Packers vs Raiders Preseason Game | Ticket King Inc.

Please note, Mike McCarthy announced that Rodgers and many "key starters" on the offensive side will not play in this game. This announcement came after we posed this article. We're keeping it up on our blog anyway. Go Packers! 

We have reached week three in the NFL Preseason. This week is commonly known as “dress rehearsal” week, meaning that teams play all of their starters through the first half and many even well into the third quarter. The backups finish out the game, and we usually don’t see guys that are deep down on the depth chart get much playing time. Week three of the preseason is where teams run their usual stuff the entire game. So this is “Go Time” where coaches make adjustments during the first half, and really hope to show that their team is ready.

First and foremost, we will get an extended look at Aaron Rodgers in this game. Most fans think Rodgers will play the entire first half this game, maybe even the third quarter. If he is out after just a couple of possessions it would come as a surprise. How will he look in extended play? This is the next step in his full return. Time to put that rebuilt throwing shoulder to the test in some real game time. At some point in this game, the coaches will tell him to “wind up and let it fly deep down the field,” just to see if he’s got the arm in a real time, real game situation. How will that shoulder respond? How will the rest of his body react to it? How will the throwing motion look? These are all questions that this game hopes to have answered before Packers fans can all relax.

Joining Rodgers in extended time will be the rest of the crew. That group will certainly be starters plus key non-starters. That means the three receivers at the top of the depth chart- Davante Adams, Geronimo Allison, and Randall Cobb will play, plus all three rookies. After the impressive showing last Thursday night, Rodgers will get to work with all three tight ends,  Jimmy Graham, Lance Kendricks, and Marcedes Lewis. For the run game the healthy backs will get playing time. Jamal Williams, Ty Montgomery, Aaron Jones, Devonte Mays head up that group, with a few new faces there. How will all of these guys look together? How will Aaron spread the ball to them? Here’s a thought. Now that Jordy Nelson is gone, who will Rodgers start to favor besides Adams and Cobb? When one of those rookies drops a couple of Rodgers’ bullets, he’ll surely pass on to the next man.  

How will the “new look” defense fare against this Raiders offense? The Raiders have a new head coach in Jon Gruden and the team has the chance to be a force on offense. The Packers have a new defensive coordinator in Mike Pettine who comes from the Rex Ryan tree. How will the defense look in extended time against a real and potentially good, offense? Is Oren Burks for real or is it just preseason competition he is playing so well against. The closer these teams get to “real time” play, with actual starters, the more we will have answers to our questions.  

Have the Brewers Made the Right Moves After the All Star Break? | Ticket King Inc.

The Milwaukee Brewers have weathered that ugly string of losses leading up to the All Star Break, and their shoddy play just after the Mid Summer Classic. The Brewers are now 8-5 over their last 13 games. On top of that, they get a day off to gather themselves before playing three against the Padres at Miller Park. Right before the trade deadline, the Brewers made two big moves to shore up their infield. The moves that they made should bode well for them for the rest of the season.

The first move was acquiring third basemen Mike Moustakas from the Kansas City Royals on July 28. To get Moustakas, the Brewers had to give up quite a bit. Milwaukee traded away two of their best prospects, right-handed pitcher Jorge Lopez and prized young outfielder Brett Phillips. This trade doesn’t really make sense to some fans. Travis Shaw was struggling lately, but he was having a decent year. Did the Brewers see something more than your average fan did? To more than a few of us, the trade seemed like overkill for a slumping Shaw. The second move they made was acquiring second basemen Jonathan Schoop from the Baltimore Orioles for Jonathan Villar, shortstop Jean Carmona, and right-handed pitcher Luis Ortiz. From the Brewers standpoint, they got the better end of this deal. Schoop has struggled out of the gate for Milwaukee, but he is too good of a player to keep struggling like that. These two moves essentially send Travis Shaw to the bench. There is a possibility Shaw won’t be too happy sitting on the bench and he could be moved before the waiver wire deadline of August 31. The move they didn’t make that everyone expected them to was to go after a starting pitcher. However, the starting pitcher market was very bleak outside of the two Mets starters, Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard. On top of that, the Mets were asking for way too much for either one of those two.

So now the Brewers have their somewhat-revamped roster, and now have an off day before hosting the San Diego Padres for three games. After that, the brutality of their second-half schedule picks back up as they head out on the road for eight games against the Braves, Cubs, and Cardinals. Those five games against the Cubs and Cardinals will determine a lot in the divisional positioning in the National League Central going down the stretch.