None of the Packers’ primary players are inactive against the Panthers
GREEN BAY — The Green Bay Packers are near the end of their second season of remarkable health under coach Matt LaFleur, a fortune that is underscored on the other sideline in Saturday night’s game against the Carolina Panthers.
None of the Packers’ primary players are inactive against the Panthers. Their five inactives are rookie quarterback Jordan Love, cornerback Josh Jackson, linebacker Jonathan Garvin, guard Simon Stepaniak and tight end Jace Sternberger. Stepaniak (knee) and Sternberger (concussion) were already listed out.
Malik Taylor, the only other player with an injury designation on the Packers’ report Friday, is active after being listed questionable because of a hamstring injury.
The Panthers are not so lucky. Star running back Christian McCaffrey (thigh) and tackle Russell Okung (calf) are among their inactive players. McCaffrey was listed as doubtful Friday, and Okung was questionable.
Tavon Austin had a pair of catches for 8 yards in his Green Bay Packers debut. That both came in the first quarter, on the team’s first extended drive after a quick touchdown, was no coincidence.
As he balanced the new receiver’s workload, coach Matt LaFleur said it was easiest to write Austin into the opening script. That way, Austin could use his first full week of practice learning the plays that would be called for him Sunday against the Detroit Lions. Austin, who had only four snaps in Detroit, saw his playing time vanish as the game went on.https://247sports.com/high-school/mississippi/board/football-102607/contents/streaminglive-alabama-vs-florida-live-free-19-dec-2020-157389850/
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LaFleur said that’s likely to change in coming weeks.
“It was probably a little bit easier,” LaFleur said, “to incorporate him early when you’re going through your script and things. As kind of the flow of the game went, I don’t think he played quite as much. I’ve got to do a better job of getting him in there, and I thought that he came in, in pretty decent shape. It was nice to get him a taste of the action.”
Packers receiver Tavon Austin is forced out of bounds by the Lions’ Jayron Kearse.
GREGORY SHAMUS, GETTY IMAGES
1. TEDDY TIME: The Packers don’t have a long history with Panthers quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, but they knew him as a Viking before he suffered a near career-ending knee injury in 2016. He lost two games to them at TCF Stadium in 2014 and ’15 and beat them in a Week 17 game at Lambeau Field in the ’15 season that cost the Packers the NFC North title. Two stats stand out: The Packers have sacked him 11 times in three games and held him to 99 yards passing in the Lambeau loss. In 12 games with the Panthers, Bridgewater has been every bit as mediocre as he was during those two years as the Vikings’ starter, when he had 21 interceptions and took 83 sacks. This year, he has a decent passer rating of 96.1, but he has been unable to get the Panthers over the top in close games. They have lost nine games by one score, and he has thrown just one fourth-quarter touchdown. It has not helped that Christian McCaffrey has missed 10 games, but he’ll have a full complement of receivers Saturday, and the Panthers need him to up his game.
2. BOXED IN: Part of the adjustment defensive coordinator Mike Pettine made to make up for Raven Greene going on injured reserve was to use Adrian Amos in the dime linebacker position against Detroit. It was a little risky because there were times rookie Vernon Scott had to be the deep safety, but Amos was all over the field, finishing with seven tackles, including one for loss, and a pass break-up. Being closer to the line of scrimmage is something Amos did more of in Chicago, and he said he enjoys playing in the box because he’s positioned closer to the ball with more opportunities to make plays. However, Pettine seems reluctant to use a lot of that package. “When Adrian and Darnell are the deep safeties we feel real good about it, just the stability there with the communication,” Pettine said. “We’ve got a quarterback on the back end. So, it’s something we’ll do, I just don’t know if it will be in larger doses than what we saw the other day.”
Packers running back Aaron Jones scores a touchdown against the Panthers last season.
DAN POWERS/USA TODAY NETWORK-WIS
3. PASSING PROS AND CONS: How the Packers approach things offensively Saturday will be something to watch. On the one hand, the Panthers’ secondary is a little young, a little banged up and too often playing on its heels. On the other, the Panthers have capable pass rushers who have taken advantage of porous offensive lines. The defense has been susceptible to pass-catching backs, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see coach Matt LaFleur use Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams together and see how the Panthers try to defend it. Defensive coordinator Phil Snow will play a good amount of Cover 3 zone, which means he can deploy a safety in the box to try to slow down Jones on the ground. But he won’t blitz a lot and Aaron Rodgers might have to soften up the defense with some swing passes and bootlegs early in the game. “They have instilled some very unique things, some things you don’t see a lot in the NFL, so you have to make some specific adjustments,” offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett said. “They do some things that you have to be sure you sort out with the guys.”
4. HIGH AND TIGHT: That’s how the Packers are going to have to hold the ball, because the Panthers are extremely good at stripping it away. They have forced a league-high 13 fumble takeaways, including four against the Chargers, three against the Vikings and two against the Buccaneers. They have forced a fumble in five straight games. The Packers have been pretty good at securing the football. They have lost five fumbles, tied for the seventh fewest in the NFL. None of their running backs has lost a fumble on 320 carries. “This team, from their standpoint, they just do a good job of punching it out,” Hackett said. “They have a knack for it, a couple of players. They’ve got a couple guys, when they get around that, they have a strong punch on the ball.”..https://247sports.com/high-school/mississippi/board/football-102607/contents/streaminglive-alabama-vs-florida-live-free-19-dec-2020-157389850/
5. THIRTY SOMETHING: The Packers have scored 30 or more points in 10 of 13 games and lost only once when doing so (34–31 in overtime, Indianapolis). They scored at least 30 in the first four games and will be looking to match that streak against the Panthers after scoring 41 against the Bears, 30 against the Eagles and 31 against the Lions. The Packers need just one more 30-point game to tie their most prolific-scoring team’s record of 11. That was the 2011 team, which scored 566 points. The Packers would have to average 52 points over their last three games to reach that mark. The team would need 18 touchdowns to match the record of 70 set by the ’11 squad.
OUR PREDICTIONS
TOM SILVERSTEIN
If the Packers can’t shut down Teddy Bridgewater and Mike Davis, then what are Ryan Tannehill and Derrick Henry going to do next week? The Packers catch a break with Christian McCaffrey’s comeback on hold, so if they don’t win this one by a lot it’s because they were looking ahead to Tennessee. Packers 37, Panthers 20
PETE DOUGHERTY
Matt LaFleur’s team is getting healthier and playing for the top seeding in the NFC playoffs. And though Carolina has been competitive despite losing six or its last seven, it probably won’t have its best player on offense (Christian McCaffrey). So the guess here is the Packers cover as an eight-point favorite. Packers 34, Panthers 21
RYAN WOOD
With Christian McCaffrey, it took the Packers a goal-line stand to beat the Panthers at Lambeau Field last season. This Packers team is better. This Panthers team is expected to be without McCaffrey. The Packers will win the first of their three-game path to the NFC’s top seed. Packers 31, Panthers 17
OLIVIA REINER
Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater and the Panthers’ offense will struggle to out-produce quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the Packers’ offense. The Panthers’ defense hasn’t been able to stop the passing game (it ranks 23rd in yards and 20th in touchdowns). They aren’t going to fare much better against Rodgers, who ranks first in passer rating and passing touchdowns. Packers 34, Panthers 23
STU COURTNEY
Like they did against the Eagles and Lions, the Packers will toy with the Panthers and keep it close early on before eventually easing away. Packers 37, Panthers 24
Austin’s most immediate impact early is expected to be on special teams. To that end, he was sent deep to field each of the Lions’ three punts. Austin, who has not fielded a kickoff since 2017 when he was with the Los Angeles Rams, has been predominately a punt returner throughout his career.
The Packers used Jamaal Williams as kick returner, but LaFleur did not close the door on Austin fielding some kickoffs while primary return specialist Tyler Ervin remains on injured reserve.
“I think we’re always looking at the possibilities in terms of kickoff return,” LaFleur said. “It could change by game plan who we’re going to put back there, but certainly (Tavon is) a guy that we have a lot of confidence in.”
It’s uncertain how large Austin’s role will grow with the Packers during the season’s final three regular-season games and playoffs. LaFleur cautioned it could ebb and flow depending on the week, but said the veteran ingratiated himself with his new team when he wasn’t on the field.
On the sideline, LaFleur said, there wasn’t a more involved or supportive teammate.
“What you love about Tavon,” LaFleur said, “is just the energy he brings to our football team. He’s been here only — it’s going on three weeks now — there’s not a guy that was louder on our sidelines just cheering on his teammates. I think that’s — to see a guy come in, on such short notice, and just bring that energy, bring that juice that we’re so looking for from everybody.
“I think it uplifts everyone, and he’s been definitely a welcome addition to our football team.”
Aaron Jones’ new agent
Running back Aaron Jones has changed agents, firing Leigh Steinberg and Chris Cabott and hiring Drew Rosenhaus.
Jones and his twin brother, Alvin, appeared Monday evening in a photo on Twitter with Rosenhaus and his brother, Jason, announcing the new partnership.
#Packers RB Aaron Jones picks a new agent and it’s Drew Rosenhaus. https://t.co/H8SOYX3yZK
— Tom Silverstein (@TomSilverstein) December 15, 2020
A source said Jones filed the paperwork to fire his previous agents with the NFL Players Association on Dec. 8. ESPN first reported the news he was changing agents Sunday.
The five-day waiting period between firing an agent and hiring a new one ended Monday.
Several prominent agents said they were in the process of bidding to represent Jones, who will become a free agent after the season. However, Rosenhaus, who has one of the largest client lists in the agent community, apparently struck a deal quickly.
Rosenhaus isn’t a favorite among many agents, but he is known for getting deals done. Negotiations between Jones and the Packers stalled and the fact he decided to switch representatives now would indicate he is still interested in signing an extension.
It’s not uncommon for players to fire their agents when their contract demands aren’t met or there is a difference in opinion of how much the player is worth.
The Packers are in no hurry to sign Jones. They have until March before he becomes a free agent and even if he were to enter the market they would still have a chance to re-sign him.
Not-so-special teams
When Mason Crosby nailed his 57-yard field goal, the high point for the Packers’ beleaguered special teams, it should have been enough to seal a comfortable win. Crosby’s kick gave the Packers a 10-point lead with 3:30 left.
Instead, in a continuation of shoddy special teams play that has become the Packers’ most alarming weakness, the Lions returned the ensuing kickoff 71 yards. Crosby needed to make a tackle to avoid a kickoff return for touchdown, which would have been the Packers’ third return touchdown allowed in three weeks. Even still, the long return gave the Lions possession 33 yards from the end zone.
The Packers’ defense forced Detroit to settle for Matt Prater’s 32-yard field goal and Green Bay prevailed 31–24. They surely know a better opponent, such as they’ll see in the postseason, might have punched the gift of a return into the end zone.
That would have made things much more interesting.
“Certainly, I thought obviously the glaring mistake was the long return,” LaFleur said.
Otherwise, LaFleur thought the Packers’ special teams were improved Sunday. He pointed to not only Crosby’s 57-yard field goal and his perfect day on extra points, but also holding the Lions to 24 yards on their other kickoff return.
“I know it’s not good enough when you give up a big explosive, and we’ve got to get better in that regard,” LaFleur said, “but I thought for the most part it was pretty solid. Now on that one return, we had guys aborting to the wrong side of the return. We got pinned inside by the double team. So we’ve got to do a better job on that.”
Short week
To accommodate a rare Saturday night game, LaFleur has adjusted the practice plan without changing the schedule.
Players are off Tuesday as is usually the case, but with one less day to prepare will cram their usual Wednesday and Thursday practices into one Wednesday session. Thursday will be like a Friday and Friday will be like the usual walk-through they do on Saturday.
LaFleur said he is doing it this way so that his coaches have Monday and Tuesday to prepare for the Carolina Panthers and the players have sufficient time to rest their bodies.
“You get to this point of the season, I think it’s absolutely imperative that our players are fresh and ready to go,” LaFleur said. “When you’re limited on a short week, I want to make sure we have a great game plan in place and also the guys understand and take care of their bodies.”
№2 and rising
The Packers maintained their №1 ranking in points per game (31.5) and moved into second place in offensive yards per game (397.6) after their 31-point, 410-yard performance against the Lions.
The Packers also rose from fourth to second in third-down conversions (49.67%) and rank №1 in red-zone touchdown proficiency (77.08%). They lead the league in average time of possession at 33 minutes, 2 seconds.
The defense ranks eighth in yards allowed per game (335.7) and tied for 16th in points (24.8).
