Packers Versus Chiefs Preview | Ticket King Green Bay

We have arrived at week three of the 2015 season. The Packers are coming off a solid week two win at home against Seattle 27-17, a game that we were expecting them to lose. Here is our preview for tonight's game against Kansas City.

How will the injuries affect the Packers? The Packers have been hit hard with injuries so far this season. Sam Barrington, Jordy Nelson, and Josh Boyd are all done for the season and Brian Bulaga is out until the end of October. They also have been very lucky. Randall Cobb's shoulder injury could have been devastating but he has played through it, and the pain is subsidizing each week. The ankle injuries to Davonte Adams and Eddie Lacy could have been bad as well. However both are probable for tonight at the moment. Morgan Burnett will miss tonight's game though, so that will hurt the tackling on defense.

Even though Adams and Lacy are probably, we wonder how effective they will be. We expected limited action for the both of them. We believe Lacy will finish with about 15 carries for 70 yards or so. Predicting Adams is a lot harder though, as most wide receivers numbers fluctuate from week to week.

Can Aaron Rodgers have an “Aaron Rodgers game” against Kansas City? In week one against Chicago Rodgers went 18 of 23 for 189 yards and three touchdowns. In week two against Seattle Rodgers went for 249 yards and two touchdowns. A very pedestrian performance by his standards. When we say “Aaron Rodgers game”, we mean 32-38 for 340 yards and five touchdowns, or somewhere along those lines. The Chiefs secondary is tough, although rookie cornerback Marcus Peters will provide an inviting target for Rodgers to attack.

Can the front seven keep up this pace of play? A week ago, the front seven of the Packers defense had one of their best games as a collective unit in recent memory. They shut down the Seahawks rushing attack all night, which allowed the defense to repeatedly get off the field all night, a nice change of pace from the usual up and down the field play we are used to.

Can Micah Hyde and Sean Richardson play better in Burnett's absence? Safety Morgan Burnett missed week one and the Packers secondary look below average against Jay Cutler. Burnett played last week, and the secondary shut down the Seahawks passing game all night. Burnett will miss tonight's game, so that gives Richardson and Hyde a second chance to vindicate themselves in Burnett's absence.

Final Score: We expect the Packers to win this one by the score of 34-20. 

Packers Defense Must Improve In 2014 | Our Best Guess At Who Will Start For Green Bay

This week let’s take a look at the Packers defense as we try to project the roster for week one. This will be harder to do than the offense was, so let’s give it our best shot.  Before we get into the nuts and bolts of who will start, we must mention that the defense performed a bit better in 2013, when compared to 2012, where they finished dead last. There is so much room for improvement, that moving up a half dozen spots would still place the team in the bottom half of the league. If the Packers want to go deep into the 2014 playoffs, they have to make massive improvements.  

If we were to take a serious look at how the Packers defensive line performed in 2013, when compared to the rest of the NFL, they rank 26th. That's not so hot.  The team lacked the ability to stop teams that reached the "second level" on the field, only rating better than two other teams in that category.  They gave up 4.26 yards when using the "adjusted line" stats. Still, the team will be going with some familiar names, going into 2014. Defensive Lineman: Starters: B.J. Raji, Datone Jones, Josh Boyd. Backups: Jerel Worthy, Mike Daniels, Khyri Thornton, Leroy Guion.

This unit is all over the place. This was our best shot at trying to determine the starters. The truth is any of these guys could end up starting. We believe Jones will start along with Boyd, but the truth is, this is wide open and we will not know until the end of camp.

Linebackers: Starters: Clay Matthews, Nick Perry, A.J. Hawk, Brad Jones. Backups: Mike Neal, Julius Peppers, Jamari Lattimore, Carl Bradford, Nate Palmer, Sam Barrington,.

The big stunner here may be the listing of Julius Peppers as a backup. We don’t think Peppers will start but he will be key. We believe the Packers are going to use big rotation along the seven man front to keep everyone fresh and healthy. Can Clay Matthews stay healthy for an entire season? If so, look out, if not, well than that contract could become a burden really fast.

Defensive Backs: Starters: Sam Shields, Tramon Williams, Morgan Burnett, HaHa Clinton-Dix. Backups: Devon House, Casey Heyward, Micah Hyde, Sean Richardson.

If they all stay healthy and play to their abilities this might be the deepest defensive secondary in the league. Williams could end up as the Nickel though s both Heyward and House could send him to the bench. I would say that is what the coaches want to happen, but Williams is a nice insurance policy. I think this is the year Bush finally doesn’t make the roster. The coaches really like Richardson as well.