After a “humbling” loss at the hands of the Broncos, the Packers hope to rebound against another unbeaten. The good news is that the loss to the Broncos was an AFC loss…this game against the Panthers is a game that might determine where a playoff repeat is played later in the year. The Packers are 6 and 1 but if they lose to Carolina and the Vikings win…they would be tied atop the NFC North.
The Packers went into the bye with an identity. A team that had not hit it’s stride offensively but was able to rely on the defense when needed. All that fell apart when the Packers offense met a Broncos defense that could stop the run and spend the better part of the game dropping seven to cover a receiver corps that is struggling to get separation. That equated to 10 offensive points, a number that the defense could not hold a resurgent Peyton Manning to at home.
There is still a LOT of football left to play but for me, the disappointment is in the fact that I have been waiting for this Packers offense (in particular) to hit its stride for way too long. The loss of Jordy Nelson was big but the Packers have enough young receivers that somebody should have seen their opportunity by now and taken advantage of it. Davante Adams has been a non-factor all year whether he has played or not and Ty Montgomery, while having his flashes…has not stepped up to take the reigns. Add to that the fact that we can’t seem to run the ball with anyone but James Starks (what the…) all of the sudden and an offense ready to hit its stride looks like an offense that has been figured out and is in need of a spark. Aaron Rodgers’ concern for protecting the ball means that he will not throw into traffic but buys time with his feet in hopes that a receiver will come open in the scramble. This doesn’t work against teams that can drop extra guys into coverage and still have an effective pass rush…especially if the running game stalls.
Here is what we must do on offense to spark this offense into a turnaround:
- We MUST run the ball. Eddie Lacy…my man…where are you? We need the bruising Eddie Lacy who takes defenders’ helmets off back on the field! Every…and I mean every team’s first priority on defense is to stop the run. If they can do that…our offensive scheme will begin to fall like a house of cards. We need the potent combo of Eddie Lacy and James Starks (in whatever order) back on the field because it is the starting point of the offense and a way to extend drives.
- We MUST get back to the short passing, timing driven game. This may be riskier but we have to get Randall Cobb back in sync with Aaron Rodgers and give guys like Adams and Montgomery one break passes and get the ball out to them. Then, it is the job of the receivers to show that they have staying power because for the last few weeks the Packers offense has looked like it does not have a number one receiver…somebody step up!
- The last thing…and OK this is a little generic but I’m going to say it anyway…We MUST get some Packer Pride back. This is a proud franchise founded on winning and in position to do some special things this very year. But we have to start making a change now. Sometimes you have to take a risk to win a game. We seem on offense to be simply playing the odds again. Let’s take the fight to the defense for a change. WE ARE THE GREEN BAY PACKERS! I mean, we have a great group of linemen, let’s shove the ball down their throats and then unload on somebody through the air. Packernation has been waiting for too long for this offense to have a solid game in all phases…let’s get it right now. Packer Pride baby!
I want to make it clear…I believe in this team. We have a lot of great players that take losses like the Broncos game to heart. It is time for Packer Pride to take the fight to the Carolina Panthers and show them who the real champion is. Packernation has been waiting too long. If we get back on track this week, the Broncos game could quickly become a distant memory.
So what are your thoughts on how the Packers can jump-start the offense. Let us know in the comments below or back on the Facebook Fanpage.
Go Pack!
Watching Sunday’s game I once again saw Aaron Rogers being rushed as his offensive linemen did not protect him. This has gone on too long. Also, maybe the play new play caller isn’t so great.
The Packers team needs to regain their “chip on our shoulders” game attitude. Play
with an “edge” and an early game “energy” that presents the team to their opponents
as “We are here to play, to take care of business and we are here to win” mentality.
Yes, front linemen must do a better job protecting Rodgers and young receivers please
look for creative ways to become open for your QB.
They will need need this attitude as they continue on the road this weekend playing
against the Carolina Panthers !
Let’s go Packers !!!
So many people are pointing to our WRs for the problems on offense and I couldn’t disagree more. Here’s my opinions of the problems and reasons for them:
The loss of Jordy was huge simply because Rodgers had confidence to throw to him with only a step on the defender. Rodgers hasn’t given his young WRs the same opportunities, and that’s on him (until they prove differently). How many drops and wrong routes do our young WRs have? No more than veteran WRs on every other team. Throw the ball to them, until they “prove” that they can’t be relied upon to make plays. Otherwise, what our young WRs can and can’t do is purely speculation by Rodgers and the fans.
We have a WR on the roster who can stretch Ds on every play. So play Janis! Even if he only runs fly routes on every play, it forces the S to respect his side of the field deep, which opens up more underneath routes. Rodgers has to occasionally throw to him for it to work, even if he intentionally throws over his head out of bounds when coverage is good. No D is going to respect the deep pass when you don’t throw any.
Our O-line has been over rated for a long time. The O-line has to improve, and Rodgers has to be able to adjust when they don’t. They can’t open holes for the run game. (By far, most of Starks big runs happen when he quickly cuts away from where the play is designed to go. Lacy doesn’t have the quickness for diagnosing, reacting, and making those plays. I can think of only 1 time when Lacy hit a hole with speed and broke it for a big gain.) The O-line can’t pass protect consistently either (Rodgers makes them look better when outside rushers beat us around the edges or inside, so he can step into the gaps created to extend plays – where most QBs would be sacked). This is a well known formula for beating any mobile QB (EG: Wilson, Kaepernick). Outside pass rushers are now being more disciplined in maintaining their gaps (bull rush straight at the QB so that they can react inside or outside when the QB steps that way). Contain Rodgers in a collapsing pocket and it takes away his greatest strengths – his legs, and his confidence when moving with the ball. He’s simply not the same QB in the pocket as he is when he’s extending plays with his legs. The only way he can beat this is to quickly throw the ball away or trust his receivers to make plays.
I agree that we need a passing game relying on timing, but that’s never been Rodgers’ strength. Since that’s exactly what the shotgun formation was designed to do, why are we still using it 90% of the time? The fix is to get Rodgers under center for the majority of plays. This allows Lacy/Starks to see the holes as they develop and hit the line with speed. Once they start consistently getting positive gains, it opens up play action. (The NFL, and the Packers particularly, had trended towards handing off from shotgun, which gives the ball to RBs while flat footed and encourages them to run east and west until they find a hole. More and more, teams are abandoning this practice because Ds of today are too quick for it to work consistently. It also takes away the quick hitter which can break long runs.) In an ever adapting league, it’s time for the Packers to adjust this part of their offense.
Cutting Rajion Neal and Crockett is now proving to be a big mistake, as they had speed and quickness (similar to Starks) to avoid broken blocking schemes. We now have 2 thumpers in Lacy and Harris. Lacy often runs into the backs of his blockers and stays there until the D collapses on him. So when Starks isn’t 100%, our run game is easily stuffed.
Rodgers also uses TEs early in games, and forgets about them later in games. He missed Richard Rodgers twice early in the Broncos game, and never targeted him again. A TE who can stretch the D down the middle is a huge asset, and we don’t have one of those on the roster. This has to be a priority for next year.
I believe that the combination of these things have contributed to our offensive struggles, and they directly impact the defensive struggles. No D in the NFL can consistently stop opponents when their offense is consistently going 3 and out. And our D still only gave up 27 points to the Broncos. Our offense needs to put up 30 consistently to win games. Fix the offense and the D will do enough to generate wins. But it has to start with our O-line, Rodgers, and a healthy Starks.
The Packers beat the Panthers last year at Lambeau, with an offense that was clicking. We’re not nearly as good on the road, and our offense has only clicked once (vs KC). Based upon this, I expect the Packers to limp back to Lambeau to face the Lions after 2 consecutive losses. There’s still time to turn it around, but McCarthy/Clements/Bennett and Rodgers need to make big adjustments for it to happen. I don’t know how much experience McCarthy and Clements have with the QB under center, but Edgar Bennett has some. Go Pack go!