Seahawks at Packers: Know thy enemy

The Seattle Seahawks travel to Lambeau Field to take on a familiar foe. Seattle played the Green Bay Packers twice last season, and won both meetings. It is a new year though, and both teams now look different than they did last season.

To help us prepare for what is a very big game for the Seahawks, I’ve brought in Josh McPeak from Lombardi Ave to answer a few questions.

Every time these two teams have met in the last few years, the Packers seem to find new and creative ways to lose. Is there any concern that the Packers will have a tough time putting those losses behind them mentally? (and end up making more mistakes by trying too hard, that sort of thing)

Honestly, I don’t think it will play a role at all. Aaron Rodgers is the best quarterback in the NFL and he is well aware that a week two regular season win doesn’t fix anything from the past. For the most part, I believe the Packers will go into this more fired up about it being the home opener, compared to the Seahawks lining up on the opposite side.

This will sound odd, but for the Packers to have returned a majority of their starters, a lot of new faces will be on the field since the last match-up.

Go back to the NFCCG. The Packers were rolling and taking advantage of Seattle making a ton of terrible mistakes. They’d built a decent lead, and appeared to be cruising. Then disaster struck. From the point of view of the Packers, what happened? and what should the team do differently this time to make sure it doesn’t happen again?

Honestly it was quicksand. Those last 3 minutes of regulation and overtime will never leave my mind. Everything the Packers did on the field, only made things worse, as they sank deeper and deeper.

Any team must stay on their tip-toes when playing Pete Carrol. It seems as though you are guaranteed a gutsy sometimes suicidal call that works in his favor. I would say a punter throwing a touchdown on a fake field goal fits that perfectly.

Once momentum left, players started trying too hard to close out the game which ultimately lead to the horrible gaffe on the onside kick. If former Packer Brandon Bostick had carried out his duty on the onside kick, our conversation would be much different. Most importantly, the Packers must develop a killer instinct.
Word is that Bryan Bulaga was hurt in practice this week. What is his status, and do that Packers have any hope of slowing down Seattle’s pass rush if he cannot play on Sunday?

Thankfully, the first word is he avoided an ACL tear. Unfortunately, it sounds like it is the same injury he suffered just a season ago which ended in him missing one game. With the injury taking place on Thursday I would imagine his status for Sunday is doubtful.

Bulaga is a key player on the offensive line and an anchor on that right side. Ted Thompson made that clear in the offseason with his move to resign Bulaga to a big deal. Don Barclay will likely fill in which is a very scary notion given his play in the preseason.

This could be a game changer if Bulaga is unable to suit up.
What will the Packers do to try and slow down Seattle’s rushing attack and Marshawn Lynch? Do you think Dom Capers has finally figured out how to slow down the read-option, or will Wilson have another monster day on the ground against his defense?

Hopefully Capers has made some adjustments since week one. Matt Forte absolutely gashed the Packers defense. Forte found a living on the right side of the defense.

Sam Barrington is gone for the season and Letroy Guion is still out on suspension, which will hurt. Morgan Burnett and Datone Jones both return this week which should be a big boost to the run defense. Especially Burnett, who has really transformed into one of the best pure tacklers from a safety position.

I believe Lynch and Wilson will probably enjoy a healthy day on the ground. The Packers defense seems to bend and not break however. Chicago’s offense really slowed down once the field become short inside their own red zone.
Give me a prediction for the game. How will things unfold, and what will the final score be?

This is a tough one. Too much is always put into week one of the NFL season. It’s generally the most action many of the starters have seen since last season. The adrenaline of opening week usually leads to false fatigue in many teams as well.

I think Aaron Rodgers and company will have a very good day on offense and move the ball well. It wouldn’t surprise me to see Rodgers spread the ball around this week to as many as 8 or 9 different targets.

The run defense left much to be desired in week one. Wilson and Lynch aren’t the ideal duo to see coming to town with a struggling unit stopping the run. Still, the Packers haven’t lost a regular season game at Lambeau Field since December 22nd, 2013.

Packers 31 Seahawks 27

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Seahawks at Packers: Know thy enemy – Q&A With LombardiAve

By Keith Myers | Sep 18, 2015

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