Official 2023 week 2 pregame thread at undefeated Dirty Birds of Atlanta

[Poppa San]

After toasting the previously undefeated B#@rz in their playhouse, the undefeated Packers march on to Atlanta for a struggle vs the undefeated Falcons. Atlanta opened with a close game vs Carolina before pulling away in the fourth qtr.

 

[thequick12]

Win

 

[tynimiller]

If Love controls the ball and defense plays like they did (outside of the garbage time) we should win this one.

 

[OldSchool101]

Atlanta is another very winnable Road game in Week 2. IF we can go down there and pair a W it would be huge. It takes immense pressure off us coming back to a couple home games. It makes a 3-1 type start very feasible.
Also our overall schedule doesn’t look so daunting at the present time. We have like 3-4 games that look tough, but most games look very winnable.

Early in. The combined records of our future opponents are 7-10

 

[PikeBadger]

Atlanta is another very winnable Road game in Week 2. IF we can go down there and pair a W it would be huge. It takes immense pressure off us coming back to a couple home games. It makes a 3-1 type start very feasible.
Also our overall schedule doesn’t look so daunting at the present time. We have like 3-4 games that look tough, but most games look very winnable.

Early in. The combined records of our future opponents are 7-10

I have a feeling I'm going to cringe alot this week reading about how great Atlanta is.

 

[OldSchool101]

I have a feeling I'm going to cringe alot this week reading about how great Atlanta is.

I’ll cringe with you. Atlanta was almost gifted that game. They had better field position that GB and they did all they could do to muster 24 points.
2 Atlanta scores (10 pts) came from drives started at the Carolina 17 and 36 yard line. The Atlanta Defense recorded 2 INT.

Ridder
15/18 115 passing 1TD

26/130 rushing 2TD

 

[thequick12]

Atlanta is another very winnable Road game in Week 2. IF we can go down there and pair a W it would be huge. It takes immense pressure off us coming back to a couple home games. It makes a 3-1 type start very feasible.
Also our overall schedule doesn’t look so daunting at the present time. We have like 3-4 games that look tough, but most games look very winnable.

Early in. The combined records of our future opponents are 7-10

@ Atlanta W
Saints W
Lions W

I think the Packers will play very well in the Lions game. Loves first prime time game as qb1, teams first chance to show who they are against a good team, chance to do something Rodgers couldnt

4-0 start here we come

 

[OldSchool101]

@ Atlanta W
Saints W
Lions W

I think the Packers will play very well in the Lions game. Loves first prime time game as qb1, teams first chance to show who they are against a good team, chance to do something Rodgers couldnt

4-0 start here we come

It wouldn’t shock me for us to beat Detroit because it’s also got the backing of hometown support. As long as our D performs anything is possible. We’ve got a pretty good Pass D so we match up good with Detroit imo. I think we’re very equal if Jordan plays well.

 

[milani]

After toasting the previously undefeated B#@rz in their playhouse, the undefeated Packers march on to Atlanta for a struggle vs the undefeated Falcons. Atlanta opened with a close game vs Carolina before pulling away in the fourth qtr.

Watched some of that one. Neither of those teams are much to write about. Atlanta tries to put more pressure on the QB and will play more physical with the receivers than did the Bears.

 

[milani]

It wouldn’t shock me for us to beat Detroit because it’s also got the backing of hometown support. As long as our D performs anything is possible. We’ve got a pretty good Pass D so we match up good with Detroit imo. I think we’re very equal if Jordan plays well.

Lion game will be physical. But discipline will be a challenge. We cannot commit 8 fouls for 80 yards against them. They played a super clean game at KC which is very difficult to do.

 

[milani]

If Love controls the ball and defense plays like they did (outside of the garbage time) we should win this one.

Again we cannot try to do too much. Get a little better blocking for the run game and avoid the turnovers.

 

[Poppa San]

Hopefully AJ33 and QW7 are both ready to go. Big drop off to the #3 RB. Not sure if Wilson is ready for primetime.

 

[milani]

Atlanta is another very winnable Road game in Week 2. IF we can go down there and pair a W it would be huge. It takes immense pressure off us coming back to a couple home games. It makes a 3-1 type start very feasible.
Also our overall schedule doesn’t look so daunting at the present time. We have like 3-4 games that look tough, but most games look very winnable.

Early in. The combined records of our future opponents are 7-10

I think more teams are going to start blitzing Love and go press man to man coverage as we go along. That is why we need more than 92 yards on the ground.

 

[Dantés]

We only have a 1 game sample to work from. The Panthers lost @ Atlanta, 10-24.

Bryce Young had a miserable debut, averaging a mere 3.8 YPA, throwing 2 picks to 1 TD, sacked twice, and fumbling once.

As a team, Carolina was able to find running room-- 154 yards on 32 carries (4.8 YPC).

On the other side, Desmond Ridder was not much of a threat. He only averaged 6.4 YPA despite completing 83% of his passes. The Falcons want to run the ball and just rely on Ridder to convert 3rd & 4+. On 3rd downs:

-3rd & 8, sacked, fumbles (punt)
-3rd & 9, pass complete for -6 yards (punt)
-3rd & 4, pass complete for 11 yards (TD)
-3rd & 10, pass complete for 10 yards (punt)
-3rd & 12, pass complete for -3 yards (punt)
-3rd & 10, pass complete for 7 yards (punt)
-3rd & 22, pass complete for 17 yards (punt)

So Ridder only converted one 3rd down opportunity on the day. 9 of his 15 completions were to the running backs.

On the ground, Atlanta ran 26 times for 130 yards (5.0 YPC).

10 of their 24 points came on short fields. Their first touchdown drive started on the CAR 17 after an INT and their FG to tie the game at 10 started at the CAR 36 and ended at the 31 after an INT.

Carolina was moving the ball better than Atlanta early, but kept the Falcons in it with some short fields. The Falcons only scoring drives of any real substance came late, when the running game began to grind on the Panthers.

This game is very winnable in my opinion. The keys are:

-Limiting the rushing attack and forcing Ridder to contribute a lot to the offensive success. Ridder is not a very good QB. Much of his production were empty yards that resulted in punts. Even his 35 yard completion to Pitts was an ill-advised throw; an elite talent just made a play.

-Protecting the football. Young's picks were identical; Bates got him over the middle. Young didn't look him off and/or didn't see him. Hopefully Love will prove to be a more mature processor than that.

-Sustaining drives-- even if they end with a punt or a FG, you don't want your defense on the field all day taking body blows from the Atlanta running game. If you do that, then the dam will break eventually.

 

[El Guapo]

Great analysis Dantes. I believe that Atlanta is a better team than the Bears, so it will be a better test than in Week 1. Atlanta has youth (like us) which can always be tough to gauge but I still think that we should win.

 

[milani]

Great analysis Dantes. I believe that Atlanta is a better team than the Bears, so it will be a better test than in Week 1. Atlanta has youth (like us) which can always be tough to gauge but I still think that we should win.

Since 2010 we have had some very good and very bad games in Atlanta. 2 different teams now. No Matty Ice vs. Arod.

 

[OldSchool101]

A Victory at Atlanta would be huge. That would take care of 2 Road wins to bring us back to what will be an energized Home crowd, welcoming our new and undefeated QB. The Vikings have regressed some just as myself and many suspected and are facing an 0-2 start in Philly right now. While Atlanta isn’t some powerhouse, consecutive Wins can’t be taken for granted in this league at all.
A Packers 2-0 start suddenly makes a 4-1 or 3-2 start before the Bye week feasible. Had you told me we’d be over .500 at the bye a few weeks ago I’d be absolutely elated. It all starts with stealing another Road Win this weekend.

The key to this season will be staying .500 by trade deadline (Oct 31) If we do that? Don’t be surprised to see Brian make a splash trade at a position of perceived weakness.

 

[milani]

A Victory at Atlanta would be huge. That would take care of 2 Road wins to bring us back to what will be an energized Home crowd, welcoming our new and undefeated QB. The Vikings have regressed some just as myself and many suspected and are facing an 0-2 start in Philly right now. While Atlanta isn’t some powerhouse, consecutive Wins can’t be taken for granted in this league at all.
A Packers 2-0 start suddenly makes a 4-1 or 3-2 start before the Bye week feasible. Had you told me we’d be over .500 at the bye a few weeks ago I’d be absolutely elated. It all starts with stealing another Road Win this weekend.

The key to this season will be staying .500 by trade deadline (Oct 31) If we do that? Don’t be surprised to see Brian make a splash trade at a position of perceived weakness.

Vikings have a lot of talent but they cannot continue to live with turnovers especially against the better teams. The other area which is showing up is the absence of Dalvin Cook. Look at their total number of rushing yards through the first two games. Not good. It affects TOP and number of plays run.

 

[tynimiller]

A Victory at Atlanta would be huge. That would take care of 2 Road wins to bring us back to what will be an energized Home crowd, welcoming our new and undefeated QB. The Vikings have regressed some just as myself and many suspected and are facing an 0-2 start in Philly right now. While Atlanta isn’t some powerhouse, consecutive Wins can’t be taken for granted in this league at all.
A Packers 2-0 start suddenly makes a 4-1 or 3-2 start before the Bye week feasible. Had you told me we’d be over .500 at the bye a few weeks ago I’d be absolutely elated. It all starts with stealing another Road Win this weekend.

The key to this season will be staying .500 by trade deadline (Oct 31) If we do that? Don’t be surprised to see Brian make a splash trade at a position of perceived weakness.

Agreed on all except the splash trade if we get there - think Gute is not gonna do a big move this year given all the dead cap and restraints. I do think with as young as we are and finally past the dead cap hit of Rodgers next year could be the year. Love would still be cheap too

 

[El Guapo]

I'm going to try not to stumble over my own feet here, but with the Vikings loss last night the NFC North picture may already be revealing itself. They now play the Chargers and the Chiefs. They might win one of those to start 1-3 but likely will start 0-4. Assuming the Bears are who they are, we might go into the Lions game at 3-0. They look like our new arch-rival and it should be fun.

Okay, I'll take a deep breath and stop peaking so far ahead.

 

[gopkrs]

I don't really know much about Atlanta. I think we have to do good against the run. I liked the disciplined way we rushed against the bears so doubt we need to change much there. The inside linebackers have to come to play. And if Dillon does not show early that he can hit the hole faster; I would put in another back.

 

[Krabs]

Atlanta's oline isn't great. Our defense will get after Ridder. They didn't ask him to do much last week due to not having to. Carolina might be the worst team in football. Their roster stinks and Atlanta struggled against them. The Packers have better players in the trenches. I saw Bakh might be out, but Walker is a serviceable backup. I look for our defense to hold this to a low scoring affair. I'm going Packers with the win 24-10.

 

[Poppa San]

I saw Bakh might be out,

"He'll probably be questionable all year"
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[OldSchool101]

Agreed on all except the splash trade if we get there - think Gute is not gonna do a big move this year given all the dead cap and restraints. I do think with as young as we are and finally past the dead cap hit of Rodgers next year could be the year. Love would still be cheap too

I see what you’re saying and maybe you are correct. Either way it will likely depend on how we look on the injury front. If we’re relatively healthy maybe he won’t. Keep in mind that 8 weeks will be in the books before a player starts. That means you’ve inherited a prorated contract So a guy on final year of a 3X25mil (which should be a really good player) would apply 4+ mil against our current cap. So I don’t think that’s cost prohibitive at all do you? To make a Run or supply Jordan with 1 experienced Weapon? (Don’t feel like you need to answer that it’s just an argument and my personal opinion not a serious question)

Other than that for a good trade deal we’re talking a Day 3 pick or swap. Totally doable when we have 3-4 Comp selections coming in that area.
It all depends on where we stand position wise and if there is a player fit, so there’s 2 hurdles. However keep in mind that Brian came in knowing good n well we ideally wanted a more aggressive approach in the GM dept. Which I believe is also his signature when he spent 100M the second he was promoted. The message is clear, be aggressive IF an opportunity presents. It’s also all over the QB selection. That is obviously the sentiment from Executives and so far it’s been fairly successful. Three 13 Win seasons and now the obvious correct choice of going young roster in 2023. It would be hard to argue against his format thus far or difficult to fault Brian for staying the course. Especially 6-1 or 5-2 or 4-3 missing a critical piece. Just winning our Division or making a Wild Card would be an enormous success for such a young team much less a deep playoff run. Gutey is really fantastic at finding talent mid season and it’s actually been his strong calling card. I wouldn’t do any trades if we’re under .500 though after 7 games

 

[milani]

"He'll probably be questionable all year"
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Some of it can also be that they are playing on a surface that may be a little harder than some of the outdoor ones.