Cheese Curds, 8/11: The Packers’ preseason opener has arrived

Tonight officially marks the beginning of the Green Bay Packers’ 2023 preseason. The team will kick off the first of three exhibition games at 7:00 Eastern Time as they face the Cincinnati Bengals.

In tonight’s game, Jordan Love should see some playing time, but his job is secure and those snaps will be worth watching just to see how comfortable he looks. Instead, the rest of the game might not be pretty, but it will be meaningful for the enormous number of rookies and young players fighting for roster spots and for positioning on the team’s depth chart.

In today’s curds, we find almost everyone discussing which players they will be watching in tonight’s game. These lists run the gamut from Love to an undrafted rookie punter, with only the team’s veteran starters generally absent from discussion. Still, there should be no shortage of intrigue in this first preseason game, so let’s dig in.

3 things to watch in Green Bay Packers preseason opener vs. the Bengals | Packersnews.com
Zach Tom's workload -- and where he plays more, at tackle or at center -- will be an interesting storyline.

Cincinnati kids grateful for unique Packers debuts | Packers.com
Both Sean Clifford and Carrington Valentine grew up in Cincinnati, with Clifford going on to play at Penn State and Valentine going a few hours away to Kentucky. Tonight, they will start their pro careers in their hometown.

8 roster bubble players to watch during Packers’ preseason opener vs. Bengals | Packers Wire
I'll be watching to see if Jonathan Ford shows any signs of a step forward this season, and I'm also curious to see what Anthony Johnson shows when he likely gets a lot of snaps in the second half.

Ten Packers to watch in preseason opener vs. Bengals: Jordan Love and who else? - The Athletic ($)
Sure, Love's playing time will be interesting to watch, but don't forget to focus on whichever running back ends up as the "featured" back tonight as well.

Trevor Siemian, Who Replaced Peyton Manning, Has Been in Jordan Love’s Shoes - Sports Illustrated
To some extent this is true - Siemian replaced a future Hall of Famer and Love is trying to do the same. But their circumstances are very different! Manning retired and Siemian was a 7th-round pick, while the Packers actively made the decision to trade Rodgers and move on to Love.

A Finnish man places 26.5 pounds of dynamite in a friend's vehicles and claims it was a joke | AP News
The Finns have a very interesting sense of humor.