To tell you the truth, I didn’t sense a whole lot of excitement this week in the Packers locker room as they get ready to take on the 3-9 Washington Redskins at Lambeau Field Sunday.
Players were certainly fired up to see their Cleats for a Cause shoes they’ll be wearing but for a team that has alternated wins with losses for the past five weeks and has a playoff berth within reach, I got the sense they feel this is a ho-hum game they should bank and move on to round two of the division rivalries that will finish the schedule.
Careful fellas. That uninspired trip to Los Angeles didn’t turn out so well.
Yes, Washington is a bit of a mess. Owner Daniel Snyder had enough of Jay Gruden after an 0-5 start to fire the coach and Redskin fans seem to have had enough of Snyder by staying away in droves at the last two FedEx Field home games. Interim coach Bill Callahan has gotten the team to play harder, winning 3 of his 7 games including the last two over Detroit at home and Carolina on the road where they were much more physical than the Panthers. This will be the last game they play against a team with a winning record finishing in the moribund NFC East where they incredibly haven’t even been eliminated from playoff consideration.
Just about every statistical category favors Green Bay as Washington ranks dead last in total offense (262.4 yards per game), scoring offense (14.4 points per game) and is playing an overmatched rookie quarterback in Dwayne Haskins (58.5 passer rating).
When the Packers have the ball.
Aaron Rodgers admitted he felt he had to get hot down the stretch and he certainly warmed up in New York last week with four touchdown passes but that warmth has to radiate to playmakers beyond Davante Adams and Allen Lazard. Aaron Jones needs to push toward 20 touches while Marquez Valdes-Scantling would settle for just a couple. Since his 74 yard touchdown catch and run against Oakland in October, MVS has all of two receptions on 10 targets for 11 yards. A confounding mystery. The Packers lackluster third down conversion rate of 35.5% could become problematic because Washington defensive coordinator Greg Manusky brings pressure from just about everywhere. His unit has piled up a respectable 36 sacks from an even more impressive 17 different players. That rush has helped the secondary pick off an NFC leading 13 passes. A solid run game against the 27th ranked rush defense will allow Rodgers to utilize play action, keep the down and distance favorable and find winnable matchups. Just hitting their per game scoring average of 24 points ought to be enough.
When the Redskins have the ball.
Even though Saquon Barkley got his yards against the Green Bay defense last week, there was improved gap play and finish from the run defense. That will be required as the Redskins want to repeat what they did in Charlotte where ageless Adrian Peterson piled up 99 yards and last year’s second round pick Derrius Guice finally got loose for 129 yards, both combining for three touchdowns. If Washington can shorten the game by controlling the clock on the ground, it will ramp up the pressure for the offense to do more with less time. Neutralizing the running game will put the ball in the hands of Haskins and he’s had difficulty managing a pro offense. He completes just 54% of his passes and he’s been sacked 22 times since taking over the starting role. The Green Bay secondary should be able to control the Washington perimeter led by third round pick Terry McLaurin who is among the rookie leaders in receptions (42) and yards (646) and nearly half (5 of 11) receiving TD’s. Chris Thompson is still a big receiving threat out of the backfield who could be a wild card. Washington just hasn’t been able to move the ball consistently, converting an anemic 26.5 percent of third down plays and having the worst time of possession differential in the league.
Special Teams will try another.
Tyler Ervin, it’s your turn. The newly signed running back/return man will get his shot Sunday. The Packers claimed him off waivers from Jacksonville and Matt LaFleur says he’ll get opportunities with both kickoff and punt returns. The Pack’s punt return numbers are historically bad, 9 returns for -8 yards on the season. The longest punt return has gained but three yards. The NFL record for the fewest yards accumulated on punt returns is 27 by the 1965 St. Louis Cardinals. Ervin needs to pick up 36 over the final month or Green Bay will have the dubious distinction of holding the league record for the most punt return yardage in a season (875 in 1996) and the least.
Odds and ends
Welcome back Josh Sitton. Sitton and the Packers announced this week that he’ll officially retire as a Green Bay Packer. The former 4th round pick played 8 of his 11 seasons with Green Bay, being named to three All-Pro teams. He finished his career with two seasons in Chicago and one in Miami. Sitton, and his former linemate T.J. Lang will be in attendance this weekend.
A victory Sunday will give LaFleur the team record for most victories by a rookie head coach. Mike Holmgren and Mike Sherman both went 9-7 in their first year but failed to make the playoffs. LaFleur will have that next on his to do list.
The Packers will need to do more than go through the motions to secure that 10th victory but outside a rash of turnovers or catstrophic injuries to one of the healthiest teams in league for December, I don’t see it happening. Despite the casual air around Lambeau, I like the Pack at home 30-16.
