PLAYER NOTES
–QB Aaron Rodgers was limited participation on Wednesday with the left knee injury sustained in the season-opening game vs. Chicago. This was the first time since that injury in which he participated in the first practice of the week.
–OLB Nick Perry, who has 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble, did not participate at Wednesday’s practice with an ankle injury.
–S Jermaine Whitehead, who played linebacker for all but a handful of snaps in last week’s loss to the Rams, did not practice with a back injury.
–WR Davante Adams, Green Bay’s leading receiver with three consecutive games of 130-plus yards, expects to draw Stephon Gilmore, the Patriots’ top cornerback. Said fellow WR Geronimo Allison: “When he’s man-on-man, he’s Davante. When he’s doubled, he’s still Davante. He’s been dominating.”
PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: RB Aaron Jones averaged 5.5 yards per carry as a rookie and has been even better this season. He enters Sunday’s game with an NFL-best 6.2-yard average. In last week’s loss to the Los Angeles Rams, Jones finally took over as Green Bay’s No. 1 ball-carrier. He took advantage of his 12 carries to gain 86 yards, including a 33-yard touchdown. Jones can give the Packers needed balance so Patriots head coach Bill Belichick can’t just tee off on quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
GAME PLAN: Green Bay enters a showdown ranked No. 5 in the NFL in yards. It’s translated into being only 13th in scoring. For all the yards the Packers have piled up, self-destruction has been the end result of too many drives. The Packers are 20th on third down and in the red zone. “We need to continue to just find ways to get the ball to our playmakers,” quarterback Aaron Rodgers said. “We were obviously really worried about their pass rush last week with the dynamic rushers they had both inside and outside. We’ve just got to do a better job of throwing and catching in those situations.”
The Packers might have found a defensive formula in last week’s loss to the Rams. Green Bay lined up in its dime defensive package on almost every snap. Despite being outmanned up front, the Packers kept Rams running back Todd Gurley II mostly under wraps. That figures to be the plan against the Patriots. Put six in the secondary to cut down on the options for quarterback Tom Brady, then hope the remaining five defenders can handle the run.
MATCHUPS TO WATCH
–Packers WR Davante Adams vs. Patriots CB Stephon Gilmore. Adams has caught 52 passes for 690 yards and six touchdowns. That puts him on pace for 120 receptions for 1,577 yards and 14 touchdowns. He’s on a roll with three consecutive games with 130-plus receiving yards. He figures to draw the Patriots’ lockdown cornerback, Stephon Gilmore. Gilmore has one interception and ranks second in the NFL with 11 passes defensed. According to Pro Football Focus, he’s allowed a catch rate of just 40.9 percent.
–Packers S Jermaine Whitehead vs. Patriots RB James White. Whitehead has been a matchup guy for coordinator Mike Pettine’s defense. White is a matchup problem. He ranks seventh in the NFL with 55 receptions and leads all running backs with six touchdown receptions. In the highest praise imaginable, QB Tom Brady said: “I’ve played with a lot of great players and James is right there at the top. In terms of consistency, dependability, making great play after great play, James is as good as all the good Patriot players – Troy Brown, Wes Welker, Kevin Faulk.”
