We’re inching closer to Sunday, folks, and that means it’s time for us to get some intel from the other side. We’re talking to the folks who run the SB Nation site for the Minnesota Vikings’ opponent this week, and that means we’re talking to Acme Packing Company, the home of everything relating to the Green Bay Packers on our network.
Yours truly had the opportunity to exchange questions with Justis Mosqueda, one of the writers over at APC, as we head into what feels like one of the least-hyped Border Battles in quite some time. They have not posted my answers to the questions that Justis sent my way yet, but when they do, I will link to them in this piece somewhere. In the meantime, here are the questions I sent his way, along with his responses.
1) The Packers’ offense has shown the ability to put up points this season, but in their three losses they’ve put up a total of 30 points. Has there been a common thread in those games that the Vikings could potentially exploit?
You’re gonna want to play split-safety coverages. The Packers have really been forced to chip away with their less-than-average run game against these conservative defenses. Because of that, and the fact that they lost Tucker Kraft — their main YAC guy — they have had a hard time moving the football, even despite the fact that Jordan Love has played well. Drops have also absolutely killed the team over the last three games.
2) Green Bay could, potentially, be without the services of running back Josh Jacobs on Sunday, as he suffered a knee injury in the win over the Giants and is “week to week.” How much does the offense change if he’s unable to go?
If he can’t go it will be felt for sure, but they weren’t getting much out of the ground game anyway. I think NFL Pro has Jordan Love with more rushing yards before contact than Jacobs this year. They’re going to have to win through the air either way, in my opinion. The Packers did okay on the ground against the New York Giants last week, but they have a historically bad run defense. I’m basically expecting business as usual against a real NFL defense.
3) Toyotathon started this past Saturday. Is the Jordan Love/Toyotathon bump real or is this something we’re all just imagining?
It’s been real, but I don’t think it means anything. Usually, Matt LaFleur’s teams start slow. In his first year as a starter, Jordan Love didn’t really come on until around the Steelers/Chargers game, which sort of lined up well with Toyotathon. You can’t say the Packers started slow this year, as that was probably the time when they were playing their best football — before the Cleveland Browns sort of laid out the blueprint to force LaFleur into a run and checkdown spiral until third downs.
4) The addition of Micah Parsons has vaulted the Green Bay defense into the league’s elite. Are there any weak spots on that side of the ball for the Packers?
Defensive tackle isn’t bad, but it is thin. The same is true at cornerback. If Karl Brooks can’t go this week, the Packers will basically have two guys who are ready to play a good share of snaps and then rookie backups in Nazir Stackhouse (undrafted) and Warren Brinson (sixth-round pick). At cornerback, with Nate Hobbs out, the team is only one play away from having to play either Bo Melton (a receiver convert) or Kamal Hadden outside. Neither has taken a snap on defense in a regular season game in their NFL careers. If you can wear their defensive line out, you can eat at the depth pieces. It’s happened before, including against the Giants when they put up back-to-back drives of 16 and 15 plays each to start the second half.
5) The Packers are a touchdown favorite coming into this one, which isn’t that much of a surprise. How do you see this game playing out?
I’m hoping that J.J. McCarthy looks like he has the rest of the year. If that happens, it should be the Packers by multiple scores. #ExtendKwesi #IRideWithNine #Skol
Thanks to Justis for taking the time to answer our questions for this week! (Yes, even with the hashtags at the end of that last question.)
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