Packer Central

Kraft Critical of Brazil Playing Field, Ready to Run vs. Colts

With uncertainty at quarterback, tight end Tucker Kraft is ready for the run game to find consistency at Lambeau Field on Sunday against the Colts.

Bill Huber

Green Bay Packers tight end Tucker Kraft
Green Bay Packers tight end Tucker Kraft / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
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GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers hope their running game finds its footing on Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts.

Literally.

The Green Bay Packers lost 34-29 to the Philadelphia Eagles on Friday night in Brazil. The field was treacherous for both teams.

“A lot of the times, after putting that game behind me, I would attribute a lot of the failure on both defense and offense – their side of the ball, as well – on the footing,” tight end Tucker Kraft said on Wednesday.

Kraft recalled a play in the first quarter in which he tried to answer a defensive end’s move and his back foot slid backward so far that he said he almost did the splits. Kraft also pointed to a wide-open Dontayvion Wicks slipping and dropping a pass that would have gained at least 25 yards.

“I don’t think we should’ve been out there on that ground. Just the positions that guys can be put in, the inconsistency of the field surface, something has to be said about that. Something has to be done about that in the future, if we’re going to be playing in soccer stadiums. But excuses are excuses. Everyone’s got one.”

On Sunday, the Packers will play their first home game of the season against the Colts. Playing on the not-yet-Frozen Tundra will be welcome after the debacle in Sao Paulo left both teams complaining about the slipping and sliding.

“If I had an opportunity, I’d like to play every game at Lambeau,” Kraft said. “We have amazing facilities. Our field is regarded as one of the best in the NFL. It just comes down to the consistent playing surface. That’s it.

“Soccer players are different humans. They don’t run as hard as they can a few seconds at a time, making cuts like we do. Our size, it’s just different.”

With uncertainty at quarterback following Jordan Love’s knee injury, the Packers will have to ride their running game against the Colts.

Green Bay’s run game started terribly last week. In the first half, Josh Jacobs carried six times for 4 yards. During the second half, though, he carried 12 times for 80 yards.

Meanwhile, no team in the NFL allowed more rushing yards than the Colts did to the Texans last week.

“We see a four-down [defensive line], just like ours,” Kraft said. “Our defense structure is pretty similar to them, so I got training camp to work on a lot of the fundamentals we’re going to see in this game.

“They’re a penetrating defense. They got some good guys in the second level. The nickel (Kenny Moore is) a very talented player, the middle linebacker (Zaire Franklin) likes to run. Obviously, with the quarterback situation, we’re going to really focus in on running the ball, being really locked into our keys, our run tracks. That’s something, regardless of the quarterback situation, we’re always trying to do. We’ve had a couple days to look at them and we’re excited. Their scheme is going to be good for some of the things we like to do.”

The assumption this week has been that Malik Willis would start in place of the injured Love at quarterback. While Love didn’t practice on Wednesday, the door is “pretty open” for him to start against the Colts. Willis said Love was present at practice and “preparing to play” vs. Indianapolis.

Of course, just because Love is “preparing to play” doesn’t mean he will play. Nonetheless, that it’s even a discussion is quite remarkable considering how serious the injury looked at the time.

“Knife to the gut. I’m sure everybody felt that,” Kraft said of seeing Love go down. “All I could do was hit a knee and starting praying. When I saw our starting center (Josh Myers) and starting quarterback go down, that hurt a lot. I just got on a knee and started praying.”

He added: “Big Guy was looking out for us on that one, for sure. Honestly, I can’t wait to have Jordan back but all I’m worried about is the Colts.”

More Green Bay Packers News

Packers-Colts Wednesday injury report | What did Willis say about Love? | LaFleur’s backup QB history | Odds will be stacked against Jacobs | What channel for Packers-Colts? | Packers-Colts matchups | Packers sign receiver | Packers sign tight end | Consensus NFL power rankings | Willis will start if Love’s not cleared | Three reasons to believe after Week 1 win | Three reasons to worry after Week 1 loss | Ryan Tannehill to the rescue? | Can Willis save the season?

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Bill Huber

BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packer Central, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.