Ray Nitschke FIeld blanketed.
Winter finally arrived in Green Bay. Coated in white for the first time, Titletown looks very pretty. The temperatures are headed downward too and it could be a single digit ballgame when the Los Angeles Rams call on the Packers Monday night at Lambeau Field. That the season changed a little later than usual has the Pack in the unusual position of post-season football coming a month early. By beating the Bears before the bye, they stayed alive and eliminated Chicago. They can do the same against the defending Super Bowl champions, near mortally wounded at 4-9 and who must really be looking forward to the first, true, frozen tundra game of the year.
This 5-8 Packer club, still with a mathematically minute chance of making the playoffs, will take any advantage they can. As Head Coach Matt LaFleur said to open his Thursday press session hours after the first significant snow fell, “Yeah, I was a little surprised when I woke up this morning, a lot of snow on the ground. It will be good for guys to kinda get acclimated. It’s a little warmer than I think it will be Monday night but, the cold is our friend.”
They need one. After a weekend thaw in Miami, the Packers play out the season back in the cold, and maybe more snow.
The late bye has the team nearly at full strength, minus David Bakhtiari and Rashan Gary who is on IR. Bakhtiari is still recovering after his appendix took him down before the Bears game. LaFleur, not among the appendectomy recovery experts, had no idea when he might return. He said it’s the first appendix case he’s ever had to deal with in season. LaFleur was quick to praise rookie Zach Tom who has and will man the blindside, saying he’s not playing like a rookie. The only other player absent for Thursday’s game plan installation session was guard Elgton Jenkins but he is expected to play.
LaFleur will have his full compliment of preferred wide receivers at his disposal for only the second time this year. At the end of training camp, the Packers were hopeful the Davante Adams production of 2021 could be matched with Allen Lazard, Randall Cobb, Sammy Watkins, Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs. The only game those five dressed together was week two, the home opener against Chicago. It didn’t take a prolific passing game to beat the Bears for their first win of the year. Aaron Rodgers spread the wealth, with Lazard and Doubs catching two passes each, Cobb, Watson and Watkins all had three. Balanced targeting with a couple of deep shots. It was Sammy’s best game with three catches for 93 yards. That’s been it for the hoped for Fab Five. Lazard missed opening day with a sore ankle and after all five played at Lambeau, the staggered and staggering number of injuries piled up. Watkins pulled his hamstring against Chicago and would miss four weeks. Watson had to sit out the New England game, returned for weeks 4 and 5 when the concussion knocked him down for a couple of weeks. Cobb had the ankle sprain after making it through the first six games, he missed a month and has been back for the last three. Then Doubs caught the high ankle sprain on his first catch in Detroit and hasn’t played since. He’s expected to return against the Rams. Watson’s big play making capability of late makes it even more encouraging to have the preferred targets assemble once more.
He looks even bigger in uniform. Happy to see Caleb Jones dressing with the 53. He’s a great, make that great big story. The undrafted rookie free agent from Indiana rolled into training camp and towered over his fellow linemen. Coaches were more impressed with his feet and demeanor as he found a way to stick on the practice squad. Then came a bout of mononucleosis which put Caleb on the Non-Football Illness list for the past several weeks. Jones said he tried to stay upbeat throughout but it was an unusual process, trimming his frame by 40 pounds. An opening on the roster with third round draft pick Sean Rhyan serving out his 6 game suspension for violating the league’s performance enhancing substance policy, allowed the Pack to bring Jones up to the active roster. I’m rooting for a snap or two which could make Caleb, listed at 6-9 and 370 pounds, and even if a bit lighter now, perhaps the biggest Packer ever.
Aside from the two offensive linemen, seven other players turned up on the first injury report of the week. Aaron Jones was listed as limited with an ankle injury. The other six were full participants, Aaron Rodgers (right thumb/ribs), Krys Barnes (hand), Romeo Doubs (ankle), Kingsley Enagbare (knee), Rudy Ford (wrist) and Darnell Savage (foot).
