I think I'm still shouting in excitement over Week 1. The defense showed us everything we wanted to see. Jordan Love did enough, and of note, was pretty free of mistakes. It was everything we could have hoped for going into that Week 1 game and provided a glimpse into what this team can be. While the team has assuredly moved on, I need one more sentence to savor the total beat down in Chicago...

Aaaaaaand, done.

Onto Week 2 and the Atlanta Falcons. Let's raise the Packers Periscope and take a look at the past, present and future of this rivalry.

The Past

The Week 2 matchup will be game number 36 in the all-time series, with the Packers leading 19-16. The Packers have won the last two, a 30-16 win in 2020 and 34-20 win in 2018. The prior three, however, went to the Falcons: 34-23 in the new stadium opener, 44-21 in the 2016-2017 NFC Championship and 33-32 in 2016.

As for some memorable moments, we Packers fans have some very nice ones on which to reflect. Off the top of my head, on December 18, 1994, we've got the final game in Milwaukee County Stadium. For you young bucks who aren't aware, or old folks who don't forget, the game ended in dramatic fashion with Brett Favre running the ball - against his coach Mike Holmgren's direction - diving into the end zone to score the winning touchdown with 9 seconds left.

A bit more recent, in 2011 as part of the Packers' Super Bowl run, Aaron Rodgers stamped his place in the pantheon of great quarterbacks with a 31/36, 366-yard and 3-touchdown effort in the 48-21 rout of Matt Ryan and the Falcons. Of note in that game outside of Rodgers' effort, was the game-swinging pick-six by Tramon Williams to extend the lead going into halftime. Joe Buck's call, which I still use today, "They tried to bite off more yardage and they just. got. burned," will forever live on in that fantastic moment.

But on the other side of that coin -- ya know what, no. Not doing it. The Vick game never happened as far as I'm concerned.

The Present

The Falcons are in a similar spot to the Packers. Young, developing quarterback taking over for a seasoned vet, surrounded by talent with an offensive-minded coach. Second-year QB Desmond Ridder leads the offense, and was very efficient in his first start of the year, going 15/18 for 115 yards and a touchdown in the 24-10 win over the Panthers. Certainly not a performance to write home about, but turnover avoidance will be his key to success.

Around Ridder is a ton of talent and college production. The newest face, Bijan Robinson, tore it up at Texas and has taken that skill to the red and black. On 16 touches, he racked up 83 total yards and a touchdown in his debut. The other backfield member, Tyler Allgeier, got 15 carries tallying 75 yards and two scores. It's a backfield that will get a LOT of looks this week, so the seemingly-improved Packers run D will need to bring it again.

Outside, Drake London is the big name, Mack Hollins is the big human (seriously, have you SEEN him?!) and Kyle Pitts is the big target. They have plenty of talent and will provide plenty of opportunities for Strap City to do just that.

Defensively, it's tough to tell just yet what the Falcons are made of. Despite lacking the big-name talent, they did add stud safety Jessie Bates III from Cincinnati. And, they showed up against Carolina, holding the Panthers to 10 points and Bryce Young to 146 yards passing and two picks. Grady Jarrett is still the run-stuffing dawg in the middle, and A.J. Terrell is the best of their corner group on the outside. But pass-rush-wise, it's tough to see the Packers' offensive line struggling too mightily.

As for the Packers, they didn't miss a beat without stud receiver Christian Watson. The game plan was absolutely changed, however, with no over-the-top receiver to open up things underneath. He did sound more optimistic about his availability, but I'm sure he'll practice in a limited fashion this week and ultimately get a questionable tag for Sunday. Other injuries to keep an eye on would be those of Romeo Doubs and Aaron Jones. Doubs was working on a snap count and Jones came up a little crampy after his long touchdown reception on Sunday. We know how conservative this team is, so don't be shocked if they're all questionable this week.

Defensively, HOO BOY did they have a nice day on Sunday. The pass rush was everything we could dream of, including Rashan Gary getting a 50-percent pressure rate on only 10 snaps. It'll be interesting to see how much he practices and how many snaps he gets this week. My guess is they continue using him in obvious passing situations, especially playing on field turf. And as for getting Kenny some help? Devonte Wyatt might have that dawn in him.

I think ultimately the Packers' defensive line is built to feast this week. Carolina was able to pressure Ridder plenty to the tune of 4 sacks. And if the Packers can get any sort of lead, look out.

The Future

Packers - Falcons, 1pm local time, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA on FOX. The Packers are favored by 1.5, which is likely steered by a little Week 1 optimism by Jordan Love and the good guys. It doesn't seem that optimism was reciprocated to the Falcons who won by double-digits, likely because Vegas just doesn't think they're good yet. Vegas also appears to be projecting the defenses to show up a bit with an over/under of 40.5. 

I think what we're all looking for is more mistake-free football from Love, and Joe Barry's defense to show the same speed and aggression it did a week ago. These are two teams very much still feeling themselves out, getting used to new quarterbacks and new faces on both sides of the ball. Atlanta has been both a house of horrors and the place of some of our fondest Packers memories. But if history is any indication, we'll see some points and (hopefully) a 2-0 start for the Packers.

The belief is starting to build, and a good showing down south would only aid in that confidence. Excited to see what Matt LaFleur and the rest of the staff draws up this week.