A Week 9 preview with Justis Mosqueda of @acmepackingco about the divisional matchup between the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers.
It’s the second NFC North matchup of the year, and it’s even more important than the last one—something that will surely be a theme throughout this year’s schedule. The Detroit Lions find themselves up against the Green Bay Packers, the team that sits just behind them in the division.
Football is back once again, and we would never pass up the opportunity to get some intel from the opponent’s perspective. We called on Justis Mosqueda of AcmePackingCompany.com to give us a look into how these Packers have navigated an injury at quarterback, the defensive improvements after jettisoning an unpopular coordinator, and how they’re shaping up ahead of this Week 9 matchup.
Jordan Love suffered a groin injury in last week’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, and his availability for this matchup with the Lions is a bit up in the air at the moment.
Do you have any gut feeling about whether or not Love will play this week, and if he doesn’t, what differences have you noticed with the Packers’ gameplan on offense when Malik Willis has been under center?
I think that he’s going to play, because the MRI results showed that Love’s groin was only pulled and the staff actually let him play into the first drive of the second half last week. My only real worry is he hurts it again, which could open a whole other can of worms.
As far as the gameplan goes, the Love offense and the Willis offense couldn’t be more different. Willis has a 130 passer rating this year, but he’s only thrown for under 40 yards a quarter (average) when seeing action. If Willis is on the field, you’re going to get a lot of quarterback runs, be it scrambles or designed plays. The Packers did a lot of high school spinner stuff and leaned into the option game in Willis’ two prior starts this season.
Swapping out Aaron Jones for Josh Jacobs was one of the major offseason transactions for the Packers, and it seems from an outsider’s perspective that it was a move that’s paid off so far for Green Bay.
How has Jacobs’ skillset been best utilized in this Packers offense, and do you see any areas where there could be room for growth–or regression? And what about the rest of the running backs room for Green Bay–how do they fit into what is one of the few true “bell cow” situations in the NFL?
A lot of the numbers that reference any sort of “yards above expected” measurement like Jacobs a lot right now because he’s doing a good job of breaking tackles. I have to agree with them, even if a lot of Jacobs’ longer runs are being called back for holding (Thanks, Rasheed Walker!) The rest of the backfield is interesting, because I think most people would have pegged AJ Dillon and MarShawn Lloyd as Jacobs’ primary backups going into the preseason, but both of those players are now on IR. For most of the year, Emanuel Wilson has been the primary backup but his reps were recently split with Chris Brooks, who was brought in off the practice squad. Wilson is a solid all-around back while Brooks really shined as a pass protector in Week 8.
After years of what could only be described as torture according to the opinions of Packers fans online, Joe Barry is no longer the defensive coordinator for the Packers. In comes Jeff Hafley, most recently the head coach of Boston College for four seasons.
The Packers rank 10th against the pass in DVOA, 12th against the run, and currently lead the league in takeaways with 19 through eight games. How has Hafley turned the 27th ranked defense from a year ago into a top-12 unit this year, and where’s the real strength of this Packers’ defense as far as a unit is concerned?
Turnovers and fundamentals really seem to be the big strengths of this team. The tackling and pursuit angles have gotten much better, which really helps when you have an extra guy in the box on most plays because the Packers play single-high defense now. The pass rush is struggling week-to-week but the young talent elsewhere is coming along quickly. Green Bay’s getting a lot from safety Evan Williams, safety/slot Javon Bullard and linebacker Edgerrin Cooper.
Is there a player or two you could highlight from this Packers team that may fly under the radar nationally and will ultimately surprise Lions’ fans by their level of compete?
I just referenced them but Williams and Cooper are playing very well. Cooper was the top linebacker off of the board in April but was thought to be a major project because he played more of a hybrid position than a true linebacker position at A&M. Despite missing the preseason, he’s flying around and making plays in the run and pass game consistently.
Williams wasn’t a starter at the beginning of the year but has already displaced second-round pick Javon Bullard there, which pushed Bullard into the slot and moved Keisean Nixon to outside cornerback. Green Bay had to do a lot to get Williams on the field consistently, but they’ve been willing to do it because how quickly he’s become a difference-maker.
What’s your most lucrative nugget of Packers’ intel that a Lions fan could benefit from hearing and putting on their bet slip for this Week 9 matchup?
Well, seven of the team’s starters were non-participants for Wednesday’s practice. That’s a pretty good start. In general, I think the Packers have to be full force to beat a team like the Lions, and they just aren’t right now. Green Bay could have used its bye week this week, not next, rather than getting this first matchup with Detroit. I’m gonna go Lions straight up here with the Packers having a better chance the next time around than this one.
