Paul Bretl | 9/19/2023
GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Packers are coming off a Week 2 win against the Indianapolis Colts that took quite a bit out of them. On the horizon is a matchup with the Titans, another game played in the heat and against a physical defense.
The temperature at kickoff this past Sunday was 85 degrees–tied for the second-warmest home game in Packers’ history. Coupled with the unusual heat, it was a particularly exhausting game for the Packers offensive linemen and the run game, with Green Bay running the ball on 53 of their 67 plays.
When it comes to the exertion on a given play, a lot more goes into a running play than a passing play. The heat and heavy dose of the run game resulted in both Josh Myers and Elgton Jenkins puking during the game.
The fatigue that many on this Packers team on Sunday has extended into the current week. The initial injury report was long and even many of those practicing were still feeling the effects of this past Sunday, which led to Matt LaFleur adjusting the practice schedule.
“I definitely feel like there was some wear and tear,” said Matt LaFleur on Wednesday. “I mean, obviously when you look at the injury list that represents that as well, but those guys are not on the injury list are also fatigued and so, we made some adjustments for our practice schedule.
Temperature-wise, things aren’t going to get any better for the Packers, with Sunday’s weather forecast showing that it is going to be 93 degrees in Nashville. The Titans defense is also going to turn the heat up as well.
Through two games, the Titans find themselves at 0-2, losing two close games to Chicago and the New York Jets, but this has been a very stingy defense who has made things difficult for the opposing offenses. Tennessee has invested heavily into this side of the football, bringing a number of veterans during the offseason and into training camp, including Sebastian Joseph-Day, L’Jarius Sneed, Chidobe Awuzie, Quandre Diggs, Jamal Adams, and Ernest Jones. The Titans also spent several early-round draft picks on that side of the ball and still had Jeffery Simmons returning as well.
The early returns on this investment have been promising. The 4.0 yards per rush the Titans are surrendering ranks 10th in the NFL through two games. The Tennessee secondary is allowing an average depth of target through the air of just 5.8 yards–limiting the big play–which has resulted in just 3.9 yards per pass attempt surrendered–the second-lowest mark in football. The Titans also rank top-10 in red zone defense as well.
“I think they got a lot of veteran players and they’re a well-built defense,” said LaFleur. “I think schematically it’s a challenge. Dennard Wilson coming from Baltimore and just he’s an experienced guy in this league. And then when you couple that with really good players, you have a chance to be a really good defense. And they do all the little things the right way, in terms of the effort and physicality that they play with. So we’ve got our work cut out for us this week.”
On the flip side, where this Titans’ defense hasn’t had much success is in generating consistent quarterback pressures, currently ranking 21st in pressure rate, and they have no takeaways on defense.
New Titans’ defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson comes from Baltimore and cut his teeth in the NFL working under Greg Williams. The Williams’ defenses are known for their willingness to blitz the quarterback, and in the early going of Wilson’s tenure as the defensive play-caller for the Titans, he’s done much of the same in that regard. Williams’ defenses will also throw a lot of different looks at opposing offenses, both schematically and personnel-wise, and do so along the defensive front and in the secondary.
Further complicating things for the Packers is that there are only two games worth of film of Wilson working with this Titans’ defense and personnel.
“They’re very multiple and there’s I would say relatively limited tape on them,” LaFleur said about Wilson’s defense, “so there’s going to be some wrinkles that we haven’t seen, which is typical early in the year. You’ve got to trust your rules.”
With Jordan Love returning to practice on Wednesday, the Titans are forced to prepare for both him and Malik Willis. However, a potential early hurdle this week for Green Bay is dividing those practice reps between Love and Willis, not exactly knowing at this time who is going to start. And, of course, another added wrinkle to the splitting of reps is that the game plan will look quite different as well, depending on who is under center.
LaFleur put together a masterful game-plan last week that Willis executed to near-perfection. However, if it is Willis who has to start again, duplicating that success will come with its challenges. There is now at least some film for the Titans to study of Willis in the LaFleur system. This is also a much more stout run defense compared to the Colts, not to mention that Tennessee’s willingness to send pressure and throw a variety of looks at the quarterback can complicate things for a still-inexperienced Willis.
But game-plan aside, any potential success begins with being physically and mentally prepared for another physical matchup in the heat.
“We know it’s going to be another physical game this weekend. It’s going to be hot,” added LaFleur. “They’re a very physical football team. So we got to make sure recovery is at the forefront of what we need to do.”