Justis Mosqueda from ACME Packing gives us insight about the Green Bay Packers ahead of their Week 12 matchup against the 49ers
This Sunday, we have a brewing rivalry as the San Francisco 49ers take on the Green Bay Packers in what will feel like a playoff atmosphere. Both teams are banged up, and neither can afford to lose this game.
Justis Mosqueda of ACME Packing Company answered five questions to help us learn more about the Packers.
Everybody is talking about how banged up the 49ers are, and rightfully so, but fill us in on the Packers injury report and how impactful those will be come Sunday.
The two to really watch out for this week are cornerback Jaire Alexander (knee) and linebacker Edgerrin Cooper (hamstring).
Alexander has been dealing with a knee problem since their game against the Jacksonville Jaguars and just confirmed on Thursday that he tore his PCL. If Alexander doesn’t play, which currently looks likely, then Keisean Nixon and Carrington Valentine will play outside cornerback. Valentine is the injury replacement here, but he’s played better than Nixon as of lately, so the hope was that maybe the team could pair Valentine opposite of Alexander with Nixon potentially playing in the slot – a job that’s currently going to second-round rookie Javon Bullard – but it doesn’t seem like that plan is shaking out.
Cooper has been coming along after missing most of the summer with injuries. The team has really leaned into him being the other nickel linebacker next to Quay Walker, who isn’t great at fitting the run…to say the least. Cooper hurt himself during Wednesday’s practice, so he wasn’t a participant on Thursday. If he’s out, Eric Wilson and Isaiah McDuffie are the starting 4-3 outside linebackers this week. The first man off the bench would be Ty’Ron Hopper, who has played every single snap of his NFL career thus far on special teams.
Kyle Shanahan talked about how successful the Packers have been in one-possession games. Do you think how Green Bay is winning these games is sustainable for the rest of the season?
No! That’s why we want to see some consistency! Outside of saying that the team knows how to dig itself out of bad situations, it’s hard to really hang your hat on anything the Packers do consistently well this season. It’s very frustrating! Often, they shoot themselves in the foot. Earlier on in the season, it was penalties happening at horrible times (and at a high volume). Last week against the Bears, it was sputtering out in the red zone.
I’ve been driving home the point that the 49ers and Packers are the 2a/2b in the NFC. Both teams always find a way to make life as difficult as possible on themselves. What’s the frustration level of Packer fans this season, and is the sense this is a team that can make a deep playoff run?
I don’t think there would be a lot of frustration if they don’t go deep just because they’re probably going to finish third in the NFC North with the way things are shaking out right now. On paper, they probably have a fighting chance against anyone who isn’t the Detroit Lions, but they haven’t flashed the consistency over even a two-game stretch to really be sold on the team this season. Really, I think any non-Lions teams that make the playoffs this year are playing the role of a spoiler.
What’s the biggest advantage/disadvantage Green Bay has in this game?
The Packers have been really good about keeping Jordan Love clean this year, so I’d say the protection unit would be their biggest edge IF and only IF Nick Bosa doesn’t suit up. Personally, I think he needs another week of rest. I don’t want to keep saying the team is inconsistent over and over again, but each unit, aside from the defensive front, has really had its moments this year. The problem is they don’t ever seem to all click at the same time.
Score prediction for Sunday. W/L record prediction for the season. And how far does Green Bay make it if you are predicting a postseason berth?
Let’s go to Packers 28 and 49ers 27 (Green Bay blocks a PAT with time expiring). Packers get the 5 or 6 seed in the playoffs, beat the NFC West or South champion, and then promptly lose the next round.