The Green Bay Packers are set to take on the New Orleans Saints in the second week of the preseason. The Green and Gold look to bounce back after a 28-21 loss to the San Francisco 49ers last week — that is, if you care about wins in the preseason. In which case, seek immediate medical care.
The Packers are championship contenders this season, but with an offensive line still struggling to return to full health, big questions surrounding their receiver depth, an increasingly fraught backup quarterback situation, and a grim history on special teams. There are plenty of developments to monitor on Friday night.
Here are five things that Packers fans should look for in their second preseason game.
The Young Wide Receivers
After losing Davante Adams, everyone knew that the younger wideouts in the receiver room would have to make a group effort to replace his remarkable production. While there have been positive signs from Romeo Doubs and Christian Watson, they have still been somewhat inconsistent.
Aaron Rodgers expressed this in his recent comments to the media. “The young guys, especially young receivers, we’ve got to be way more consistent,” he said. “A lot of drops, a lot of bad route decisions, and running the wrong route. We’ve got to get better in that area.”
These comments might have come off as Rodgers berating his younger pass-catchers. However, the receiver room had a meeting the following day, and all the quarterbacks attended. Rodgers spoke extensively, giving the younger wideouts advice and trying to get them on the same page with him and the other QBs.
It will be interesting to see if this meeting yields any immediate results.
Backup Outside Linebackers
Green Bay’s outside linebacker depth became all the more important after they released Za’Darius Smith following an injury-riddled season. So far, Kobe Jones and Kingsley Enagbare have looked up to the task as the depth edge rushers.
An undrafted rookie, Jones is making a strong push to be included on the 53-man roster. He had an impressive performance in the first week of the preseason, recording five tackles, a sack, and a tackle for loss. If he continues to show sustained success, there is a chance he could end up as a surprise inclusion on the 53-man roster.
Enagbare has also impressed in the joint practices. With the OLB3 spot wide open, we might see him try to get into the mix and make his bones as a rotational edge rusher this season.
Offensive Line Depth
There is hope that both Elgton Jenkins and David Bakhtiari will be able to play in Week 1, but this is the perfect time to see the offensive line’s depth step up and prove that they can hold their own. While Aaron Rodgers can create something from nothing when on the move, he built his MVP performance last year on having a clean pocket.
Rodgers was almost unstoppable when he had a clean pocket. He had a 77.2% completion percentage and touchdown and interception rates of 7.52% and 0.23%, respectively. However, Rodgers performed substantially worse under pressure, completing only 30.3% of his throws. Players like Josh Myers, Jon Runyan, and Zach Tom need to step up for this offensive line to be able to give Rodgers the protection he needs.
Special Teams
Everyone remembers how much of a weakness the Packers’ special teams were last season. In the crushing divisional round game, the Niners won due to Green Bay’s special teams foibles. The Packers left three points on the board at the end of the half when San Francisco blocked a Mason Crosby field goal attempt. Then they let the 49ers get an easy touchdown after a punt block. The return game didn’t fare much better; it was one of the worst in the NFL.
However, things seem to be turning around after the Packers hired coordinator Rich Bisaccia in the offseason. Amari Rodgers was able to return a kick for 50 yards in the first preseason game. The Packers hope to see more of these improvements this season and have done a lot of work to ensure their special teams won’t be their downfall again.
Amari Rodgers
While Amari Rodgers could probably fit under the “young receivers” category, I chose to highlight him for a few reasons. After the Packers took him in the third round last year, expectations were that he would immediately have a positive impact in the return game. Perhaps he’d take some pressure off Davante Adams as well.
But that didn’t happen. Amari Rodgers struggled to see the field as a wide receiver, finishing the year with four catches for 45 yards. He also wasn’t great in the return game. It’s hard to blame fans who don’t expect anything from Amari Rodgers, but I see him showing out this year.
Last year in Minnesota, K.J. Osborn went from one of the worst punt returners in the NFL to a legitimate threat as a wide receiver. If there was ever a time for Amari Rodgers to make that leap, it’s now.
