5 things the Packers have to get better at after the bye week
After nine games in 2023, the Green Bay Packers had three wins and six losses, including five losses in the previous six games. At that point, they had no idea if Jordan Love would be a real franchise quarterback. Now, the situation is undoubtedly much better. Love has received a huge four-year, $220 million extension, […]
After nine games in 2023, the Green Bay Packers had three wins and six losses, including five losses in the previous six games. At that point, they had no idea if Jordan Love would be a real franchise quarterback.
Now, the situation is undoubtedly much better. Love has received a huge four-year, $220 million extension, the team reached the playoffs in 2023, and now they are in position to do it again with a 6-3 record.
The NFC North is competitive and it will be hard to win the division over the Detroit Lions, but a wild card is completely realistic — right now, the Packers are with the seventh seed, making them face the Washington Commanders in the wild card round.
But that doesn't mean there aren't things to correct. The Packers lost to the Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota Vikings, and Detroit Lions, three potential NFC contenders, and suffered more than they needed in some games because of the amount of what coaches and players have described as "self-inflicted mistakes."
"We've had good moments of playing good, complementary football. And then we've had some not-so-great moments," head coach Matt LaFleur said on Monday. "Some of the mistakes we've made the last four games that we've won showed up against a good football team."
Edge rush
The lack of pressure from the edges is concerning. Minnesota Vikings' edge rusher Jonathan Greenard leads the NFL with 48 pressures, for example. Rashan Gary (20), Preston Smith (10), Kingsley Enagbare (10), and Lukas Van Ness (6) have 46 combined. Oh, and the Vikings have one fewer game.
If it was just one player, you could talk about a decline in performance. But all edge rushers have played less than they had for the Packers, so there's certainly a correlation between the lack of production and the new defensive scheme.
With Jeff Hafley, the edge rushers (listed as defensive ends) are more contained to protect the edges, and several of the pressures have come from the interior. That's why the system is good for interior rushers like Devonte Wyatt and Karl Brooks.
But the Packers need more out of their defensive ends after investing so much at the position, and Hafley will have to find a way to make it happen.
Special teams (again)
Rich Bisaccia is the highest-paid special teams coordinator in the NFL, but the results are simply not there. It's his third year with the team, and there hasn't been a clear upgrade even though the situation was horrific with Maurice Drayton.
Right now, the Packers are 27th in special teams DVOA. Missed kicks, bad long snaps, penalties, and the lack of solid blocking are huge factors.
Ok, the Packers haven't been able to get better for years and years, so it might not be realistic to expect an in-season turnaround. But they need some sort of it. Brandon McManus was a solid first step, but he doesn't solve everything.
Run block
For a run-centric offensive, run blocking is kind of important, right? But the Packers have an offensive line built for pass protection and it has caused issues in the run game. Josh Jacobs is a productive running back who has mitigated some of these issues, but the offensive line is 23rd in run block win rate by ESPN and 28th in run block grade by PFF.
Outside of right tackle Zach Tom, who's had an 84.6 run block grade, every other starter is below 60 — including 45.6 for left tackle Rasheed Walker and 43.9 for center Josh Myers.
Matt LaFleur's system tends to protect the flaws of his offensive linemen, but it's getting harder to avoid the lack of production from the line in the run game.
Pass game against the blitz
This one seems to be the most realistic to get corrected during the season. No quarterback has more interceptions against the blitz this season than Jordan Love (5). Versus the Detroit Lions on Sunday, he was 3/10 for 24 yards and a pick-six against the blitz.
Teams will probably keep sending blitzes until the Packers offense proves it can beat that. Pressure numbers tend to be volatile, though, and Love was one of the best against it last year.
Maybe, a simple regression toward the mean and Love getting healthier after playing through multiple injuries (knee and groin) solve the problem.
Catching the football
The Packers have the fourth-most drops (20) in the NFL so far, five of them were against the Lions on Sunday. The situation is particularly troubling for second-year wide receiver Dontayvion Wicks, who has the worst catch rate (38.1) and drop rate (27.3) of the entire NFL.
Wicks has been targeted 43 times, but he has only 16 receptions. It's impossible to keep feeding a guy if he can't catch the football.
Jordan Love has had his accuracy and precision issues, but several times he puts the ball in places where the wide receivers have to catch it, and they haven't.
The Packers are still 8th in offensive DVOA, but if they want to be a really great unit, that's a huge part of the deal.
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