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(TSX / STATS) -- Eight months ago, the Green Bay Packers took an eight-game winning streak to Atlanta for the NFC Championship Game against the Falcons.

It was a massacre. The Falcons held a 24-point lead at halftime and coasted to a 44-21 victory.

Packers coach Mike McCarthy had no interest in taking a verbal walk down memory lane on Wednesday, ahead of Sunday's road game against Atlanta.

"If you're thinking about last year and talking about last year, you're just wasting time and energy," McCarthy said. "To get to the point where you're playing in January and the opportunity to play in the Super Bowl, you've got to focus on what's going on today. That's really what our guys are focused on."

It stands to reason that McCarthy is focused on the here and now rather than January.

After all, injuries had obliterated his secondary and MVP quarterback Matt Ryan and star receiver Julio Jones took full advantage. Ryan finished with 392 passing yards and four touchdowns (plus one rushing score), with 271 yards and three total TDs in the first half alone. Jones caught nine passes for 180 yards and two touchdowns, including a 73-yarder to start the second half.

The man attempting to cover Jones that day was LaDarius Gunter. The former undrafted free agent had been forced into the No. 1 role because of injuries.

On Tuesday, Gunter was released -- a sign of how much better the Packers believe they are at cornerback. With free-agent addition Davon House added to the starting lineup and Damarious Randall and Quinten Rollins past last year's groin injuries, Green Bay limited Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson to 14-of-27 passing and 158 yards in last week's 17-9 victory.

The Packers' defense will face a much bigger challenge against the Falcons' high-flying attack. With Ryan throwing for almost 5,000 yards and posting the fourth-best passer rating in NFL history, the Falcons piled up 540 points last season -- tied for the eighth-most of all-time.

That unit got off to somewhat of a slow start in last week's 23-17 victory at Chicago. While Ryan threw for 321 yards -- including an 88-yard touchdown by tight end Austin Hooper -- the Falcons' longest running play (other than a Ryan scramble) went for just seven yards.

"I wasn't panicking," Ryan said. "It's all about trying to get better week to week. That's the focus. The good teams that I've been on are the teams that continue to get better throughout the year. I think the experience of that first game is going to serve us well."

Defensively, the improvement the Packers hope to make is what the Falcons made during the second half of last season. With four rookies in the starting lineup, Atlanta yielded an average of 28.8 points in the first nine game of last season. That decreased to 21.0 over the last seven regular-season games as linebackers Deion Jones and De'Vondre Campbell, safety Keanu Neal and cornerback Brian Poole gained experience.

After holding Seattle to 20 points in a divisional playoff game, Atlanta overwhelmed the Packers in the championship game. Aaron Rodgers, the 2011 and 2014 NFL MVP, threw for 287 yards -- although most of that production came after halftime.

The Atlanta defense is led by third-year outside linebacker Vic Beasley, who had 15.5 sacks and six forced fumbles last year. Top cornerback Desmond Trufant, who missed the playoff run with a torn pectoral muscle, is back in the lineup.

"I think it's a really good defense," Rodgers said. "(They're) just older. Deion Jones is a big-time player. Keanu Neal is a fantastic player. Getting Trufant back from injury is great for them. Poole is now a second-year player. Those guys playing together in the same system for another year now, very talented group, very well-coached and very well-disciplined."

While the Packers earned an impressive victory against a fellow NFC powerhouse last week, the Falcons needed Brooks Reed's fourth-and-goal sack to hold off the rebuilding Bears. Falcons coach Dan Quinn, however, was pleased with the ending, perhaps in no small part because of how his team couldn't hold off the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl.

"I wasn't disappointed that we had to go all the way to the end," he said. "Those are kind of the finishes that as a coach you hope you can put your team into some of those spots and have some resiliency there at the end. It took all day, for sure."

The game will be played in Mercedes-Benz Stadium -- the first regular-season game to be played in the retractable-roof stadium. The Packers are no strangers to opening a visiting team's stadium -- it lost 17-14 in the Vikings' first game at U.S. Bank Stadium last season. The 70,000 fans that will fill the stadium figure to make for a raucous environment, but Quinn isn't counting on them to carry his team to victory.

"Having the city and the connection that they have to the team, we enjoy that," he said. "Past that, when it gets kicked off, it still comes down to the guys in between the white lines. Our players know that. Once it

gets kicked off, two really good teams who are totally going to battle for it."

The Packers are the only team with a significant injury concern. Right tackle Bryan Bulaga has been out for three weeks with an ankle injury and left tackle David Bakhtiari was limited with an injured hamstring.

 

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Should be a really good offensive showdown, especially if Aaron found the no respect chip that is firmly planted on his shoulder.

 

HE GON BE MAD.

 

:Packers: 33

:Falcons: 28

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For the record , Aaron says he no longer has a chip on his shoulder.

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Playing without both our tackles tonight. Should be great, ala Arizona game in 2015. Better play out of shotgun and use quick hitting routes or Vic Beasley gonna do work.

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Packers RT Bryan Bulaga (ankle, illness) is inactive for Week 2 against the Falcons.

The Packers are also down LT David Bakhtiari (hamstring) for Sunday night's game. It's a huge concern for the offensive line and Aaron Rodgers' pass protection, with Kyle Murphy and Adam Pankey forced into starting roles. Martellus Bennett could be asked to block more and should be downgraded.
The rest of Green Bay's inactives are RB Devante Mays, OT Jason Spriggs, CB Lenzy Pipkins, LB Ahmad Brooks, and DT Montravius Adams.

 

 

 

 

Falcons RB Brian Hill is inactive for Week 2 against the Packers.

This was expected after Hill was limited in practice this week.
There are no surprises among Atlanta's inactives -- WR Nick Williams, OT Austin Pasztor, OL Sean Harlow, S Sharrod Neasman, CB Blidi Wreh-Wilson, and LB Jordan Tripp have all been ruled out.

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Packers are so fucked unless Montgomery goes off. Aaron gonna take off sk many terrible sacks

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For the record , Aaron says he no longer has a chip on his shoulder.

 

What a fool, he needs it!

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Came out and looked like dogshit for the better part of the game. McCarthy had some great calls on the 1st drive and Ty looked really good. Then just abandon it and have a rookie RB running up the middle on 2nd and 15...That bullshit OPI call really hurt before the half and made a huge difference. To make matters worst, the Falcons turn right around and go to a pick with Hooper for Coleman's TD and nothing is called. I don't know how to explain that fumble and why Rodgers tried throwing it but the entire offensive line sucked dick on that play. Even being down big, the team looked better and started playing better but that's probably due to Falcons going into conservative mode and it almost came back to bite them in the ass again.

 

On a side note, at what point does someone start wondering and looking into the absurd amount of injuries? Is it the condition staff and they are failing to get players ready or something with the field? So many muscle injuries occurring on both sides in a single game is ridiculous.

 

Least Rodgers got to 300 TDs, faster than anyone else and with way fewer INTs, so we can celebrate that. Ty looks to be a beast and was probably the lone bright spot of the game. Needs more touches.

Edited by Packers Dynasty 2010

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Aaron has vastly unimpressed me to start the year. Way too many turnovers. He will turn it around, I know, but it's still painful for now. Lol

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Aaron has vastly unimpressed me to start the year. Way too many turnovers. He will turn it around, I know, but it's still painful for now. Lol

 

Ya Rodgers and Ha Ha have been my biggest disappointments so far. I don't know if Rodgers just doesn't trust the line or what is happening but he just seems off and flustered. Though he has started slow for the past 3 or 4 years it seems. I truly thought Ha Ha would make the big jump this season and establish himself as one of the better safeties but right now he just seems to be playing off. I don't know if its Capers or him, but he seems to always be waiting back and letting the plays come to him rather than going up and making the play. He should've easily had a pick last night or at least a big hit to create an incompletion but completely whiffed. Still early so they should be able to turn it around.

Edited by Packers Dynasty 2010

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Oh and I was gonna mention this last time but forgot.. Good news, at least for me, is that Kevin King has turned it up, IMO. He had a really rough start to camp but he is getting better each and every week. Very impressive.

On the flipside... We are probably gonna have to get another CB or two in the draft because Rollins and Randall really aren't cutting it.

What was your opinion on letting Gunter go, PD?

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Falcons SLB Vic Beasley suffered a "slight hamstring tear" Week 2 against the Packers.

The injury is expected to sideline him for at least a month. It is a big blow to a defense which has opened the season well. Rookie Takk McKinley will need to take on a bigger pass-rushing role with Beasley sidelined.

 

 

That sucks for the Falcons... he's completely overrated but he's just about their only source of a pass rush besides Takk.. who's very raw.

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Oh and I was gonna mention this last time but forgot.. Good news, at least for me, is that Kevin King has turned it up, IMO. He had a really rough start to camp but he is getting better each and every week. Very impressive.

 

On the flipside... We are probably gonna have to get another CB or two in the draft because Rollins and Randall really aren't cutting it.

 

What was your opinion on letting Gunter go, PD?

 

Ya, King was impressive although he did get lucky that Ryan didn't look his way the few times he got beat.

 

I still have some hope for Randall and think he could good if used correctly. He needs to play zone and off the LoS so that he can keep everything in front of him and watch the QB which he excels at. When he's in man and has to flip his hips, he's screwed. I think Rollins is just too small and is bullied around by any bigger WR.

 

I liked Gunter and we threw him into the fire last year with OBJ, Dez, then Julio in consecutive weeks and for an UDFA he performed as well as can be expected. The problem is that's his ceiling, he just isn't fast enough to keep up with guys and you can't train that. Randall, Rollins, Hawkins, and Pipkins are all more athletic but not as technical.

Edited by Packers Dynasty 2010

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