Official Week 2 Green Bay vs Atlanta Thread

Mark87

Mark87

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The Green Bay Packers head south to Atlanta to take on the Falcons.
  • It matches the earliest visit to Atlanta in team history (Week 2 in 2017).
  • The Packers have won the last two matchups and scored 30-plus points in both contests.
  • The Falcons have won the last three games played in Atlanta (including the postseason).
  • The last four matchups have been decided by double digits (including the postseason).
  • Green Bay holds a 17-14 (.548) advantage in the regular-season series, while each team has won two postseason contests.
  • This will be the second time the Packers will play in Mercedes-Benz Stadium (2017).
  • It is the first time since 2016 (1-1) and just the second time (1924, 0-2) in franchise history that the Packers have opened the season with back-to-back road contests.
  • Under LaFleur, the Packers are 5-2 (.714) against NFC South teams.
  • The five regular-season wins are tied for the third most wins against the NFC South since 2019 by an out-of-division team (Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers are both 7-3).
WITH THE CALL
FOX Sports, now in its 30th season as an NFL network television partner, will broadcast the game.
  • Play-by-play man Kenny Albert joins analyst Jonathan Vilma and sideline reporter Shannon Spake.
  • The game is also available through NFL Sunday Ticket by YouTube.
  • All Packers games can be heard on the Packers Radio Network, which is made up of 51 stations in Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Illinois and North and South Dakota. 97.3 The Game – WRNW-Milwaukee begins its second season as the flagship station of the Packers Radio Network. For a map and full listing of radio affiliates, go to packers.com/video/radio-network.Wayne Larrivee (play-by-play) and two-time Packers Pro Bowler Larry McCarren (analyst) call the action. McCarren first joined the team's broadcasts in 1995 and enters his 29th season calling Packers games. After originally being paired together in 1999, McCarren and Larrivee enter their 25th season of broadcasts together. They surpassed Jim Irwin and Max McGee for the most regular-season and postseason games broadcast for the Packers with 313 at the 2018 season opener against Chicago.
  • The broadcast is also available on Sirius Satellite Radio (Packers Radio Network feed is on SiriusXM 135 or 384 and on the SiriusXM App).

THE DOPE ON THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT
Packers at Atlanta:
  • All-time, regular season: 17-14
  • All-time, postseason: 2-2
  • All-time, at Atlanta: 6-11 (1-1 postseason)
  • Streaks: Green Bay has won the last two matchups, but the Falcons have won the last three games played in Atlanta, including the 2016 NFC Championship Game.
  • Last meeting, regular season: Oct. 5, 2020, Lambeau Field, Packers won, 30-16
COACHES CAPSULES

  • Matt LaFleur: 48-19-0, .716; (2-3 postseason); 5th NFL season
  • Arthur Smith: 15-20, .429; (0-0 postseason); 3rd NFL season
  • Head to Head: LaFleur 0-0 vs. Smith
  • vs. Opponent: LaFleur 1-0 vs. Falcons; Smith 0-0 vs. Packers
MATT LaFLEUR…In his fifth season as the Packers' 15th head coach.
  • Enters his 15th season in the NFL, having previously served as an offensive coordinator for two seasons (Los Angeles Rams, 2017; Tennessee Titans, 2018), a quarterbacks coach for six seasons (Washington Redskins, 2010-13; Atlanta Falcons, 2015-16), and an offensive assistant for two seasons (Houston Texans, 2008-09).
  • In his first four seasons leading the Packers, has authored one of the greatest starts to a head-coaching career in NFL history. Per the Elias Sports Bureau, his 47 wins are the second most in league history by a head coach in his first four seasons in the NFL, trailing only George Seifert (52 in 1989-92). Green Bay's 47-19 regular-season record since 2019 ranks No. 3 in the NFL and No. 1 in the NFC.
  • Became the first coach in NFL history to post 13-plus wins in three straight seasons and his 39 wins from 2019-21 passed Seifert (38) for the most wins by an NFL head coach in his first three seasons in the league (Elias). His 39 wins are also tied for the second most by a coach over any three-season span in league history, trailing only Andy Reid's 40 wins with the Kansas City Chiefs from 2020-22 and Mike Ditka's 40 wins with the Chicago Bears from 1985-87 (Elias).
  • Guided the Packers to a 27-6 record (.818) in the regular season from 2019-22 at Lambeau Field, the top home mark in the NFL since 2019. His .750 win percentage (18-6 record) against NFC North opponents in his first four seasons also ranks as the best in the history of the NFC North/Central (min. 10 games).
  • In his first season leading the Packers in 2019, became the first coach in club history to lead the team to the playoffs in his debut season. Also led the largest one-year win improvement in team history (plus-seven wins).
ARTHUR SMITH…In his third season as the Falcons' 18th head coach.
  • In his 15th season as an NFL coach, after entering the league with the Washington Redskins (2007-08) and spending 10 seasons (2011-2020) with the Tennessee Titans in various roles, including the final two as offensive coordinator (2019-20).
  • Under Smith's guidance, the Falcons led the NFL in fewest penalties, finished third in the league in rushing yards per game and 10th in third-down conversion rate in 2022.
  • Atlanta's rushing attack averaged 74.5 more rushing yards per game in 2022 than it did in 2021, resulting in the largest one-season improvement by any team since at least 2001.
  • Orchestrated one of the NFL's top offenses with the Titans leading the league in red-zone touchdown percentage (75.2) and ranking fifth in points per game (27.9) and total offense (379.6) from 2019-20.
THE PACKERS-FALCONS SERIES
  • Green Bay averaged 34.4 points while winning the first five games of the series, with the first coming in 1966 en route to becoming the first Super Bowl champions.
  • In February 1992, Atlanta traded QB Brett Favre to Green Bay after drafting him in the second round (33rd overall) of the 1991 NFL Draft. Favre would go on to go 4-3 against the Falcons while with the Packers, including a 37-20 win in the 1995 NFC Wild Card.
  • Green Bay has won the last two matchups between the two clubs (2018, 2020) after the Falcons won three consecutive games from 2016-17, including the 2016 NFC Championship Game.
NOTABLE CONNECTIONS
Packers LB De'Vondre Campbell was drafted by Atlanta in the fourth round (No. 115 overall) of the 2016 NFL Draft and played for the Falcons for the first four years of his career (2016-19)…Packers players from Georgia include: LB Quay Walker (Cordele), LB Kingsley Enagbare (Atlanta), LB Brenton Cox Jr. (Stockbridge), LB Preston Smith (Stone Mountain), DL Devonte Wyatt (Decatur), DL Colby Wooden (Lawrenceville)…Walker (2018-21), Wyatt (2018-21) and Cox Jr. (2018) all played at the University of Georgia…Packers RB Emanuel Wilson played at Fort Valley State University (2021-22)…Green Bay head coach Matt LaFleur served as quarterbacks coach for Atlanta in 2015-16…LaFleur, Falcons head coach Arthur Smith and defensive assistant Matt Pees coached together in Tennessee when LaFleur was the offensive coordinator, Smith coached tight ends and Pees was a defensive assistant/quality control coach for the Titans in 2018...Falcons TE Jonnu Smith played for the Titans when LaFleur, Smith and Pees were on staff (2018)...LaFleur and Falcons secondary coach Steve Jackson coached together on Washington's staff from 2010-11, LaFleur serving as QBs coach and Jackson coaching safeties…Falcons football analyst Matt Schaub was the quarterback for the Texans while LaFleur began his coaching career as an offensive assistant with Houston in 2008-09…Falcons assistant head coach/defense Jerry Gray spent the last three seasons (2020-22) with the Packers as defensive backs coach (2020) and DBs/passing game coordinator (2021-22)…Packers inside linebackers coach Kirk Olivadotti coached at the University of Georgia from 2011-13...Packers defensive quality control coach Wendel Davis worked as a graduate assistant for Georgia 2016-18...Falcons senior defensive assistant Dave Huxtable coached linebackers at Wisconsin in 2011...Smith, Falcons special teams assistant Matt Baker and Packers tight ends coach John Dunn played collegiate football together at the University of North Carolina (2001-03)...Smith and Dunn then served as graduate assistants at UNC in 2006...Packers pass rush specialist Jason Rebrovich was the assistant defensive line/defensive line coach for the Jaguars when Falcons DL Calais Campbell played for Jacksonville (2017-19)…Falcons running backs coach Michael Pitre worked with the offensive line at Colorado in Packers T David Bakhtiari's final season of collegiate football (2012)…Packers CB Rasul Douglas (third round, No. 99) and Falcons WR Mack Hollins (fourth round, No. 118) were drafted back-to-back by Philadelphia in the 2017 NFL Draft and played together for the Eagles from 2017-19...Packers collegiate scouting coordinator Danny Mock is from Duluth, Ga., and worked in various roles for the Falcons from 1980-96...Former college teammates include: Packers CB Carrington Valentine and Falcons WR Josh Ali (Kentucky); Packers LB Quay Walker, DL Devonte Wyatt, LB Brenton Cox Jr. and Falcons TE John FitzPatrick (Georgia); Packers CB Jaire Alexander and Falcons ILB Dorian Etheridge (Louisville); Packers TE Josiah Deguara and Falcons QB Desmond Ridder (Cincinnati); Packers RB AJ Dillon, LB Isaiah McDuffie and Falcons G Chris Lindstrom (Boston College); Packers C/G Josh Myers, Falcons DL Zach Harrison, OL Isaiah Prince, CB Jeff Okudah, LS Liam McCullough (Ohio State).
 
Going to be a tough game. ATL is better then the Bears. Robinson I think could cause havoc with how the Packers struggle tackling. This is going to be a close game I think either way whomever wins it will be a one score game.

Going to go 27-23 ATL giving them the rub with home field.
 
This will be interesting. Yes they are better on paper than the Bears..

ATL won even after CAR led in most stats of the game. Real problem for GB I think is that ATL has two RBs that can hurt you in different situations.

This one all comes down to how the GB defense plays. If they put Love in a hole early not sure GB wins. If GB can get a few scores early they have a chance.
 
Ahh the ATL, They have no real QB he's maybe a tad better than Fields but not by much. You can Play Alexander on London which eliminates him...other than that they have Pitts. The point is that you can cheat in the box on this team and control the run.

As for their defense different story, decent D. They added Jessie Bates at Safety who can neutralize our TE, Establish the run and the short passing game, and go about things methodically and you are okay. We can't turn the ball over or play the undisciplined crap from the Bears game.
 
Mark87 said:
Ahh the ATL, They have no real QB he's maybe a tad better than Fields but not by much. You can Play Alexander on London which eliminates him...other than that they have Pitts. The point is that you can cheat in the box on this team and control the run.

As for their defense different story, decent D. They added Jessie Bates at Safety who can neutralize our TE, Establish the run and the short passing game, and go about things methodically and you are okay. We can't turn the ball over or play the undisciplined crap from the Bears game.
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One of the keys will be stopping Bijon Robinson. He had a typical first game for a rookie RB, but I expect him to be a bigger mix against GB. He's not overly fast at around 4.5 speed, but he's a load when tackling him. If the Packers tackle like they did against the Bears, his YAC is going to be a huge factor. I agree on the QB issue. They ain't got squat. A caretaker QB is about all they can put on the field, and if they ring up over 150 yards in the air against the Packers, we'd have to be pretty bad, or putting a lot of resources into stopping the run. The latter can be good, if they only get 150 yards in the air, because they'd be stopped cold with the run. Just my thoughts on that.

They are beatable in the short/intermediate passing game. They should be trying to put pressure on Love. Getting the passes out quickly will neutralize their rush, and give us better running opportunities.

It actually could be a darned good game to watch.

Mark? You going to the game?
 
TW said:
One of the keys will be stopping Bijon Robinson. He had a typical first game for a rookie RB, but I expect him to be a bigger mix against GB. He's not overly fast at around 4.5 speed, but he's a load when tackling him. If the Packers tackle like they did against the Bears, his YAC is going to be a huge factor. I agree on the QB issue. They ain't got squat. A caretaker QB is about all they can put on the field, and if they ring up over 150 yards in the air against the Packers, we'd have to be pretty bad, or putting a lot of resources into stopping the run. The latter can be good, if they only get 150 yards in the air, because they'd be stopped cold with the run. Just my thoughts on that.

They are beatable in the short/intermediate passing game. They should be trying to put pressure on Love. Getting the passes out quickly will neutralize their rush, and give us better running opportunities.

It actually could be a darned good game to watch.

Mark? You going to the game?
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To the ATL.. on a Sunday? Heck, no. I won't go into that mess unless it's a life and or death situation.
 
Mark87 said:
To the ATL.. on a Sunday? Heck, no. I won't go into that mess unless it's a life and or death situation.
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I don't blame you. Even when I had tickets available to go to the last Packers game up in Dallas, I passed. It's a nightmare. Now I can't do the walking, so I enjoy the games from my recliner, or sitting outside on our patio watching the game, and doing my tailgating.
 
Jones didnt practice today with the hamstring. Watson did some movement stuff with his helmet but also didn't practice. I wouldn't risk either of them on the artificial turf. That's a good, fast D in Atlanta , it's a loud building where they pipe in noise, and down two playmakers I think the O will struggle more than last week. I also think the D is going to come back down to earth against better coaching than they saw against the Bears.
 
Mark87 said:
Ahh the ATL, They have no real QB he's maybe a tad better than Fields but not by much. You can Play Alexander on London which eliminates him...other than that they have Pitts. The point is that you can cheat in the box on this team and control the run.

As for their defense different story, decent D. They added Jessie Bates at Safety who can neutralize our TE, Establish the run and the short passing game, and go about things methodically and you are okay. We can't turn the ball over or play the undisciplined crap from the Bears game.
Click to expand...
Agree with Mark.

If our D can stop the run, Atlanta offense is not great. They have no QB. Make him beat you.

If Love takes care of the football and we have no TOs, we win.

I say Packers 24 Atlanta 17
 
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