Game 1: Lions at Packers - Sunday, Sept 7 3:25 PM

[CheezWizHed]

AKA - Preseason Game 4 that actually counts on the schedule. 

Given how pre-season games are mostly played by backups these days, it would be nice to avoid all games within the division until Game 3 or something like that... kind of like a College schedule. 

But either way, here we go - head to head with the Lions.

• How will Love's hand hold up?  Or his accuracy with minimal practice?
• Which WRs will actually be healthy?  How will Golden look?
• How much will Parsons play?  What shape will he be in? 
• Who will play C?
• Can our CBs keep up with Detroit's WRs? 
• How much will the OC/DC change effect the Lions?  Did the true brains of the team walk out the door? 
• What will Hutch look like coming back from injury?  Will we need to block anyone else? 
• How will Detroit's last minute revamped IOL hold up? Do we have the DTs to make it matter? 

And while I'm pumped about Parsons... I'm still excited to see a second-year leap from Cooper!!!

[OldSchoolSnapper]

As someone who has had back surgery and epidural shots, I really can't comprehend being in the state that you need an epidural shot near your L5, yet you are playing in an NFL game. When I got those treatments I was barely able to walk and in constant pain. I'm sure this is apples to oranges in some way, but it's still mind-blowing to me. 

I see the game going either way but the overreactions in either direction will be intense.

[OldHeidelberg]

20 hours ago, CheezWizHed said:

 

• Who will play C?
•  

Has something happened with Jenkins? I was just searching news and didn't find anything new.

[CheezWizHed]

1 hour ago, OldHeidelberg said:

Has something happened with Jenkins? I was just searching news and didn't find anything new.

Mystery ailment is all I can find.  I'm hoping he didn't pull his contract muscle... 

[OldHeidelberg]

4 hours ago, CheezWizHed said:

Mystery ailment is all I can find.  I'm hoping he didn't pull his contract muscle... 

He is back at practice today but limited. Sort of late for him to play those games with game checks on the line but yeah you worry he got extra pissed by Micah's money.

 

Hobbs and Reed out today. Micah full pads.

 

Packers injury report: Jayden Reed, Nate Hobbs out; Elgton Jenkins returns

[BrewerFan]

On 9/2/2025 at 12:40 PM, CheezWizHed said:

AKA - Preseason Game 4 that actually counts on the schedule. 

Given how pre-season games are mostly played by backups these days, it would be nice to avoid all games within the division until Game 3 or something like that... kind of like a College schedule. 

But either way, here we go - head to head with the Lions.

• How will Love's hand hold up?  Or his accuracy with minimal practice?
• Which WRs will actually be healthy?  How will Golden look?
• How much will Parsons play?  What shape will he be in? 
• Who will play C?
• Can our CBs keep up with Detroit's WRs? 
• How much will the OC/DC change effect the Lions?  Did the true brains of the team walk out the door? 
• What will Hutch look like coming back from injury?  Will we need to block anyone else? 
• How will Detroit's last minute revamped IOL hold up? Do we have the DTs to make it matter? 

And while I'm pumped about Parsons... I'm still excited to see a second-year leap from Cooper!!!

I don't think they'll do it this week, but I would LOVE to see Cooper and Parsons both off-ball on 1st down OR in running downs.

Parsons as a DE is average vs the run. Parsons as a LB is VERY good vs the run. 

They either feel better about their DL's ability to play the run or they're going to wait until after week 1 to sign Pennel. You have a perfect fit given this teams DTs to slide in as the starting 1 Tech, someone who has shown he can anchor a defense and stuff the run AND who has said...he wants to come back to Green Bay in one form or another. To play a final year OR to retire as a Packer... and he's just out there available in Free Agency. And I don't think it's because he's expecting a big contract. 

I mean... they seem to have a pretty good grasp on things, so they gotta see something we don't. I don't know.

 

The ONE thing that's really disconcerting to me is Jayden Reed and that foot. We need him. We wait 5-6 weeks for him to have a surgery and we're getting to around the time where he'd have been expected back if he'd have just had surgery right away. So... not loving that. I hope he can make it all year. Otherwise you go into another year with a WR coming off injury heading into Free Agency and Micah's deal will make paying them a lot more difficult. 

 

-Finally, I do not think our CBs can stay with their WRs. But, that's why you go and get a Micah Parsons. Get Goff moving. He's not good when he has to throw on the run. Just 1 or 2 big plays where Parsons pressures him or gets a sack(strip sack maybe) and that could turn the game. 

I'd give Detroit the edge in this one just because we still seem to have so many things we need to iron out, Micah had a sprained back(I have no clue what that is, I've never heard of anyone ever getting one... if someone has, I'd be very interested to hear what that entails). 

But again, look at all the Packers talk on here now? Compare that to just a few weeks ago. They certainly went big. And... they SHOULD have Micah for the next 6- 7 years. Or for 3 years and then they trade him for a couple 1st rd picks. Who knows!

[LouisEly]

2 hours ago, BrewerFan said:

Finally, I do not think our CBs can stay with their WRs. But, that's why you go and get a Micah Parsons. Get Goff moving. He's not good when he has to throw on the run. Just 1 or 2 big plays where Parsons pressures him or gets a sack(strip sack maybe) and that could turn the game

That also relates to the Lions biggest weakness - IOL.

Pressure up the middle flushes Goff out of the pocket.  Not only gets him running, but gets him running to one side of the field effectively cutting off the other side of the field and the WRs on that side of the field.  

Then have X lurking on the back end ready to jump the route and snag a floater.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

I fear that CB is going to be a year-long headache. We can gymnastics our way around that with pass rush jabber but that group looks very bad especially with Hobbs injured, and a history of being injured. 

Like, Bo Melton is going to get significant time there. 

[HarveysWBs]

2 hours ago, OldSchoolSnapper said:

I fear that CB is going to be a year-long headache. We can gymnastics our way around that with pass rush jabber but that group looks very bad especially with Hobbs injured, and a history of being injured. 

Like, Bo Melton is going to get significant time there. 

Yeah, this would be a really good time to find Rasul Douglas 2.0 on somebody's practice squad.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Hobbs is going to be the "Why, Gutey?" move of the season. He plays aggressively on film but he is literally always hurt and then there's the whole asleep drunk at the wheel on an exit ramp thing...he doesn't seem like "Packer people."

It seems like we could have just kept Stokes for less. 

At the end of last season I thought Carrington Valentine might be the best corner on the team. Hoping he continues to grow. 

 

 

[BrewerFan]

9 hours ago, HarveysWBs said:

Yeah, this would be a really good time to find Rasul Douglas 2.0 on somebody's practice squad.

Well.... 1.0 was available until pretty recently. 

But I was driving the 'we need a CB' bandwagon... but if you can get home with 4 or even 5, Coop is an elite pass rusher at LB, even compared to a poor man' Parsons in that respect. 

Give it to the bye week. There will be CBs available. Maybe Asante Samuel Jr is available, maybe you sign Gilmore. Maybe the Dolphins start out poorly and you trade for Douglas or maybe Bo Melton and his incredible athletic ability can be the Sam Shields of this season. 

I would honestly put a DT ahead of CB at this point. A Mike Pennel, run stopping DT. If you're in 2nd and 4 regularly and you can't stop Saquon or whoever, the CBs will also matter much less(though our CBs are good against the run at least). 

[JosephC]

I'm not really comfortable with the cornerback situation, but if you read the papers, it sounds like the Packers seem pretty happy with the group as a whole.  I've gotten the impression that they were not happy with nose tackle depth, and that was before the Kenny Clark trade.  The other spot that they did not seem to be happy with is interior OL depth, they helped that by adding Kinnard, but it sounds like Belton is not really ready to see significant snaps and Jennings and Monk (now on injured list) are looking very shaky, even as backups.  Things obviously change depending on who is available.  If a cornerback is freed up that the Packers think can help, then they would likely try to acquire that player.  But all things being equal, just based on what I'm reading, I think the Packers see the need areas as being nose tackle and offensive line.

[yourout]

On 9/2/2025 at 12:40 PM, CheezWizHed said:

AKA - Preseason Game 4 that actually counts on the schedule. 

Given how pre-season games are mostly played by backups these days, it would be nice to avoid all games within the division until Game 3 or something like that... kind of like a College schedule. 

But either way, here we go - head to head with the Lions.

• How will Love's hand hold up?  Or his accuracy with minimal practice?
• Which WRs will actually be healthy?  How will Golden look?
• How much will Parsons play?  What shape will he be in? 
• Who will play C?
• Can our CBs keep up with Detroit's WRs? 
• How much will the OC/DC change effect the Lions?  Did the true brains of the team walk out the door? 
• What will Hutch look like coming back from injury?  Will we need to block anyone else? 
• How will Detroit's last minute revamped IOL hold up? Do we have the DTs to make it matter? 

And while I'm pumped about Parsons... I'm still excited to see a second-year leap from Cooper!!!

Tons of questions to be answered for sure.

[BrewerFan]

11 hours ago, JosephC said:

I'm not really comfortable with the cornerback situation, but if you read the papers, it sounds like the Packers seem pretty happy with the group as a whole.  I've gotten the impression that they were not happy with nose tackle depth, and that was before the Kenny Clark trade.  The other spot that they did not seem to be happy with is interior OL depth, they helped that by adding Kinnard, but it sounds like Belton is not really ready to see significant snaps and Jennings and Monk (now on injured list) are looking very shaky, even as backups.  Things obviously change depending on who is available.  If a cornerback is freed up that the Packers think can help, then they would likely try to acquire that player.  But all things being equal, just based on what I'm reading, I think the Packers see the need areas as being nose tackle and offensive line.

It seems like it's more the position coaches and how forthright they are. 

Butkus came right out and spoke about concerns about depth(Though he did seem like he was high on Monk).

Hafley just seems generally positive and a lot of the talk about how Melton has taken to CB. That's been a success. We'll see if it's a success relative to what you'd expect or if it's just an actual success as in Melton is a competitive CB, we'll see. 

Covington.... I haven't heard what he's had to say, but seems unlikely he'd feel great about their current situation. 

At least, for the time being, OL would be 6 deep. Walker/Banks/Jenkins/Rhyan-Morgan/Tom. I'd heard how good Morgan had looked, so if Walker won the job... what's that mean? Morgan is that much better at RG? Will he rotate with Walker, with Rhyan?

 

I have a feeling week 1 will be ugly, but we'll get some answers on some key positions. 

[BrewerFan]

17 hours ago, OldSchoolSnapper said:

Hobbs is going to be the "Why, Gutey?" move of the season. He plays aggressively on film but he is literally always hurt and then there's the whole asleep drunk at the wheel on an exit ramp thing...he doesn't seem like "Packer people."

It seems like we could have just kept Stokes for less. 

At the end of last season I thought Carrington Valentine might be the best corner on the team. Hoping he continues to grow. 

 

 

I can't imagine they knew Stokes would sign for so little.

I'm also not sure if you're right about Hobbs, but at least with Parsons, Hobbs makes more sense than before. 

He is physical, doesn't have to cover as long... and they can also get out of the Hobbs deal pretty quickly. 

He'll be 26, they cut him, they save a little vs the cap. 2 years in, they only owe 8M dead cap and save over 6. 

A 13M dead cap is becoming less and less significant with the cap if he can't stay on the field, but for now, Parsons makes it a better signing. 

[LouisEly]

On 9/4/2025 at 4:30 AM, OldSchoolSnapper said:

Hobbs is going to be the "Why, Gutey?" move of the season. He plays aggressively on film but he is literally always hurt and then there's the whole asleep drunk at the wheel on an exit ramp thing...he doesn't seem like "Packer people."

I think the answer is that there just wasn't much to choose from.  

Paulson Adebo missed as many games as Hobbs has over the last 4 seasons, including coming off of a major injury that ended his season last year, and he got almost $35M guaranteed (and, IIRC, all he had done at the time was run on a treadmill).  30-year-old Jourdan Lewis got $20M guaranteed over 3 seasons.  We're living in an era where 15 guards have gotten over $20M guaranteed.

$16M guaranteed is kind of the going rate for an average starter with some risks.

[BrewerFan]

On 9/5/2025 at 4:42 PM, LouisEly said:

I think the answer is that there just wasn't much to choose from.  

Paulson Adebo missed as many games as Hobbs has over the last 4 seasons, including coming off of a major injury that ended his season last year, and he got almost $35M guaranteed (and, IIRC, all he had done at the time was run on a treadmill).  30-year-old Jourdan Lewis got $20M guaranteed over 3 seasons.  We're living in an era where 15 guards have gotten over $20M guaranteed.

$16M guaranteed is kind of the going rate for an average starter with some risks.

Sure, but... Adebo was also a nearly ideal fit for the scheme Hafley has talked about, he's been an outside CB in his career. He's had primarily one injury and by all accounts, he's come all the way back from that and... he led the league in passes defended when he got hurt last year and he was...at least graded as a Jaire type CB the year before as well as a top 100 player in Football going into '24. 

You're also right. These contracts are getting crazy. They signed Brett Favre ~25 years ago to a massive record setting contract. One that was 10 years 100M. They just signed an above average Guard to a 4/77M deal. So we've got to adjust to the contracts. But that makes Adebo's look better to me, not worse. We're going to have eaten probably 200M in dead cap in the last 4 seasons. 35M? And it'd be 13M in dead cap next year and 5M 2 years in. So fairly low risk relatively speaking. 

Reed, Ward, Davis, Murphy were all CBs who fit with the Packers better than... at least at the time it looked like Hobbs fit.

That and we passed on some really good young CBs. Amos, Thomas, Nohl Williams...

Conversely, Morrison and Revel... they haven't done much. And all of this is the pre-season(Morrison was picked ahead of us anyway, so it's like arguing about Terion Arnold). 

Finally-Will Johnson was as close to the Quinyon Mitchell the year prior. Johnson was a protected top 5 pick and has been one of the best rookies thus far. THAT would have been a HR swing and it would have required a trade up...and they've traded up before. But he also had injury concerns. But he's a prototype for what Hafley wants. 

That said, Hobbs is a physical player. Bullard is very good vs the run. Nixon, good vs the run. Williams, McKinney...and they can play zone. Get after the QB with 4 and you have a 5th in Cooper that's one of the best rushing the passer. 

On top of that, Gute seemed determined to upgrade the edge position... which I hoped they'd do with maybe Crosby... MAYBE Garrett(though less confident in a couple 1sts+ for a guy closer to 30) and not a fan of the Hendrickson idea as he was 31 and Parsons really never seemed real. But if you look at the off-season in that context, everything but letting Slaton leave makes a LOT more sense. 

CBs are as reliant on the pass rush as a RB/QB is on the OL, a WR on the QB. 

 So in that context, Hobbs, Bullard, Nixon, Valentine, it makes more sense;

Gute Feb 2nd;

Quote

When asked about trading high draft picks for a veteran player, Gutekunst acknowledged the risks but expressed openness to such moves if the player could significantly impact the team. He said, “It doesn’t happen a lot at all, but we’ve gotten some first-round picks for players. Certainly if that player can impact our football team in a significant way, you have to consider that.” He added, “You’d better be right,” highlighting the need for certainty when trading for a proven, expensive veteran like an edge rusher, as opposed to a young player on a rookie deal.

And then Feb 25th at the combine;

Quote

Gutekunst referenced the Packers’ failed attempt to acquire Khalil Mack in 2018, noting, “I think what I learned from [the Mack] experience is you’ve got to be in it early.”
Gutekunst didn’t rule out trading a first-round pick for an edge rusher, with sources indicating the Packers had explored a trade for Cincinnati Bengals’ Trey Hendrickson earlier in the offseason. He stated, “Any opportunity to help your football team you have to look at and discuss as a group, we do that all the time, it’s almost daily.” This comment came amid speculation about high-profile edge rushers like Parsons, Myles Garrett, and Maxx Crosby, though he didn’t name specific players.

 

So... again, it seems like they went into the off-season with a plan to address the OL, I'm assuming, given how the Alexander thing played out, they wanted to keep Jaire, but... likely didn't want to pay him more than 8M and per Jaire's Dad, none of that money was GTD(to be taken with a grain of salt) but they were also fine building a team that had a front 7 that could get after the QB and use their CBs to play more physically and play against the run. 

[BrewerFan]

Well inactives for the game are;

Green Bay Packers

21 CB Nate Hobbs
39 S Zayne Anderson
67 OL Donovan Jennings
89 TE Ben Sims
91 DL Warren Brinson
99 DL Barryn Sorrell

And for the Lions;

Detroit Lions

12 S Thomas Harper
33 RB Sione Vaki
53 LB Trevor Nowaske
90 DL Chris Smith
94 DL Medhi Wingo
99 Edge Tyrus Wheat

 

So No Hobbs, but Parsons and the WRing core is good to go. 

Can we start fast this year and avoid the week one sloppiness? Can we stop the run, how much does Micah play today?

[HarryDoyle]

And we start the game with a hold on the opening kickoff because of course.

[adambr2]

Setting the tone for the season with a special teams penalty on play #1… typical. 🤣

[yourout]

That might be a DQ

[yourout]

Nice start.

[duewizard]

O line looks crazy good wow

[Brian]

Wow TD already Packers. 

[duewizard]

Love with some bad misses but overall nice drive