Sunday: Noon, at Lambeau Field (Ch. 9, 100.3-FM, 1130-AM)
Vikings-Packers scouting report
ABOUT THE PACKERS
• Green Bay opened the season with a 10-3 win in Chicago, with the difference being an 8-yard touchdown pass from Aaron Rodgers to Jimmy Graham in the second quarter.
• In the first game under play-calling coach Matt La-Fleur, the Packers averaged just 3.7 yards per play and converted two of 12 third downs.
• The Packers' revamped defense had a solid debut against the Bears. Free-agent addition Za'Darius Smith's 10 quarterback pressures on Mitchell Trubisky tied the Vikings' Danielle Hunter for the most during the NFL's opening week.
• Another Packers free agent addition, safety Adrian Amos, intercepted Trubisky in the end zone with fewer than two minutes left in the win. Green Bay cut defensive tackle Mike Daniels in July, but defensive tackle Kenny Clark remains one of the NFL's toughest foes in the middle.
PLAYER SPEAK | Aaron Rodgers
• The veteran quarterback vowed, "I'm going to be a lot better moving forward" after starting his 15th NFL season with a 203-yard, one-touchdown outing against the Bears.
• Rodgers was sacked five times by the Bears, a year after he was taken down 49 times, which was the third-highest total of his NFL career. The Vikings defense had eight sacks on Rodgers in their two meetings last season.
• LaFleur on installing a new playbook for Rodgers: "There's not too much he hasn't seen. Some of the stuff is a little bit new for him, but we work together on a daily basis and are in constant communication. Really, it's been a lot of fun."
• Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer on sacking Rodgers: "It's not just lay your ears back and go with him, because he's too dangerous when he gets out of the pocket. So we have to maintain our lanes and be tight in coverage."
COACH SPEAK | Matt LaFleur
• The 39-year-old former Rams and Titans offensive coordinator replaced Mike McCarthy. LaFleur was the only first-year NFL head coach to win his opener last week; the rest went 0-6-1.
• LaFleur has installed an offense similar to the Vikings' system with Gary Kubiak, who LaFleur worked with as a Texans quality control coach (2008-09). LaFleur was Kirk Cousins' QB coach in Washington from 2012-2013.
• On a 10-point outing in his debut: "I have to do a better job of giving our guys more opportunities to make plays and put them in positions to have success, but all in all our operation wasn't quite up to the standard."
• On his relationship with Kirk Cousins: "I've got so much respect for him, not only as a football player, but as a person. Just how he goes about his business. I was in Washington with him for two years, and we both kind of grew together."
Andrew Krammer
about the writer
Mike Conley was in Minneapolis, where he sounded the Gjallarhorn at the Vikings game, on Sunday during the robbery.