Amen NP. Being healthy for the playoffs is what this is all about. I would certainly prefer to see the Packers beat the Vikings in game one, but as we saw from last year, a game one loss is not a deal breaker. I like what MLF has done with the preseason.

I agree completely Nick! Keep the key players bubble wrapped. Besides they Packers played their starters against the Saints for 2 days prior to their preseason game. Dump the preseason games and have more practices would make much more sense. Thanks, Since '61

Yet DB blew out his knee in practice. Should the starters avoid practice as well to avoid getting hurt?

I do not relish the thought of playing Hanson at RG or Newman at RT. Both playing at the same time will mean that ARod is running for his life. If Elgton is not back, we had better have Zach Tom at RT. Newman is better at RG, which is his best spot on the line. If Bakh plays, in week one, we can use Nijman at RT, too. We have to keep ARod safe!

Freakish injuries, Cheap shots, Learning Time, Dirty plays, Tempers. I'm All for keeping the starters off the field. It said you practice like you play. If a guy got hurt; you'd write they shouldn't have played.

There are also non contact injuries which are serious, if a guy goes down without contact it is likely an ACL (Jordy Nelson) or a hamstring. Heavy preseason contact with starters increases chance of injury. Play the young guys let them fight for roster spots.

One other factor. Young players need to work with older players (e.g. Rodgers with rookie receivers) IN the heat of a real game with the elevated intensity, adrenalin and noise. Rodgers doesn't need it for himself, but he needs it for the new players. Getting passes from Love will not duplicate getting passes from AR. New Orleans last year proved that only one game is needed to accomplish that. Its actually a surprise that loss did not end up biting the team in the end.

If you have some proof that players that don't play in the exhibition games are more likely to get hurt, please provide it. Meanwhile, here is a partial list of players who were injured to various degrees during the pre-season: https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/nfl-2022-preseason-injuries-tracker-r...

We saw what happened to Leavitt and Scott. Imagine if that had been Savage and Amos. I agree with MLFs decision not to play starters, even if it means a slow start. It is a better decision down the stretch.

During any football game, team with the best blocking and tackling execution always has a most important edge. As Bruce stated in the article...you are what you practice.

MM ran camps with little live tackling and light blocking and it showed early in the season. Matt has continued this, reinforced by the league. And I think they even avoid live blocking and tackling after the league limits end in camp.

This lack of blocking and tackling training and focus was clearly evident on STs all 3 preseason games. Blocking and tackling was pathetic. Attempted arm tackles ball carriers ran through and blocking was sloppy and half hearted.

I think Love and the O's first 4 drives were deep in the hole, all compliments of STs. Meanwhile, SF, NO and KC ALL attacked the Packers STs...with good results...and MN has taken notice.

The blocking and tackling to start the game was very sloppy. Do not be surprised if the season starts the same.

I agree with Bruce Irons. The players in the NFL need practice and contact to get their bodies ready for the marathon that is the NFL season. Running around in shorts with no pads for 3 months does not prepare the body, the mind yes. Now I do not believe most starting NFL players need to play too many minutes in the preseason. IMO they do need to get some time together in a game situation not playing their own teammates. I am up for the starters playing one or two series to start preseason games. After that everyone else who has deserved playing in practice should get their chance to improve their skills and impress their coaches. Injuries will occur in the NFL, it is a contact sport, not flag football. The players know the risk of injury can occur at any time. In goes with their profession, just like a police officer, a health care professional, or a service member. A bad even deadly outcome unfortunately occurs. Risk versus reward. Prepare the NFL body for war, do not standby on the sidelines watching others do "their job"! Go Pack GO!

Playing the starters for one quarter at Kansas City would likely have not resulted in a disaster with the exception of Aaron Rodgers. As you noticed, Andy Reid played starters for a time, Dennis Allen played the New Orleans starters for a time.

I still count the loss to New Orleans last year as the second most embarrassing loss in Packers recent history, right behind Lindy Infante's Colts beating Mike Holmgren's Packers in 1997. The Colts won 3 games that year and the Packers went on to lose the Super Bowl.

I was at the game against Denver during the Bart Starr coaching days and the Packers fans started cheering for the Broncos because they were so fed up with losing.

First off our starters did practice against the Saints starters for 2 days. But I guess that doesn't count.

Second and more important the NFL season is a marathon so why would a team want to go into the season with some of their starters injured? Especially if we expect that some of our players will get hurt during the season. Which will mean that we'll be playing some 3rd stringers at positions with multiple injuries.

Injuries to starters wreak havoc on position groups and extend the effects onto the STs. This diminishes the quality of play for the team and throughout the league.

Another big reason is that team owners aren't paying their highly paid players to miss the season and end their team's chances to make an SB run. Of course preseason games are a money grab for the owners whether their stars play or not so why risk their best players in meaningless games. Playing their stars is a lose/lose proposition. The best case is that they play, are not injured but deny precious reps and evaluation of our younger players. The worst case is that the star players suffer a serious injury ending their season and possibly their career. What's the point?

As for the Packers they did play their starting OL in every preseason game. We'll see if it makes a difference or not. As for our skill players would playing Rodgers, Jones and Dillon actually make a difference for them at this point in their careers. How would we feel about our chances for the season if any one of them was lost for the season in a preseason game? Also why deny the extra reps to Love, Patrick Taylor and numerous other players trying to make the team? Those players need the work much more than their starting counterparts.

Finally and most importantly there isn't any credible evidence which supports that playing starters helps them play better during the regular season. The Packers have won 13 games in each of the previous 3 seasons. That tells me the Packers must be doing something correctly.

Start the season with healthy players and hold off the injury bug as long as possible. GPG! Thanks, Since '61

Our last preseason game was 8/25. Our first regular season game is 9/11. That's 18 days between those 2 games.

Would there really have been much of an advantage playing the starters for, say, the 1st half of that last preseason game, then not play another game for 18 days? Whatever timing, getting used to game day hitting, etc. would be lost during that time between live action.

It might make for some sloppy action early, but that usually is corrected pretty quickly with veterans. I think it's ultimately the right decision to not play starters, especially your top end starters...AR12, Dillon, Jones, Alexander, Clark et al...during the preseason.

I don’t buy this. I probably never will. I think players need to get out there and hit and play as a unit for maybe a half. It’s like coming back from injury, one doesn’t feel back till one’s made a few plays and taken a few hits . Yes, there is an injury risk, but there is in practice and it’s a question of balancing the increase with the return.

That said, with this makeshift line and Watson being unable to suit up, coupled with a largely veteran D and Cobb and Watkins being fragile, I’m less unhappy than usual. I would not start Rodgers behind Hanson/Newman (I’m dubious about doing so in game 1).

If we go out against the Vikings and look like game one last year though, this silliness will need to stop. This year should be the test. If it backfires again then there’s no basis for pretending it is valid.

It's debatable. Reasonable arguments can be made for either posistion.

As long as MLF is tops in the NFL for win percentage I'm going with what he said on this one. Even with the Saints last year they still won 13 games.

If MLF is focusing on how to be more effective in the post season I am happy.

This is an argument or discussion for before the preseason, and it's been done too many times already. The only thing that matters now is the season will start in two weeks plus with whomever makes up the 53-man roster. Who they keep is now far more important than who did or didn't get hurt playing or not playing.

I wouldn't mind seeing the starters out there a little, but in the end, I trust the coaches to make the right call on this. The trouble is that in terms of intensity, preseason games are not a halfway point between practice and regular season games. They are closer to regular season games. The action is fast, and the hitting is hard. I would rather risk a slow start to the season than put starting players at a greater risk of injury before the season begins.

The O-line was an interesting exception this year. The starting unit (at least for now) played a lot because they needed the work but also because none of the individual players are extremely valuable. Any of them could be replaced without a huge drop in quality if they get injured. Obviously you don't WANT them to get injured, but you can bet that if Bahktiari or Jenkins were healthy, neither one of them would see the field in the preseason.

The Jordy Nelson thing years back is easily a thing where a guy like Jordy who grew up a farmer didn’t rest enough. Playing in the preseason I am both for and against. Week one against the Vikings is going to be an ugly game. Win lose or draw. A very ugly game.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think the Vikings played any of their starters except OL in the preseason either. Maybe a few played but don't remember seeing Z or Hunter, Kirk, Dalvin or Jefferson. Anybody care to look that up, I don't have time right now.

Would that make you feel any better about the first game this year if both teams withheld their best players all preseason?

By this logic wouldn’t it be better to crash test cars with real people and not dummies? All be it only high school my experience was a hard hit in week 1 hurts as much as a hard hit in week 10 and is just as risky.

Your marathon and powerlifting analogies are very poor ones.

I think better way to think of it is that in order to get into football shape before the first game, you need to play full contact football. If you rely solely on practices to do that, the odds of a packer getting hurt double.

I think it's an assumed risk and known that a large portion of the players will get tired in the first game, and that there will be difficulties in timing and other areas, so performance will suffer.

Classic risk vs reward. What will be gained by playing the vets that you know will make the team and have a large financial investment in? Marginally better performance in game 1? Versus the risk of playing in the preseason and losing the player before the season even starts (and if that player is AR, then season is pretty much over). It's a dangerous game and you are rolling the dice vs an injury more times.

My goodness, I take a week off of CHTV to go camping and come back to this BS? If running into other players at full speed in some way conditioned players to be better at running into other players at full speed without injury don't you think that would be built into the training camp regimen? Normally I expect this level of logical thinking from Cory but I may need to add Mr Irons to my list of CHTV writers to automatically disregard out of hand.

Bakhtiari blew his knee out in practice. Should we then say the starters shouldn't practice or they might get hurt?

I for one will be shocked to see the Packers win at Minny. Matter of fact you take a look at Minnys schedule and wow they can be 7-0 before facing a contender in the Cardinals and they play them at home.
Plus the Gods gave Minny the ablilty to play only two away games in a row and then like three or four home games so if this team has talent, they can go a long way.
If the pack on the other hand stumble out the gate and the passing game doesn't get going as planned, the Pack could see themselves several games behind the Vikes and looking up all season.
The Vikes did a lot in the off season to draft pressure players and free agents with the intent of getting to Rodgers and whomever all season long. I wouldnt take this team lightly