The Week 11 Colts-Packers battle will be a good one, and we previewed it with Dairyland Express.
The Indianapolis Colts continue their nightmare November on Sunday evening against the Green Bay Packers, their fourth consecutive challenge.
Luckily, the team has survived just fine thus far, carrying a 2-1 record and a slightly staggered secondary into a battle with Aaron Rodgers.
In order to properly contextualize this battle, we spoke to Dairyland Express site expert Paul Bretl to give us the low down on what’s going on in Green Bay.
Q: The Packers started off hot and have been on and off ever since the bye week. What have been the two biggest issues?
For whatever reason, in the Green Bay Packers’ last two home games, which have been against Minnesota and Jacksonville, there has been a lack of energy and urgency. The team has acknowledged this, as has Matt LaFleur, and the million-dollar question is why? Well, I do not have a good answer, and I’m not sure anyone outside of 1265 Lombardi Avenue does. Whether it’s the lack of fans, playing inferior opponents, or maybe the 40 mph winds each week, they just didn’t bring the juice.
Their other dud performance came in Week 6 against Tampa Bay. That was just one of those games where a few things went wrong and it snowballed into a blowout. We saw a few rare interceptions thrown by Aaron Rodgers, the offensive line struggled against Tampa’s defensive front, and the defense just couldn’t get a stop. However, this performance is looking more like an outlier than anything else.
Q: Is the Packers offense going to be in big trouble if Davante Adams isn’t 100% this week?
Obviously they’d much rather have Davante Adams than not, but his Packers team under LaFleur is as well-equipped as it’s been in years to handle missing a star player. For one, the run game plays a bigger role, as do running backs and tight ends in the passing game. Compared to the Mike McCarthy offense, which is very receiver reliant in the passing game and requires players to win one-on-one matchups regularly, LaFleur is very good at scheming players open, making life easier for Rodgers and the pass-catchers.
As I said, I hope Adams can play; this is clearly a better offense with him. But in the LaFleur offense, Rodgers still has plenty of pass-catching options available between the receiver, tight end, and running back positions. Fun fact: The Packers are 6-0 in the LaFleur era when Adams has missed a game.
Q: Aaron Rodgers will be going up against the best defense he’s faced all year. What are the keys for the offense against this stout Colts defense?
The Colts do everything really well on defense — as you said, it won’t be easy — but this Packer offense needs to continue doing what they’ve done all season. Try to get Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams going on the ground or at least have Indy respect that Green Bay is going to try to run the ball. Create quick, easy completions that allow the pass catchers to make plays after the catch. Take those deep shots downfield when the opportunity presents itself and be efficient off of play-action. Of course, the most obvious key is keeping Rodgers clean in the pocket.
Q: Are Packers fans still wondering what might’ve been if, say, they drafted Tee Higgins instead of Jordan Love?
There definitely is a portion of the fan base that is still hung up on the Packers not selecting a receiver. And not only Tee Higgins, but several others as well. However, this is still one of the more productive offenses in football, and that’s with Davante Adams, Allen Lazard, and Aaron Jones having played only roughly one and a half games together this season due to injuries.
Now, having said that, I’m not here pretending that I didn’t want a receiver in the draft, of course I did. But if the Packers don’t win the Super Bowl, it’s very likely not going to be because they didn’t spend their first-round pick on what would have been WR3 in this offense.
Q: What should the Packers defensive game plan focus on most when going up against this mysterious Colts offense?
Green Bay has to do their best to take away the easy throws or, at the very least, limit Indianapolis after the catch. Phillip Rivers gets the ball out quick, uses the running backs heavily in the passing game, and this Colts team is very good at picking up YAC. Typically, the Packers play a softer zone coverage under defensive coordinator Mike Pettine, but I’m hoping to see more guys closer to the line of scrimmage this week in an attempt to limit Indianapolis’ effectiveness on those shorter, quicker passes.
If the defense can force Rivers to throw more downfield, that should play into the Packers’ hands with the potential return of both Kevin King and Jaire Alexander at cornerback, who is having an All-Pro level season. On top of that, stopping the run is often difficult for this Packers defense, so I expect Indianapolis to test them there as well with Jonathan Taylor — On Wisconsin — and Nyheim Hines.
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