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The NFL looked totally different. The Green Bay Packers had only managed a three-point opponent. Calvin Johnson, not yet broken by years of Detroit Lions' futility, was still playing professional football. Peyton Manning had not yet won a Super Bowl with the Denver Broncos. Perhaps the most incredible of all, Jim Tomsula has held a position as head coach in the NFL.
The last of these did not last long, partly because of the 17 shells that his 49ers from San Francisco took at the hands of the Packers. This match, one of the last truly remarkable performances of Dom Capers' tenure as Green Bay's defensive coordinator, quickly put an end to the Tomsula era.
Likewise, a lot has changed for packers in the meantime. Only six players from the team that crashed the 49ers in 2015 remain in Green Bay, none residing in defense. Brian Gutekunst has replaced his mentor, Ted Thompson, as General Manager of the Packers. Matt LaFleur took over from Mike McCarthy. Mike Pettine has supplanted Capers.
Several changes will be needed to gauge the total impact of these changes, but they caused the Packers' 10-3 surprise against the Chicago Bears in the 2019 kickoff match. While the offense has largely degenerated outside From a single touchdown in the second quarter, the defense limited the Bears to just two trips to Green Bay territory at half-time and just 3.9 yards per game, all matches combined. Five races in Chicago ended in four pieces or less. Although the Bears do not have a leading offense, the Packers defense dominated the night with an objective measure.
And this defensive performance could not have happened without the recent influx of talent. Za'Darius Smith, Preston Smith and Adrian Amos – the trio of defensive stars that Gutekunst spent sparingly to acquire a struggling unit in March – have each created fancy pieces en route to the Packers' victory. The Smiths have officially combined for six quarterback hits and 2.5 sacks, the latter ending Chicago's final possession. Amos provided the game's only revenue, an end-zone interception of his former teammate Mitch Trubisky.
A game does not constitute a defense and does not justify a spending spree in the off-season. However, the Packers have won a major victory over the defending champions of their division. Given the difficulty of the road ahead, Green Bay will host an upgraded team of Minnesota Vikings in week two, the Philadelphia Eagles in Week Three, and travel to Jerry World to face the Dallas Cowboys at of the fifth week. a talented Bears team offers a possible margin of error down the line.
The Packers attack could take a long time to find his pace
After an offseason marked by a coaching search, no pre-season work and seemingly endless public litigation about audible, the Packers-led offense led by LaFleur finally debuted on Thursday. The results – 10 points and just 213 yards from the scrum – suggest a unit that has not yet found its place and still needs to understand some of the mechanisms in the scheme.
This should not be a total surprise. LaFleur's offense is based on his experience under Kyle Shanahan, the spirit behind the explosive offenses perpetrated in Washington in the early 2010s, in Atlanta during the Matt Ryan and now San Francisco season. Although these units rank among the most efficient of their respective periods, most have taken several weeks or even a full season to complete a click.
The same goes for the Packers, where LaFleur only had one year as a player and quarterback Aaron Rodgers played in one system during his career as a starter. The rest of the offensive staff also need time to adjust to the new system. The outer tracks that form the backbone of the attack have little success against the Bears. While the strength of the Chicago defense has played a role, this element of the offense may simply require a full month or more against NFL defenses.
Rodgers acknowledged it before the start of the season. "I think everyone needs to understand that this will be the first iteration of our offense and that this is a new stratagem and new elements, the number of points will increase from now on.
"I am excited about the elements we have and those we have worked on at the camp. There will be even more. I think it's the most exciting part. I like the beginning of foundation for this offense. I think it might be difficult to stop because of the stress it imposes on the defense with his eye control, his reading of patterns and his reading of alignments. But we have a lot of room for growth compared to what we put on the ground on Thursday. "
Much of what the Packers put on the field Tuesday did not work, but there may be more reps later in the year. Green Bay has a few more days to iron out its wrinkles before hosting Minnesota for the home opener.
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