Sunday Night Is Football Night at Lambeau Field

The team that takes the field Sunday night against the Bears is a team we haven’t seen since ever. The offensive skill starters hardly played in the preseason, which is no surprise because Coach Mike McCarthy does that every year since Jordy Nelson was hurt in the second preseason game three years ago and pretty much before that, but it's worse now.

The Packers are notorious slow starters at the beginning of the season and I think that is a direct cause of this practice. So come Sunday night Aaron Rodgers will be under center Corey Linsley. Justin McCray is the new right guard replacing Jahri Evans. Lane Taylor missed most of the preseason and returns at left guard. David Bakhtiari is back at left tackle and Bryan Bulaga returns at right tackle after missing the last eight games of the season on injured reserve for the third time in his 8-year career and second because of knee surgery. The first was a hip fracture.

At the skill positions Jimmy Graham replaces Richard Rodgers at tight end, Davante Adams and Randall Cobb return at wide receiver, Jamaal Williams returns at running back and there are no fullbacks for the first time since ever. Ty Montgomery will spell Williams on third down. He is an injury waiting to happen.

Back to having no fullbacks how the mighty have fallen since the Packers are known for their fullbacks Clarke Hinkle (1932-38, 40-41), Ted Fritsch (1942-49). Howie Ferguson (1953-56). Jim Taylor (1959-66), John Brockington (1971-76). Gerry Ellis (1980-86), Edgar Bennett (1993-95), William Henderson (1996-06), John KUUUUhn (2009-15), and Aaron Ripkowski (2016-2017).

Mason Crosby returns at place kicker, but rookie J.K. Scott replaces Justin Vogel, who set a record last year for net punting average (41.6), and rookie Hunter Bradley replaces Brett Goode, who had been the long snapper since 2008. Prior to Goode Rob Davis was the long snapper from 1997 to 2007.

Trevor Davis returns as the punt and kickoff returner. He was good in a statistical way, but not as a difference maker.

The starting defense played more during the preseason like normal and I was totally disappointed in the results of new Defensive Coordinator Mike Pettine. I thought the defense looked like a carbon copy of Dom Capers defense and that is NOT a good comparison.

It was beginning to look like Pettine was going to use a 3-man line and a 4-man line, but instead as the preseason rolled along he went to the Dom Capers staple 2-man line. SHIT.

Mike Daniels and Kenny Clark return at right defensive end and nose tackle. The only change there is Daniels is finally being called an end instead of the line being described as left defensive end, nose tackle and defensive tackle. Free agent Muhammad Wilkerson, a malcontent from the Jets, replaces Dean Lowry at left defensive end. I can live with that.

Clay Matthews and Nick Perry return at outside linebacker. Matthews is coming off his worse season since 2015 with 7.5 sacks. He missed two games with a groin injury and suffered (surprise) a hamstring issue later in the season. Matthews is a mere shadow of his former self. He not only doesn’t have the speed to get the passer when he did get there he missed tackles and was absent from the field at key moments when they rested him in the second half. Like I said before I would have traded him to the Raiders for Kahlil Mack. WHAT A DIFFERENCE Mack would have made.

Perry played just 12 games before being put on injured reserve with shoulder/ankle injuries. He had 7 sacks, but he has never played all 16 games since he became a starter in 2015. In fact, he’s never played 16 games missing a total of 24 games. This will be more of the same when not if Perry gets injured.

The shining star of the preseason was Reggie Gilbert, but he was rested the final the two games. So my guess is he will be spelling Matthews on passing downs and will take over for Perry, when he is hurt. That could be a plus, but Jayrone Elliott had a similar preseason a few years ago and barely saw the field once the real games began. We’ll see if Gilbert is the real deal or a preseason wonder.

Blake Martinez, who tied for the NFL lead in tackles last year returns at inside linebacker, but Jake Ryan was lost for the season with a knee injury and Joe Thomas not re-signed. Oren Burks was drafted to replace Thomas and then to replace Ryan, but, of course as it is with the Packers, he got injured and is still out. He separated his shoulder in pregame warmups during the preseason. That is not a reassuring sign.

Brian Gutekunst (and yes I just said Gutekunst only, because Ted Thompson hates inside linebackers more than he hates guards) traded for Antonio Morrison from the Colts and signed Korey Toomer after he was cut by the 49ers.  Toomer is listed as the backup for Burks, so I guess he starts, but he has only been in camp for 4 days while Morrison has been practicing for 12. The only inside linebacker backup is James Crawford, who is an undrafted free agent, but he is injured.

Let’s hope Toomer or Morrison can stop the run. I don’t think we can hope for more than that.

Ha Ha Clinton-Dix returns at free safety and he was horrible in the preseason like he was last year. I don’t know what’s wrong with him and I don’t think anyone else does either. If he isn’t back to his Pro Bowl self the defense is in big trouble.

Kentrell Brice takes over for Morgan Burnett, who was let to leave as a free agent to the Steelers where he is the starter. Brice is an undrafted free agent from last year and didn’t inspire anyone during the preseason. Josh Jones was No. 2 draft pick last year that everyone thought would be a star, but he didn’t beat out Brice. Safety is a BIG ISSUE this year.

Tramon Williams at age 35 returns and he took over for the traded No. 1 pick Damarious Randall at left corner and held off the challenge of No. 2 pick Josh Jackson and No. 1 pick Jaire Alexander. Let’s hope he holds up.

Kevin King was supposed to be the starting right corner, but he injured his other shoulder and Davon House, who was a disappointment last year when he returned, played pretty well during the preseason. King returned in the final preseason game. I’m guessing he will start, but when he played last year he was not a Defensive Player of the Year candidate by any stretch of the imagination. I will wager House ends up winning the job.

The defense was terrible during the preseason. No pass rush and the same old, same old problem of coverage down the middle. The Larry McCarren rosy scenarios that the defense will turn it on once the real games begin is a pipe dream. I think the defense will be a problem.

The offense is a work in progress. The defense is Dom Capers II and special teams are better, but not great. I will make my prediction for the game later. However I will say this, despite Mack being a Monster of the Midway, thank god for da Bears.