Cheese Curds, 10/4: Defending the run, attacking Dallas’ D, and Packers’ toughness

It’s Friday, and this week that means that we’re almost to the Green Bay Packers’ next game rather than coming down off of it. Two of the first four games this season have been on Thursday nights, so it will be nice to finally get into a rhythm of mostly Sunday games from here on out (with one Monday Night Football game coming up in a couple weeks).

This week, the upcoming matchup is guaranteed to draw great ratings on a national broadcast on Sunday afternoon. The Packers are headed to Dallas to play the Cowboys, a team that struggled offensively in their first test against an actual good team this season.

But while the Saints helped lay out a blueprint for slowing down Dallas’ offensive attack, following that plan is easier said than done. As one would expect, stopping the run should be important, given the Cowboys’ second-place rating in rushing DVOA. But they also sit in second place in passing DVOA, so the Packers will need to have a balanced defensive approach.

Meanwhile, the team saw a couple of key offensive contributors deal with injuries last week, and both are trying to work their way back on the field for Sunday’s game. If they cannot, Matt LaFleur will need to craft a creative offensive attack to keep the improving Dallas defense from shutting down Aaron Rodgers and company.

Aaron Rodgers praises toughness of his veteran teammates | Packers.com
Bryan Bulaga playing on Sunday would be less surprising than if Davante Adams were able to suit up, but their quarterback was effusive in his praise of both this week. Bulaga has been practicing this week (albeit on a limited basis) and will be sorely needed against the Cowboys' pass rushing tandem of DeMarcus Lawrence and Robert Quinn.

'You can’t walk, you can't run' on turf toe, but maybe Davante Adams can adjust - ESPN
Even if Adams sits out this week, he's going to need to change up his game a little bit when he does return. His explosiveness in his cuts and breaks probably will not come back immediately, so he may have to focus a bit more on different areas to be productive.

Green Bay Packers: Defense turns to rookie Kingsley Keke for help stuffing the run | Packersnews.com
The book on Keke coming out was that he was going to be an interior pass-rusher early in his career, but he played the run well in the preseason. He barely got on the field last week against Philly, however, even when the team probably could have given him a heavier workload, but expect to see his snap counts increase in the coming weeks.

Za'Darius Smith, Packers defense look to stop Zeke Elliott | WBAY
Meanwhile, the team's defensive captain acknowledges that the team's gap discipline was not where it needed to be last Thursday, and that it starts with him and Preston Smith. "We felt like a lot of guys were out of their gaps, me myself included," Za'Darius said. That accountability is probably one of the big reasons he earned the captain's patch in his first year.

Examining how Matt LaFleur and the Titans attacked the Cowboys in 2018 | Packers Wire
One of LaFleur's best games as a playcaller last year came against the Cowboys, when the Titans won 28-14 in Texas. He got a great game from Marcus Mariota, but LaFleur called some great plays in the red zone and got the ball to his running backs in the passing game.

North Carolina mother accused of trading her toddler for a car | NBC News
The headline on its own is bad enough, but it gets worse when you see what car she got in the deal: a 1992 Plymouth Laser.