Packers Periscope: Brazi-L and a Bratkowski-Willis Connection
By Tony_Wilson
It didn't take long for all of the excitement, pageantry, and energy of the Packers trip to Brazil to be replaced by a messy game - both Xs and Os and the field itself - and, at the time, serious injury to the team's quarterback on the last play of the game. As the saying goes, "time heals all wounds," it may heal wounds enough literally, with Matt LaFleur not exactly closing the door on Jordan Love making it back this week. But with Love or not, there's plenty to clean up from the team's opening loss to Philly.
And with that, let's set our sights on a new opponent. And a home opener at Lambeau, no less! The tape's been watched, the game plan's in action and the Periscope is up to look at the past, present and future of the Colts and Packers.
The Past
All-time, the Packers trail the Indianapolis (and Baltimore) Colts 24-21-1, with the most recent coming in an overtime loss in 2020 to a Philip Rivers-led ball club. In fact, Indy's snagged 4 of the last 5 against the Green & Gold, with the lone Packer win coming in 2008, a 34-14 throttling. So, here's to breaking a bit of a streak on Sunday.
But this week's look back will look a tad familiar. A game that started with a key injury to a certain star (or Starr, in this case) quarterback and his backup coming in to save the day. And on this day, December 26, 1965, the Baltimore Colts, without their best player Johnny Unitas, took on the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field for the Western Conference Championship.
On the game's first offensive snap, Bart Starr dropped back quickly and delivered a short pass to tight end Bill Anderson. He was hit, fumbled the ball, and Colts' defender Don Shinnick picked it up and ran it back for a touchdown. But on the play, Starr, in an attempt to make a tackle, injured himself on the play and was knocked out the game. Filling in, Backup Hall of Famer, Zeke Bratkowski.
Offensively, however, the Packer struggled with zero first half points. A Colts field goal of 15 yards from Lou Michaels made the score 10-0 Colts at halftime. Then, I'm going to go ahead and guess that Vince Lombardi did some Vince Lombardi things at halftime. Because the second half, even with a backup QB, showed why the Packers were the team of the 1960s.
Giving up zero points, the Packers turned the tide, led by the Golden Boy himself, Paul Hornung, to cut the lead to 10-7. Then, late in the 4th, Don Chandler hit a debated-upon 22-yard field goal to tie the game. Then, in overtime, Chandler hit one more to give the Packers a 13-10 victory and Western Conference Championship.
The Present
I must admit, the Anthony Richardson touchdown bomb, after slipping, moving and chucking an absolute nuke, was one of the coolest throws I've ever seen. He's incredibly fun to watch, is a unique talent and someone to tune in for specifically. But a perfect quarterback, he is far from it. And I think he's a quarterback this Packers defense can prey upon. But in order to prey on Richardson, they first must stop Guardian Helmet Hero, Jonathan Taylor.
Taylor, still one of the league's best running backs, was mostly held at bay against Houston, with only 48 yards on 16 carries and a paltry 3.0 YPC. But make no mistake, this is a fast, dynamic offense that can cause headaches for this Packers defense.
Clearly, however, the biggest questions are at quarterback for Green Bay. Will Love play? Fantastically doubtful. Instead, what's most likely, is that backup Malik Willis will get the start. Now, he's into his second week on the team and is learning every day, especially with a start on the horizon. Which means 2025 NFL Coach of the Year Matt LaFleur needs to be at his very best with the plan to maximize Willis' strengths, avoid turnovers and, frankly, just move the football.
It'll be an interesting week ahead, tracking practice. With the team set to take the field today, we'll hear from LaFleur later on any practice and injury updates. Wondering if a certain Jordan Love may be limited, or a DNP.
The Future
The home opener at Lambeau Field is a seriously special event. It's been what feels like 100 years since this happened Week 1, but whenever it is, it's a holiday for Packers fans. And, the Brown County faithful have to be pleased with a noon kick on a Sunday, one of three in a row.
This game will come down to two things. One, is the Packers' defense ability to slow down Richardson. He's shown he's a dynamic athlete capable of flipping the field and making huge plays. Forcing him into making tough decisions can blow up in his face. On the other side, obviously it's Malik Willis. His opportunities have lacked, but there's no doubting his skillset. He's got a big arm and fast legs. And it's up to Tom Clements and Matt LaFleur to maximize what he can do on Sunday and beyond.
History does not favor teams who start 0-2, so this is a pretty big game for both teams. The boys in Green need to bring their best and even up the record at 1-1.
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Tony Wilson takes pride in journalism training from 2/3 of directional-Michigan MAC schools. A former Sporting News writer, Tony now focuses on the Packers from his home in Toledo, OH. His beer of choice is a Miller Lite from the bottom of the cooler. You can find him on Twitter @TonePackTone.
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Comments (3)
Coldworld
September 11, 2024 at 10:50 am
“But make no mistake, this is a fast, dynamic offense that can cause headaches for this Packers defense.”
This a huge stretch. Right now they have Taylor and a lot less to see at skill positions than the Eagles. Richardson has struggled mightily as a QB in a handful of starts. In fact what I see is about as close as one could get to a team led by Willis, experientially and in terms of the questions over the QBs.
Neither are known to process well. Richardson didn’t seem improved. Maybe Willis has in last year, but there’s no conclusive evidence since his preseason was a small sample and later in games. Both have been very inaccurate to date, both have can on arms. Both are best running. Richardson is bigger at 6’4, 244, but Willis is faster and probably a better runner technically.
The Colts attempted only 19 passes, completing 9 last week. They go deep a lot because their routes are simple and with his arm and accuracy, the risk isn’t much less than going short and the odds of a 10 pass string are very low. Stop the run and contain Richardson and bad things are more likely going to happen more often than not, as was the case last week.
A dynamic D? Not really. One that will try to run with both Taylor and Richardson to set up the pass and to test us deep? Assuredly. Very like I assume we will be with Willis. The difference is that I rate our WRs and TEs above anything they have and our safeties and perimeter corners as well.
The Colts have a poor O Line, Richardson got hit hard a lot last week. They have a good pass rush. Their ILBs are better than the Eagles, but their DL is certainly not. They have a really good slot, but they are both thin and weak to start with on the Perimeter. Ballentine might be a better outside corner than either likely starter. Rochell too.
So two doppelgängers at QB. It’s Jacobs/Wilson v Taylor which may well come down to the best OL performance. If we can stop the rush then they are in real trouble. They will try to fill the box—they are blaming last week on going light there. That would open up some simple deep routes for Willis. At best that reduces it to two inaccurate passers with strong arms duking it out.
We have the better corners and safeties and the better pass catchers. It’s not really that close. This is a game where, if we contain Richardson in the pocket and do ok versus the run, it will come down to which coach can use his flawed, raw athlete playing QB the best.
If Richardson can do things through the air consistently then our pass rush and coverage needs a really hard look at. The odd big play is likely, but they either score fast or not at all if Taylor is contained.
Their OL could in fact revive our DL, based upon last week. We should also be able to open holes against a D that gave up 160 yards with no run longer than 13, so consistently allowed penetration at the first level. As long as our OL can allow Willis time to process or escape, I see this coming down to LaFleur’s game planning and calling more than anything, with or receivers and perimeter corners giving us an edge. Yes, Richardson and Willis are that similar.
PeteK
September 11, 2024 at 03:36 pm
Pittman could pose some problems as a very good possession WR. Thanks for the Indy breakdown, you saved me some time.
Mister Chievous
September 11, 2024 at 12:11 pm
couldn't help but notice the egregious mistake by the referee on the long pass interference call before the packers first touchdown (13:00). after making a diving catch, the receiver slid across the goal line without being touched. should have been a touchdown. don't understand how a referee could miss such an obvious call in a playoff game.