Davante Adams: Packers ‘came out really flat’ in season opener

A day after quarterback Aaron Rodgers said the Green Bay Packers lacked energy in Sunday’s season opener, receiver Davante Adams said he believes the team “came out really flat.”

Adams told NFL Now that the Packers had a slow start on offense and didn’t take care of business in all three phases early on in the loss to the New Orleans Saints, which helped set up the blowout.

“It just got weird, man. It was a weird game,” Adams said. “We had like 12 plays in the first half. Our defense wasn’t getting off the field and that just wasn’t our best display. We came out really flat and I think that it’ll be a really good wake-up call for us.”

Adams caught five passes for 56 yards. And he’s right; the Packers had run only 12 plays before the Saints were in possession of a 17-0 lead.

It’s hard to believe a team that has been to the doorstep of the Super Bowl in back-to-back years could lack energy and start flat in Week 1 of a season, especially such a pressure-packed season with the Super Bowl as a realistic goal. But the Packers found themselves shellshocked after an early-game blitz from the Saints, and Matt LaFleur’s team was only able to mount one short-lived comeback attempt that ended on Rodgers’ interception to start the second half.

The Packers have been down this road before during the last few seasons. The team got whipped in Los Angeles by the Chargers and whipped twice in San Francisco by the 49ers in 2019, and they got whipped again in Tampa Bay last year. Something about a long road trip to face a good team has messed with the Packers’ ability to start fast and play with the right amount of energy.

As Adams tweeted, the Packers need to “flush it and respond” when the Detroit Lions arrive at Lambeau Field for the home opener on Monday night in Week 2.

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