It always sucks losing week 1. You wait over a half a year for football to start again, that anticipation building; you just want to see a win. It always sucks, more, to lose to a rival.
I'm not to worried though. Sloppy week 1 play becoming a trend aside, I seen this game as a lot of close factors that will improve going forward. Whether it be that Watson drop to start the game, the numerous close misses on sacks, or the obvious breakdown on communication in the secondary letting JJettas dance the ballroom on us, it will all get better.
I'm not worried, yet.
Originally Posted by: RickLM
Good thread. I think people are losing sight of the fact that you want a team to be playing their best going into the post-season, not approx. 4.5 months prior to the post-season.
Quay Walker looks the part, man. Excited to see what he does as season goes on.
Christian Watson has remarkable physical attributes that show up on the field. I don't know if I've ever seen a Packers' WR get open so effortlessly like Watson did on the first snap on O. Devante Adams had some of the most crisp footwork, hips and route running around, but Watson has elite raw skills. If he can put things together, holy smokes will he be a match-up nightmare.
O-line depth. Once Jenkins and Bakh are back (assuming Bakh ever gets back and even somewhat close to his level before injury), our O-Line will be deep.
Special teams. Punter was solid, and no actual blunders. Held my breath every ST snap, but nothing bad happening is something I'll take.
Ja Island. My love for Jaire knows no bounds, and it was great seeing him back on the field full-go; I think he pretty much shut down his man (mostly Thielen) this game. Hearing reporters state Jaire told them he was begging coaches for the Jefferson match-up all week makes me so happy. Hopefully our defensive coaches can find more ways to take advantage of Ja's generational talent in shutting his side of the field down other than simply having him guard rubs / clear out routes.
I'm optimistic that our offense will work out the issues it has. It clearly can't rely on passing its way out of trouble; Lazard being back will help, Tonyan getting more targets will help, getting Aaron Jones more touches will help, and I have to think Watson and Doubs will improve through the season and build some rapport with Rodgers. I'm still choosing to be optimistic that even though it'll take time and almost certainly go against 12's instinct to sling it, he'll settle into a rhythm with what we have and find a way to make it work decently. Aaron Rodgers's is going to need a couple of months to get into a groove with what the players he has can do, but we did see flashes of some strengths this offense personnel is capable of despite the overall bad performance. Somewhat encouraging considering the pre-season was pretty much the Jordan Love dance.
The NFL: Where Greg Jennings Happens.