for that matter) after getting blown out in Detroit for their practice habits. The Bears played with a different purpose, and sometimes you're on the wrong end of that. Dallas' defense is really struggling, and now on offense they're missing Lamb too. The Packers should have the advantage in this game, but they had it last week as well.
Lots of Packer fans complain we don't have a "WR1" like other teams. I feel that, like this week for Dallas, when a team is dependent on one receiver and that player is injured, it really drags down the offense.
We shall see. I don't think the Packers have any serious issues at receiver. They had a rough game in pass protection and no WR1 is going to fix that. Let's see what happens moving forward.
All right folks, with that I think I'll call it a chat. Take care, enjoy the rest of your week, and I'll be back on this platform Sunday night for the game. Later, Mike
