Green Bay Packers running back Eddie Lacy is “ready to go” for Week 1, head coach Mike McCarthy said. While they are considered Super Bowl contenders, they are surrounded by some nagging questions. He will look to continue his incredible career coming into this season.
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The Green Bay Packers’ fourth-year tailback is eager to carry the momentum from a successful training camp into the season opener on Sunday at Jacksonville. Rather than rounding into form throughout the preseason, Rodgers played two series and threw nine passes. Jordy Nelson’s return to the playing field is going to open things up against Jacksonville’s young defense in a way that they were unable to past year. It’s slightly surprising that McCarthy – at least publicly – is planning to play Nelson his full complement of snaps. Malik Jackson will go up against Lane Taylor, who will be replacing the aforementioned Sitton in the lineup.
An early look at the offense has not been very pretty but that might not be very indicative of what we can expect with Manning still one of the top exponents at the position when he hooks up with dynamic wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr.
But I’m less prepared to predict anything there. “You see it start to show itself this week”. That would go a long way toward winning a tough road game. You can’t say you’re ever really surprised because there’s things that happen all the time. The team brought in Ivory for a reason, they want the offense to be more balanced. Defenses can sometimes dictate the way we end up adjusting. Cook has burned Jaguars before, and Thomas is fully healthy for first time since before last season. The Packers hold a three-games-to-two edge over the Jaguars in those five contests.
However, the pieces are in place for a franchise that has given away home games to help the league expand its reach overseas. If they stick to their game plan and pick up right where they left off at the end of last season, they’ll be just fine.
■ Since he became a starter, Rodgers’ 256 touchdown passes are second-most in the NFL (Drew Brees 294) and his 32,070 passing yards are fifth-most. Packers lead series, 3-2. Once again, these players are expected to make the bulk of their contributions on special teams. “Hopefully, I can help us out on that side of things and not turn the ball over so much”. Mason Crosby, the one constant, had a fine camp after a very strong season in 2014. The Jaguars have plenty of new faces in the secondary and it may take a little time for this unit to settle in. With the new players we brought in Jalen Ramsey, Prince Amukamara and Tashaun Gipson along with what we brought back from previous year the sky is the limit.
Facing Rodgers, Nelson and Cobb could be a particularly daunting task for a rookie corner, but first-round pick Jalen Ramsey isn’t afraid to get targeted.
“I hope so. I’m not scared”, Ramsey said.
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“That’s something I’ve been looking forward to”. Aaron Rodgers returns for his 9th season as the starting quarterback in Green Bay. A lot of the games could go either way, but if the Pack are healthy for these games, they should easily win majority.
