Packers Morning Buzz: Playbook surprises for Rams, Patriots?

Welcome to your Morning Buzz, rounding up news and views regarding the Green Bay Packers from around the web and here at PackersNews.com.

The Packers (3-2-1), who had the weekend off, play Sunday at the unbeaten Los Angeles Rams (7-0).

We'll start with Ryan Wood's look at how the Packers are preparing for their most grueling five-game stretch of the season.

Ryan writes:

This five-week stretch sneaked up on nobody. Since the schedule was released in April, it always loomed as the pivotal juncture in the 2018 season.

The Packers are prepared. Coach Mike McCarthy stopped short of saying his team spent its first six games “saving anything” in the playbook for the better opponents on its schedule, but the Packers studied the Patriots this offseason. They played the Rams last preseason, though it was the finale when teams rest their starters.

“We have some preliminary game plans,” McCarthy said.

Because this week is a West Coast trip, the Packers pushed up their game-week schedule by a day. They’ll hold their typical Wednesday practice Tuesday, and their padded practice Wednesday, before traveling to Los Angeles on Friday instead of Saturday.

McCarthy said his adjusted schedule was at least in part because of “three weeks of heavy travel” upcoming, but that’s about as much as the Packers will admit to looking at their next five games as a whole.

You can read the whole story here:

At least the Packers should be healthier for their difficult stretch:

Ryan analyzed the state of the Packers with Olivia Reiner and Jim Owczarski:

Packers defensive backs discussed having to face the potent Rams offense:

Safety Josh Jones announced some news on "Clubhouse Live":

The Rams' game against the Packers could be their most in-demand ticket of the season, writes Richard Ryman:

Don't miss the special Tuesday edition of Pete Dougherty's live chat:

The Packers posed for a team photo Monday after returning from their bye week:

ESPN's Rob Demovsky with more on running back Aaron Jones' lack of carries:

On the NFL Network, they're liking the Vikings' chances in the NFC North:

Peter Bukowski of Acme Packing Co. notes the reasons why the Packers-Rams game could be closer than most expect:

On "Good Morning Football," they're talking about the Rams going 16-0:

The Packers will be going up against the early favorite for NFL MVP honors:

Packers visit the Patriots in two weeks:

The Saints are finding multiple uses for former Packers training-camp quarterback Taysom Hill:

And finally, an interesting way of illustrating that the Saints' Drew Brees has taken his place among Brett Favre and the other GOAT quarterbacks: