Green Bay Packers

Week 1 Could Get Weird

Photo Credit: Samantha Madar (Green Bay Press Gazette-USA TODAY NETWORK)

Green Bay Packers football returns this Sunday. Rejoice! Also, I guess other teams play too.

After a long off-season where Aaron Rodgers‘ status was up in the air (again), the team lost Davante Adams (have you heard?!), and special teams is (hopefully) undergoing a cultural Renaissance, we’ll finally have an on-field product to analyze.

And that product could look very strange this Sunday. It’s always a wild time when the Packers take on the league’s favorite replicant, Kirk Cousins, but Sunday’s game could be a doozy. Minnesota has a new coaching staff, and the Packers’ offense is looking for a new identity. There is uncertainty surrounding Green Bay’s starting tackles and a potential Allen Lazard injury.

Mike Zimmer is gone, and Kevin O’Connell is in. Somehow, the Vikings thought hiring a former Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator as head coach and pairing him with Mike Pettine, a former defensive-minded former head coach, was a recipe for success. Also, they have a Fangio-tree defensive coordinator in Ed Donatell, too. (Where do they get these ideas?)

That means the Packers will take on a Minnesota squad still putting things together. Still, the core ideas are familiar to Green Bay’s staff. But in terms of personnel, both teams have different strengths. The Vikings have a powerful receiving corps and a defense that could go either way. The Packers have an ascending defense and one of the best running back duos in the league, but their receiving corps is unproven.

Our Wendell Ferreira suggests that the Packers could rely heavily on the run game to exploit Minnesota’s defense and provide a taste of what life without Adams could look like. “The Vikings have uncertainties at cornerback and are adjusting to a new scheme,” he writes. “If the Packers can use 11 personnel and open the opponent’s defense, they will frequently see light boxes. Therefore, they’ll be able to put Jones in open spaces or scheme runs in which Dillon could face safeties rotating into the box.”

The Packers will never be a run-first team with Aaron Rodgers under center but expect the backfield to be more involved this season as the offense adjusts. LaFleur’s system is heavily based on the run game. We’ll see that more frequently without Adams.

Of course, despite having Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon, the Packers weren’t great at running the ball last season, thanks to a constantly shifting offensive live. Even at the start of the season, the Week 1 starting line looked much different than it did at the end of 2020. By the end of 2021, keeping a functioning line up and running was a master class in depth and scheme.

Entering Week 1 this season, that line is still in flux. We saw multiple formations in OTAs, training camp, and preseason as the Packers tried to see what works. Green Bay never had their best five together, thanks to David Bakhtiari and Elgton Jenkins rehabbing from ACL injuries. Most of the shifting was trying to find optimal lineups with both tackles, with one or the other, or without both since any scenario is possible.

On whether No. 69 or No. 74 would participate in team drills on Monday, Matt LaFleur said, “We’ll see when we get out there. That’s the best answer I can give you.” LaFleur isn’t making any promises he can’t keep, but he definitely enjoys being coy. He also doesn’t have to provide an injury report until Wednesday.

Trying to gauge the status of both players has been a fool’s errand all off-season. It made sense to expect Bakhtiari to return first while Jenkins would start on the PUP, but then Jenkins started practicing first. Now, Jenkins’ status is less certain for Week 1.

For the record, Bakhtiari participated in team drills on Monday. Following practice, he told ESPN’s Rob Demovsky he could realistically start against the Vikings.

“Yeah, I mean, I’m on the active [roster] just like anyone else,” Bakhtiari said.

So with the season opener just days away, it’s still anyone’s guess who could start on the offensive line.

You know what else is a fun unknown: Who will be the primary receivers against the Vikings? With Adams and Marquez Valdes-Scantling gone, Lazard looks like the clear WR1. But Lazard was the lone nonparticipant during Monday’s practice.

The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman reported Lazard looked alright doing running rehab, but we don’t know what he injured or how severe it is because Matt LaFleur won’t tell us. So I have to speculate like a stupid baby.

We don’t know the severity of any potential injury, or if there’s a chance Lazard could miss Week 1. But seeing your presumptive WR1 dinged up is less than ideal.

So who will be the leading receiver’s against Minnesota? Sammy Watkins and Randall Cobb should get the nod as veterans. Should Lazard miss the game, we could see an early dose of off-season hero Romeo Doubs. And LaFleur was hopeful Christian Watson would make his debut Sunday. If Lazard doesn’t play, just spin the wheel to see who Rodgers’ favorite target will be. My money is on Aaron Jones.

Things generally get weird when the Packers and Vikings play, and most Vikings games are weird in general. Both teams are finding new identities, even if Minnesota’s is just Bizzaro Green Bay. The Packers’ depth on the offensive line and at wide receiver is full of question marks. It should be a treat to watch as these rivals attempt to figure things out at the other’s expense.

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