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“But they haven’t played anyone!”
The few remaining detractors of the Green Bay Packers and particularly their offense staked their claim to the above declaration and said we’d know more about the Packers after Sunday night’s game against the New Orleans Saints.
Well, it’s now Tuesday and we do indeed know more about the Green Bay offense and the team as overall.
They’re legitimately good.
Aaron Rodgers and Matt LaFleur outdueled Drew Brees and Sean Payton and have served notice to the rest of the league their high performing offense is real and it’s beautiful.
The offense is humming and everyone (including many of us here at APC) who was concerned about the Packers not drafting a wide receiver are promptly being shushed by the quarterback and coach.
Rodgers appears to be back in good form and has struck a synergy with LaFleur. He’s throwing in rhythm again and has proven to be deadly in playaction (13-17 for 160 yards against the Saints), a staple of LaFleur’s system.
The only downside to the team’s 3-0 start is the questionable performance of the defense, most notably the pathetic tackling attempts on a long Alvin Kamara touchdown on Sunday.
Mike Pettine was on the hot seat to end last season and continued winning may distract some people from the possibility of making a change, but there is far too much capital invested on defense for there to be a regression now. It’s something to watch as the season progresses for sure.
There’s more on the aftermath of the Packers’ win on Sunday night in today’s curds.
Packers fans believed but beating the Saints in their building serves notice to the rest of the league that Rodgers is back in business and the Packers need to be taken seriously as a Super Bowl contender.
Aaron Rodgers Is Officially Back and It Makes the Packers NFC’s Scariest Team—Bleacher Report
It would appear the reports of Rodgers’ decline have been greatly exaggerated. Rodgers has been more accurate and more mechanically sound than he has in years.
LaFleur on Packers’ tackling: ‘We need to see improvement’—Packers.com
The missed tackles on the Kamara catch and run has to be one of the most embarrassing performances by a Packers defense in years and knowing their shaky track record, that’s really saying something.
Packers counted at least 13 missed tackles vs. Saints—Packers Wire
After rewatching the game, put me down for siding with “at least” on this one.
Man breaks Guinness record with 24 Nerf dart hits in 1 minute—UPI
A man of accuracy. Possibly related to Rodgers?