Should The NFL Stick Our Game At The Patriots As The SNF Week 1 Opener?

[PackerfaninCarolina]

I would've said this game should be the opener on Thursday, but I am assuming the NFL continues on its trend of putting the Superbowl winner as the feature team in this game, likely a rematch of the Eagles Vikings game, so I say put it on the next best spot on SNF week 1 instead of some silly Dallas Cowboys game or something. We've had a barrage of bad football showcased in prime time matchups, and I say with Rodgers comeback and Brady nearing the end, gotta make this game a feature game. It always has irritated me that we haven't seen more head-to-head matchups between these two, and more so on the biggest stage the way it happened between Jim Kelly and Troy Aikman back in the day, and obviously you look back and you think what if we hadn't had to suffer between Dom Capers's bad playoff defenses or in one case Slocum's special teams blunders. I think though that you gotta make this game a featured prime time game with a pretty big ratings it's going to bring in.

 

[PackerDNA]

I don't think it'll be week one, but I'd bet it will be a SNF game.

 

[LambeauLombardi]

For the NFL's sake it would be good to put week 1 SNF. For our sake, I hope not. It's tough enough to beat New England, but it's usually tougher to win road games at night (fans at stadium have more time to drink/get amped up for game). I hope they play like week 15 and the Patsies have an extremely disappointing year so it gets flexed out of Sunday night to a noon game. Especially playing teams that made the playoffs the year before, I'd much rather play them later in the year in case they have a lot of injuries (look at us last year in 2017 with Aaron, opponents enjoyed playing us much more without Aaron than with him).

 

[sschind]

For the NFL's sake it would be good to put week 1 SNF. For our sake, I hope not. It's tough enough to beat New England, but it's usually tougher to win road games at night (fans at stadium have more time to drink/get amped up for game). I hope they play like week 15 and the Patsies have an extremely disappointing year so it gets flexed out of Sunday night to a noon game. Especially playing teams that made the playoffs the year before, I'd much rather play them later in the year in case they have a lot of injuries (look at us last year in 2017 with Aaron, opponents enjoyed playing us much more without Aaron than with him).

Good point about playing them later. Some fans want to play the tough teams early before they have a chance to gel but the Patriots never seem top have a problem gelling. Of course you will have those liars who say they want to play them with Brady so we can beat them at their best. Like you said, I'll bet every Packer opponent was glad not to have to face AR last year and so were their fans.

 

[PackerfaninCarolina]

Good point about playing them later. Some fans want to play the tough teams early before they have a chance to gel but the Patriots never seem top have a problem gelling. Of course you will have those liars who say they want to play them with Brady so we can beat them at their best. Like you said, I'll bet every Packer opponent was glad not to have to face AR last year and so were their fans.

IIRC, they did start 1-2 to open last year including the Thursday night home opener (and to think we *****ed about that start in 2014), so I don't know if I'd say that's completely accurate about NE gelling all the time even early. It'll be interesting though to see if Brady has any major performance declines though now that he's hit the other side of 40. He keeps saying he can keep going, but father time never holds off forever. Also, sorry but I don't buy this narrative that us fans want to face a Brady-less Pats team especially because I repeat the matchup between the NFL's two GOAT QBs has only happened once so far and it needs to happen again.

 

[sschind]

IIRC, they did start 1-2 to open last year including the Thursday night home opener (and to think we *****ed about that start in 2014), so I don't know if I'd say that's completely accurate about NE gelling all the time even early. It'll be interesting though to see if Brady has any major performance declines though now that he's hit the other side of 40. He keeps saying he can keep going, but father time never holds off forever. Also, sorry but I don't buy this narrative that us fans want to face a Brady-less Pats team especially because I repeat the matchup between the NFL's two GOAT QBs has only happened once so far and it needs to happen again.

I did think of that. I recall people thinking this was the year it all fell apart for them. Lets just say there really is no GOOD time to face the New England Patriots and leave it at that.

An NFL purist might prefer the matchup of two GOAT QBs but most fans are not NFL purists. I know I'm not and even most of them who might say they are probably really aren't. I'm a Packer fan first and foremost and my preferred result of every Packer game is a victory. If the Packers play the Patriots in the SB there are 4 potential outcomes the way I see it order of preference. We win playing against Brady, we win without Brady, we lose playing against Brady, we lose without Brady (I'm actually not sure about those last two but it really doesn't matter) . Since the win/lose thing is a toss up I want whatever gives us the better chance of winning and that is without Brady. I don't wish for injuries but they are not in my control and if he can't play for some reason so much the better for the Packers chance of victory.

Bottom line I would prefer to BEAT a team at full strength but I would prefer to PLAY a team with some sort of diminished strength because that should give us a better chance of simply beating them which is my ultimate preferred result. It may not be the politically correct thing to say but for most fans I would say its a fact whether they admit it or not.

 

[gbgary]

NO! i'm sick of our first game every season being a killer road game (or a home game against a killer team) that usually ends up being an L. the Packers are usually slow starters needing a game or two to get going. this season it's particularly bad due to the installation of a new offense and defense. how about a cake walk, at home, at noon?

 

[XPack]

Nope. Would prefer a couple of easier games to start.

 

[sschind]

NO! i'm sick of our first game every season being a killer road game (or a home game against a killer team) that usually ends up being an L. the Packers are usually slow starters needing a game or two to get going. this season it's particularly bad due to the installation of a new offense and defense. how about a cake walk, at home, at noon?

That used to be the 49ers, Browns or Jaguars but it may not be that simple now. I hate to open with division games so I'd have to say the Jets or Dolphins.

 

[Poppa San]

NO! i'm sick of our first game every season being a killer road game (or a home game against a killer team) that usually ends up being an L. the Packers are usually slow starters needing a game or two to get going. this season it's particularly bad due to the installation of a new offense and defense. how about a cake walk, at home, at noon?

You DO realize the Packers are 7-3 in season opening games during the past 10 years with the last 3 seasons being wins.
Actually kind of streaky. 4 wins, 3 losses, then 3 wins again over that period.

 

[RepStar15]

This game will not be the opener. They will make this game in November likely, a game they can hype up most of the regular season. Though I would prefer it is in September, I will be at this game and prefer to be warmer lol.

 

[Packer Fan in SD]

You DO realize the Packers are 7-3 in season opening games during the past 10 years with the last 3 seasons being wins.
Actually kind of streaky. 4 wins, 3 losses, then 3 wins again over that period.

You and your facts against confirmation bias. How dare you.

 

[PackerfaninCarolina]

NO! i'm sick of our first game every season being a killer road game (or a home game against a killer team) that usually ends up being an L. the Packers are usually slow starters needing a game or two to get going. this season it's particularly bad due to the installation of a new offense and defense. how about a cake walk, at home, at noon?

Lol, what is this new offense that you speak of? MM is still running it and Rodgers is coming back. If anything, it's going to be rid of the silly hybrid read option part of it that we had to use to get the only thing out of Hundley that could get any offense. I call #FakeNews on this.

Now yes there will be changes on the defense, but the scheme is still a 3-4 so it won't be the kind of growing pains that it would be to change into a 4-3, and we don't know ... Pettine's defense could be coming out of the gate firing.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

IIRC, they did start 1-2 to open last year including the Thursday night home opener (and to think we *****ed about that start in 2014), so I don't know if I'd say that's completely accurate about NE gelling all the time even early.

FWIW the Patriots have been dominant early in the season as well posting a 47-17 record over the first four games of a season since 2002.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

Now yes there will be changes on the defense, but the scheme is still a 3-4 so it won't be the kind of growing pains that it would be to change into a 4-3, and we don't know ... Pettine's defense could be coming out of the gate firing.

I definitely expect that it will take some time for the defensive players to get used to Pettine's scheme and the new terminology though.

 

[PackerfaninCarolina]

FWIW the Patriots have been dominant early in the season as well posting a 47-17 record over the first four games of a season since 2002.

Nobody is saying playing them at any time in the season is going to be an easy cooker, if anything the opposite given this is still Bellicheks team we're talking about. But my bringing up their 2017 start is to show there's always exceptions to the rule of fast start.

 

[Curly Calhoun]

I really don't care when Green Bay plays the Patriots - I just want the Pack to beat them.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

Nobody is saying playing them at any time in the season is going to be an easy cooker, if anything the opposite given this is still Bellicheks team we're talking about. But my bringing up their 2017 start is to show there's always exceptions to the rule of fast start.

FYI the Patriots started 2-1 in 2017 though before losing to the Panthers in week 4. Actually I don't care when the Packers are playing them though as it will definitely be a tough game to win.

 

[gbgary]

Lol, what is this new offense that you speak of? I call #FakeNews on this.

they've only been alluding to it since the Philbin hire. new play book. this is just 2 days ago (5:15): http://www.packers.com/media-center...-offense/a15dbbfd-2702-4fe8-8623-901c94a844cf

 

[gbgary]

You DO realize the Packers are 7-3 in season opening games during the past 10 years with the last 3 seasons being wins.
Actually kind of streaky. 4 wins, 3 losses, then 3 wins again over that period.

good job. guess i was thinking back to when the league/networks started setting these games up for ratings. the SF and SEA games come to mind.

 

[PackerfaninCarolina]

they've only been alluding to it since the Philbin hire. new play book. this is just 2 days ago (5:15): http://www.packers.com/media-center...-offense/a15dbbfd-2702-4fe8-8623-901c94a844cf

I'd call this tweaking things in his already existing playbook because coaches don't just burn their whole playbooks and reinvent the wheel. And Philbin's not a newcomer, he's returning to where he got his resume started. I believe what MM is doing is silencing the dumb people here who think he doesn't have creativity and imagination in his playcalling when the reality is he had a noodlearm awful backup who didn't even know how to step up in the pocket as QB. But there's no way he's scrapping his offensive scheme and starting a ground zero new one. Coaches just don't do that.

 

[gbgary]

I'd call this tweaking things in his already existing playbook because coaches don't just burn their whole playbooks and reinvent the wheel. And Philbin's not a newcomer, he's returning to where he got his resume started. I believe what MM is doing is silencing the dumb people here who think he doesn't have creativity and imagination in his playcalling when the reality is he had a noodlearm awful backup who didn't even know how to step up in the pocket as QB. But there's no way he's scrapping his offensive scheme and starting a ground zero new one. Coaches just don't do that.

perhaps. just listening to what they're saying. there's another quote i remember where he said they're going back to basics. maybe that means the good ole' west coast o where the rb's and te's are prominent in a ball-control passing game. media following the team have mentioned the o change in their coverage too. i think rpo is here to stay for a while though.

 

[PackerfaninCarolina]

I'm going to say it means he's implementing the man-beater style he was running around here from about 2007 to 2011 when the emphasis was getting our receivers in the flats and getting YAC as opposed to the more vertical attacks we seemed to take on in 2015-2016 or thereabouts. That's my thinking on this.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

perhaps. just listening to what they're saying. there's another quote i remember where he said they're going back to basics.

It seems you haven't watched a lot of MM's press conferences in the past as he has mentioned going back to basics or practicing fundamentals on numerous occasions before.

 

[Mondio]

It's hard to stay fresh and current all the time. Maybe the packers have tried to become too "cute" on both sides of the ball in their quest to keep things fresh and new or stay ahead of other teams. Like Rocky chopping wood and chasing chickens, sometimes you just have to get back to basics. Block better than the other guys, run better routes, tackle better, etc. I do like the theme here they are more than hinting at for the entire team. Better football play, less complexity. Simple works when you do the basics well. I'm going a ways back, but we've been a wrestling school since the 60's. We were good, they're still good. Gramby rolls don't win state championships other than by chance, single legs and escapes do with regularity. the first moves we ever learned when we were 5 and drilled over and over and over and over and over and over, you may get the idea. Football is no different.

The defense needs to get back to defending the field, attack at points, defend at others and just beat your man. Offense, line up, take your yards, beat your man, then take your shots. block, run, catch. Don't make it too difficult