Confessions of a Polluted Mindset – Vamo Embora!

Let’s Go! That’s the English translation of Vamo Ebora!(sometimes shortened to Bora!). The 2024 NFL season is upon us and the Packers (and the Eagles) are being showcased in the first ever international game played in Brazil. Newly-minted multi-millionaire Jordan Love leads the team into Sao Paulo against an Eagles team that finished last season in the opposite direction that the Packers did. But that doesn’t mean the Packers should feel comfortable about this game. The Eagles will be motivated to put the NFL on notice that last season’s swoon was a fluke and the real Eagles team was the one that started off 10-1. Conversely, the Packers will  be wanting to show that their run deep into the playoffs was NOT a fluke. That they really are that good. The odds are that both of these things are true, so expect a close, hard-fought game under the bright lights of Corinthians Stadium.

The Packers team that travels to Brazil is the youngest roster in the NFL. It’s also been said the starters are the youngest group in the league, although I’m not sure how “starters” were determined at certain positions. One might think this preponderance of youth is something to be worried about, but how this youthful team dealt with some early adversity, found themselves and charged into the playoffs should allay some of your fears, Then add in how they destroyed the Cowboys in their home and came very close to beating the 49ers, and you might be able to convince yourself that this youthfulness is actually an advantage. I’m not quite there, but I’m also not worried about the youth factor either.

Now think about the fact that five players that did not make the team were picked up by other NFL teams. Anthony Johnson Jr. Grant Dubose  and Royce Newman were all waiver claims, meaning they are on the 53-man roster for their new teams. Samari Toure and Michael Pratt were not claimed but were signed to practice squads. Before last week, the Packers haven’t had a waived player claimed since 2017, when Taysom Hill and Brian Price were claimed by the Saints and Cowboys. respectively. So what does this all mean? It means that after a slow start to his GM career, Brian Gutekunst has found his groove. Starting with 2021, when three current starters were added (Stokes, Myers and McDuffie), Gutey has been stocking the roster with starters and significant contributors via his draft picks. 2022 brought Q. Walker, Wyatt, Watson, Rhyan, Doubs, Tom, Enagbare and R. Walker. 2023 brought Van Ness, Musgrave, Reed, Kraft, Wooden, Clifford, Wicks, Brooks and Valentine, 2024 has brought Morgan, Bullard, Cooper, Hopper, Williams and Lloyd, who have shown starting potential. That’s some impressive roster building, and yet, there are still naysayers who prefer to focus on his misses, as if that doesn’t happen on every other team – and in most cases to a greater extent. And I didn’t even get into the most critical decisions of all that were made at the QB position. Call me a Gutey fan.

Another thing about this roster – they’re healthy! All 53 players on the roster practiced this week – has that ever happened over the last decade or more for the Green bay Packers? My guess would be no. It could just be a fluke, so It’s too early to give all credit to the new strength and conditioning staff, but they are definitely doing things differently than past staffs: 

The days of doing a few hamstring, quad and calf stretches before practice are over.

The Packers routine under new strength & conditioning coordinator Aaron Hill has different groups doing different things at different times.

And yes, those are hurdles along the back wall. pic.twitter.com/LQ0Yz6kJUh

— Rob Demovsky (@RobDemovsky) September 2, 2024

A couple of things on Josh Jacobs. In an interview last week, Jacobs revealed that not only were there other teams interested in signing him, the Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs wanted him badly. But Jacobs turned them down. I’m paraphrasing here, but Jacobs expressed he wasn’t the type of guy who goes to the dominant team. He’d rather go to a team looking to get to that level and be part of the reason why it happens. You gotta love that. In addition, it seems Jacobs takes football and the rivalries that are formed quite seriously. As a Raider for five years, Jacob could not see himself ever putting on a Chiefs jersey. That’s bad news for the Vikings Bears and Lions when the Packers eventually let Jacobs walk. Take him off your list guys, he’s not coming.

The other thing about Jacobs is this. All preseason, I feel like LaFleur has said some things that if you read between the lines, gave you a hint of his plans for Jacobs this season, The other day, Jason Wilde asked LaFleur if once he knew Jacobs was a Packer, he spent time thinking about the different ways he can use him. Lafleur said that from a run standpoint, you’re just going to stick with your run schemes and just find out over time what they like to do and what they’re good at. From a pass standpoint, his answer was more definite, “Definitely… how you can use them in the passing game, whether some guys are checkdown guys, some guys are creative route runners… it will be an interesting year to see what he can do.” Wilde followed up by asking is it was too close to a game plan question to ask if Jacobs has turned out to be both of those things. With a sly smile, LaFleur replied with an emphatic, “Yes.” 

So what am I getting at here? All offseason I’ve been picking up what I considered little clues that Jacobs is gong to get more opportunities in the passing game than you might probably expect, especially with the preponderance of passing game weapons the Packers have at the wide receiver and tight end positions. And it could be that opposing defenses focusing on those weapons opens up opportunities for Jacobs. One thing I’d love to see is something opposing offenses have used quite effectively against the Packers – choice routes in the red zone. Pull the opposing secondary into the back of the end zone with your receivers and tight ends and get your running back isolated underneath on a linebacker. Based on several factors such as the positioning of the linebacker, where the open space is, etc., the running back decides where to take his route. It’s been very effective against the Packers, I hope they make it a weapon in their own red zone offense.