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The #Packers are signing ILB Joe Thomas to their active roster from Dallas' practice squad. Slightly undersized but hits like a bull.

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Bad news after the MRI for #Packers DT Josh Boyd. It revealed torn ankle ligaments to go with a broken small bone. His season now in doubt

I'll be there in the 16th row. My third trip to Lambeau and my ladies first. Lambeau should be electric, MNF, 2-0, coming off a HUGE win. So. Damn. Excited.

I'm guessing I won't see Lacy. I'm hoping Adams isn't serious and he will be a go. I could see a lot of 4 WR and 1 TE sets with Lacy out. I like Starks a lot, but as others have mentioned, he's not nearly the workhorse type back that Lacy is. Hopefully we see a lot of spread em out and let Godgers go to work while Lacy is out. It might sound crazy, but if his injury isn't serious and he's only out a few weeks then saving some wear and tear might be a blessing in disguise in the long run. Lean on Rodgers now, and when Lacy comes back lean on him a bit. And head into the postseason with both styles available to use vs different opponents and times in a game.

Defense - I loved that I saw from the d-line and am pretty damn excited about that unit going forward, especially with Guion coming back. I think we can cover up some of the weakness of the ILB core if the DL can eat OLs alive. The CBs can cover like they have- especially Randall, loving that pick. Burnett and HHCD are better when they play off each other. I think they are better as a duo than they are as individual parts, if that makes sense. And then I like our hybrid type guys like Hyde, Richardson and to some degree, Clay.

On sure passing downs I want to see:
DBs- HHCD and Burnett deep. Shields and Randall on the outsides. Hayward on the slot guy. And then a 6th guy in Hyde or Rollins. Hyde if the priority is stopping a TE, like last night. Rollins if the opponent has multiple dangerous slot guys. Dude, a dime package to stop a 4 WR set of: Randall-Hayward--------Rollins-Shields. Yes, please.

I think we have enough depth at OLB with Pepp, Neal, Elliot and Perry to have a nice platoon that allows us to use Clay however we want. I also think the emergence of Hyde/Richardson and HHCD/Burnett being able to cover TEs also minimizes the weakness at ILB and frees Clay to roam and play make even more. I would LOVE to see more Elliot over Neal. I'd honestly start Elliot and Peppers and rotate Neal in for pass rushing and to spell Peppers and Perry in more on run stopping downs.

A DL of Daniels, Raji, Jones/Guion with Pennell as a 5th for depth, I love it. I'm hoping Pickett can be a slightly more athletic version of what Pickett was at DE during our super bowl year, and Daniels can replicate (I'm blanking...the guy that left to the Eagles...?). I was so excited about Raji moving back to the middle and I think there can be a major trickle down effect that makes the DEs better because OLs have to account for Raji blowing up the middle. Mark my words, this DL is going to be really good.

Ian Rapoport ‏@RapSheet 2h2 hours ago
#Packers RB Eddie Lacy, who sprained his ankle last night against the #Seahawks, could actually play on #MNF vs. #Chiefs. Injury is minor.

" Back in January, both Michael Bennett (+0.2) and Cliff Avril (+4.8) earned negative pass rush grades against the Packers but they brought the heat to Rodgers last night combining for 15 pressures on a torrid night for tackles Don Barclay (-10.3) and David Bakhtiari (-7.3). Of those 15 pressures, seven came via bullrush which served to highlight their physical dominance but also played its part in the low conversion rate into hits and sacks which Rodgers was able to exploit by escaping while they were still engaged to keep the passing game moving"

https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2015/09/21/sea-gb-grades-steady-rodgers-defense-stifle-seahawks/

Bakhitari needs to step up and do better vs KC, because while Rodgers has a great knack for getting out of the pocket it's absurd for your starting LT to give up that many pressures.

The extra day of rest is huge for Lacy and Adams. Hopefully they're able to suit up, because IMO the Chiefs are an even better defensive unit right now than Seattle. Their secondary is arguably the best in the league now that Berry appears healthy and fully recovered.

It's gonna be a tough game. But right now we have to be favored against anyone at home. If this defense comes to play like they did last night against the run, we can shut down that offense. They don't have any vertical threats and Smith doesn't take many deep shots. Kelce and Maclin are the only guys you need to worry about covering.

Trust your corners, play single coverage and stack the box. We hold Charles under 120 yards and I don't see how we lose.

Interesting about Joe Thomas coming back over either of the presumed ILBs on our own practice squad (Bradford and Vaughters) or the DL (Ringo). I like Vaughters better, but hey.

Barclay against Houston is a bad proposition for us. The matchup on the other side isn't much better. You'll be seeing Rodgers running for his life on Monday but the bonus is even with that Rodgers is just so damn good he'll make it work.

Defensive game plan will be much the same this week only a little more aggressive as they shouldn't have to spy Smith like the did Wilson.

In any case it's in GB and we just seem to roll at home. 30-16 Packers

emunney wrote:Interesting about Joe Thomas coming back over either of the presumed ILBs on our own practice squad (Bradford and Vaughters) or the DL (Ringo). I like Vaughters better, but hey.

It is pretty weird. They'll now have to make a spot for Guion when he comes back. Maybe Thomas is more expendable than the others on the practice squad?

I like the matchup vs the chiefs offense. I think charles will be more difficult to deal with in KC's passing game. However, With the packers corners they should easily shut down KC's pedestrian WRs and focus more on Kelce and Charles. Plus Alex Smith is not the runner wilson is.

Glad it's at home because this is a classic letdown game

Can't wait to slide Joe Thomas in at LT.

MickeyDavis wrote:Glad it's at home because this is a classic letdown game

Like the last time we played them. 13-0 or whatever we were and then a loss.

Teams like the Chiefs always worry me a little. Great D, pretty good RB, plus a ball-control QB who doesn't throw many picks- that's been the recipe lately for a Packers upset.

Alex Smith may not throw picks but all he does is throw horizontal and Chiefs WRs haven't scored a TD since 2013.

That defensive front 7 vs. Barclay and Bakhtiari concerns me.

I hope the Chiefs are still devastated with how they lost.

Also I'm glad this isn't at Arrowhead. That stadium is on par with Seattle with how tough it is to play at.

FAH1223 wrote:Alex Smith may not throw picks but all he does is throw horizontal and Chiefs WRs haven't scored a TD since 2013.

That defensive front 7 vs. Barclay and Bakhtiari concerns me.

I hope the Chiefs are still devastated with how they lost.

Also I'm glad this isn't at Arrowhead. That stadium is on par with Seattle with how tough it is to play at.

They don't need Smith to throw vertically- they need to run the ball, take care of the ball, and keep Rodgers off the field. Their best hope for an upset is to win with their D in a close, low-scoring game where they own the clock. Plus, a QB like Smith is a bad match-up for a D that allows short yardage and thrives on forcing INTs. It's a potential upset scenario, IMO, ala BUF last year. That said...

...Totally agree about home field- at KC there'd be a real possibility of an upset. At Lambeau, it's only a theoretical possibility

emunney wrote:Interesting about Joe Thomas coming back over either of the presumed ILBs on our own practice squad (Bradford and Vaughters) or the DL (Ringo). I like Vaughters better, but hey.

I'm sure they like Vaughters - he has the mental acumen and the size and decent speed to develop. But, Thomas is a hitter and he has an extra year in the defense. He's also clearly a better ST player (and, I would argue overall MLB) than Bradford.

I actually mentioned in the GT last night I felt they made a mistake in letting him go over others. And, here we are today, he's signed. I'm a happy Packer fan. I think the kid has legit talent and can fill a nice role in ST and defensively.

Pack 7 point favs

Is Joe Thomas a sure thing to be active? 7 guys inactive: Hundley, Backman, Rollins, Gunter, Bulaga are 5. Last game it was Gaston and Harris to make 7. But with Lacy hurt, I think Harris is active. Plus Gaston plays with Boyd out esp vs KC. So maybe Lacy and Thomas inactive? Or Lacy and Adams inactive? I guess we'll see how their ankles do this week...

After last game, I'm telling the defense to strip Charles whenever possible.

books wrote:Is Joe Thomas a sure thing to be active? 7 guys inactive: Hundley, Backman, Rollins, Gunter, Bulaga are 5. Last game it was Gaston and Harris to make 7. But with Lacy hurt, I think Harris is active. Plus Gaston plays with Boyd out esp vs KC. So maybe Lacy and Thomas inactive? Or Lacy and Adams inactive? I guess we'll see how their ankles do this week...

Lacy and Mulumba.