The Vikings of centuries ago were notorious pillagers and the modern day version arriving from Minnesota this weekend are looking to do the same to a reeling Green Bay Packers team dealing with yet another shuffled deck of personnel at a key position. The 2-4 Packers welcome the 3-4 Vikings to Lambeau for a 12:00 PM kickoff at Lambeau Field Sunday.
On another dreary day where the clouds hung so low you could almost reach up and pull them closer if not for the mist to downright gully washers coming out of them, the Packers put in one last hard practice in the elements. The weather is actually forecast to deteriorate by a few degrees downward and a more unwelcome form of precipitation is possible on game day.
Against the third most productive passing team in the league, the Packers secondary will be putting a new group together. Starting safety Darnell Savage is out for a month and Eric Stokes joined him on injured reserve after his four snap cameo debut last weekend. It was a downgraded day for Jaire Alexander too, his sore back moved him from a limited participant Wednesday to a did not participate Thursday, not a good sign. Rookie Carrington Valentine may well be making another emergency start at corner. Jonathan Owens will get the call at safety and practice squad corner Corey Ballentine and new arrival Robert Rochell will dress as backups.
They’ll try and keep the wraps on Kirk Cousins and a productive air game even without superstar Justin Jefferson. Rookie Jordan Addison has become the home run hitter and T.J. Hockenson is still catching balls everywhere for the Minnesota offense which is putting up 280 passing yards a game. Cousins has fired 16 touchdown passes in seven weeks.
Minnesota is making it hard to get Cousins uncomfortable, putting up 46 pass attempts last Monday night against a very good San Francisco front, without giving up a sack. Green Bay’s front seven will need to bring some heat on a low 40 degree afternoon to protect the juggled secondary lineup. The most experienced edge rusher, Preston Smith, returned to work but didn’t practice with an undisclosed illness. Inside linebacker De’Vondre Campbell continues to trend toward making his return. Out a month with a high ankle sprain, I watched Campbell moving and cutting well during open period drill work today. He was officially listed as limited, along with Devonte Wyatt (knee). Safety Zayne Anderson (hamstring) was a full participant.
The rest of the medical news concerned the offense. Two players made progress. Aaron Jones and Josh Myers went from DNP Wednesday to limited workers today. Elgton Jenkins and Yosh Nijman were limited again with sore knees, Christian Watson was a full participant. Only Luke Musgrave was held out again with an ankle injury, clearing the way for an expanded role if not start for fellow draft choice Tucker Kraft.
Despite the gloomy day, the team was upbeat. Head Coach Matt LaFleur makes a habit of visiting with players during team stretch but he was especially demonstrative with high-fives and shoulder slaps today. Even Savage, in t-shirt and sweat pants, enthusiastically made the rounds with his teammates.
After practice, we heard from the coordinators.
Special Teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia was first. He admits the domino effect of the injuries is making it “problematic” with a juggled special teams lineup. Preferred corps players like Isaiah McDuffie, Carrington Valentine and Owens are now defensive starters so players at the very bottom of the depth chart are taking on increased roles on teams. Bisaccia says they’ve all had reps and the expectation hasn’t changed. Bisaccia said Anders Carlson recovered fine from his first missed field goal of the season last week at Empower Stadium at Mile High. He felt his range in altitude was perhaps as much as 56 yards but unfortunately, the offense didn’t present a chance to test it. We also learned Bisaccia’s favorite college basketball team growing up was the same as mine, the 1977 national champion Marquette Warriors (now Golden Eagles). He loved the New York sassy and savvy head coach Al McGuire, Butch Lee, the final four MVP and Bernard Toone, another big apple native. Bisaccia said he and Toone’s father were friends and has followed Marquette ever since.
Defensive Coordinator Joe Barry believes having the Jefferson-Alexander matchup denied isn’t exactly a wash. The Vikings have plenty of playmaking options that still need to be neutralized. Cousins has been getting very good protection of late and even healthy opponents have paid the price. Barry talked at length about how the defense is in need of more takeaways. They have just five through the first six weeks, Quay Walker’s pick six against Chicago the biggest. Rudy Ford has a couple of picks but there have been more dropped than caught interceptions. Barry says playing with a mindset to rake balls loose or tip passes will give his unit more opportunities to make the biggest game changing plays.
Offensive Coordinator Adam Stenavich knows where his greatest challenge will be. The Vikings under defensive coordinator Brian Flores lead the league in blitzes, 50 more than the second place defense. The offensive line will be prepared for anything and everything with communication at a premium. Early down production has been spotty particularly early in games. Stenavich said staying in positive down and distance situations can reduce the number of blitzes getting called.
