Packers Stock Report: Bring on the Patriots Edition
Now that the Green Bay Packers have gotten the junior varsity game against the Minnesota Vikings out of the way, it’s time to focus on the real deal and the New England Patriots.
I’ll be in the stands at Lambeau for the Sunday showdown. The Packers have never lost with me in Lambeau. They’ve tied, but never lost. Take that for what it’s worth.
But before I fire up the grill in the parking lot of the Green Bay Distillery, pop open a Spotted Cow, and cook up some three-cheese brats from Grundhofer’s Meat Market, we must bang out this week’s Packers Stock Report:
Rising
Eddie Lacy
An illness? 10 defenders in the box? Game on the line? It didn’t matter. Eddie Lacy kept plowing forward to help the Packers rumble to another win. Just like he did last season, Lacy tore up the Vikings and looks to be gaining steam as the season heads into the home stretch.
Aaron Rodgers
QB1 doesn’t get top billing over Lacy this week, but he still had another great game, even if his numbers weren’t as great as they’ve been in recent weeks. That throw to Cobb to set up the Packers first touchdown was amazing, as were several scrambles that turned dead plays into positive gains and first downs.
T.J. Lang
Hats off to Lang (and Josh Sitton) once again for not only playing hurt, but playing well while not 100 percent. Given how cautious the Packers staff is with injuries, I thought Lang’s day was done when he hobbled off in the first quarter. But he was back out there next series, helping Lacy pile up yards.
Steady
Mike Daniels
If the Packers are going to beat the Patriots on Sunday, they need more of what Daniels did on his sack of Teddy Bridgewater: Win a 1-on-1 matchup and get to the quarterback. Brady will tear apart excessive blitzes or tricky looks that might work on the other 31 teams in the league. Victory for the Packers will happen if they win individual matchups up front on defense.
Bryan Bulaga
According to Pro Football Focus, Bulaga has graded out positively four of the last five weeks. Let’s hope that knee/hip/whatever else Bulaga has injured in the past holds up the rest of the season.
Falling
James Starks
Before Sunday, Starks was already fading, not because of anything he did wrong, but because Lacy was running so hard and starting to catch passes. Well, after fumbling in his first and only carry against the Vikings, Starks is no longer fading, but falling.
A.J. Hawk
Hawk has gone from slow, to sloooooow, to slooooowwwwwwwwww.
Detroit Lions
The Lions are now looking up at the Packers in the NFC. They’re also back to their dirty and desperate ways. The sooner the bottom falls out of their season, the better.
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