Just like one season does not make a player so the same goes for coaches. I do like what Hafley has done this season. It appears that the defense has figured out what he wants. It appears he has figured out what each player will give him and how to use them.

I prefer a 3-4 base defense. I was not concerned with the move to the 4-3 base defense because I knew our players were built for the transition. I like what the tea leaves show for the future.

Hope you're still having fun down in Florida, Al. Seems you have a wedding down there every year. The most exotic place I've been invited to a wedding lately is Caspian, MI. (have to insert "wouldn't have missed it for the world" disclaimer here).

I've been one of the few fans of Quay here and have defended him whenever I can because I think he was affected the most with the change of the defense. Still wish he would hang on to those interception opportunities a little more often, but he shows me some big play ability.

Some good teams seem to make other teams make mistakes that they take advantage of. The last couple of game the Packers might have turned the corner and started taking advantage themselves. They've also overcome some mistakes that have bit them earlier. When they got into the redzone the first time Thursday and got a false start I thought "here we go again", but they punched it in and kept punching.

I am going with a Packers win this week. I believe the Lion's injuries will catch up to them tomorrow.

Good call on Quay Walker, it's nice when the player actually says the thing that you've been saying all along. Now you need to tell Rashan Gary and Kenny Clark what they need to do. Actually, I think Gary has played better the past 4-5 games, but there is still room for improvement. Last year he had his best game of the year (and maybe his whole career) at Ford Field, with three sacks and two forced fumbles--playing right next door to where he played college ball in Ann Arbor. And Kenny Clark finally made a couple of flashy plays against the Dolphins, so he has something to build on.

The Lions offense at Ford Field is the ultimate test for a defense. They may be without their starting left tackle, which is significant, but other than that, I think their offense will be at full strength. Most of their injuries have been on defense.

Have a good feeling about this game tomorrow night for the Packers, think a win by 10 or more. Really going to unleash the dogs.

The difference last week wasn’t that we played zone, but that we played press zone. Against QBs who get the ball out quickly that has a magnified effect as it disrupts the timing that approach inherently relies on. It also plays to the known strengths of our available CBs. Stokes actually played well … 7 yards given up in total. He was not alone, though his was the most dramatic improvement. We also saw perhaps the best from Valentine and Nixon (on the perimeter) that we have seen too. We need to match that this Thursday.

This week we again face a QB who gets the ball out fast and again a very fast perimeter WR. There are a lot of similarities between the speed of offenses at WR and RB. The difference is that the Lions are more willing to pound with Montgomery than the Dolphins were with Mostert. Their WRs are also more physical in terms of size and play style. The defensive approach in the backfield that we adopted for the last game would seem a good template for this week as well.

At ILB the conundrum is McDuffie. He certainly improves our tackling, but he’s a liability in coverage. He gave up 140 yards through the air last week. Walker and Wilson gave up 90 between them, with about half again as many snaps played. That’s something we may need to look at adjusting against La Porta, Gibbs and St Brown.

If we are going to beat the Lions I firmly believe that Kraft needs to be a more integral part of the plan, for his physicality not merely his after catch potential. We do best when we attack multiple levels rather than run, near lateral or go deep. The Lions play man a lot and physically. Reed would therefore seem primed to make an impact as well.

It should be a good game if we can make any kind of showing in the pass rush department. If we give Goff all day then I think we are in trouble. It’s hard to judge how depleted the Lions will be by injuries, new and cumulative. At some point losses like that tip a team from good to bad. However, beating us is still a massive motivation and source of reassurance as to their status and continuing prowess after a slew of injuries.

We need to be physical in the trenches and not leave it to our RBs to break tackles at or behind the line all night. Tom aside, our OL didn’t play particularly well—the Dolphins pass rush has been a major issue for them—and our run blocking was mostly dire (except, oddly, Myers, but he was the poorest performer in the passing game). That’s something can’t happen if we want to control the game and hand it to the Lions on Thursday.

We need to play hard and physically and own the trenches. That would do more to throw off Detroit’s self-imbued mythology and belief than anything. They believe that they can out muscle anyone. I’d love to see us disprove that, for this game but just as much to plant doubt for the rest of their season.

"Having said that, is there any excuse for a defensive lineman lining up offsides?" And not just once! There were several times where Enagbare was lined up over the LOS and a few times, the flag was not thrown. Our OL did not help themselves, either, in that regard. Gotta clean that crap up!

More than anything this game will be about executing as a team. I have no doubt that the Packers can run with the Lions and that our offense can take advantage of that defense. Just don't beat yourself with mistakes.

It is appropriate that Al mentions Quay Walker because I think taking away the middle of the field will be a key to victory. Easy completions and conversions to LaPorta and St. Brown need to be taken away. It has been the kryptonite of Packers defenses for over a decade. Hoping Hafley has started to change this weakness.

This is an acid test game for this Packers team. We are into December and are demonstrating our identity. Can we play with the top teams will be answered on Thursday. Go Packers

"I thought Jordan Love looked the most comfortable moving around in the pocket that we've seen all season. A few of his step-ups and side-steps looked downright Aaron Rodgers-like"
Love looks to be getting back into the form he was in at the end of last season. All the injuries have hampered him to start the season. This team will go as far as Love takes us!

"Perhaps needless to say, I am a huge Jeff Hafley fan.
More importantly with Hafley is the surprise factor. He will mix in multiple alignments, coverages, personnel, and looks, making it difficult for opposing offenses to have a set game plan on how to attack the Packers' defense. It's a world of difference from what we witnessed the last few years."
Completely agree. Hafley to me was a great pick as DC. His play calling on defense is similar to how LaFleur is with the offense. Creating looks that look the same but at the snap they do different things.

Quay Walker -
Walker the last 2 games has played the best we have seen him play. I have always liked Walker but it has been hard to defend him at times. But he has put back to back very good games. It feels like the light bulb has gone off. If we can keep getting this from Quay, our defense becomes that much better. And eventually when Cooper can come back it will be a hell of a duo.

The first time around against the Lions, the Packers self-destructed with a litany of mistakes and mishaps. -

The first game was just a mess. Love was clearly playing hurt. They didn't have Myers for the first time in a long time and Jenkins played C for the first time in a long time. That clearly was a huge deal in the monsoon that was going on. The Packers beat themselves way more then the Lions beat them. I believe they had 6 drops that game.
In the first matchup the Running game performed really well. Jacobs ran 13 times for 95 yards (7.3 average). Wilson ran 4 for 28 (7 average). Brookes had 2 for 13 (6.5 average). I'd expect them to try and establish the run even more in this game.
The injuries played a huge part in that game as well. Myers out, forced Jenkins to play C and with it being a monsoon, he struggled with snaps. Packers had 3 fumbles in the game. I believe all were from the snaps. Also Alexander and Williams were out, which changed the entire secondary.
The game completely changed with the Pick 6 right before halftime. Being down 10-3 at half time is completely different then 17-3. But while that was the game changing play, the opening drive in the 3rd quarter set the game. Nixon had a bad call that extended their drive. Instead of 4th and 6 and most likely punting, they got the free first down, and 6 plays later they get the TD to go up 24-3.

I know one thing. Our team is much better then we were that day. And I believe there some very weird things with that game.

Well I see many of you are very worried about next game.

What I learned in my life is that the most of the "bullies" are bullies only if you allow them to be. If you fight back with no fear, you'll find out that their bulliing is just empty story. People who kmows how to exectute their jobs properly mostly shows how those bullies are less intelligent that you and they are not a match up for you.

I have confidence in Packers. As I had vs 49ers and Dolphins. Packers have some weaknesses, but it is nothing dangerous. Only problem is that the players need to be patient and fast in reactions. I think Packers have those type of players on the team. And that they will show their A+ game tomorrow.

ALso, do not forget, stats for Jarred Goff are little bit missleading. He had very good protection whole year, but now he has to play with back ups. While you are expecting Rashan to devastate backfield, I put my chances more on Enagbare, Cox Jr & Mosby. Because they will not expect anything from those players. But they are very, very capable to surprise the opponent... And Gary could open the gates for them.

Btw, good article Al!

Deep down in my gut, underneath the burritos and beer, I think the Packers are going to win this game.

Because I believe that you win with offense, I'll start there, and our biggest need on offense is to not turn it over. We cannot go into Detroit and have multiple turnovers and expect to win. And when I say turnovers, I mean turning it over on downs or missing a FG, too. We need scoring drives, and any drive that doesn't score points is a bad possession for us. Currently, we're 7th in the percentage of our drives that result in a score. We're a top running team. We've thrown more TD passes than most of the teams in the league. So, IMO, this offense is good enough for us to win with.

We're 5-0 when we score 30 or more. We scored 29 in two losses. The Detroit game was the only loss where we didn't score at least 29. We've talked here about the sense that we really haven't seen this offense in full stride yet, and this would be a good time if we would like to win the division.

Defensively, I'd try to make Goff beat us. I wouldn't let Gibbs and Montgomery do it for him. I say this because I've watched Goff over the years and if you can make him throw under pressure then he'll reward you with some gifts. If you can hold him under 240 yards passing it'll almost certainly be a one-score game. The Lions have won some narrow games this year, but nobody wins all the narrow games. They've gone over 100 yards rushing in every game.

I have said this from the beginning (and agreeing with Al), the Packers matchup well with the Lions and with the exception of the O-line—I believe we are better.
Last year’s victory over the Lions in their stadium, convinced me the Lions are more wary of us than any other team.
I’m very confident of another win on Thursday.
BTW, does anyone else dislike the “Prime” channel? I hate it—the picture always seems to be catching up and is fuzzy.
Go Packers!!!

It will be interesting to see how the Lions cope with the essential loss of most of their front 7.