Mike's Mid-Week Chat: What are the key matchups for the Packers vs. the 49ers?

Cheesehead

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Mar 19, 2019
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I think it will be very hard to resign Kevin King after the year. He simply isn't on the field enough. I know the defense is much better with him than without, but I'm guessing the cost could be $10M per and it just seems he can't be counted on to be on the field. How do you see it?


King's injury history, which unfortunately has resumed this year after a strong and healthy 2019, makes his market very difficult to predict. If he had put together another healthy and productive season like last year, I'd have expected a really big price tag. Now, who knows? Maybe he comes back quickly and the rest of the season there are no issues. But no guarantees there obviously. There could be a wide variance in what teams, including the Packers, think he's worth.


How is Mason Crosby doing? Is he off the injury list?


He is still on the injury report but there's been no indication he's in any worse shape than last week, when he was available for place kicks, but gave way to JK Scott on kickoffs.


What is the latest time someone like Allen Lazard can come off of IR and still be eligible to play tomorrow?


The Packers have until 3 p.m. CT tomorrow to make roster moves for a Thursday night game. I don't know what moves the Packers are going to make, but I'm expecting at least a few.


I know SF is really banged up on offense, but how's the secondary looking? Given the Packers RB situation, I wouldn't be surprised if Lafleur and Aaron Rodgers opt for pass heavy play calling.


Other than Richard Sherman's injury, the 49ers' secondary is pretty much the same unit as last January. The DBs plus Warner and Greenlaw at linebacker. The rest of their defense looks very different. I think a lot of this game will fall on Rodgers due to the Packers' RB situation, but they'll still need a ground game of some kind to keep SF honest.


Ted Ginn Jr. would look great in our slot, Bears just released him, what do you think?


The Bears are having a lot more trouble on offense than the Packers do, so if Ginn can't help them, I'm not sure how much he could help GB. But in a year like this I guess there's no reason to rule anything out.


Is it just me or have the Packers been unable to stop the run for years now. When was the last time they finished in the Top 10 in run defense?


It's been a while, and I'd have to halt the chat to look it up and be sure of my info. But they don't have to be top 10 against the run, they just can't have these games like last January and last week when the other team's run game completely dominates. They have to play more consistently and figure out how to stem the tide in a game when things start to go wrong.


Do you think Darnell Savage has reached the expectations so far in year 2?


I think the Packers were looking for more of a Year 2 jump from him in terms of high-impact plays. That hasn't happened yet, but there's still a lot of season left.


What is the biggest difference, outside of COVID, between the 2019 Packers and the 2020 Packers? My opinion is the number of injuries to overcome.


No question. The Packers were remarkably healthy all last season. They've had a lot more to deal with this year, and so far they've managed to navigate them pretty well. The offense needs David Bakhtiari, Aaron Jones and Lazard back sooner than later, though. Those are three key players on one side of the ball and we saw last week how hard it is to consistently produce on offense without them.


Can you help me understand why players having been in contact with positive cases are being automatically ruled out despite being tested every day...?


Because exposure doesn't necessarily lead to a positive test right away. The virus can be incubating for a few days and then show up as a positive test, but the infected person could be spreading it to others in the meantime without knowing. It's the high side of caution, but with the way these outbreaks have gone, a string of positive tests can show up within a team over the course of several days. No one knows the extent all at once, so the goal is to isolate high-risk contacts as soon as possible for five days even if they're testing negative.
 
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