The Final Countdown to Kickoff: Rodgers vs. Zimmer
GREEN BAY, Wis. – Early in his career, Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers vs. Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher was the top individual matchup in the NFC North.
Late in his career, the division’s top battle has been between Rodgers and Minnesota Vikings coach Mike Zimmer.
Two of the greats will go at it for the 13th time on Sunday at Lambeau Field. Rodgers won the first three matchups. Zimmer then turned the tide, going 4-1-1. Rodgers has won the last three. In all, Rodgers has a 7-4-1 record against the Zimmer-coached Vikings with 21 touchdowns, three interceptions and a 99.7 passer rating.
As is the case with Rodgers and Urlacher, Rodgers and Zimmer is a rivalry rooted in respect. Before last year’s Week 16 game in Minneapolis, Zimmer asked reporters to tell Rodgers to retire.
“Anytime you play a Mike Zimmer team, you’ve got to be ready for everything,” Rodgers said on Wednesday. “He’s a phenomenal coach. I was telling a friend of mine, to see him mentioned being on the hot seat, to me, is absolutely crazy. I think he’s one of the best coaches in the league and has been for a long time. They don’t all give you the trouble and scheme that Mike does. I have a lot of respect for the way he coaches and the way he especially coaches the defense.”
Even when Rodgers wasn’t performing to his usual standards the past couple seasons, Zimmer spoke glowingly of Rodgers in conference call after conference call.
Started by a Week 1 masterpiece at Minnesota, Rodgers is rolling again. He enters Sunday ranked second in the NFL with a 113.4 passer rating and a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 17 to two to highlight the Packers’ 5-1 start.
During Wednesday’s call, Zimmer started talking about the Packers’ running backs before veering off to rave about Rodgers.
“I don’t want to disrespect any other quarterbacks, but this guy’s the best in the business in my opinion,” Zimmer said. “I watch him every day. The things he can do with his legs, the way he manipulates a defense with his checks and, obviously, the arm talent is unbelievable. But he does so many things mentally that affect the defense to get them to where he wants them to get to that this guy is amazing. He’s got to be extremely intelligent, too. He has to be.”
Zimmer will have to bring a brilliant game plan for Sunday’s game. Last season, Danielle Hunter had 14.5 sacks. Acquired in a preseason trade, Yannick Ngakoue had five sacks in the first six games. They were supposed to be Zimmer’s bookend pass rushers. Neither will be on the field on Sunday, though. Hunter had surgery earlier in the week and will miss the rest of the season and Ngakoue was traded to Baltimore.
The new edge-rushing tandem of Ifeadi Odenigbo (9.5 sacks in three-plus seasons, including 2.5 this year) and Jalyn Holmes (one sack in two-plus seasons, with zero this season) has 10.5 career sacks.
Presumably, Zimmer will dive deep into his renowned blitz package in an attempt to help his young and undermanned cornerback corps.
“It’s funny, every week we go in and we think that we know what we’re going to see, and it really does change quite a bit,” offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett said. “I think everybody when they go into (playing us), it really starts with Aaron and how they want to confuse him. So, I think coming off of a bye, they’re going to have a unique plan to try and confuse him, and do some unique things. They’re going to try to generate pressure one way or another, whether it’s a four-man rush or with the unique things that they can do. I think we’ve just got to be ready to adjust and see a little bit of everything.”
St. Patrick
When Matt LaFleur arrived as coach and built his offense around a zone-oriented rushing attack that required athletic blockers, Lucas Patrick seemed to be ill-cast for a role. Instead, Patrick not only earned a roster spot last year but earned a contract extension at the end of the year.
When starting right guard Lane Taylor suffered a season-ending injury in the opener, the door was open for Patrick to become a full-time starter for the first time since entering the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2016. Always a tough son of a gun in the running game, he hasn’t allowed a sack or quarterback hit in pass protection, according to Pro Football Focus.
“I think because he’s got such a good head on his shoulders and good support system off the field, he’s been able to really focus on his on-the-field stuff,” Rodgers said. “He got married last year, he’s grown up, obviously getting older in the league. It’s fun to see him develop as a super-reliable guy. He was always a guy you felt pretty good about plugging in there. You knew the effort was always going to be there. You knew the finish was going to be there. He’s played all three positions for us on the interior line, was really excited to see him get that contract. Now, I think he’s probably underpaid.”
Movin’ On Up
The Vikings used the 22nd pick of the draft on LSU’s Justin Jefferson, making him the fifth of six receivers off the board in the first round before the Packers were on the clock.
Jefferson had a monster final season with the star-studded Tigers, but he’s shown his production wasn’t based solely on having Joe Burrow throwing the football. Among the rookies, he’s third with 28 receptions, first (by 100 yards) with 537 receiving yards and second with three receiving touchdowns. In his last four games, he’s topped 100 yards three times, with games of 166 and 165 yards on his way to a league-high 467 yards.
With Kevin King out for the Packers, there’s going to be a real dilemma on how they handle the receiver combo of Adam Thielen and Jefferson.
“First of all, he’s a great kid, he loves football,” Zimmer said. “He’s got excellent speed, he’s got good releases on his routes. The thing that kind of, for me, sets him apart is he’ll go up and catch the ball in traffic and contested catches. He’s really, really good at adjusting to the ball and making catches. He’s got great hands.”
Jefferson’s 537 yards are the most in Vikings history through six career games, ahead of Randy Moss’ 527 from 1998. If he stays on this pace, he’d not only break Moss's team rookie record of 1,313 yards, but Anquan Boldin's NFL rookie record of 1,377.
The Packers figure to match star cornerback Jaire Alexander against Jefferson. According to PFF, Alexander has allowed a total of 37 receiving yards the last four games.
“I’m good enough to go against these type of guys in the league,” Jefferson told reporters this week. “I’m well capable of making those big plays and really just going out there and play my own game. Just do what I’ve been doing, playing with confidence and playing with that swagger.”
Speaking of Rookies
The Packers used their second-round pick on running back AJ Dillon. Not surprisingly considering he joined a team with the established duo of Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams leading the way, Dillon has made almost zero impact.
The sixth back off the board in April, Dillon is 12th among all rookie rushers with 76 rushing yards. Antonio Gibson, who Washington selected four picks after Dillon, is third with 371 rushing yards and fourth with 518 scrimmage yards.
With Jones out for a second consecutive week, Dillon will get his chance again. LaFleur said Dillon did a “great job” last week against Houston, when he carried five times for 11 yards. Then, LaFleur offered a bit more honest assessment. At 245 pounds, Dillon needs to cut it loose. He’s been too hesitant and too careful with his two-hands-on-the-ball style to display any real power.
“I’m excited to watch him to continue to grow and progress,” LaFleur said. “I thought there were times where he was probably running to be a little too perfect where you just don’t cut it loose. We told him that we just want him to trust what he sees. Run aggressive. Press the O-line blocks and then when you make your decision; there is no indecision. Just be decisive and when you decide to cut, you go full speed and you accelerate through the hole. And if there is no hole, you’re a pretty big guy, make a hole.”
The depth chart, to be sure, has held back Dillon. So did the lack of a preseason. Dillon is trying to find his way but hasn’t had the opportunities to get pointed the right direction. In six professional games, Dillon has 18 carries. In 35 career games at Boston College, Dillon had 18-plus carries 26 times. He matched his career high with five carries last week. He had more carries than that in all but his collegiate debut.
“There’s definitely something to be said, I feel in every position, about getting into a rhythm, getting into a flow, kind of getting into that sweet spot,” Dillon said on Friday. “But whether it’s two carries, 20 carries, I’m going to approach each one the same. But in history’s past, yeah, that was kind of what my workload was like at Boston College.”
Windy Weather
The forecast has been steady all week. When the game kicks off, it will be about 35 degrees with northwest winds at 24 mph and occasionally gusting to more than 40.
The wind will play havoc with throwing the ball on offense and practically everything on special teams. Special-teams coordinator Shawn Mennenga detailed the challenges for snapper Hunter Bradley and punter JK Scott.
“If you’re snapping, do you have a strong side wind, is it going to blow the ball left or right? For Hunter, if he’s snapping the ball with the wind, it could sail on him a little bit. If JK’s dropping it into the wind, does it drop the nose down or does it blow it? Now Hunter’s snapping it into the wind, does it cause the ball to sail or dip? So, there’s factors for the snapper, the punter and even the returners catching the ball and trying to figure out if the thing gets up a certain way it causes the ball to dive. It’s a factor for everybody and it’s a big challenge.”
Stats That Aren’t for Losers
1. Even with the abysmal performance at Tampa Bay in Week 6, the Packers are the only team in NFL history with 180-plus points and two-or-fewer giveaways through six games. Green Bay has 197 points and two giveaways to start the season.
2. The Packers are 8-0 in division games under LaFleur. The team’s eight-game division streak is its second-longest since the NFL went to a divisional format in 1967. The Packers won 12 straight spanning the 2010 and 2012 seasons.
3. Davante Adams has destroyed the Vikings. Check out these last three games: seven catches for 106 yards in Week 2 of last season, 13 catches for 116 yards in Week 15 of last season and 14 catches for 156 yards and two touchdowns in Week 1 of this season.
Thielen has dominated at Lambeau Field, though. In 2016, he had 12 catches for 202 yards and two touchdowns. In 2018, he had 12 catches for 131 yards and one touchdown.
Who will guard them? The Packers will be down standout cornerback Kevin King for a third consecutive game. The Vikings will be without Mike Hughes and Holton Hill, though Cameron Dantzler was activated from the COVID-19 list.
4. Minnesota’s defense is terrible. It ranks 28th with 413.7 yards allowed per game. However, it’s tough where it matters. The Vikings are third on third down with a move-the-chains rate of 33.8 percent, sixth in the red zone with a 52.2 percent touchdown rate and an even tougher second in goal-to-go situations at 57.1 percent.
The Last Word Goes To …
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers
“My focus in general the last few months of my life is to enjoy things and to have an even more joyful attitude of gratitude for the position I’m in, the opportunities that I’ve been given, the opportunities in front of me with my teammates, still able to be the quarterback of the Green Bay Packers. It is strange not having fans at Lambeau, and I understand why, but it’s just such a special experience. So, to have fans the last couple of weeks, especially to win in Houston and get that ovation, that brings up so many memories.
“I was flashing through my mind walking off of Lambeau and how special those moments are as the fans would wait for, kind of hold the ovation as I’m doing some sort of postgame interview on the field and am one of the last people off the field, there’s no feeling like that. There really isn’t. To walk off that field with those fans cheering, I’m not taking those for granted because you never know when that time’s going to be up. I’ve talked about it enough, I don’t need to keep going into it, but I’m very thankful for moments like that and I don’t take them for granted and I hope there’s many more.”
