What Will it Take for Green Bay to Win the NFC Championship Game | Ticket King Green Bay

What is it going to take for the Green Bay Packers to win the NFC Championship this weekend? Many things, for sure. What's changed since the Packers faced the 49ers in November? Many things. We won't get too deep into the weeds with this effort, but it's safe to say that both teams will be making adjustments.

First, Aaron Rodgers will (hopefully) not fumble the ball inside the Packers 20 yard line again. That was the spark for the 49ers last time. San Francisco seemed to be playing at a different level of speed after that fumble, and Green Bay couldn't match it. This game will feature two solid efforts by by the quarterbacks. LaFleur will be looking to get pocket time down to  milliseconds if need be, and Aaron will surely be making short, quick sideline passes to Adams, right from the get go. Doubling up on pass protection in the backfield will also be part of this game.

Tyler Ervin has put a wrinkle into the Green Bay offense, and the Packers return game. He might even peel off a return for a touchdown, shaking up the 49ers plans in a big way. Expect Jimmy Graham to get open in the flat this game, and Rodgers will have just enough time to get the ball to him. We're not talking huge gains, but those big ones on third down.

Finally, Rodgers has the experience. He knows what it's like to win in high pressure games. The Packers defense will pressure Garoppolo in this game, and possibly pick off a pass or two. We're not going to predict a win for the Packers, but rest assured, this game will not be a blowout for either team. Go Pack Go!

NFL Hot Takes Week Ten - Packers Defense Needs Improvement - Ticket King Green Bay

We are ten weeks into the NFL season, and we have plenty of stories that have unfolded. Time for some hot takes on all that is football in 2019.

Packers Defense- The Packers defense has too much talent to be playing as poorly as they have since the Eagles game. Coming into the game against Carolina, Kenny Clark stated that the defense has spent a lot more time watching film. Preston Smith noted that there is plenty of self criticism, and that members of the defense need to allow for some outside input on how they are playing. La Fleur mentioned that they were doing a lot of  “self scouting” in this department.

Packers Record- Through ten games the Packers are 8-2. Their over/under for the season was 7.5. That means with six games to go they have already beaten the spread. Let that one sink in.

Baker Mayfield- What we are seeing with Baker Mayfield is the difference between Aaron Rodgers sitting for three years and Aaron Rodgers playing from day one, as Mayfield has.

Granted, Mayfield isn’t waiting in the wings behind a Hall of Fame Quarterback like Brett Favre, and he’s playing for a team that has a first year head coach running the show. In fact, the differences between the Packers as an organization, and the Browns is probably putting more influence on how Mayfield acts on and off the field, than he was perceived to be in college ball. There have been plenty of cocky rookie first rounders in the NFL, but most of them settle in when they find out that their talent level in college is easily matched in the NFL.

Rams Personnel Moves- What in the world are the Rams doing? Trading two first-round draft choices for cornerback Jalen Ramsey was just the latest in a string of moves intended to build an “All-Star” team. How many All-Star teams have lifted the Lombardi trophy?

Jason Garrett- The last three minutes of the Cowboys/Vikings game on Sunday night was some of the worst clock management in recent years. Once they got into Vikings territory the Cowboys should have slowed it down and burned the clocked, either scoring a touchdown with six seconds left or losing the game. The hurried play calling showed, as the Vikings were ready for both of those draw plays to Elliott on second and third down.

Garder Minshew/Nick Foles- Coming out of their bye week here, the Jaguars will turn to Nick Foles. Yes, they just benched the rookie of the year Gardner Minshew.

Bears Quarterback Rumors- Mitch Trubisky was supposed to take that final big step this season after a promising 2018. Instead, he’s taken one giant step backward, and the Bears are ready to bail on him, according the rumors. Tom Brady, Phillip Rivers, Matt Ryan, Teddy Bridgewater, Marcus Mariota, and Joe Flacco have all been linked to the Bears for next season.

Packers Survive and Advance After Wild Ride Against Kansas City | Ticket King Green Bay

If we could describe the Green Bay Packers season in three words they would be “survive and advance.”

Once again, the Packers lived by those words. Coming into this matchup, this was a game the Packers should have won easily. The Chiefs were without their star young quarterback Pat Mahomes, their two starting offensive linemen to the left side, and several key defensive players.  The Packers raced out to a 14-0 lead, and a blowout looked imminent. But the Matt Moore led Chiefs scored 17 unanswered points to take a 17-14 lead. The Packers fired right back with 10 straight of their own in the second half and held on for a 31-24 victory. Let’s look at the good and the bad from tonight’s game.

The Bad:

The Packers secondary, which was built to be much better this season and has been most games, was awful in the first half. They let Matt Moore (one year out of the league) look like he was on the same level as Aaron Rodgers. Moore threw the ball all over the field tonight, finishing the game 24 of 36 for 267 yards and two touchdowns.

Six of the the front seven on defense were on their heels for the first half of this game. They were confused by the pre snap motion, and burned by the speed that the Chiefs have in their wideouts. This may have been Preston Smith’s worst game of the season so far, as he finished with no sacks and just one quarterback hit.

The Good:

Aaron Jones  had himself a game last night. Jones finished the game with 20 touches for 226 yards and two touchdowns. 156 of those yards came through the air. He is starting to look like a young Dorsey Levens. Last season, Jones was just not called upon to catch passes, but this year he’s a multi dimensional force.

Aaron Rodgers finished his night completing 23 of 33 passes, for 305 yards and three touchdowns. There were more than a few passes that reminded everyone what a rare talent we have in Rodgers.

Matt LaFleur continues to adjust his gameplan week after week after week, and he did it yet again tonight. Last week he beat the Raiders on the edge with the big receivers. Last night, he torched a Chiefs beaten up linebacker unit with perhaps the hardest guy to cover in the league, Aaron Jones. His decision coming out of the two-minute warning showed me that he and Aaron Rodgers are finally on the same page. He could have tried to run the ball and pick up a first down, which would have been unlikely or run the clock down to almost a minute left before punting. Instead, he went five wide and let his big-money all-world quarterback go get it done with the game on the line. And sure enough, he did.

The Packers travel to Los Angeles next week to take on the Chargers, in a game that should see  80% Packers fans filling the stands. It should be a road game in name only. As for last night, the Packers survived and advanced.

Packers Peaking Against Raiders | Ticket King Green Bay

The Green Bay Packers ran over the Raiders on Sunday, cruising to a 42-24 victory that wasn’t as close as the score indicated. The win puts the Packers at 6-1 on the season.

When you compare Aaron Rodgers' first game of the season to his “NFC Player of the Week” performance last Sunday, you would think that they were two different quarterbacks. Through the early weeks of the season, the Packers leaned heavily on the defense, and it paid off. Once the Packers get everybody healthy, specifically Davante Adams and Darnell Savage, is there an even stronger team to come? 

Under LaFleur, Aaron Jones is finally getting the workload he should have. To this point in the season, Jones has 128 touches for 595 yards and nine touchdowns. This is exactly how it should be. Davnte Adams may not be back for this upcoming game at Kansas City, but all is not lost. This banged up core of wideouts has stepped up to the task. Elgton Jenkinsm a second-round rookie offensive lineman has stepped in for the injured Lane Taylor at left guard and has not looked back. He has been marvelous so far, and the Packers offensive line has been much better since he stepped into the role.

Packers vs Lions 2019 Game Preview | Ticket King Green Bay

The Green Bay Packers are coming off their most important win the of the season, when they beat the Dallas Cowboys 34-24 after jumping out to a 31-3 lead. This week, the Detroit Lions come to town, looking for their third-straight win at Lambeau Field.

Rodgers is getting more and more comfortable in this offense each week. Even though it didn’t show up on the stat sheet, Rodgers had his best game of the season in Dallas. Without Davante Adams, Rodgers found nine different receivers, and was calm as could be in key moments. The Packers will be without Adams again this week, so they will need a similar game from Rodgers.

 The other Aaron is coming off his best performance of his career, scoring four touchdowns. Without Davante Adams, the Packers are going to need a similar performance from the running game, but unlike last week, Jones will not have to do it all by himself. After the big hit two weeks ago that many feared ended his season, and possibly his career, Jamal Williams has already cleared concussion protocol and is back for the Packers. That is welcome news, as now, with Tra Carson, then Matt LaFleur can split the running load between three running backs, and keep the workload off of Jones so he is fresher for later on in the season.

Even though the focus will be on the running backs this week, the wide receiver core unit will need to provide a similar performance as they had in Dallas. They weren’t special, but they came up big for Aaron Rodgers when they needed to.

The Packers have gotten more than their return on their investment in Za’Darius Smith and Preston Smith. “The Smiths” could very well be the first team All-Pro for both outside linebacker positions at the end of the season. They have been that good. They were in Dak Prescott’s face all day in Dallas, but Prescott was able to slip away on many occasions because of his athletic ability. That will not be happening with Matthew Stafford. The Lions offensive line has their hands full in this one.

This is a young secondary is, talented & opportunistic, and chances, and based on what we have seen so far this season, they will be. Final Score: 24-17 Packers.

Matthew Stafford, for as great as he is, will give the opposing secondary 2-3 chances a game to make a play. They need to be ready for those

Packers "Stock Report" for Week Three | Ticket King Green Bay

The Packers almost covered the spread against the Broncos on Sunday, earning a 27-16 victory in the rain and the slog. Vince Lombardi would have been proud. The win puts the Packers at a very surprising 3-0 to begin the season. Let’s review the game in “Stock Market Report” form.

Blue Chip Stocks

Preston Smith/OLB- One of the big free agent signings of the offseason, Preston Smith had himself a monster of a game, finishing with three sacks, two tackles for a loss, and three more quarterback hits on top of that.

Za’Darius Smith/OLB- The other of the Smiths had himself a huge game as well, finishing the day with two sacks, two tackles for a loss, and three quarterback hits of his own. The Smith’s now have more sacks combined than the Packers starting rush linebackers did all of last season TOTAL.

Jaire Alexander/CB- Cornerback’s games don’t show up on the stat sheet, but Alexander is becoming one of the best corners in the league. He had another great game yesterday.

Darnell Savage/S- The Packers moved up to take Savage in the first round this year, and so far, they have gotten more than their investment back in return. Savage has graded out as the eighth-best safety in the league so far this season.

J.K. Scott/P- J.K. Scott has been the Packers best player so far this season, and at the rate he is going, he could very well be the first punter in history to end up on the MVP ballot.

Solid Investments

Marquez Valdes-Scantling/WR- MVS had himself a good game, catching six passes for 99 yards, including the first “Aaron Rodgers $14.95 three-course special- free play, deep pass, and a touchdown” of the season in the first quarter.

Jamal Williams/RB- He bulldozed his way through the mud all game, picking up important first downs and getting that tough yardage all game.

Blake Martinez/ILB- Another game, another solid performance for the All-Pro, finishing the game with 12 tackles.

Junk Bonds
Aaron Rodgers/QB- Rodgers and Matt LaFleur need to get on the same page, and soon.

Aaron Jones- He scored two touchdowns today but those were both in shorter yardage situations, and Jones only had 19 yards rushing in this one.

Buy/Sell

Buy: The Packers defense is for real- So far this season, this Packers defense has surrendered the second-fewest points in the league. The pass rush is clicking, and this defense is the real deal.

Sell: They can rely on the defense like this from this point forward- The defense may be for real now, but they can’t ask the defense to just completely shut down opponents every week like this. The offense has got to be better.

Buy: The offense has room for improvement- The offense has been bad, but the potential is there.

Packers Take Down Vikings | Ticket King Green Bay

The Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings met at Lambeau Field Sunday afternoon in a crucial early NFC North matchup. The winner would stake out to an early division lead through two weeks, and that winner proved to be the Green Bay Packers. The team raced out to a 21-0 lead, and held on for a 21-16 victory. Here are some rapid reactions to the game.

Packers: This game could not have started any better for the Packers. After going deep to Davante Adams on the first play from scrimmage. From there, an Aaron Jones run set up a 15-yard touchdown pass to Jamal Williams. The Vikings first drive ended with a missed field goal. The Packers got the ball back and marched on a methodical, eleven play touchdown drive. The Vikings failed on their next drive when Kirk Cousins fumbled, and the Packers took that gift and scored. That was pretty much the end of the highlights for the Packers offense. Mike Zimmer made adjustments, and the Vikings defense clamped down, keeping the Packers off the scoreboard for the rest of the game. The second half of the game revealed the much expected growing pains for Matt LaFleur.

Vikings: The loss falls upon Kirk Cousins. Cousins finished the day 14-32 for 230 yards, a touchdown, two interceptions, and a lost fumble. The interception in the fourth quarter was a ball Cousins simply should not have thrown. It was first down, the Vikings were running the ball on the Packers, and he had three shots at a touchdown if he just makes the right decisions. Cousins made bad decisions all game and missed open receivers. In the second half, the Vikings didn’t abandon the run game, but they also put too much on Cousins, asking him to throw thirty-plus passes. Cousins is not a game changer, literally. The Vikings will adjust, and their run game is for real. Also, give credit to the Packers defense yet again. They kept the Vikings out of the end zone just enough times to give the Packers the win. It’s another home game for Green Bay this Sunday, when the Denver Broncos come to town.