Back in November, the New England Patriots traveled to Lambeau Field to face the Green Bay Packers in what many thought would wind up being a potential Super Bowl preview. Green Bay won that game 26-21, but everyone knows that New England ended the season lifting the Lombardi Trophy.
But most likely, on Thursday, there will be little to no action between Aaron Rodgers or Tom Brady on the field in Foxborough. While this writer was hoping to see some action between Matt Flynn against his former team, that will not be as he was recently cut by the Patriots. Instead the Packers will look at Scott Tolzein, Matt Blanchard, and Brett Hundley passing the ball while the Patriots only have Jimmy Garappolo and former Cardinal Ryan Lindley throwing in New England. Hundley will obviously be the most critical quarterback play of the night as he is the most unknown commodity after being taken in the fifth round of the 2015 NFL Draft by the Packers. Lindley may not play long as he has only been on the team for less than a week and would be expected to know incredibly little about the offense.
Other players to watch for on offense in this game include Jared Abbrederis, Don Barclay, Ty Montgomery, Rajion Neal, James White, Scott Chandler, and Josh Boyce.
Abbrederis hurt himself and was out for the season for the Packers during their family night scrimmage before the opening preseason game last year. This will be the first time he will get to line up against opposing cornerbacks in a game setting. He has a concussion history and tore his ACL last year, but being a former Wisconsin Badger makes him a fan favorite as many people will have their eyes on him.
Barclay also tore his ACL last year, but he did it in training camp. He is the backup swing tackle that the Packers missed last year when Bryan Bulaga got hurt and had to leave a few games. Is he back to where he could step in and start for a few series or a few games? This is the first real indication that anyone will get.
Ty Montgomery has blasted into the fourth receiver spot in this offense according to the most recent depth chart. The former Stanford Cardinal will be looking to show his knowledge of the playbook and gain some trust from the quarterbacks to thrive in this Packer offense.
Neal is the third string back for the Packers and will be called upon quite a bit in this game. The former UDFA from Tennessee, Neal has something to prove to get into some regular season games behind known players like Eddie Lacy and James Starks. It could certainly happen, but it's really unknown to this point.
James White is another former Badger who didn't really play much in his rookie season. Granted, the Patriots have been stacked at running back and then signed LeGarrette Blount halfway through the season. He should be able to get some ample playing time during this game at least.
Scott Chandler, the former Buffalo Bills tight end, is more of a pass catching option, but this writer prefers the tough to spell Michael Hoomanawanui in the lineup for his blocking skills. If Chandler can block, this is going to be even tougher to stop the Patriots then last season as they can go to two tight end sets with both tight ends that can catch.
Josh Boyce is another smaller guy who can fulfill a Wes Welker type role for the Patriots. At 5'11" 205, he certainly could make a big impact if they lost Danny Amendola or Julian Edelman for an extended time period. But right now he's buried on the depth chart and needs to find a way to rise up.
Defensively, this is a secondary game for both teams. The Packers no longer have the same depth at cornerback as Tramon Williams and Davon House both left as free agents. Damarious Randall will be called upon and so will former Gonzaga Bulldog point guard Demetri Goodson. Look to see both on the field a lot on Thursday night. The Patriots also lost talent at cornerback as Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner both left. Malcolm Butler and Logan Ryan get the call as the first team cornerbacks.
The Packers have a few other questions as they had draft picks from last year who got hurt in the preseason in Khryi Thornton and Carl Bradford. Both should make an impact in the front seven if they want to stay on the team. The rookie to watch in the middle of the defense is former Michigan Wolverines middle linebacker Jake Ryan. Ryan is fighting for a potential starting job in the 3-4 defense and will be hoping to keep Clay Matthews on the outside as a pass rusher this season.
This writer could make a prediction, but it's not about the score, it's about seeing how players show up under the lights and in different situations. The Packers and Patriots both will be looking to find some players to stash on their roster in 2015.
