GREEN BAY
Lance Kendricks Jersey , Wis. (AP) — Packers coach Matt LaFleur remembers vividly how challenging it was facing Mike Zimmer’s defense.Zimmer’s defensive
unit held LaFleur’s offense to a single touchdown when the two squared off
nearly two years ago in Minnesota. Zimmer was 10 games into what would
eventually be a 13-3 season with an appearance in the NFC championship game for
him in his fourth season as Vikings head coach. LaFleur was enjoying his first
and only season as offensive coordinator for the Rams, who would finish 11-5 and
lose in the wild-card round.The two will square off again Sunday when LaFleur
and the Packers welcome Zimmer’s Vikings to Lambeau Field.“It certainly is going
to be a good task for our offense and a good measuring stick to see where we’re
at, see how much we can improve from last week,” LaFleur said Monday.LaFleur’s
offense managed just one touchdown in a 10-3 win last week against Chicago,
which boasts one of the top defenses in the league. The 10 points tied for the
fewest Green Bay has scored against the Bears since Rodgers became the starting
quarterback in 2008. LaFleur said he anticipates another tough chess match when
he sees Zimmer on the opposite sideline on Sunday.“He stresses you,” LaFleur
said. “He presents a lot of similar looks, and they do a lot of different things
off of those looks. Then you combine that with the talent they have, and again
on all three levels of that defense
Jake Ryan Jersey White , they’ve got Pro Bowlers everywhere.”LaFleur, play-caller and head coach Sean McVay, quarterback Jared Goff and the Rams’
offense opened the game on Nov. 18, 2017, in Minnesota with a nine-play, 70-yard
drive. The drive was capped by a 6-yard rushing touchdown by Todd Gurley. Los
Angeles never scored again.LaFleur and the Rams ended with 179 yards on their
final nine drives and lost 24-7.The Vikings hired Zimmer in January 2014 after
allowing the second-most yards and the most points in the NFL during the 2013
season. Zimmer had spent the previous five seasons as the Bengals defensive
coordinator. Zimmer directed Cincinnati to a top-10 finish in yards and points
allowed in four of his five seasons.Minnesota’s defense, led by linebacker
Anthony Barr, started the season by getting four sacks and forcing three
turnovers in a 28-12 win over the Falcons.A challenge LaFleur will face on
Sunday that he didn’t have to worry about against Zimmer’s Vikings two seasons
ago was Dalvin Cook.The third-year running back missed 12 games as a rookie in
2017 with a torn ACL and five more games last season with a hamstring issue. But
Cook was ready for the opener Sunday
Womens Marwin Evans Jersey , carrying the ball 21 times for 111 yards and two touchdowns.Cook, who earned his third 100-yard outing in his 16th game,
gives a new dimension to the Vikings’ offense, an offense that is all too
familiar to LaFleur.“When you’re watching the tape and you’re watching
Minnesota’s offense, you can see a lot of similar concepts,” he said. “… There’s
a lot of similarities between what they do and some of the stuff that we
do.”What the Vikings did well against the Falcons and also two years ago was run
the ball. Latavius Murray led Minnesota with 95 yards and two scores on the
ground against LaFleur and the Rams in 2017.LaFleur has emphasized since Day 1
of his tenure in Green Bay is the importance of establishing the run. The 47
rushing yards the Packers’ offense had last week won’t be enough against the
Vikings and LaFleur knows it.“As an offense, everybody needs to be better,” he
said. “And again
Justin Vogel Jersey White , it starts with the coaches, myself and the offensive coaches.” Sunday’s showdown between Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady can’t
get here soon enough.The discussion regarding the game has devolved to the point
where Brady was asked to respond to people calling his relationship with Rodgers
a “bromance.” (Yes, someone actually asked Brady that question on Friday.)“I
don?? call it that,” Brady said.So what does he call it?“Call what?” Brady said.
“My relationship with him? We know each other. We??e friends.”Brady said that he
hasn’t reached out to Rodgers this week, and that Brady wouldn’t give up some of
his arm in exchange for Rodgers’ legs.“I?? love to move as best as I possibly
can,” Brady said. “But God gave me this body and trying to use it the best I can
to help us win.”That approach has worked well for Brady over most of the last 18
years. Even if it apparently hasn’t been enough to spark an official bromance
with Rodgers.
