We know you don’t want to talk to your great-aunt at Thanksgiving this week. I’m happy to provide this mailbag as an excuse to bury your head in your phone before the Packers kick off against the Dolphins on Thursday night. Let’s dive in.
Note: Submitted questions have been edited for clarity and length.
Is the winter weather advantage of Lambeau a ghost of our past? Tua seemed confident in his post-game presser. — @PackersDiehards
According to Pro Football Talk, Tua Tagovailoa’s teams are 0-7 in games played below 40 degrees Fahrenheit. It’s supposed to be around 20 on Thursday night at Lambeau Field. That’s the only reason I think the weather might be an advantage for the Packers. In general, I don’t think the cold provides much of an advantage for the Packers based on recent years. “I’m excited to kill narratives, so let’s go. Bring it on,” Tagovailoa said in his postgame press conference after Sunday’s blowout win over the Patriots. Maybe the eighth time is the charm.
Packers-Dolphins injury report estimations. Neither team practiced today. pic.twitter.com/Kkg2O1cmVT
— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) November 25, 2024
Are the Packers now a run-first team? — @McconveyLachlan
The Packers have 347 carries to 319 passes this season. Those numbers are skewed slightly by scrambles and the games in which Malik Willis played quarterback. Technically, they are a run-first team, but head coach Matt LaFleur said Sunday that “every game’s a different game.” Ideally, the Packers probably want to establish the run first to open up the play-action passing game, get out to a lead and wear defenses down with the run as the game progresses. It doesn’t always work out like that, but I think the Packers are confident relying on either the run or pass to lead them through a game depending on the situation and what opposing defensive alignments call for.
Do you think defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley figured something out with utilizing Quay Walker? Or did Quay have something click for him internally? We’ll need that decisiveness and speed again versus De’Von Achane. — @n_deutsch19
Walker is fast and physical going downhill, so it was a smart move by Hafley to scheme him up on the opening drive for an A-gap simulated pressure that helped force a Rashan Gary sack-fumble. It had to have been encouraging for the Packers to see Walker deliver on that play after freezing with a clear shot at Caleb Williams last Sunday on a fourth-and-2 the Bears converted. Walker dropped an interception, yes, but to the naked eye, he looked more decisive in his pursuits and sound in his tackling than last Sunday, like on a sideline tackle for loss of Christian McCaffrey and a pressure that forced a Brandon Allen throwaway. So to answer your question, both. They’ll certainly need that against the speed Miami possesses on offense.
QUAY WITH THE PLAY.
SACK!#SFvsGB pic.twitter.com/PiZzeZQS78
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) November 24, 2024
Can we please dedicate a WR practice just for the JUGS machine? — @millercheese1
Believe it or not, Christian Watson’s drop on Sunday that would’ve resulted in a 49-yard touchdown was his first of the season (he has 20 receptions), according to Pro Football Focus. The Packers as a team, however, rank fourth-worst in the NFL with 23 drops. PFF credits seven to Jayden Reed, six to Dontayvion Wicks, five to Romeo Doubs, two to Tucker Kraft and one each to Watson, Bo Melton and Chris Brooks. That ain’t good.
How do you think Miami approaches the Green Bay defense considering the factors of weather, short week, etc.? — @sadmngbfan
According to Next Gen Stats, Tagovailoa has the shortest average intended air yards on passes this season (5.5) of any quarterback in the league. Against a defense with a likely first-team All-Pro safety in Xavier McKinney, I don’t see a quarterback known for throwing short to start bombing it downfield. Tagovailoa will take what the Packers give him, as Williams did in Chicago against Hafley’s defense, and hope Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle and Achane can earn yards after the catch. I think that’s where the Dolphins start with their offensive game plan on Thursday.
Is your opinion of Aaron Rodgers not ever playing for the Vikings coming from your heart or your brain? Rodgers has a lot of player friends in Minnesota and knows that the coaching/organization is good. He’ll go wherever there is a need and fit, regardless if they compete with the Packers. — @VenitVirginia
My heart doesn’t matter. I don’t care emotionally what he does. I just know he’s referred to the Packers as “we” on “The Pat McAfee Show” after departing Green Bay (not all the time, of course). He may not like general manager Brian Gutekunst if that feeling has persisted since he told me that last May, but Rodgers doesn’t seem to have the same ill will toward the organization that Brett Favre did. I don’t think he’d want to play for one of Green Bay’s division rivals twice in a year because of his perceived feelings toward the franchise for which he played 18 seasons. I could very well be wrong because what if the Vikings are the only contending team that wants him if they even are interested? And what if the money is too good to pass up? It’s a business, after all, but I don’t see it happening.
🎙️New Brick and the Stick with @kuhnj30🎙️
• Breaking down Josh Jacobs and unsuspecting defensive playmakers from Sunday
• Previewing Packers-Dolphins with some telling numbers on Tua since his return
• Thanksgiving night score predictions
And more: https://t.co/VBdzhgp9Mr
— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) November 25, 2024
How do you like the Packers’ chances of further ruining Miami’s season on Thanksgiving? — @MrEd315
I’m going Packers 24, Dolphins 20, as much as the Joe Barry revenge factor will come into play. The former Green Bay defensive coordinator is now the Dolphins’ run-game coordinator and linebackers coach. Miami ranks eighth in the NFL in rushing yards allowed per game, so Barry is doing a nice job. That said, I think Josh Jacobs will prove effective in his first true cold-weather game with the Packers and will wear down Miami’s defense while opening up the play-action game for Jordan Love. Tagovailoa’s 0-7 record in sub-40 temperatures is telling and a Dolphins team that ranks 26th in sack rate allowed will make him even less comfortable in the cold. Green Bay gets to 9-3 ahead of a massive Thursday night tilt in Detroit next week.
Will the Packers trade for a great DL or CB or would they rather go through the draft? — @butzier_luke
We all know how the Packers feel about their draft picks. Trading for a great player at one of those spots would require parting with multiple premium picks. I don’t see the Packers doing that, even if it’s for an immediate upgrade and a proven player. Green Bay would rather take its chances on an early draft pick they have on a rookie contract for four years with the option to control him for a fifth. There’s also the chance one or a couple of guys in either position group step up over the final six games and into the playoffs enough to convince Gutekunst they’re all set. I find that latter scenario unlikely, though.
Which team in the NFL feels good about the way they line up against the Packers? — @SmallLebowski10
The Packers rank third in the NFL with 151.6 rushing yards per game, so I’m looking at teams that stop the run well first and foremost. Let’s stick with the NFC for now. That’s the Vikings (first in rushing yards allowed per game), Lions (fifth) and Eagles (seventh). The Packers didn’t run the ball poorly against any of those three teams, but they’re the three that have beaten Green Bay this season. Stout run defense generally indicates overall team toughness, so it’s no surprise those teams are the three best in the NFC right now. I’d put the Packers fourth in the conference through 12 weeks.
Why are Packers fans so annoying when it comes to Christian Watson? — @the_jingerbeard
Annoying in what sense? As in demanding the Packers throw him the ball more? I can see that gripe, especially with his contested catch ability (as I mentioned above, his drop Sunday was his first of the season). Watson has 19 fewer targets than Romeo Doubs’ team-high 53 and fifth-most on the team. Or annoying as in you expect more from Watson? Aside from his drop Sunday and misjudgment on that deep ball against the Lions, no glaring mistakes by him come to mind. And he’s been healthy all season aside from missing one game after a freak ankle injury. He just hasn’t been thrown the ball a ton.
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(Photo of Jordan Love handing off to Josh Jacobs: Michael Reaves / Getty Images)
