With Christian Watson out, Green Bay Packers’ second-year wide receiver Samori Toure saw more playing time against the New York Giants and may be called upon once again this week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“It felt good being out there,” said Toure Thursday at his locker. “Definitely lost a little sleep over those plays just inches away, but I was happy to be out there.”
Toure couldn’t make a diving catch along the boundary of the end zone on an off-schedule play and had a potential touchdown knocked away at the last second a little while later in the second of the Packers’ 24-22 loss to the Giants.
Toure has played a relatively small role on offense for the Packers this season. At best, Toure has been the fifth wide receiver option, but since Week 9, he has been inactive more than active on game days after being passed on the depth chart by Malik Heath.
However, with Watson sidelined versus the Giants, Toure was called upon and played 18 offensive snaps. The thing about the Green Bay offense this season is that Jordan Love will go anywhere with the football on just about any given play. So, although Toure had been inactive in four of the previous five games, he still saw four targets on Monday, catching two of them for 22 yards.
“I think it’s just me being on scout team for six, seven weeks last year,” said Toure about his connection with Love, “and being with him (Love) on scout team. It’s just about being on the same page. Other receivers as well, we know how he likes us to run certain routes, and we know on most of the plays what progression we are. It’s just about that chemistry.”
Following Thursday’s practice, Matt LaFleur already confirmed that Watson would not be practicing on Friday, which, by reading the tea leaves, would likely make it a tall task for him to be available on Sunday, given he wouldn’t have practiced at all this week.
Some good news is that Dontayvion Wicks returned to practice on Thursday in a limited fashion after missing Wednesday’s session. He is dealing with an ankle injury, and his availability for Sunday is unknown–although he does seem to be trending in the right direction.
To some degree, Toure is going to likely factor into the Green Bay game plan against Tampa Bay.
“You never know how it’s going to go until the game comes,” said Toure. “I’m always going to be ready no matter what. The coaches know that. It’s just about preparing the right way and being able to step up when your number is called.”
Under head coach Todd Bowles, this is an aggressive Buccaneers defense. They will enter Sunday’s game blitzing at the second-highest rate in football. Their front seven has been very good against the run, and the Tampa Bay secondary features do-it-all safety Antoine Winfield, along with a group of cornerbacks that will challenge opposing receivers and be physical.
“They got some good DBs over there,” said Toure about the Bucs defense. “They got a good front seven as well. They like to apply some pressure. We see a little bit of man coverage from them, and we obviously like seeing that. But it’s kind of similar to the Saints. The DBs are a little aggressive, so we’ve just got to match that energy and be able to make plays.”
However, where this unit has also been susceptible is on the back end, allowing 7.2 yards per pass attempt this season, the fourth-most in football. Opposing offenses have been able to generate 54 pass plays of 20-plus yards against this defense, the second-highest total this season.
In the last two games against Kansas City and New York, the run game had to play a somewhat prominent role as it was the best way to attack both of those defenses. But this week, given how well the Bucs have defended the run and the fact that Green Bay may end up being somewhat short-handed at running back, the passing game may have to shoulder the workload this time around.
“It’s just about knowing it’s coming and being ready,” said Toure about the Bucs’ physical secondary. “Sometimes you get jump jammed as a receiver and you won’t expect it and it’ll knock you off balance. Going into the game expecting that, you can be ready, you can have your hands up, it’s anticipated so you’ll be better prepared.”
