Vikings vs. Packers Preview: Opponent Q&A With PackerCentral
It's been over nine months since the Vikings and Packers battled at U.S. Bank Stadium in Week 16 of last year. The stakes were high then, and the stakes will still be high when these two bitter rivals take the field this Sunday to kick off the 2020 season.
Things will look a bit different this time around – and not just because there won't be any fans in the stands. Gary Kubiak is calling plays now. Vikings running backs Dalvin Cook and Alexander Mattison are ready to go after missing the game last December. And of course, both teams saw some roster turnover this offseason, even if most of the key names are the same.
To get caught up on what to expect from Green Bay this season, I got the scoop from beat writer Bill Huber of Sports Illustrated's PackerCentral.
What kind of changes – whether scheme, tendencies, etc. – do you expect in Year 2 of the Matt LaFleur era, if any?
There’s been a lot of talking about “marrying plays.” Maybe that’s something Gary Kubiak talks about, too. If not, it means having several plays that look the same but are different. For the obvious example, a back in the backfield with jet-sweep motion. The ball could go to the back on one play. It could go to the receiver on a jet sweep on the second. It could be play-action to both players and a pass on the third.
There wasn’t enough of that last year, the coaches said. So, that’s the emphasis this year – using one play to set up the next, to set up the next, to set up the next. That probably means more of an emphasis on running the ball on early downs to set up play-action passes later in the series.
Is Aaron Rodgers still...Aaron Rodgers? And how much might it benefit him and the Packers offense to play in an empty U.S. Bank Stadium?
It’s hard to root for anything during COVID but I’m guessing the Packers were thrilled with the news that the Vikings won’t host any fans to start the season. The same might be true for a trip to New Orleans in Week 3.
Is Rodgers still Rodgers? That’s the many-millions-of-dollars question. He had a really good training camp after a slow start. I asked him about that a couple weeks ago and he referenced watching some film from 2010, of all things. He saw something on that film and got rolling. Now, of course, that comes with the caveat that Danielle Hunter wasn’t in his face.
Kind of linking your first two questions, one thing that stood out to me was how decisive Rodgers looked. One knock on him has been his reliance on extending plays in hopes of creating big plays. That was a perfectly good strategy when he had star-studded receiver corps at his disposal. It doesn’t work so well when the only reliable threat is Davante Adams. This summer, though, the passing game showed a lot more rhythm than it has in years.
Barring a disaster, first-round pick Jordan Love won't play in this game. But should we expect to see much of A.J. Dillon, Josiah Deguara, or any other rookies?
Love is the No. 3 quarterback behind Rodgers and Tim Boyle. He wasn’t awful but he wasn’t great very often, either. With Rodgers and Tim Boyle in place, there was no pressure to get Love rolling like the other first-round quarterbacks, Joe Burrow, Tua Tagovailoa and Justin Herbert. He’s being built from the ground up.
Dillon was the second-round draft pick and is working behind Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams at running back. Jones and Williams are about on par with Dalvin Cook and Alexander Mattison as far as running back combos, but Dillon’s going to get some run. He’s 247 pounds with vision and speed. He’s got a chance to be really good. It’s pretty easy visualizing Dillon getting some situational action.
Deguara was the third-round pick. He’s officially a tight end but he’s going to line up here, there and everywhere. He’s the closest thing on the roster to a fullback and should get ample playing time from the get-go.
Fifth-round linebacker Kamal Martin, a Minnesota native and former Golden Gophers standout, would have been in the starting lineup but he suffered a knee injury and is on injured reserve. The Packers hope to get him back at midseason. He’s exactly as advertised from talking to Gophers defensive coordinator Joe Rossi after the draft.
Stopping Dalvin Cook is going to be important for the Packers. How have inside linebackers Christian Kirksey and Oren Burks looked in camp?
Kirksey has looked really good. He was an excellent player for Cleveland until injuries ruined his last two seasons. He looks like an upgrade over Blake Martinez, who led the NFL in tackles the past three seasons but didn’t provide a lot of impact. Kirksey has the athleticism to be more of a sideline-to-sideline defender as well as a reliable coverage guy. He’s got to stay healthy for the Packers to have any chance this season.
I couldn’t tell you about Burks, to be honest. A third-round pick in 2018, he’s barely played in his career due to training camp injuries. He got banged up early in this camp, too, which allowed Martin to zoom right past him. So, he’s kind of starting by default. This will be a make-or-break season.
Behind Davante Adams and Aaron Jones, who's the No. 3 target in the passing game? Allen Lazard? Marquez Valdes-Scantling?
Lazard is quite a story. He went undrafted in 2018 despite a superb career at Iowa State. He spent most of his rookie season on the Jaguars’ practice squad until Green Bay poached him late in the season. Lazard did everything but earn a spot on the roster at training camp last summer but was released at the end of camp. He spent a couple days on the practice squad and was promoted before Week 1. He barely played until the Packers were on the ropes in the fourth quarter of the Week 6 game against Detroit. Rodgers went to the former receivers coach, Alvis Whitted, and suggested “13” get some snaps. Lazard was a hero, the Packers won the game and Green Bay wound up with its No. 2 receiver. He’s 6-foot-5, physical and has good-enough speed. Even though he barely played to start the season, he finished second on the team in third-down catches that resulted in a first round.
Valdes-Scantling was the No. 2 receiver to start last season but got hurt and barely produced during the second half of the season. He had a good camp, though. He’s the one guy that can outrun anyone on the defense.
Alright, prediction time. Who wins?
Packers. Maybe I'm guilty of buying to the Kool-Aid. You talk to the coaches and players long enough, sometimes that happens. But I do see a more efficient Rodgers on the practice field, and that's obviously a defense that seems to have some holes. So, perhaps the timing is perfect for Green Bay to earn a second straight victory in Minneapolis.
Big thanks to Bill for answering my questions! You can follow him on Twitter @BillHuberSI.
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