It's finally time to set our eyes on a pivotal match up with Detroit in week one, and all that's left is for the Packers to set the final roster. That'll come on Tuesday, and there will be plenty of discussion on the topic between now and then.
Meanwhile, the Packers finally did what they were supposed to do: controlled the game from start to finish against a lesser opponent. The offensive and defensive line showed off a greatly improved discipline (maybe after getting it all out of their system during joint practice) featuring fewer penalties.
Matthew "WR1" Golden
There's a part of me that feels bad for national level football writers. With 32 teams, thousands of players, and tens of magnitudes beyond that of moving parts surrounding the entire league, there's just no way that any one person could possibly keep close enough tabs on every single team. I understand why they sometimes need to use surface level, elementary understanding of teams in order to do their job.
But I will not miss the discourse surrounding Green Bay's lack of a WR1, especially from those talking heads. Matthew Golden is here, his time is now, and he is WR1.
Even looking back last year at the optimism surrounding the Packers young receiver corp, when we were all convinced this group would take a step together and become a dominating force in the league. None of those players had the individual hype that Golden has. No one had the pure talent that Golden possess, the combination of speed and hands that make defensive coordinators sweat at night. This preseason he's shown off everything else, from body control to release at the line of scrimmage.
Depth is beginning to show up
Every contending team in the NFL needs a "superpower". Something to hang their hat on, something that they know, if nothing else goes right, this thing always will. The Eagles controlled the line of scrimmage on every play. The Chiefs have Patrick Mahomes. The Lions have a tough, competitive culture that never lets out. The Packers have their depth.
This is, in my opinion, the deepest team in the league, and it finally showed it on Saturday night. Yes, yes, the Packers played their starters against a lineup of what mostly consisted of Seattle's third stringers. I'm not talking about that part. When the starters, and even the second stringers were finally inserted into the game, they made their presence known in a big way, especially on defense. Green Bay forced their way into the backfield all night long, and we saw the fruits of Jeff Hafley's "see ball, get ball" mentality that the defense has been preaching all training camp, to the tune of three takeaways. Kamal Hadden and Kalen King bounced back from poor showings in Indy in a big way, as did Donovan Jennings and even Isiah Simmons. Those are roster bubble players! Hell, there's a world where none of them are on the 53 man roster come Tuesday, but here they are showing out.
Ty'ron Hopper
What a turnaround the fan base has done on Hopper, even from a few months ago. He's gone from a certified bust, a waste of a third round pick, and worse, to a fan favorite who continues to earn trust from the coaching staff. While the selection was certainly... head scratching at the time, it was never hard to see exactly what drew the Packers to him, especially in a era where linebackers are hard to find. His 7.42 RAS put him in a unique position to develop over time, and he's done just that.
He's been a one man wrecking crew over the last three weeks, and there should be nothing stopping him from proving himself even further on the field when the games actually count. I think we are in for a heavy rotation of Hopper with McDuffie when opportunities for 3 linebacker sets present themselves.
The battle for QB3, or how I learned to stop worrying and love the bombs
Look, if there was a game today and the Packers were down to playing Sean Clifford or Taylor Elgersma, we'd be f**cked. NFL teams might not want to practice f**cked, but GM Brian Gutekunst certainly needs to think about how the team would need to operate. The Packers are in a uniquely blessed position, in that if QB1 goes down we can get wins with QB2. So where does that leave QB3?
This conversation is sure to dominate the Packers-sphere over the next couple of days, and the discussion of Clifford vs Elgersma could be viewed as a fundamental examination of what exactly the practice squad is for. Is it a place to store your last ditch, break in case of emergency option, or is it a place to develop players? While the answer is unequivocally both, surely a team with Green Bay's championship aspirations should lean more towards the present instead of the future. I recently predicted that Clifford emerge as the Packers' practice squad quarterback, as the safer option, though I'm less convinced of that now. What I am convinced of it that I don't want either of those quarterbacks seeing the field at all, until next year's preseason.
More OL injuries?
While there are no new reported injuries from the Seattle game ("as of yet!" I yell to the universe, knocking on all the wood I can find) it's certainly okay to feel a little nervous about the status of the offensive line. Jacob Monk was added to the injury list on the 18th with a hamstring issue, while Elgton Jenkins did not play on Saturday after not finishing practice on Thursday (although it could maybe be explained by the extra cirricular activities he took part in). The assumed OL lineup for week one was always Walker-Banks-Jenkins-Rhyan-Tom, there could be some lingering issues. Specifically, the back injury of Aaron Banks is lingering much too close to week one for my taste, and I wonder if we see Jordan Morgan start the season there.
Uncertainty at returner?
Like many, I was hoping that the addition of Mecole Hardman could put an end to the seemingly eternal search for some stability at punt returner, but its a question as to whether the Packers will keep Hardman on the roster at all. So where does the team go from there? Will Shepard took two punt returns on Saturday night, but he's even less liekly to make the team. The team could once again hand off those duties to Jayden Reed, but between his injury and the team's apparent eagerness to put a new body in that slot, they might choose to instead use a new option. Kickoff return is in a similar place, considering Keisean Nixon hasn't attempted returns this preseason either. That duty has fallen mostly to Isreal Abandikanda, who also could find himself on the outside looking in. Between him and Hardman, there's jsut no one else who has taken those roles in the actual preseason games. There's of course a steady rotation at punt and kick returner in practice, but hardman and Abandikanda were the ones who won those jobs out of practice.
Now, it's possible these facts should instead be pointing us in a different direction: Hardman and Abandikanda could make the team, based on their roles. We'll have to wait until Tuesday to find out.
-- There's sometimes a bit of gamesmanship in these final preseason games, when it comes to assigning snap counts. Sure, you want to give your guys the opportunity to prove themselves, but the catch is what if they prove themself too much? Giving other NFL teams more film to evaluate on players you might consider to be priority options for the practice squad, might just be giving them more reason to take those players from you in the first place. An example of this might be Isreal Abandikanda only getting six carries against the Seahawks, or Cornelius Johnson's two targets. Food for thought.
-- Early in the preseason, Matt Lafluer revealed his team's strategy of playing starters more during these games was based on a nugget of data, that indicated the ramp-up period before the regular season was proven to actually prevent more injuries. We'll have to wait and see if that proves to be true, but I still was, and am, in favor of playing starters more. I loved the idea of playing them in week one, having a "bye" in week two for them, before doing it again in weeks 3 and 4. You've got two mini byes to utilize, with this method. Of course, the injury bug still hit the team hard, including new injuries to Jacob Monk (and possibly Elgton Jenkins?) just this week.
-- This is it! The next time we see the Packers suited up, it'll be for real, with the chance to put the ghosts of last season behind them immediately. A win against the Lions in week one would help prove the fluky nature of 2024, both around the team's losing record against the NFC North and the contenders of the NFC. A loss, while not immediately devastating to Green Bay's super bowl aspirations, could be a blow to the team's morale. No matter how much players like to say they ignore national narratives, you know every Packer is aware of the monkey they need to get off their back. It could be the perfect moment to hand the Lions their first L in this matchup since 2023: the loss of both coordinators, the upheaval in the Lions offensive line, and the home environment. Now, all the Packers have to do is pounce on their opportunity.