Tom Oates on Madison.com says Lewis was used to help chip Mack a few times.

I read some writers (Zach Kruse on USA TODAY, for one) suggest before the game that this was a make/break game for Spriggs’ career with GB. This is why I commented about Spriggs—I’m not a fan and have felt he was a bust but maybe he’s just taking longer to develop and will at best be a swing tackle backup.

Which, as you say, every team needs.

This time of year, with the Packers eliminated, I’m mostly looking to see younger guys get looks and experience.

We lament how bad the Packers have looked at times...the Lions are bad. As in "I think the Packers could beat these guys with Kizer under center" bad.

Honestly. If they would win, I am ok with that. It would give the young players a good feeling headed into the offseason. Sometimes you need that moral victory to get in the right frame of mind.

But having a higher pick will ultimately be more important. If the difference is a couple of draft spots it won't matter. If the difference is 5+ draft spots, losing would be more important.

Well said, Dobber. The pressure to deliver in 2019 will be tremendous.

We've poured so many draft picks into this defense that have either been busts or were traded away that the offense has unfortunately slowly rotted and flaws masked by Rodgers (when he was playing well).

In particular, the O-line isn't what it once was, and we have uncertainty at WR and TE positions after enjoying long stints of solidarity at WR.

Gutekunst simply cannot screw this up, or him and Murphy will be unemployed themselves in the next 2-3 years.

"2. ...finding 3-4 gems in free agency."

Was Jahri Evans a "gem' in 2017? I wouldn't go that far but 3-4 guys that perform to that level in the right places would go a long way for helping this team. In particular at Evans' old spot. I don't think looking to FA for star power is a winning formula. But if your expectations are to shore up your weakest spots, it can be a very useful tool.

Dobber-
Oh definitely. This draft will be HUGE for the rebuild of this team.

I think the quick turnaround will hinge on...

1&3 combined....
They have to get the right HC and staff, and the right HC to do for Rodgers what McCarthy did for Favre when he first came.
A new philosophy that will get guys open easier, and allow Rodgers get the ball out quick would be great.

2...
Finding the right FA's. Assuming we keep Pettine and his scheme, he needs at least 1 starting Safety, and 1 more DL/Pass rusher.
On offense we need more OL help. Possibly go after another TE. If Cook is a FA I wouldn't mind seeing him come back.

Next..
Draft. They have to hit on the draft. They need the top 3 players (assuming they keep their first 3 picks) to contribute right away.

After that...
They have to have this current rookie class to take a big step. They need Alexander, Jackson, Burks, and the Trio of WR's to take a step.

I agree. Health will be huge.

I also really like Lancaster. He is a guy I think that will be in the mix next year for sure.

I love the $20 analogy too...

Thanks Rossonero.

I said above but I do really like Lancaster. I think he is a good find for sure.

Adams really is in his rookie year. Next year could be a big year for him.

I agree. Our run defense was pretty good considering we are down to our 4th-6th+ DL.

True. but to be fair they did force 2 other fumbles that the Bears were lucky to recover. They were inches away from recovery 3 fumbles in the game.

Yeah, i agree about the offense.
Rodgers seems to be trying to force it down field way to much. He had some opportunities but he missed on throws. For what ever reason, I don't know. Did the receiver not run the right route? Was his throws just that far off? I dont' know.

I know he had some dump off opportunities and he didn't take it.

If this offense was playing as well as we are used to seeing, we have to be feeling really good about this team right now. The defense has played well enough to give us more wins.
The offense definitely has let us down. #12 is a big part of that.

Regardless of what happens this year, I think we are set up pretty well for next year. Need help on the OL, help at TE. But getting MVS and EQ a lot of playing time this year should pay off for next year. I wouldn't be surprised if Moore contributes next year too.
Our offense has Rodgers, Adams and Jones as a trio of players. There are a lot of teams with a lot worse options.

Getting Rodgers back to his pro bowl level will be the key to everything.

Its really crazy to look at the amount of curveballs that they have thrown at Pettine, and the fact that the defense has kept them in games is definitely an endorsement for keeping him!

And what is even crazier is that the Packers are tied for 6th in the NFL in Sacks. Not that sacks are end all be all in determining how well the defense is, but the fact that they have 41, the league leader has 47, they are 6 sacks away from being the league leader. That is crazy to me.

They have 4 less sacks then the Bears.

Imagine if he had at least 1 true threat of a pass rusher at OLB.

GAME OVER MAN. Game over...sob. (Sorry, I couldn't help myself:)

Rodgers trajectory is following a similar line as 'ole #4, except Rodgers didnt turn into a prema donna as quickly. Farve had a few of his best years late in his career, so Rodgers could have the same success with the right coach....or he could continue his decline. Either way, he'll be our QB for the next 3 years minimum.

Never said I wanted him out. -- Please don't reword my posts. --- Some here (including you) seem to have some kind of bromance with Pettine only because you're comparing him to Capers -- anyone would grade favorably compared to Capers.
Here's a quick example of Pettine's "D".
"Trubisky completed 20 of 28 passes (71.4 percent) for 235 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions, generating a 120.4 passer rating."--- Guess what. -- That was yesterday & a huge reason why GB will be watching the playoffs come January, 2019.

Oh --- BTW.
Try this link. --- It may help.
http://www.espn.com/nfl/statistics/team/_/stat/total/sort/totalPointsPer...

Well duh he should be compared to his predecessor seeing as that’s the guy that had the position before him. Once again with the essentially the same defensive talent Pettine has gotten more out of the def it’s far from a bromance or whatever other weird term you want to use but who wants to risk the def taking a step back learning another new scheme when it’s already taken a step forward?

You’re going off a game in which he had none of his starting def lineman, a hobbled safety and was working with practice squad players and some guy that use to be a manager at Footlocker. I mean just silly

those two possessions were head-scratchers for sure. Only thing that worked consistently for them yesterday were the slants and screens.

Maybe you could say that about the offense all year. The playcalling all season has gotten away from what works (don't get me wrong, I think a deep shot has to be tried every so often, but too many times it seemed they chose a shot play instead of something to extend a drive.)

...and rookie WRs who apparently can't grasp the "details" of catching horribly thrown passes...

Priceless!

5 sacks and nine hits. That's 14 plays where the QB was hit. Doesn't say much about the OL play. Trubitsky was sacked once. Which defense did a better job of pressuring the QB?

As for holding the ball too long Rodgers receivers do not get any separation and except for Adams none of them are good enough to make a play on a contested ball. Then of course there is Graham who turns a TD into an interception but it's all Rodgers fault, the porous OL, no WRS after Adams, the TE who runs slower than Raji and a weak ground game. Yes, the roughing the passer call in the first Vikings game, Rodgers fault. Monty's KO return fumble, Rodger's fault. Crosby's missed FGs all Rodger's fault. Give the Packers those 3 wins and we're 8-5-1 with a 5th seed in the playoffs.

Let's not forget to blame the Special Teams and all their stupid penalties on Rodgers as well. Oh and the no tackle, no pass rush defense, I guess that's Rodgers fault as well. I can admit that Rodgers hasn't played well but neither has anyone else on the team.

It would be fun if Rodgers just walks away from the game after this season (he won't because of the money). But if he did then all the ungrateful and unappreciative fans would really have poor QB play to cry and whine about, possibly for decades. The team is not that good and Rodgers has played poorly by his standards but that happens and thats sports. He is expected to carry the team every season and he didn't do it this year.

To me this season just proves how good Rodgers actually has been for this team. Because as we have seen, when Rodgers doesn't play well for whatever reason, (injuries, attitude, or all of the above) no one steps up and does anything to help this team win. Not the RBs, not the WRs (except Adams) running around like a 3 ring circus, not the TE, whoever that is, not the defense and forget the Special Teams all together. Not one player save for Adams actually contributed to a Packers win this season. We have gone from "next man up" to "no one is here." I've said it before throughout this season, terrible job by everyone from Murphy all the way down the 53rd player.

The season is over, wait 'til next year. Blaming Rodgers or any other player or coach, solves nothing. TT ruined this team with 4-5 years of poor drafts. This team needs betters players. We're probably 2 years away or we may be 20 years away. Remember a new HC will not only need better players he will need them to stay healthy as well. As for now, "Send in the clowns, don't bother they're here." Thanks, Since '61