I wonder if the signing is really for now or an audition for the future if he shows he has fully recovered. The chatter in NE was that his issue since has been issues with the durability of associated tissues that impacted durability as much as performance. Perhaps a lighter load may help him get over that hill.

As to the Jets. Despite the changes in the NFL, every year there are teams that play aggressive, physical D. I’ve never bought into the fact it can’t be done, simply because it always is being done. Unfortunately, not by the Packers.

Defensive play can be exciting to watch. That doesn’t have to be physical, but if it’s not it has to be an incredible bunch of players. It’s a decade or more since I consistently genuinely enjoyed watching a Packers D. It’s easier (not easy) to do it through attitude and culture. Unfortunately, the teams that do seem to have a very different overall culture to ours.

Al I agree with you that the Jets defense is good and that they do swarm to the ball. The Packers defense seems to be tentative and thinking too much. First they need to go out and have fun playing the game they have played for years. But there is only so much the players can do. Berry has proven that he is at best an average DC. Yes we are stuck with him until close to the end of the season when they might see what they have on the coaching staff.

It is interesting how the Packers have all these high draft picks and good players on defense but are not nearly as good as the 49ers, Jets, or Eagles. Even the Browns defense looked great this last week. We need players playing like their caeer depended on it.

Man o Man would I like a HC who wants to punch you in the mouth or even bite your kneecaps off... Our HC? He just wants to get his eyebrows tweezed.

The Jets are the uncle that comes over and sneaks a cigar, uses a coffee cup for an ash tray, then burns a hole in mom's couch.

The Packers are the minister that comes to visit and doesn't want to do anything to disturb grandma's nap.

To the point Al makes about envy and longing for a Jets-like defense: If the trade-off for a decade of the Packers fielding a smothering, top-10, 'meat eater' defense was in exchange for middling QB play, would you be a buyer?

I know, all the gotta have "The Man" stuff, but I'd be willing to take Door #2 just for the chance to see it in my lifetime.

Aside from the coaching, the Jets defense seems to feature solid D-line play. If you control the line of scrimmage and dictate the tempo of the plays you disrupt the offense. The Packers have Kenny Clark. We just don't draft or coach the same philosophy.

I am thinking that Al might consider an article name change. While today's issue is truly a confession and one from a polluted mindset, the McCarthy spirit is fading. I would suggest that our current Packers are more an "illusion of complexity" candidate. Perhaps the articles could strip away the illusion part of the team.

Quinnen Williams, CJ Mosely, and Sauce Gardner are all pretty impactful. Hell yes, we’d love to see badass attitudes in GB, but without enough good players it might not matter.

Did Jim Schwartz’s Lions have that killer mentality? Yes. But they lacked quality play. (See, I went with Schwartz instead of Forrest Gregg this time.)

Not being a contrarian: my thought is GB HAS the quality defensive players, but a killer attitude could awaken a sleeping defensive giant! But! I think to get that 180 degree change in attitude means getting a new DC. Is GB willing to do that?

Makes me think a lot of Packer fans on here a have a man crush on guys with nice eyebrows, whatever that has to do with coaching or football!

"As Saleh has said (paraphrasing), their defensive philosophy is to force the issue and punch you in the mouth until you wilt. "

No Fear. We have Barry saying to cover Adams we need to survive the down. We need to use inside leverage because we have another CB outside and the sideline. Oh and that is all while he has Preston Smith covering him with no way to adjust the defense.

"The Packers have a running back problem. This was supposed to be the year for a resurgence of the running game. For a variety of reasons, it hasn't come close. So Brian Gutenkunst made a very interesting signing this week, bringing in James Robinson to the Practice Squad."

I am curious about why they didn't bring Patrick Taylor back. Also makes me wonder then why he was used and targeted so much against the Raiders.
I think bringing in Robinson is a smart move. He can help in the run and passing game. He provides a veteran player. I feel like they just don't trust Wilson yet which is why they haven't been using him. Hopefully Robinson can help.

Living in North Texas for 25+ years, yeah I know what Al is talking about. I may not like what I see in the Packer offense, but I have high hopes that they become a juggernaut once they learn to play together. I am disappointed in the defense. I understand that they have lost so many starters already, but what bothers me is that their success isn't related to any system or scheme plan but only due to individual performances. So its not the plan but the player. I know we could say that about every defense, but many teams plan for a player to be isolated into a situation so they can make a play, much like Dallas does with Micah Parsons. I don't feel the same way with the Packers. It just seems like a sack, interception is done by luck or a player making a guess to make things happen.
Sorry for the rambling....
Just MHO

Agree completely on the Jets D envy, JA!

I believe that Gutey has picked the talent but Barry's scheme and use of his player personnel are the issue. Some responsibility also falls on the players making more plays, however, it's hard to plan the work/work the plan when the overall plan is flawed. We have the speed and athleticism on D to dictate games with a more aggressive play calling approach but that's not JB's style.

Last year, when we played these same Jets, Robert Saleh said after the game that at halftime he told his players, and I quote, “Just keep giving them [the Packers] body blow after body blow and keep hitting them in the mouth. We felt like if we can just keep taking them down to deeper water they’ll find out they can’t swim. It was just a mindset.”

In order for us to have that "Jets Defense" style, we MUST change our mindset to be able to deliver those body blows and swim in the deep waters.....Unfortunately, and I hope I'm wrong, I'm just not sure we have the DC ( and HC?) who is willing to make that change.

I'm with you Al. I have been looking around the league for a couple of years now at some of the best defenses and I am jealous!

Jim Schwartz was a new hire this year by the Browns and his defense just won the game for them over the 49ers. I don't like Jim Schwartz but that was a good hire!

The old adage says 'defense wins championships'. Running the ball and playing good defense may be boring for those who want to see high scoring aerial attacks but I prefer championships!

All the cheap shots at LaFleur's physical appearance are just that; cheap. Remember Dick Vermeil's Eagles teams? And, him bawling and hugging guys in the locker room and on the sideline? How about Marv Levy in Buffalo? Weeb Eubank? Tom Landry? Bill Walsh? Don Shula? The list goes on and the point is made that you don't have to be a talking bicep to be a successful NFL head coach.

Are the Dolphins a reflection of their head coach? Last year it was Brian Daboll who was trotted out as a master motivator as his Giants team channeled his manliness into victories? What happened? He still looks the same?

I don't think Matt LaFleur is cut out to be an NFL head coach. That has nothing to do with his grooming habits.

--Living in Jersey in 69 on opposite side of the Hudson, I couldn't help but admiring the Jets who beat a great Colts team, and Mets pulling off an identical upset vs Orioles.
--It's mainly a Rushing problem: we're near the bottom of the league in stopping the run ( poor tackling-- RBs have too many yds after contact) and running the ball ( poor blocking, but at least getting Jones back will help).

I personally would hope Gute would be out looking for O linemen, especially a center and a road grader guard. Instead he signs a RB who, even if healthy will have no where to go since the blocking is usually so bad. Why has Wilson barely seen the field? Is it because of his pass pro? Shouldn't we be using his speed as a receiver and not as a blocking back? Without AJ, using Dillon is fine but he has no speed so we are stuck running between the tackles and the defense knows it. With some outside speed we can spread out the defense and open up the middle of the field, but that doesn't seem to fall into MLF's analytics.

Oh man! You made me pine for the days of Fritz Shurmur. Stop the run was #1! All the great defenses dare you to run against them. The Packers haven't had that type of D since Fritz was in charge. Now, it's stop the pass and let's hope they don't run on us too much. Not a great recipe for success against elite quarterbacks. Or even above average QBs and effective offensive strategy. Yeah, I'm tired of long 4th quarter drives when we need a stop. End of rant!

I'm a Jets Defense fan.(Packer fan as well but they are a snooze-fest right now) Robert Saleh reminds me of Dan Campbell with his obvious love of his guys. That D is must-watch TV.
The Offense is frustrating, though, when they trot out Cobb & Lazard and don't play Hardman? Hackett and maybe Saleh are afraid to upset the Lord of Darkness. I think Saleh has decided to play over and around the pitiful Offense.
It seems that FOA's (friends of Aaron's) including non-blocking but fellow Broadway play buddy, TE CJ Uzomah get the majority of the snaps. Jets fans are starting to complain. There is an ever-increasing drum beat to bench Cobb.

I once watched a recording of an old NFL Films clip, at least I'm fairly sure it was an NFL Films clip, on youtube.com, and it involved a redzone play at the end of a game, there was pandemonium with fans prematurely rushing onto the field before fruition of the final play. Again, pandemonium. If memory of the clip serves, there was a guy in a trench coat or large winter coat that actually batted a pass down in the endzone.

This occurred in the 50's or 60's and I thought it involved the Jets at the Polo Grounds.

Is there anything you can add about the this event? The video I was watching was in a long video composed of a variety of old NFL footage, and right in the middle was this peculiar occurrence. I'd love to know more about what this was, and you, Mr. Al, sound like you might be the guy to consult about this. Or Vic, but sadly, I don't foresee myself getting out to Edisto Island any time soon.

A Jets fan since 1969...well...yea, ok.
I knew there was something off with that guy.

I don't know how to be a fan of another team. I don't have that in me.
It isn't possible (for me).

I was born a Packer fan, i'll always be a Packer fan, and i'll die a Packer fan, period.

I Was told to be a Jets fan. - Oh the negatives.
But then I always knew what was wrong with the packers.

The jets play the 4-3-4. The Packers don’t.
They don’t have DE for LBs.
They invested in the DL. Gutey didn’t until lately.
Williams ,Johnson, And other guys that tackle.
They play their picks from the start.
So keep on with the revolving door.
I can’t help it if your blind with Love.

Seems I Wanted to trade up for a RB.
And Now that Gutey decided the next step,
Could be Robinson, Where is the Running Game?

But I’ll tell you right where the next step is.
It’s getting Love to move this offense in the first 1/2.
And if he can’t do that against Denver.
It’s time for a Qb change.

If this Packer Defense cannot find a way to punch Denver in the mouth this week, I would find it hard to see it happening at all. Looking at this coming game from a different view, I would be wary of a 'false positive' from the Defensive standpoint, because achieving a bar once seems to be the limit, especially against teams who are already near total dysfunction.

The question is whether the Offense can do better than what KC did against the Denver Defense that seemed to, at least against KC, be gaining back some of what they were acclaimed to be. Surely, Payton has work to do, but the Packers seem to be what he needs to help him in his endeavor.

The Packers have 6 1'st round draftees on its Defense, and not one is Jet material. The last one was perhaps Matthews, and he burned out after a few seasons after steroid allegations became huge in the NFL, and he became Fabio.

You can't draft Fred Astaire dancers and expect them to play James Cagney gangsters.

In 1961, my dad drove us to Western NY to see his parents and siblings, and went to a Bills-NY Titans game at old War Memorial Stadium. That aside, the D underperforms and the Offense does not play complementary football. It has long been the case GB does not play to the physical level of great teams. You are what you emphasize.

Jets Defense has 7-8 Pro-Bowl caliber players right now:
The GM/coaches choose wisely and develop well.

-LB Jermaine Johnson
-The Williams Bros. Quinnen and Quincy
-LB Bryce Huff
-CJ Moseley
-Sauce Gardner
-Quinton Jefferson
-Franklin-Myers

just to name a few. No PB'ers on the Packers...Jaire-meh, Gary-??

LaFleur is best friends with Saleh yet he seems to show little curiosity as to what Saleh or other successful defensive minds do to make a Defense great. I really don't think he thinks about the Defense nor the ST's. He seems preoccupied with his Offensive schemes but does not have the vision, curiosity, intellect (?) to change it up or increase his scope.
Neither Murphy nor Gute seem to want to rattle his cage. Something is terribly wrong over there.

I understand you Al. And have no complaint, as lately (last season and last 3 games this season) it was hard to watch Packers. I must say Packers D overplayed Packers O for a lot, but that was at pathetic level...

Leader of the team is the one who establish culture of the team. Unfortunately, Packers ended with soft man with little if any leadership qualities. Last time I had spark of hope that MLF had it in himself was that decision to kick the field goal instead to go on 4th and goal vs Bucs at the 2020 NFCCG. Later the decision was exposed to be made out of fear, not out of believe in his team. Watching how FPQB taking over the team that was to be his with little or no resistance from HC was more thasn humiliating. I admit to myself that I was wrong (I now understand why FPQB was changing so many play calls on the line of schrimage) believing that it was one of the problems why Packers often played in so disarray on offense. Still, I believe it would be better for Packers future if FPQB exposed MLF inadequacy to be play caller or HC.

There is many ways for job to be done properly. But every way needs to be execute with persistence, understanding and steadiness.
When players do not understand what his coach requests from them, they will not be able to execute their job properly. If players understand their roles, than never ever would Preston Smith be ion coverage of Davante. More adequate player will swap his position with Preston in the blink of the eye (and that is just one example!).

If this is only this season, I believe all of us will survive it, but if this will become "standard" there will be many young players whose talent and NFL career will be ruined. Management (and I am looking at you Mark "WANI" Murphy) should look out for all of their employees, not just the ones on the top!

Two key issues for the Packers. First is their decision making/hiring process. MMs decision to make the GM, the HC and the Cap guru equals in terms of reporting to him has led to numerous poor decisions for the team including wrecking the salary cap and numerous not so great draft choices. An example is that much has been made about Gute's recent receiving draft picks but the reality is that the receivers taken over the last 2 drafts became absolutely necessary because none of the receivers that he drafted since 2018 are still with the team. What does that tell us about Gute's ability to draft receiving talent? There are numerous other draft examples and decisions that I could add here but I've covered them in numerous pervious posts over the years. The biggest was and still is MMs decision to hire MLF after one two hour interview. WTF???

Second key issue is leadership. Where is it? Who is it?? I don't see any leadership coming from the coaching staff which is where it needs to begin. I haven't seen any yet this season from the players on the field. I had expected to see some on field leadership from Clark and/or Alexander but I see both of them fading in that regard. Maybe Campbell but he's injured now. Preston Smith has been solid but I don't see the players rallying around him. Rashon Gary, maybe but while he has played well I'm not getting that leadership vibe from him, at least not yet. He's playing for his next contract wherever that might be and I can't blame him for that.

FO decision making, weak coaching and no leadership are hurting this team before they even take the field. Maybe it will begin to turn around this week at Denver. Get a win, stack some success, build some confidence and maybe some leadership and a team identity will evolve as the season continues. 12 games left is plenty of time for this season to look more positive than it does now. Go Pack Go! Thanks, Since '61

The Jets defense had 3 INTs and 12 PDs despite their two starting CBs being out, so these guys are coached to be in position to make plays instead of being passive and waiting for damage to be done first.

I think the packers defense has the players and the talent to be good. They are playing better this year, but still exposed and too weak against run.

Without AR, this is like MLF's first year as HC. I keep thinking back to Love's first game starting, and MLF was not prepared for blitzes. I really questioned how smart MLF was. MLF's HC record is mostly due to getting AR interested, engaged, and motivated. Defense and special teams still sucked.

I have been waiting to see if MLF figures it out and improves, but the last game had me start the clock on MLF's tenure. I think Rich B would make a better HC than MLF. I think Stenovich was better as OL coach too.

Aaron Rodgers caught a break by getting hurt early. He would have eventually been hurt behind a mediocre to bad Jets offensive line. I always stand amazed at the legions of national media dopes and fans who think all you need is a great quarterback and it's a sure Super Bowl win. I always point to the 49'ers who have a guy at quarterback that everyone passed for SEVEN rounds. They could be in the Super Bowl. How is that possible? Along with the Eagles and Dolphins they have great offensive line play. It is also a key reason why Jordan Love has struggled at times because of anemic blocking.
The Jets will ride the defense as far as it goes. If Wilson can improve and they get a balanced attack, the Jets still could be a factor.

Grew up in CT. Yankee fan and Packer Fan from start. My brother was a Johnny U Colts fan until Namath came along. Obviously I've taken my share of grief from him even over the last 20 years, but a couple of years ago I had to tell him. Don't give up. And the reason even though they have squandered decades worth of high picks ,too many to even count. They at least finally have a coach to kick their ass. That is what they always lacked and That is why they are good again. His dream is for them to win a SB before he dies. But I could care less. Watching the new Rodgers in NY is nauseating. My dream is for one day another Lombardi ,Starr,Ray or Davis to appear. But for now...

We need a new coach, even if it's is one who appears to have rage issues. I prefer the Holmgren Reid variety.

Lefluer and Barry are better suited to be position coaches and that’s it , the less responsibility the better.

Ability to handle adversity.

Over the years, many posters at CHTV have lamented the Packers' inability to stand up like men and handle adversity, whether it be overcoming injuries, a slow start, bad calls, you name it. The packers are front runners, the packers are a finesse team, the Packers can't take a punch and come back with resolve to best their opponent.

A great number of Packers fans here at CHTV show such an amazing lack of ability to handle the slightest adversity that I feel it should disqualify them from ever commenting on overcoming adversity. Such a wishy-washy, soft group that absolutely loses their ever-loving minds at the first sign of adversity.

Packers are 2-3. Less than 1/3 of the season. So many knee jerks, nay sayers, any-which-way-the-wind-blows and sky is fallings around here, I'm glad most of you aren't in anyway connected with the Packers, especially as players or coaches.. we'd never get anywhere because at the first sign of adversity we'd scrap everything and start from zero again.

There's one thing I am confident of, the Packers are hard at work and aren't throwing it all away, they're putting their noses to the grindstone to find a way to put it back on track, like every other NFL team does when they face adversity.

So many of you people are running around like chickens with your heads cut off. Frankly, carrying on like god damned vikings fans. VIKINGS FANS. You're the ones that are soft, coddled by a generation of relatively worry-free football. Collect yourselves and see where the season takes us.

You almost described the Vikes defense. Agressive, swarm to the ball, all over the place you think they have 15 on the field. Rarely does a receiver catch and run, they are gang tackled right away. Their D has kept them in games and I still think they are over the hurdle and ready to make a statement just like the Jets.
Ya the Packers have no identity to compare to the Jets d. Seems like a bunch of guys all playing separate games.
When you best defender doesnt tackle but tries to use his shoulder to knock down a guy and misses badly, your in trouble. You can only blame Barry, Pettine and Capers so much.
They dont draft into the top of the first round where the best defensive players are. They took Gary at what 12 and he was rated a second round pick or late first at the best. You draft so so players you get so so play. Not to mention speed, this D lacks speed at key positions in linebackers corners.