Morning Buzz: Packers' defense faces big test
Welcome to your Morning Buzz, rounding up news and views regarding the Green Bay Packers and their upcoming showdown with the Dallas Cowboys from around the web and here at PackersNews.com. Grab a cup of coffee (or brew some tea) and get caught up on everything you need to know about the Packers.
Late Thursday afternoon, the Packers made what figures to be the first of a few moves prior to Sunday’s game when they released quarterback Joe Callahan. The former Division III star will be subject to waivers, but if he isn’t picked up, expect him to be back in Green Bay on the practice squad.
Tom Silverstein compares the makeups and performances of the Cowboys’ and Packers’ offensive lines.
Bob McGinn takes a look at Nick Perry’s surprisingly dominant play through the first month of the 2016 season. Along the way, Bob has some high praise for the veteran outside linebacker:
Not only is Perry the best player on defense, he probably surpasses offensive linemen T.J. Lang and David Bakhtiari as the Packers’ most valuable player overall after four games.
Even though Perry started ahead of Julius Peppers all summer at left outside linebacker, it was unclear if Peppers would return to primacy once the regular season began. In my annual ranking of the 53 players based on importance to the team, I fretted having Perry too high at No. 19.
As it turns out, he should have been in the top five.
Michael Cohen takes a look at the emphasis the Packers are placing on the passing game this week and their expectations for that part of their offense going forward.
I spoke with Bob Strum of the Dallas Morning News on my podcast where we previewed Sunday’s matchup between the Packers and Cowboys in Lambeau Field.
ESPN produced a short video for social media highlighting Brett Favre’s career, in anticipation of his appearance in Lambeau on Sunday.
Peter Schrager over at NFL Network thinks the Dallas-Green Bay game is the marquee matchup this NFL Sunday.
Cameron DaSilva from FOX Sports gives five reasons he thinks the Cowboys will continue to roll on offense when they visit Lambeau Field on Sunday.
The Packers’ official website has a great collection of memorable photos from various Cowboys-Packers game throughout the years.
Over at ESPN, Rob Demovsky takes a look at Aaron Rodgers’ plummeting completion percentage.
Former Packers linebacker Brady Poppinga has a great tape breakdown of how the Packers' run defense matches up with the Cowboys’ running game.
Danny Kelly also has a breakdown on the heavyweight fight between the Packers’ run defense and the Cowboys' running game for The Ringer.
Also worth your time from The Ringer, a great feature on how this current Cowboys team appears to be a throwback to some other classic football teams.
Jason Wilde tells the true story of the fan, Roy Meulemans, who tried to swipe Vince Lombardi’s hat after the Ice Bowl. Just outstanding storytelling here from Wilde for ESPN:
Andrew Garda has the key battles to watch for on Sunday for Cheesehead TV.
Richard Sherman has a post up over at the Players Tribune about the difficulties of playing cornerback in the NFL. It’s a compelling read.