Broncos 19 Packers 17: Game Balls & Lame Calls
Same problems, same outcome.
By KenLass
It’s kind of weird, but I find myself having very little interest in who wins the game any more. It’s pretty clear the Packers, as a team, are going nowhere except to the top ten of the draft. They simply aren’t talented enough, and not coached well enough, to win games at the NFL level. No, the rest of the season will more importantly serve as an evaluation of personnel. Who should be part of this team moving forward into 2024 and beyond?
The biggest decision, of course, will be about the quarterback. And I must confess, I am losing faith in Jordan Love. I am beginning to think he does not have an NFL caliber throwing arm. He is constantly underthrowing receivers downfield. He did it again on Green Bay’s final play. Samori Toure had a step on his man deep, but instead of hanging that ball out over Toure’s shoulder so that he can run under it, he made his receiver come back for the ball, where he was undercut by the safety who picked it off.
This time you can’t claim he was under pressure. He had all day to load up and launch it. Two weeks ago, at the end of the game, he had Christian Watson behind the defense in the end zone, but left it short where it was intercepted.
He also has not shown any feel for decision making. He had Romeo Doubs wide open in the end zone and should have zipped the ball to him. Instead he chose to feather the ball on a loop. It took so long to get there that defensive back Patrick Surtain was able to contest it and come down with co-possession. The Packers were lucky the play was ruled a touchdown, as the TV rules analyst claimed it should have been ruled a pick.
There are times when it looks like he and his receivers have never played together before. The coaches don’t seem to have much confidence in him either, judging by the fact that, in the first half, they wouldn’t let him throw a ball further than seven or eight yards. It wasn’t until the Packers fell thirteen points down that the coaches turned Love loose with downfield throws. He had some success, but not enough to win the game. That’s a good way to describe the whole team. They have some success, but they’re not good enough to win.
GAME BALLS
Rashan Gary
The stats don’t show it, but Gary had a great game. He had several quarterback pressures, and blew up a few running plays. His most important stop came when he held Javonte Williams to a one yard gain on a critical third and three. The Packers trailed 16-10 at the time and desperately needed the ball back. I’m not sure what’s holding up that contract extension for the veteran edge rusher, but I can hear the price going up.
AJ Dillon
He did about as much as you could ask of him. He averaged over four yards per rush on fifteen carries. He also led the team in receiving yards with 34. He’s slow as molasses and he doesn’t have great vision, but he tries to run hard and he did his job in this game. The Packers sorely missed the explosiveness of Aaron Jones on that final drive.
Honorable mentions to inside linebacker Isaiah McDuffie who led the defense with ten tackles and kept those short crossers from rupturing, and tight end Luke Musgrave for hanging on to the ball despite taking a vicious shot to the head from Kareem Jackson, a play for which Jackson was ejected.
LAME CALLS
Penalties
The bye week certainly didn’t help to fix Green Bay’s penalty problems. They had seven accepted costing them 56 yards. And they come at disastrous times, such as the false start by Josiah Deguara on 3rd and 2 at the four yard line, or the holding call on Elgton Jenkins on the final drive that gave the Packers an insurmountable 2nd and 20. Jonathan Owens had a holding call that nullified a third down stop. Nixon had a DPI that erased another third down hold. It’s just too much for this team of limited ability to overcome.
Slow starts/Play calling
The Packers may have come up short on their final drive, but this game was lost in the first half. Apparently the game plan called for Love to throw nothing but checkdowns and screens. Anders Carlson’s missed field goal turned out to be the difference, but once again Green Bay came out totally ineffective against one of the worst defenses in the league. The Packers have been woefully outscored in the first half throughout their first six games and the coaches don’t seem to have an answer.
THREE AND OUT
-- If ever there was an announcer jinx, it happened on Carlson’s missed field goal. Play-by-play man Kevin Harlan gushed about how Carlson was perfect in pre-game warm-ups, even beyond 50 yards. That was the kiss of death if I ever heard one.
-- How about that left handed bullet from receiver Dontayvion Wicks to Aaron Jones for a 14 yard gain? Wicks was a high school quarterback and it showed on that play. The Packers haven’t executed trick plays very well this season but this one actually worked.
-- For the second road game in a row, I was impressed by the crowd noise generated by Packer fans in an enemy stadium. Just as in the Las Vegas game, it sometimes seemed the crowd noise when Denver had the ball was louder than it is at Lambeau. Chants of Go Pack Go were easily audible throughout the telecast. Well done Packer fans.
PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO OUR CHEESEHEAD NATION WEEKLY NEWSLETTER HERE.
__________________________
Ken Lass is a former Green Bay television sports anchor and 43 year media veteran, a lifelong Packers fan, and a shareholder.
__________________________
Comments (87)
NickPerry
October 23, 2023 at 07:16 am
"Anders Carlson’s missed field goal turned out to be the difference, but once again Green Bay came out totally ineffective against one of the worst defenses in the league. The Packers have been woefully outscored in the first half throughout their first six games and the coaches don’t seem to have an answer."
This WASN'T on Anders Carlson. He's actually been one of the few, VERY FEW, bright spots on this team this season...Hell after TC I wasn't expecting him to be 50% of his attempts. He's been solid at the very least.
BUT, it's not that the coaches don't SEEM to have the answers, they DON'T have the answers. There's absolutely positively no room for SEEM in that statement!
I for one am retracting many of my thoughts on Aaron Rodgers too. I still think he's a bit of a douche. But what this dude (Rodgers) HAD TO CARRY, an ENTIRE coaching staff, no help in Free Agency, and now I'm starting to wonder if this team is comprised of nothing other than GUYS who run fast in spandex, and not FOOTBALL PLAYERS.
I'm holding out hope for 2025 and the Packers will once again get it right. Bring in a Team President who's not an idiot. Hire a GM who has FULL CONTROL, just like Ted and Ron Wolf had, Unfortunately that's not happening this season and maybe not even next.
What a God Damn mess...Embarrassing! No game balls from me... Just a bunch of LAME...EVERYWHERE.
vin0770
October 23, 2023 at 07:29 am
Opie created the silos and where’s the bitchen calling for his head! He should be first to get fired, give Gute the power ever other F-ing GM has and watch him clean house. You think he doesn’t see this inept staff Opie picked floundering without a leader? Gute probably will get fired too as JL doesn’t look like he’s accurate enough but hell at least he took a swing and it didn’t work. You ever look at the list of high QB picks that suck, oh well it happens. Move on and don’t double down and standing pat doing nothing is doubling down.
jannesbjornson
October 23, 2023 at 09:54 am
It is Gutedkunst's team. He drafted them. He goes with the rest of the Old Boy's Network. Clean House and start over in player personnel. The GM's lives or dies on their QB selection.
NickPerry
October 23, 2023 at 07:52 pm
Umm...I mentioned not much will happen until after the 2024 season when Murphy will be forced to retire by July of 2025. Murphy is HERE, no matter what. The Silos were the beginning of the end. Rodgers still wanted it enough in 2019, 2020, and 2021 to CARRY them. I don't think we can possibly deny that.
Gute took a "Lame Duck" job. He's a GM in name only. If Murphy EVER tried to pull that shit with Ted or Ron Wolf before they signed they would have told him to go F himself.
It's a shame but hang on...It's going to be a couple of rough years in Green Bay. I honestly don't see them winning until the Giants game in December and that's pretty questionable. Nope, they just blew their chances against the two WORST teams on the schedule. I think they end up with the 2nd overall pick.
Can you say Derick Maye?
Renllaw
October 23, 2023 at 07:33 am
No need for further comments..... 100% accurate take.
RCPackerFan
October 23, 2023 at 07:58 am
"I for one am retracting many of my thoughts on Aaron Rodgers too. I still think he's a bit of a douche. But what this dude (Rodgers) HAD TO CARRY, an ENTIRE coaching staff, no help in Free Agency, and now I'm starting to wonder if this team is comprised of nothing other than GUYS who run fast in spandex, and not FOOTBALL PLAYERS."
This is why I kept saying be careful what you wish for. Its easy to want to get rid of people, but just because you get rid of someone doesn't mean you will automatically be better. Except for Joe Barry. Get rid of him and we will be better!
I am not saying Love won't be good or can't be good. There are just way to many issues going on around him to know for sure. I am also not blaming LaFleur for this mess. He has no experience at WR or TE. Even though they are young, at some point you need your players to step up and make plays. And the players simply haven't.
You can lead a horse to water but you can't force it to drink the water. I have learned that coaching my daughter softball teams. You can tell them what to do until you are blue in the face. But once a game is on, they will forget everything you tell them and lose it. You can only do so much as a coach, and you can only work with what you have.
stormin
October 23, 2023 at 12:09 pm
I don't agree, but even if Rodgers was a bit of a douche, he was our douche and the Packers had a chance to win everytime he was on the field !
KurtMc
October 23, 2023 at 03:00 pm
Great comment about retracting Aaron Rodgers comments. I said almost the same thing at our party yesterday.
This bunch of coaching clowns need to go
Starrbrite
October 23, 2023 at 04:45 pm
Right on Nick.
Tundraboy
October 23, 2023 at 09:09 pm
Thanks NP. I feel like you're falling on your sword for us. Wish it was Murphy et al. Where's Otto's death Squad when you need them.
NJ-RICK
October 23, 2023 at 07:38 am
As I've been saying all along, bring in new MGT. The people running this team don't have a clue. Poor drafting and lack of free agent acquisitions has hurt this team for years. AR12 was complaining about this since 2018... Murphy and Gute need to go.. And throw in the team is in salary cap hell for next two years totally mismanaged... Time to clean out the front office personnel.
fthisJack
October 24, 2023 at 07:13 am
Explain to me why Gute needs to go. He has put together a defense that on paper should be a top 10 D. The blame should be placed squarely on the coaching. You have Howdy Doody up in the box playing his "not to lose" defense instead of "in your face,take no prisoners" style that suits this defense. As a matter of fact the whole coaching staff on both sides of the ball need to be replaced as soon as this dismal season is over. They should be trying to unload the dead weight from this roster and starting over. Dillon, Meyers, DeGuara, Jones( who may get them a decent draft pick) because he'll command a truckload of money next year, Clark(another guy who may bring a premium pick ), Slayton, Smith....etc. Dump the dead weight and start over.
RCPackerFan
October 23, 2023 at 07:41 am
GAME BALLS
Dillon - This was probably his best game in a long time. I want to say his rookie year but I don't remember. He looked much better.
LAME CALLS
Love - While the loss isn't on him, his inaccuracy is literally getting players hurt. We will see about Watson, but due to his poor throw Watson got injured. He can't hit a deep ball. He has constantly underthrown deep balls all season. He threw for 180 yards on 21 completions.
WR's - Sure they are young and need to develop. Watson basically was a no show. He had 3 catches on 5 targets for 27 yards. Doubs had 2 catches on 5 targets for 30 yards. Though he did have a great TD, but also dropped a TD that luckily went into the hands of Reed. Reed had 3 catches on 4 targets for 21 yards. These are out top 3 WR's. Our top 3 WR's had 8 catches for 78 yards and 2 TD's.
Joe Barry - Sure we only gave up 19 points and we should win, blah blah blah. They gave up 19 points to a bad offense. Barry lucked out early in the game. On the opening drive they gave up a 11 play drive that took 6 minutes and 33 seconds. They only allowed a FG. BUT, it was 3rd and 1 at the 4. The Broncos came out with 2 TE's and clearly were in a run formation. What does Joe Barry do defensively. He has his nickel in with 2 DL. They walk in easily on a handoff. But was called back because of a holding penalty. Its things like that, that are so damn frustrating. These are the reasons why I want Barry gone. He continues to put the team in bad situations.
Penalty on Myers - I am still pissed about the false start penalty on Myers. He literally did nothing different then he does every other snap. The defense jumps into the neutral zone they snap the ball and they blow the play dead. It was 4th and 7 at the 46. They should have had 4th and 2 at the 41. That is either in FG range or maybe they go for it. That changed the game early.
THREE AND OUT
- Wicks, I didn't give him a game ball because he ended up with 1 catch for 17 yards. But that 1 catch proved to me he needs to be on the field a lot more and needs more then 1 target a game. He has been one of if not the most consistent WR's on the team. Get him the ball and on the field!
- It was great seeing Jones back on the field. He didn't put up big time numbers but he makes an impact. I think he had like 3 or 4 first downs.
- Injuries. Ughh every game there are way to many injuries. Stokes comes back from PUP and he gets hurt. Watson gets hurt on the bad throw. Musgrave was seen in a walking boot. Wyatt left the game on a cart. These are the ones off the top of my head.
packerbackerjim
October 23, 2023 at 09:03 am
Love has hung receivers out to dry, and that several others haven’t been injured is a minor miracle. Love’s accuracy is below average. It may improve with a better OL and more playing time with the young WRs and TEs, but I wouldn’t count on it. Gute really screwed the pooch on that pick.
RCPackerFan
October 23, 2023 at 09:36 am
I hope (fingers crossed), that Loves accuracy can improve with timing of the WR's. I think that is part of the problem. Maybe the receiver are running a route 2-3 yards off from where they are supposed to be? With a young group of WR's its really hard to know.
jannesbjornson
October 23, 2023 at 10:06 am
No, the deep balls at closing time were both under thrown and off the line, significantly. He puts it in the direction of the sideline and with loft and he's the hero with Watson and Toure. The ball to Doubs in the endzone was way too far inside and Surtain made the pick, called TD. He should be coached to target the pylons and the WRs have to create the separation. He did put the bullseye on Doubs who stone-fingered the TD ball, luckily it wasn't picked and Reed saved the day. I would have Wicks starting along with Reed. Musgrave needs routes to hit him in stride. He doesn't have fast legs like Andrews, or Kelce. He has the hands and is tough, open up the seams for him.
RCPackerFan
October 23, 2023 at 10:20 am
I keep seeing this all over on the Doubs TD, so I want to say something here. That was not a pick. It was a TD. Gene Steratore had that wrong on TV. It has nothing to do with whose feet are down first.
Love's accuracy has not been good. But some of that stuff is learning the timing with each player. Every player runs at different speeds. Its learning those speeds in live action. I hope that type of stuff improves. Some of the deep balls also could be based on the WR. The WR maybe angling the wrong way or whatever. But that has to improve also.
I completely agree about starting Wicks. He is the best guy on the field right now. Most consistent.
I want to see Musgrave spread out wide more. I want him in space and running actual routes. Hitting him in stride would net a lot of yac.
jannesbjornson
October 23, 2023 at 12:25 pm
He has had two years to time it out with Doubs and Watson. He took most of the practice snaps last season with Rodgers taking the time off for recovery. Wicks is a Player.
RCPackerFan
October 23, 2023 at 12:40 pm
And how many games has Watson played in this year?
Doubs sure. Which is part of the reason why he is one of the most targeted players.
I like Wicks a lot! I want him on the field more.
T7Steve
October 23, 2023 at 09:38 am
That pick paid for itself the first two seasons when he wasn't playing and it's too soon to throw in the towel on him, based on 6 games.
RCPackerFan
October 23, 2023 at 09:54 am
Way too soon.
That being said, at what point do you know one way or the other?
T7Steve
October 23, 2023 at 10:14 am
Can't tell right now with the team and coaching around him.
One thing for sure. There're teams directly to west and south (maybe even east) who would snap him up in a heartbeat if we gave up on him.
RCPackerFan
October 23, 2023 at 09:04 am
"Joe Barry - Sure we only gave up 19 points and we should win, blah blah blah. They gave up 19 points to a bad offense. Barry lucked out early in the game. On the opening drive they gave up a 11 play drive that took 6 minutes and 33 seconds. They only allowed a FG. BUT, it was 3rd and 1 at the 4. The Broncos came out with 2 TE's and clearly were in a run formation. What does Joe Barry do defensively. He has his nickel in with 2 DL. They walk in easily on a handoff. But was called back because of a holding penalty. Its things like that, that are so damn frustrating. These are the reasons why I want Barry gone. He continues to put the team in bad situations."
I just saw on Twitter Michael Wahle (remember him?) posted a picture of the personnel on the play I'm talking about. check it out on twitter X if you can. @mikewahle68.
But this is even worse then what I said initially. 3rd and 1 at the 4. Denver comes out with 2 TE's and 1 RB (12 personnel), like I said. But I didn't see until this morning that they also had a 6th OL. Packers came out in nickel with 2 DL.
This is absolutely pathetic. What the hell are we doing? I was pissed seeing them in nickel when there were in 12 personnel. I'm beyond furious that they had a 6th OL and we are in Nickel. Joe Barry needs to be fired for that alone. I'm sick and tired of him constantly putting his players at a disadvantage. Sure the defense "only" gave up 19 points. We gave up 19 points to a bad offense. How many are we going to give up to a good offense?
jont
October 23, 2023 at 01:41 pm
"Penalty on Myers - I am still pissed about the false start penalty on Myers. He literally did nothing different then he does every other snap"
Yes.
This is a minor point in the course of the game, but it is very true that the worst officiating is inconsistent officiating, and this crew had that. I watched Myers after that call, and he moved exactly the same over and over with no flags.
I wanted to think "OK, one blown call" but Peyton had said earlier in the week that this crew calls more penalties at the line than any other crew so he had to adjust. Then he stopped himself for fear that talking about officials would bring him a fine.
One small game within the game.
Houndog
October 23, 2023 at 07:46 am
Now that the NFL had chosen to make Sunday Ticket the price of a small ranch, for the first time in 23 years I decided NOT to buy it, and F%#K am I glad I did. I would go crazy watching this $hit! Instead I went for the NFL + Premium and can listen to all the games live on the radio, and watch a delayed replay, for cheap, and even that may have been a mistake.
After listening to the first half yesterday I turned off the sound, just picturing this bullshit in my mind was torture enough. Then, after a self struggle with almost guessing what had happened, when logging on to see Love throw another game ending interception before I could even get to correct spot on their site. I turned it off too.
So, while I can't comment on the Good, Bad, or Ugly I fully agree with Nick Perry, this is a complete Shit-Show, and Ugly may be an understatement!
I've been calling for Murphy's head since he changed the make-up of the front office in a Power-Monger move, and I'm SCREAMING for his head now. At season's end load the whole shit, Murphy, Gutey, and the entire coaching staff on that motorhome and point them East, right into Lake Michigan.
In the mean time let's start the rookie, he can't possibly be worse that Love.
kd16422
October 23, 2023 at 10:29 am
I also decided not to get Sunday ticket this year and
Instead bought a new Lamborghini. I don’t have much
time to watch endless analysis and pundit shows
and live out of state so I’m not saturated with constant
local media positive stories and interviews so I miss all
the “we are going to…” nonsense. Just watching games
, reading play by play line feeds, and watching replay
telecasts… I just don’t get it. I’m sure Love is a fine upstanding
Young man, but he certainly isn’t a field general.
More like a corporal doing what he’s told, closing his eyes and hoping for his defense to get a whole bunch of pick sixes
during the game. I’m pretty certain someone in that
whacky packers front office said “well… he kinda looks like
Mahommes… let’s draft him first”. Watching the Thursday night game with a buccaneers fan I said “what the packers need is to get their qb to a good optometrist
because he can’t seem to throw within ten yards of his target.
I saw that… and I’m legally blind. Sorry, but love ain’t got an NFL arm, or that do whatever to win attitude.
And the dead tired old coaching schemes and entrenched management and administrators have needed a total
Hazmat team to clean them out three years ago.
13TimeChamps
October 23, 2023 at 11:02 am
"In the mean time let's start the rookie, he can't possibly be worse that Love."
I 100% disagree with this. You don't draft a guy in the 1st round, groom him for 3 years, then pull the plug after 6 games, after that much of an investment. This team isn't sniffing the playoffs this year with Love or Clifford. If the team is 2-13 and Love hasn't shown any improvement, then fine...go to plan B for the last 2 games and see what you have in the rookie.
While Love admittingly hasn't played great up to this point, we're only 6 games into a 17 game schedule. After the huge investment the Packers have made in Love, they have to be SURE he's not the guy before blowing it all up. And that's going to take more than 6 games in my opinion.
Razer
October 23, 2023 at 08:12 am
Didn't see the game as we were driving from Sault Ste. Marie to Sarnia through some of the brightest Fall colours that I can remember. All of this beauty was pushed aside as I read the comments of Packer fans. Tough to see this despair amongst the faithful. The reoccuring theme that this team is not improving is most concerning. Coaching is teaching and effective use of talent. More than the players, MLF and Barry may be the biggest handicaps we are facing. Knowing the Packers, these guys may survive another season by playing the youth card. Aaaargh.
As for Jordan Love, I am going to use my lesson from golf. Without confidence it is almost impossible to swing the golf club properly or consistently. Love is not going to grow or improve if he is thinking about a thousand things or working through everyone's mistakes. He is becoming like every other young QB thrashing around on a disorganized team. We can throw him out as talentless or we can get him some coaching.
Packerpasty
October 23, 2023 at 09:21 am
I sadly wasted a beautiful fall late afternoon here in Mich watching this shit show...but I did get a full morning early afternoon in outside...leaves are falling fast but still very nice in spots...
dobber
October 23, 2023 at 10:13 am
Lower Michigan is pretty spectacular right now for fall colors. We haven't had a hard freeze or heavy winds to knock the leaves down early, so they've progressed to full color. Best display in several years.
"We can throw him out as talentless or we can get him some coaching."
Supposedly Tom Clements was going to be that guy.
A young QB like Love can benefit from having a WR he knows can get open, and finding that guy on money downs. Favre had Sharpe. ARod had Driver and Jennings. Who's gonna be that guy? Wicks? Reed? Doubs? Apparently Watson's hurt again.
egbertsouse
October 23, 2023 at 08:13 am
I think Gute should get a lot of the blame for this debacle. Unless Murphy is overruling him, he has put together this soft, listless team. And don’t give me the excuse that he drafts at the end of the rounds. So does Lynch, for the most part, and look at the team he has constructed even with making one of the stupidest trades in NFL history. And how about Howie Rosenman in Philly? And KC? And Baltimore?
T7Steve
October 23, 2023 at 08:21 am
Face it. Management isn't changing till 25. Maybe then, we'll be out of "cap hell" and can lure some good management candidates.
I see a lot of this loss getting called out on Love here. Really?? When the switch was going to happen, we were all going to let him have his growing pains with his young receivers. The game plans, play calling, defense and run game were going to give him a chance to overcome some of those mistakes. Now he "sucks" because he can't overcome all of those failures? I see Maholmes threw an interception too. Of course, he threw for over 300 yards. Maybe he had a better game plan?
MainePackFan
October 23, 2023 at 10:15 am
T7, no matter how much we may want to blame it on everyone but Jordan Love, the fact is he has not helped his own cause. He has regressed, and at least in part his regression appears to limit the play calls. He hasn't been good at any level, short, intermediate or long. The only thing he has done well is run. That pretty much eliminates most of the playbook :)
Yes, we all knew there would be growing pains, and I'm not giving up on him, but "not overcoming all of those failures" is as much on him as it is on coaching and young receivers.
T7Steve
October 23, 2023 at 10:52 am
I agree he needs to show steady improvement, but much of the team and play calling is handicapping his development. Remember last season when we got the same type of throws at the feet of receivers and backs that were close to the QB?
MainePackFan
October 23, 2023 at 02:08 pm
I do remember throws at the feet of the receivers last year. The difference is, last year those bad throws were on Rodgers, most of which I (right or wrong) attributed to the thumb issue. Either way, for the most part those throws are on the QB not the play caller.
T7Steve
October 23, 2023 at 02:37 pm
I guess I didn't phrase it understandably. I know those throws are on the QB, but why were/are they regressing so visibly? Rodgers was doing that right from the start of the season (remember the first Vikings game) and even in the wins was missing guys open in the flats and behind the LOS.
I know that now the opposing Ds have more games to plan with and accounts for some of their looks to confuse Love with, but the Packers have to counter that with some real plays. We saw the throws Love could make last year and early this season so we know he can throw. His coaches have to help keep him from getting rattled.
MainePackFan
October 23, 2023 at 06:40 pm
I think your position is the play calling is the problem, and to a degree it may be. It's the chicken or the egg question. Love came out the gate strong running many of the same plays. Defenses adjusted, and no matter what Lafleur tries now, Jordan struggles with execution.
To me , right now, the Packers biggest problem on offense is Jordan Love's decision making. It has been atrocious the last couple weeks, even on the simplest plays.
He had two open receivers on the last play, Reed and Dillon. Both plays would have given us at least a chance to kick a field goal, if not a first down, T7, I hope he figures it out because I like the player and I like the talent.
barutanseijin
October 25, 2023 at 04:40 pm
Again, we saw that last year & the year before with Perfection Itself as QB. Remember those endgame INTs thrown into coverage with open guys underneath? Maybe Love learned that from His Worship or maybe it’s the coaching or something else.
MainePackFan
October 25, 2023 at 06:56 pm
You like to talk about the past as if it justifies the future. Apparently you are of the belief that any failure by the 2023 Green Bay Packers lies at the feet of Aaron Rodgers. Whatever makes you happy my friend, but perhaps you need to ask yourself why.
Tundraboy
October 23, 2023 at 09:17 pm
I don't disagree but I must add that Rodgers was making a lot of bad short throws to everybody's surprise for a lot of years.
MainePackFan
October 24, 2023 at 01:38 pm
Exactly, and a bad throw is a bad throw regardless of who threw it.
ImaPayne
October 23, 2023 at 08:31 am
Game ball to Dillon. Jones has to go. Da Bears got rid of their oft injured RB in the off season and ditto the Lions got rid of their two rb's in the off season for the same reason, always injured cant count on when needed.
Lame Calls. This is on LeFleur. Hey the guys your playing while being the worse d in football, can figure out after series number two, your afraid to let your QB toss it down field and the game plan is run and screens. They two are pros and figured this out quickly. Thus you did nothing in the first half but waste your own time and the clock.
PS: As one analyst said today, Loves deep pass in the end was a head scratcher for sure when you only needed 20 yards for a first and field goal range. I hate to say it but I think mentally this game is way too much for him to process. He was a horrible pick and after the Vikes beat down next week LeFleur and crew will have to replace him. He is tied for the most picks so far at 7 and should have 8 on the touch down that was ruled wrong.
zoellner25
October 23, 2023 at 08:34 am
Sadly I was at this game. They are horrible. Maybe worse live than on tv. Appear to be totally uncoached in my view. Someone has to actually be held accountable in this organization, whether it's a coach or coaches getting fired or players getting cut or something. Today. MLF says insane is doing the same thing over and over? Well they continue to do the same things over and over. The OL, the run defense, the mistakes, penalties, the bad decisions all horrible.
Coldworld
October 23, 2023 at 08:35 am
As far as I am concerned, two things stood out. Both loudly echoed last year.
One was the incredibly impotent offensive game plan in the first half that was very like a lot of last year. The second was seeing Tom at C and Nijman at RT improve us, get the offense moving and then we reinsert Myers. The myth that we are putting out the best OL was stretched thin before, but now evidence has confirmed it’s false. This is the Hanson fallacy all over again.
I will continue to root for the players, but as long as LaFleur and his crew are here, it’s apparent to me that this team won’t go anywhere significant. My concern is that we will blight potential in the process while we wait for the inevitable change.
Packerpasty
October 23, 2023 at 09:27 am
is MLF calling all those short dink and dunk plays or is Love not seeing the field and checking down...these first half's are frustrating to watch for sure...Packers arent explosive enough for dink and dunking down the field..and now its apparent that Watson is very much an injury prone player so he cant be counted on much.
jannesbjornson
October 23, 2023 at 12:42 pm
Don't expect a long ball game plan with the OTs and that assemblage, called an O line. The WRs are not precision tuned in any event, to say the least. I would add more 12 packages and work the TEs. Reed should be working these zone coverages and winning. He has the other guys running Davante's route tree w/out his fast feet and release off the line.
PackerHotDish
October 23, 2023 at 10:58 am
Yet, Rogers was blamed for last year's debacle, when it was the coaches and personnel that really held that team back.
splitpea1
October 23, 2023 at 11:08 am
As soon as Tom was inserted at center we immediately got a good gain up the middle from Dillon. When they showed Myers on the sideline ready to come back in, I held out the stop sign in front of the TV, but it didn't work....
With that offensive game plan, MLF and his OC have descended to the level of Barry. Agree that such a feeble approach neither wins or is conducive to progress. I just hope we don't have to wait a season and a half for that inevitable change.
Tundraboy
October 23, 2023 at 09:21 pm
"When they showed Myers on the sideline ready to come back in, I held out the stop sign in front of the TV, but it didn't work...."
I almost lunged at the TV!! Nooo... Let me enjoy at least one or 2 series to see what if.
barutanseijin
October 25, 2023 at 04:48 pm
Nijman looked worse at RT than Meyers does at C in those snaps. Meyer sucks but LT is their weakest link. The CW switcheroo does nothing to address the LT problem.
coolhand
October 23, 2023 at 08:41 am
I thought after the loss to Detroit, there would be changes for the Raiders game. No changes. Then I thought after the Raiders game and the bye week we would see changes. No changes. Same personnel doing the same dumb things and coaches calling the same dumb plays. With all of this time to practice and work on things I still see no one blocking, guys running wrong routes, and coaches making things more complicated than they have to be and no creativity or no play calling reflecting on the flow of the game.
Our injury list got LONGER over the bye and then we lost 5 or 6 more guys yesterday to injuries. Savage got hurt 30 yards from the LOS with no one around. He took a step and started limping. WTF?
And MLF looks clueless in his post game presser. You are the HC, you see the same problems over and over again yet do nothing about it. Walker is worthless at LT yet starts every game. Myers is a joke at center yet plays every game. DeGuara couldn't block my grandma but he is still on the roster.
Guam
October 23, 2023 at 08:45 am
I didn't expect this team to be good in 2023, but they shouldn't be this bad either. I thought this would be an up and down season given the inexperience on offense, but the season has been mostly bad. Worse, the young players are showing little to no improvement.
Consistent errors:
(1) WRs bunched together as they finish their routes. This should NEVER happen and indicates wrong routes being run.
(2) Poor run blocking by Walker, Myers and the TEs. Tough to run the ball when half of the offensive front can't move defenders.
(3) Love consistently under throwing long balls which sometimes results in interceptions. I can't remember Love ever over throwing a long ball.
(4) D-line getting moved easily in the run game. Even Clark is not immune to this criticism.
(5) CBs playing 6-8 yards off in short yardage situations.
(6) Too many mental error penalties. Offsides, illegal formation as examples.
Some of this is on the players, but coaching and coaching decisions are a large part of it. You can't fire all the players, but you can make a coaching change. Is Murphy up to the job since the coaches report to him? IDK
RCPackerFan
October 23, 2023 at 09:12 am
"Consistent errors:
(1) WRs bunched together as they finish their routes. This should NEVER happen and indicates wrong routes being run.
(2) Poor run blocking by Walker, Myers and the TEs. Tough to run the ball when half of the offensive front can't move defenders.
(3) Love consistently under throwing long balls which sometimes results in interceptions. I can't remember Love ever over throwing a long ball.
(4) D-line getting moved easily in the run game. Even Clark is not immune to this criticism.
(5) CBs playing 6-8 yards off in short yardage situations.
(6) Too many mental error penalties. Offsides, illegal formation as examples."
Good thoughts here.
I want to comment on a couple of these things.
"(2) Poor run blocking by Walker, Myers and the TEs. "
The TE's and poor run blocking. I'm huge on putting players in positions to succeed. Finding what players are great at and use them that way. And what they are not good at and try to avoid putting them in positions that they aren't good at. Musgrave is a fast TE who can create mismatches with his speed. But he is not an inline blocker right now. So stop lining him up inline and put him out wide more. Allow him to use his speed to your advantage.
"(4) D-line getting moved easily in the run game. Even Clark is not immune to this criticism."
Just like I said about putting players in position to succeed, putting 2 DL on the field over and over and expect them to do well against the run game is not a recipe for success.
dobber
October 23, 2023 at 09:36 am
"(1) WRs bunched together as they finish their routes. "
Good offenses run routes on multiple levels and stress defenses over the entire field...they don't often have two receivers in the same zone unless someone's blocking or rubbing/picking a DB.
RCPackerFan
October 23, 2023 at 10:14 am
Correct. When 2 players are in the same area, clearly one player ran the wrong route. Or both did.
Packers2020
October 23, 2023 at 08:50 am
So here is the thing.....
My issues lie more with ML right now. He had two weeks to prepare for a horrible Denver team and we scored 0 points in the first half. How is that even possible?
I realize we have a bad o-line but when you go back and look at the game, they actually played better than against the Raiders and we did move the football at times.
There is no improvement with anyone right now and that is on coaching. They all look like they do not care what happens the rest of the season. There is no effort out there right now. ML also does not seem to know how to fix it and that is a big issue.
Lastly, some people may be saying the defense played well last night but I disagree. We again gave up 145 yards on the ground and they averaged 5.8 yards per carry. The defense also allowed the drive at the end of the game for Denver to go up 1 with the FG. They never seem to stop teams when it matters most.
I know this team is young and there is going to be some bad games and bad plays throughout the season but there is no improvement right now. None. That is my biggest issue and concern.
dobber
October 23, 2023 at 10:09 am
LaF's success mostly came with a very veteran team--or, a team with clear veteran leaders--and as the covid cap contraction and maintaining a small number of preferred vets started to cost them more of their core players the sledding got harder and harder. I doubt that LaF will get canned this season unless it's clear that he's lost the locker room and there's open dissent from players in the media. That's already starting.
RCPackerFan
October 23, 2023 at 10:59 am
"My issues lie more with ML right now. He had two weeks to prepare for a horrible Denver team and we scored 0 points in the first half. How is that even possible?"
1st drive - Run, Run, Pass, Punt (8 yards gained)
2nd drive - Run, Pass, 1st down. Run, Pass, incomplete pass, (penalty declined), bad penalty on Myers, stopped the play and forced the packers to move back. punt
3rd drive - Run (penalty on Denver), incomplete, run, pass 1st down, pass, pass, penalty on denver, incomplete, punt.
4th drive - pass, run, run 1st down. pass 1st down. run, run, pass 1st down. run, run, false start, pass, missed fg.
There were penalties on drives 2 and 4 that essentially ended the drives by the Packers. 1st one was a bullshit call that really hurt them. It knocked them out of FG range at minimum.
PeteK
October 23, 2023 at 09:06 am
--I know that was a bad throw at the end, but was precipitated by that holding call on Jenkins (an all pro G should be able to drive block the defender at least enough to gain a few yds). If he doesn't hold and Love gets no yardage, we still have two chances to get a first down to set up a TD or winning FG. That and the missed 42 yarder decided this game.
--Any outside play is not working because we simply have TE's that are turnstiles. The best blocks were made by Dequara and Tour, but even that are too few.
--I still hold out hope that these players will improve, so I'll be patient and maybe all will FALL into.....
It happened once with Rogers and a group of young WRs why not again.
LambeauPlain
October 23, 2023 at 09:10 am
The easy stretch of the season of marginal teams and two "byes" to coach up the team and get healthy is over.
They remain poorly coached, penalty and injury prone. An unmotivated bunch.
This is likely the worst group of coaches assembled in the NFL right now. It's not like they can't coach up from problems...they don't know what the problems are.
The opponents sure do!
stockholder
October 23, 2023 at 09:53 am
Game Ball- None
dobber
October 23, 2023 at 10:05 am
Apparently Josh Myers said over the bye that the Packers were planning to implement some changes that would make them look more like Miami's offense.
Sadly, that only works if you have the speed and established weapons that Miami has. Tua is not a great QB, but he gets the ball out and gets it mostly on target.
Packers2020
October 23, 2023 at 10:11 am
The interesting thing is Josh Meyers shouldn't even be starting right now. So for him to say anything is ridiculous.
Tom should be at Center and I would put Nijman at LT and have Walker and Caleb Jones fight it out for RT at this point. JMO.
RCPackerFan
October 23, 2023 at 11:26 am
Unless you saw something different, what I saw was Jon Runyan Jr saying that.
I'm assuming the up tempo thing maybe?
t-wrecks
October 23, 2023 at 10:12 am
Lafleur can't possibly be running the same offense as shanahan.
T7Steve
October 23, 2023 at 10:19 am
He stole the offense that Chicago dismantled effectively.
MooPack
October 23, 2023 at 10:37 am
Grossi on fire today.
Tundraboy
October 23, 2023 at 09:26 pm
Oh good mention I'll have to see his take.
dfarmer
October 23, 2023 at 10:43 am
Recent article by NFL scout says Love's "platform" is faulty. We have had 3 years to fix his stance, foot movement, etc. This should no longer be a problem.
jannesbjornson
October 23, 2023 at 12:54 pm
He does not bounce with his feet to get the quick turn of his hips to gain torque necessary to drive the ball deep. Too much back foot stuff. His coaching is questionable.
TarynsEyes
October 23, 2023 at 10:52 am
Forget about pointing out lame this or game that.
How come Bagent , for the Bears, looks, and plays better than Love?
Whatever illusion they're running, seems to be working. At least against teams we lose to.
RCPackerFan
October 23, 2023 at 11:37 am
I didn't watch their game. But I can tell you what Bears have that GB doesn't. They have Veterans at WR and TE.
They have Moore who is one of the better WR's in the league. He has 6 years experience, Trent Taylor also in his 6th year. Mooney in his 4th.
They have Kmet with 4 years experience, Tonyan with 6, and Lewis with 16.
Packers have 6 WR's on the roster. They 9 years of experience if you go by what year they are in for their careers. The Bears top 3 guys have combined 16 years.
TarynsEyes
October 23, 2023 at 12:10 pm
Ok, let's flip that a little. How much time has Bagent had with any of those veterans. Love has been with his guys, regardless of player status in years, for 2–3 years. Which one looks like he came from Division 2? Which one's biggest college game was against the Colorado School of Minds?
Do you honestly believe that Love would be better with the Bears? I don't. I think he'd lose the job to both Fields and Bagent, based on play.
barutanseijin
October 25, 2023 at 04:57 pm
What difference does it make how long they have been together when the receivers are messing up their assignments. Another “realist” irrelevance.
cheesehead1
October 23, 2023 at 11:12 am
Another embarrassing performance. With losses to the Raiders and Broncos, I would say we are now in the top 5 worst in the league. Love continues to misfire, his accuracy is very concerning to say the least. Not all on him of course but to me he’s been disappointing so far. Many more games so we’ll see. MLF needs get them on track. He had a bye and they came out flat yet again. Run D gave up another 145 yds, pathetic. Injuries piling up with Watson injured yet again. Don’t know what to think about him. Hopefully we can come out against the Vikes with some energy! Win or lose GPG.
Packers0808
October 23, 2023 at 11:16 am
You have TEs that can't block a shit house door and the best blocking TE in Lewis you let walk. Why you think Njiman looked good last year and you are calling for him at LT. Well guess what go back and look at last year and Njiman, why was he successful, BECAUSE Lewis was there to save his bacon on almost every play that was left side. The Packers used Lewis to chip players on almost every play with Njiman. Little things like that go unnoticed by most people except ex coaches or coaches working at the time. And that is why they have Walker out there.
Packers0808
October 23, 2023 at 01:14 pm
See at least 4 people who nothing about football but think they do.
kd16422
October 23, 2023 at 11:37 am
Dillon may be “slow as molasses “ (doubt he really is), but he more than does his job. His job is to get 3+ yards per carry and force defenses to adjust. He does that by pounding through defenders which doesn’t take lightening speed, and by having just enough agility to move and shift a defenders momentum just enough that he can push past them and find some open field. Dillon does that, and more… he keeps grinding until the game is over. Saddest thing was (I think the raiders game) watching him grind it out down the entire field single handed and capping it off with a touchdown. Only to watch our lame coaching staff try to do it again the next drive because I guess they’re to dense to realize the other team would have to expend more resources to stop Dillon which in turn would free up something else.
Tundraboy
October 23, 2023 at 09:49 pm
Oh don't expect MLF to catch on to the old cat and mouse stuff.
SweetPotatoGB
October 23, 2023 at 12:04 pm
There are many things to criticize right now about the green and gold, but I don’t see how we can’t put the most blame on the coaching staff. I’ll be the first to acknowledge that Lafluer has an almost impossible task right now, but it’s his task nonetheless. Love needs to play better, but so does everyone else around him (minus a very select few) ; and we gotta be honest about how little our QB has to work with right now. GB fans haven’t had to exercise patience for a long time now, so it’s understandable how foreign this is for us. But, no one is getting fired, no one is getting cut, and it’s pretty clear we gotta just sit through this tough time with the team. I think it’s too early to write off anyone completely except Joe Barry, but as long as he’s here I’m going to take it for what it is and cheer on the Packers as usual. I’ll hold off any final conclusions about this team until January. Until then, Go Pack Go!
pantz_bURp
October 23, 2023 at 12:05 pm
I need a hug...anyone want to volunteer! 😊
*Let's ride out this season to learn if this is true Love or not? Right now, cranking "Love Hurtz" by Nazareth. But, I took #10 to the dance and damn well gonna be leaving with him.
Malland56
October 23, 2023 at 12:05 pm
Wicks HAS to play more. Not because of that great pass but because going into this weekend he was the best, I say that again, the best WR in THE LEAGUE in breaking open from one on one coverage. don't believe me check the NFL stats on him. Love has tunnel vision. Also sick of hearing about Love's real first year. You act like he is a rookie. He's not! He is throwing like he did his last year in college. I watched him and he sucked. Under threw his receivers all the time. Not accurate.
All he did was have one real good year in college. He has been with Packers now for four years. Oh ya looked good in preseason. Some. Remember him missing wide open WR's this preseason by miles. But that was alright. No it wasn't! He looked bad on a lot of open passes. He might connect on one nice long throw but thats it. He leaves the ball in the air way too long.
jhtobias
October 23, 2023 at 12:15 pm
Look Jordan probably is not an ansewer at qb
jboss
October 23, 2023 at 12:39 pm
At one point during his first full year as starter Arod lost 7 out of 8 games. Sure glad we didn’t immediately throw him under the bus!
Bitternotsour
October 23, 2023 at 12:57 pm
get with the program. all gratification must be immediate. this sucks, change it, the beavis and butthead-ification of packers fans.
Packers1985
October 23, 2023 at 01:15 pm
Even in that loosing stretch the offense that year (2008) was avg some 24 points a game which is good for an offense with first yr starting qb. I get your point giving up on Love this early with just 7 career starts is not right but many here were pissed becoz they dont see the improvement.
The Main reason for this listening to the media hype that how good the last 2 drafted players looked in the practice and how good Love looked in practices and also all the players raving about him. Many in this group claimed he'll lead them to playoffs with 11 wins. Hell some even said that he would've taken the team to playoffs if he had played last yr. These kind of expectations are what going get us this kind of reactions.
SweetPotatoGB
October 23, 2023 at 01:37 pm
Obviously, Love and Rodgers are two different styles of QB, but I don’t disagree with your sentiment. Like it or not, he needs a full season (but, more fairly two) in order to be realistically assessed. Rodgers had a MUCH better team that he inherited, and there are many things working against Love right now outside of his control. It’d be more fair to compare Love to Favre as a first year starter, but Favre had Sterling Sharpe and the Packers today have no one near that caliber at WR (yet). Love still has 11 games to improve, and he deserves the chance to do that. Even if GB had a veteran starter at QB this season they’d have very little chance of going anywhere meaningful. Gotta just let it play out, and have the patience to assess any next steps come January.