Mike, a very Happy Thanksgiving to you, Wes and your families! Thanks for all you do throughout the year. Personally I’ve come to really enjoy lying on the couch watching Sunday Night Football while reviewing the game blog, reading your post-game articles and checking out the videos, especially Coach LaFleur’s locker room speech and his one-on-one interview with Larry. But it’s crazy to think the Packers’ next Sunday afternoon game is Dec. 29 at MIN, and may well be flexed. What the heck?
What’s your favorite Packers-Dolphins game historically?
I’ve only covered a handful, but that final drive in Miami in 2014 was really something.
I’ll be up very early Thursday preparing for a 1:30 p.m. family meal. As much as I’m looking forward to gathering with loved ones, I’m also excited to tune into the game and follow the live blog action with Spoff. A proper way to end a special day. With that, what do the Dolphins do well that GB must have an answer for on Thanksgiving?
They run away from you, with or without the ball in their hands. With the ball in their hands, the Packers must tackle well. Missed tackles lead to ruptured plays. Without the ball in their hands, the Packers must communicate to adequately handle bunch formations at the line and smoothly pass off assignments in zone.
Lots of variables defensively for the Packers Thursday. Everyone knows Hill but we do a pretty good job of preventing the long strike. My concern is Waddle is his array of elite routes and Achane out of the backfield. Those two can absolutely destroy defenses focusing on Hill. Not to mention, Smith has had a career year thus far. Do you think they try to take the game to Tua or stay back and hope they can cover for three seconds before the standard rush gets there? Pick your poison, I guess.
I expect the Dolphins, especially in the cold, to throw quick passes underneath, or WR screens, etc., and let their playmakers play. As I said on “Unscripted,” these guys are the masters at turning 5-yard passes into 25-yard gains. If you blitz on a play Tua is taking a three-step drop and getting the ball out right away, you’re really vulnerable to the run after catch.
Good morning II. As we approach Thanksgiving and prepare for the Dolphins, what kind of insight can you provide on Miami’s D? Seems like we hear a lot (and deservedly so) about the talented offense, but do not hear much about the D. I like the way the running game looked against the 49ers and feel like if we can keep that up, we will be hard to beat against anyone.
Miami’s defense is just solid across the board, ranked in or near the top 10 in the league in every major category – yards and points per game, opponent passer rating, third down, red zone. There isn’t some glaring weakness. But Buffalo put up 30 points on them twice, and the Bills are built a lot like the Packers when it comes to explosive plays.
Hey fellas, as a Packers fan living in south Florida, I’ve watched my share of Tua. He seems to have trouble with the handle in cold or rainy weather. I joke with my Dolphins fan friend that it due to his tiny Tua hands. Let’s hope my observations hold true on Thursday!
Tua’s throwing hand actually measures 10 inches, just slightly smaller than Josh Allen’s and Aaron Rodgers’ (both 10 1/8). He’s determined to crack the narrative about him being winless when it’s under 40 degrees, and these guys played in absolutely arctic conditions last January in Kansas City, so I don’t expect 20 degrees to bother them much.
Mike from Sun Prairie, WI
The Wing-T offense concepts are really opening up the running game. We all know this but Matt LaFleur is a tireless offensive schemer that deserves more credit. Limiting the time a defense has to read and react to pre-snap movements is pure genius, stops them from playing fast. That’s the idea behind these formations right?
That and distracting their eyes with potential threats that don’t pertain to who’s actually getting the ball.
Good morning Spoff, are we seeing an elite running back renaissance in the NFL? Perhaps I’m a prisoner of the moment, but it sure feels like many of the top teams have that elite running back that is putting up huge numbers this year and fueling their offensive output. Is the NFL slowly shifting back to pounding the rock like before the pass-happy mid-2000s began?
It’ll feel like a renaissance until once again teams will hesitate to pay top dollar to a running back in his upper 20s, which is usually smart business but always has its exceptions. Barkley turns 28 in a couple months and Henry is almost 31, but here we are. I doubt the Eagles or Ravens envisioned those guys topping 1,300 rushing yards by Thanksgiving, but that’s how their seasons have unfolded and they’re riding the hot hands for all they’re worth.
If the Giants don’t give Daniel Jones the big contract after beating the Vikings in the playoffs, is Xavier McKinney a Packer right now?
Interesting question. Impossible to answer.