Packers 30, Jags 27: Game Balls / Lame Calls
Green Bay escapes despite lapses, new Love injury.
It’s hard for a win to be deflating, but this Packers 30-27 win in Jacksonville fits the bill.
We’ll have to wait for injury reports on Jordan Love, Evan Williams and others who were banged up Sunday, especially with the Detroit Juggernauts looming next week. Even without that potential damage, this was a shaky performance in some important areas, and Green Bay was fortunate to leave the sunshine state with a W.
GAME BALLS
Edgerrin Cooper — Without Cooper’s two strips in the fourth quarter, one of QB Trevor Lawrence deep in Jaguar territory and one against slot receiver Christian Kirk, this game likely ends in a loss. Both were testaments to Cooper’s motor and laser focus on getting at the football, not just to it. The Kirk strip was particularly impressive, as Cooper stayed close despite a mismatch against a wideout on a seam route, and ripped the football from behind the falling Kirk. Here’s to Cooper patrolling the middle for years to come. 🏈 🏈 🏈 🏈 🏈
Malik Willis — Once again, the man calmly and efficiently handled a big spot. The game’s momentum seemed to turn when he scrambled for big yardage in the third quarter soon after he got on the field. And he didn’t miss on the huge play to Jayden Reed on the final drive. Is there a better NFL backup right now, save for perhaps Joe Flacco? 🏈 🏈 🏈 🏈
Josh Jacobs — We all still miss Aaron Jones emotionally, but it’s pretty clear who got the better of that swap of running backs, and the Packers and their fans are the beneficiaries. All Jacobs did was carry the ball 25 times for 127 yards and two touchdowns, demonstrating that he can be a workhorse who can put the team on his back. Most importantly, he came up big when the Packers needed it most as the Jaguars came alive and looked to be getting the better of things in the third quarter. It remains disappointing that he is not being used more as a pass-catcher, where his running after the catch could also shine. 🏈 🏈 🏈 🏈
Tucker Kraft — Pretty soon, Kraft will not have room in his house for all the game balls he’s getting from this column. Shout-out to @PackerRanter who, after Kraft ran for a 66-yard completion in the second quarter, tweeted a tweaked Kraft foods logo with the words “YAC and Cheese.” Kraft, as just a second-year player, is also emerging as a leader. 🏈 🏈 🏈
UNSUNG HERO
Brandon McManus -- It sure is nice to have a kicker. Anders Carlson might have been 3-3 with a 50-yarder for the 49ers Sunday night, but it’s clear that in McManus the Packers have someone on whom the team, and the rest of us, can rely. He’s nails, with two consecutive last-second, game-winning field goals in his first two games in a Green Bay uniform. It’s hard to imagine where this team would be without McManus and Willis, two in-season, emergency pick-ups who were considered plugs in the dyke, not difference-makers. Certainly not 6-2.
LAME CALLS
Matt LaFleur — There is no bigger fan of MLF than this columnist, but his decision not to bench Love from the beginning of the second half was malpractice. Not only was Love’s knee clearly hurting in the first half, his limitations made the offense one dimensional. It’s clear that one of the lingering effects of MCL sprains is the inability to easily make the kind of twisting motion required for play-action, RPOs and frequent under-center play. As a result, by late in the second quarter every snap was in shotgun, neutering the running game and giving the defense a huge advantage, while exposing Love and his still-recovering knee. And then of course he suffers a groin injury — apparently in the third but we don’t know for sure — and his status going forward is uncertain. After the game LaFleur said he finally sat Love because he couldn’t protect himself. Love couldn’t do that from the start of the second quarter. He is a warrior and never wants to come out, but you just can’t allow that to affect decision-making, particularly given Willis’ performance this year.
Jeff Hafley — The Packers D had arguably its worst game of the season, allowing a bottom-five Jaguars team 390 total yards, 299 of them through the air. Trevor Lawrence shredded the Packers secondary for chunk plays, poking holes in Hafley’s zone-heavy game plan. Hafley largely abandoned the blitz-heavy pressure we saw last week against the Texans, and while Jacksonville only got 91 yards on the ground, they carried the ball fewer times than Jacobs alone, and Tank Bigsby did damage in the second half. The Packers often rose to the occasion on third down, holding the Jaguars to one out of nine conversions, but basically Green Bay was again saved by takeaways, a very high variance way to live. One contributing factor here is mediocre cornerback play, and Hafley clearly doesn’t want to be in man coverage any more than absolutely necessary. Corner depth and performance have been issues all year, so here’s hoping GM Brian Gutekunst can work a little more magic before the trade deadline. Also, what's with the ongoing limited snaps for Cooper? He's already their best LB.
Javon Bullard — It’s a bit unfair to single out any player in what was overall a sub-par day for the defense, but Bullard getting juked out of his jock on two-consecutive passing plays that resulted in a touchdown in the third quarter was a clear lowlight. He’s young and talented, and he’ll get better, but his performance in relief of the injured Evan Williams was lacking.
Jordan Love — Yes, he was hurting, but even before all that went down, Love was once again not the man we saw in the second half of last season. The costly sideline interception at the Jacksonville 6 yard line was another case of him believing he’s invincible. Not only did Love’s throw lack sufficient zip, but he basically looked at Romeo Doubs all the way through the route, and the Jags defender jumped it. At this point, we can be forgiven for wondering which will be the higher total: The number of INTs Love throws, or the number of INTs Xavier McKinney collects.
FINAL WHISTLES
As was the case last week and for much of the season, the Packers are finding ways to win, and that cannot be undervalued. But that doesn’t mean it’s sustainable, particularly with a remaining schedule that includes two games with the Lions and meetings with San Francisco and Minnesota.
This coaching staff and front office have more than earned respect and patience, and this game should be chalked up to a bad day at the office. But the nagging issues continue to nag: Love playing hero ball with league-leading interceptions; an inability to run outside and average-to-poor cornerback play top the list.
Detroit comes to Lambeau next weekend in steamroller mode, and the Packers will need peak performances to prevail. And some good news on the injury front. GPG.
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__________________________
Jonathan Krim grew up in New York but got hooked on the Packers — and on hating the Cowboys — watching the Ice Bowl as a young child. He blames bouts of unhappiness in his late teens on Dan Devine. A journalist for several decades who now lives in California, he enjoys trafficking in obscure cultural references, lame dad jokes and occasionally preposterous takes. Jonathan is a Packers shareholder, and insists on kraut with his brats. You can follow Jonathan on twitter at @Jkrim.
__________________________
Comments (51)
porupack
October 28, 2024 at 07:05 am
Well stated on all points....except maybe too hard on MLF for not pulling Love out earlier. Hindsight, hindsight. Every game is critical, and GB wasn't finishing off drives in the first half, but on the edge of getting something going. Your best players still are your best chance until they can't. That last awkward hit made it clear. Then you move to your next guy. That is football. Now see who will be able to beat Detro. Not much reason to believe GB can, but I'm counting on a win next week. Remember the alamo (or Dallas)....GB plays its worst against bottom dwellers and its best against the juggernauts.
mnbadger
October 28, 2024 at 08:58 am
Hope you're right about playing up to lions' level next week ppack.
I'm thinking you're wrong about letting mlf off the hook for leaving jlove in too long though.
We were playing the jags for God's sake.
if mlf doesn't think he can beat the jags, and puts his franchise qb at risk, his skill, judgement and leadership must be questioned out loud.
Oh yeah, one more botched challenge flag and lost timeout.
Maybe they should put Saleh on the sideline and give him the red flag?
GPG!
Packerpasty
October 28, 2024 at 09:56 am
totally agree!!
Houndog
October 28, 2024 at 10:15 am
"GB plays its worst against bottom dwellers"
Unfortunately yes, they do, and its reminiscent of the McCarthy days!
Something MLF seems to have inherited, WTF?
HarryHodag
October 28, 2024 at 07:12 am
Love has clearly been hurt all season. When a pitcher has a bad leg in baseball he tends to throw high. Sound familiar? While the game Sunday is a showdown, I hope MLF puts Love on the sideline so he's ready to go for the last half of the season. Groin/leg injuries are tricky to heal.
While Williams was hurt, so was Jaire. If those two are out, it will be a long day against Detroit.
I thought for awhile Joe Barry had returned against the Jags. But the columnist made it look like it was the Packers defense solely at fault. Trevor Lawrence is good and the Packers played into his hands. I was surprised there weren't more blitzes called.
A win is a win.
Guam
October 28, 2024 at 08:57 am
Local paper said today that Love pulled a groin muscle on the first series of the game. It is not a repeat of his MCL injury, but a new injury that resulted from an awkward move while throwing a pass on the run. Most groin pulls take at least 2-3 weeks to heal so he looks unlikely for Detroit.
Too many injuries right before a big North Division game.......
dblbogey
October 28, 2024 at 09:52 am
We'd been pretty lucky with injuries this year, until now. Losing Evan Williams for likely 3-4 weeks is a big blow, and I haven't heard anything but Jaire looked like he was hurt late in the game. I didn't really understand the Rasul Douglas trade last year, giving up a decent CB and a 5th just to get a 3rd? We sure could use Rasul right now.
GregC
October 28, 2024 at 07:24 am
Kind of a cranky column on the day after a win. Clearly it was not a good day for the defense, especially considering that Jacksonville was down two WRs by the end of it, but still, Trevor Lawrence is really talented, and when he gets rolling, they can put up some points.
I don't get all of the criticism of Matt LaFleur for this game. When Love got knocked out the Packers were behind, and I thought they were in big trouble having to switch to a different offense with Malik Willis coming in. I was impressed that they were able to instantly switch into Willis mode and score a TD on his first possession. That's a credit to Matt LaFleur, and it's not something to be taken for granted. I'm excited that they can be a power running team when they need to be. Also, that long pass to Jayden Reed that won the game was a brilliant call on second down.
murf7777
October 28, 2024 at 09:06 am
I agree Greg, I don’t get the the level of criticism either. Malpractice? Come on, not this writer or any of us posters know how Love was feeling and what discussions were had between the two. In addition, we won the damn game in FL where we always seem to struggle to get a victory. Not only that, Mlf showed to be aware and have his team prepared on the final drive making sure his RB’s knew to go down and not go into a TD.
Starrbrite
October 28, 2024 at 09:43 am
Agree
Brockrice99
October 28, 2024 at 07:29 am
Quay Walker has taken a lot of hate this year for poor play, but when he is not on the field the defense has not played well, I think his presence on the field is important to the success of this defense.
Coldworld
October 28, 2024 at 08:19 am
The question with Walker is role and what comes behind. I thought McDuffie played far too much. I was fairly happy with Wilson. McDuffie in coverage just isn’t good. The problem is that both Cooper and Hopper are smaller and the Jags are a good running team but also now have their main TE back, in Engram.
Brockrice99
October 29, 2024 at 11:02 am
I'm more saying this not regarding play style, but Quay is our Green Dot. He communicates with Haffley and sets the defense up based on the call, which is a very important job that he has been doing all season and offseason working with Haffley. So, that is where I think we miss him, where he is directing people where to be lined up and setting up the defense to be in a position to make plays.
T7Steve
October 28, 2024 at 08:05 am
Didn't Josh Jacobs, walk off the field towards the end, limping too? I hope he's alright.
Coldworld
October 28, 2024 at 08:20 am
Yes. Maybe some cramp if we are lucky?
Coldworld
October 28, 2024 at 08:14 am
LaFleur didn’t sit Love, Love took himself off, even LaFleur admitted Love told him he couldn’t go on. It was visibly obvious for most of the first half that Love could not operate effectively, even on hand offs, his velocity was down and he kept re-tweaking his injury. The O was a lot of run with slow motion hand offs giving the D time and lobbed passes.
Just terrible head coaching in terms of the season and Love’s welfare, which is bound up with that. Willis being able to hand off at full speed alone improved the run game. Yet LaFleur refused to open the playbook for Willis too. Meanwhile Hafley again overplayed Nixon and went to soft zone coverage as well. In this game he lost the in game adjustment battle convincingly and he needs to trust Valentine and even Stokes on the outside. The rush was largely neutered.
A very bad day for our coaches overcome by the players in the end. I have faith that Hafley will bounce back, but his tendency to go soft should now have 3 strikes: Eagles, Vikings, yesterday, and be consigned to the bin. As to LaFleur, we will see what damage he did in how quickly Love can be back to full mobility.
If he rolls out an immobile Love next week then we will lose that game and we may end up losing our season if Love aggravates things further. Willis could have beaten the Jags. If Love had taken himself out earlier, probably more easily. That Love should have to force that call himself is a damning indictment of LaFleur.
If Willis starts, we may as well trust him to pass consistently. It may not work, but it just might. Playing him with training wheels or a hobbled Love will not beat Detroit. Perhaps Saleh can break that to his buddy, because he needs a talking to after yesterday.
GregC
October 28, 2024 at 11:53 am
I remember when Love got hurt in the season opener, you said that now we are going to find out what kind of coach Matt LaFleur is. The Packers then won two games with their lowly regarded backup QB, Malik Willis, using a radically different offensive game plan that emphasized his strengths while protecting against his weaknesses. Your response was to complain that LaFleur was too conservative. Now they have won a third game with Willis, and you are still not satisfied with LaFleur. Apparently you think the Packers should be racking up blowout wins with their backup QB.
I think LaFleur's cautious approach makes sense for the most part, and regardless of the play calling, he has done a great job of getting Willis prepared for games. I would like to see them open up the offense next week if Willis plays, but I'm not sure they will. Ball control may be the best strategy, rather than getting into a track meet with the Lions.
Coldworld
October 28, 2024 at 01:22 pm
The Lions under Campbell are going to try to rack up as many points as they can as fast as they can. One, that’s their mindset and two, they know that their D is a weakness. I do not think you have a choice but to plan on a track meet, unless you think that our D can shut their O down on the ground as well as in the air? That’s asking a great deal in my opinion. Too much to be a rational expectation.
GregC
October 28, 2024 at 02:09 pm
Yep, this could easily get out of hand if the Lions score a couple of TDs early. But I'm thinking the Packers should at least TRY to slow things down and keep the Lions offense from getting into a rhythm. On defense, the Packers will probably need at least a couple turnovers to win this one.
Packerpasty
October 28, 2024 at 05:48 pm
they have to get to Goff early and often..he's basically a statue back there but is smart and stays in his pocket made by the Lions excellent O line...not many teams get to him but if they do it seems to rattle him..at least a bit...he's having an MVP year so far thats for sure...
jurp
October 28, 2024 at 08:26 am
"Detroit" and "juggernaut" are two words I've never seen next to each other before.
Guam
October 28, 2024 at 08:52 am
Cookie for Jurp!
mnbadger
October 28, 2024 at 09:05 am
Agreed, but until we knock them down 2x per season, we'll have to live with it as well as they're playing.
GPG
Packerpasty
October 28, 2024 at 09:59 am
I guess we'll soon see how much of a "juggernaut" they are...ill say this, they dont seem to play down to inferior opponents, they usually hammer them.
Coldworld
October 28, 2024 at 10:01 am
Well, for 30 years it was what ran over them most games in a season.
The thing about that game was that Goff really didn’t have to do much and they still put up 50.
stockholder
October 28, 2024 at 11:39 am
It happened because Gute let it happen.
How ? - Poor planning!
Campbell is a good ILB.
And Brian Branch is now one of the NFLs
best safeties, after moving from the nickel.
RCPackerFan
October 28, 2024 at 08:59 am
GAME BALLS
Edgerrin Cooper —
I don't know how he doesn't get to play every snap. He is too good to be on the sidelines. He does it all. Plays the run well, plays the pass well, rushes well, tackles well. He deserves to be a full time player.
Malik Willis —
What more can be said. This is the 3rd game that Willis has played meaningful snaps. And we have 3 wins with him. I truly think we have 3 losses with any of the other QBs that we would have had.
Josh Jacobs —
Jacobs is the smash mouth RB who breaks tackles and can make the explosive runs at any time. Some of the best runs that he has had were when he had nowhere to go, and he would get 4+ yards on it. Jacobs is a perfect RB for GB.
Side note. I still can't wait to see Lloyd come back. I think he will be a tremendous compliment to Jacobs.
Tucker Kraft —
For all the talk about other TE's around the league, Kraft is quickly becoming one of the upper echelons of TE's. He is a great blocker, he is a great receiver and when he gets the balls, he just finds ways to get yards after the catch.
Jayden Reed —
While he didn't have a great game. He had 1 catch, 1 drop until the final drive. He then snagged that 51 yard pass to set up the game winning FG.
UNSUNG HERO
Chris Brooks —
The final drive Josh Jacobs wasn't in there, and the player they had in there was Brooks. He made some great blocks, but he made the game winning play. He did not score a TD. He has never scored a TD in the NFL and he gave up a TD to allow GB to run the time down and get the game winning FG.
LAME CALLS
Injuries —
There were way too many injuries yesterday. Love was hurt and clearly wasn't the same. Evans getting hurt killed the secondary. They had to put Bullard back at S and he struggled. And then had to move Nixon to Slot and bring in Vallentine/Stokes. The defense wasn't nearly as good when they did that. At the end of the game Alexander got hurt.
Hopefully none of these injuries are lingering.
FINAL WHISTLES
"As was the case last week and for much of the season, the Packers are finding ways to win, and that cannot be undervalued."
This to me is the biggest thing i see with this team. When they don't have their best performance they still find ways to win. Offensively they weren't great and we still scored 30 points.
NFLfan
October 28, 2024 at 09:10 am
Were the Packers fully prepared to play this 'lesser' team?
Love never fully recovered, I think we have overlooked that large brace on his left leg. My guess is his left MCL gets re-inflamed during games and results in tightness. Matt and the fans should give the guy some grace and let him heal. The bi-week is coming up, but it may take longer than 3 weeks.
Some info on ligament healing:
"Tendons and ligaments have a very poor blood supply meaning that they do not have any blood vessels that travel through them, which is what makes them very strong and resistant to stretch. This is also why the do not heal quickly, because they lack a direct blood supply. The materials that they need to heal are supplied to the body in the blood, and then are transferred to the tissue thru the fluid that leaves the blood flow carrying the needed materials. Therefore, ligaments and tendons need to be constantly "bathed" with this fluid since they do not have a direct blood supply within them as muscles do. This is why they take longer to heal than muscle"
Game Balls:
Malik, E. Cooper, Romeo, E. Williams, Kraft, McManus
Perhaps Hafley will give a shout-out to Saleh
Doug_In_Sandpoint
October 28, 2024 at 09:38 am
My lame call: multiple posters calling it bi-week. Two weeks from now may be my bi-week, but it is the Packers bye-week.
Doug_In_Sandpoint
October 28, 2024 at 10:52 am
Ok. I take it back. (But I was only kidding)
greengold
October 28, 2024 at 09:45 am
Hat's off to you, Jonathan, for recognizing Cooper, Jacobs, Willis and Kraft YAC & Cheese. Also for hitting LaFleur with the negative, deservedly so, for putting Jordan Love back out onto the field injured as he was.
As for Hafley? Losing Evan Williams the way he did hurt this defense, as it would any defense. Evan has an 89.4 Overall Grade at PFF, amongst the highest of all Safeties in the NFL, with the Rookie's #8 ranking.
I felt the officials kept their flags in their pockets more often than not, and our pass rush wasn't as effective as it could have been. Adding to that, I believe JAX is being mischaracterized as a weak team. They showed us just how potent they were with a steady stream of solid talent stepping in readily for their many injured stars on the day. After the game, Dontayvion Wicks mentioned how there really aren't any bad teams in the NFL, as the players are in the 1% of the best in the world. He added, they all get paid... alluding to the "any given Sunday," nature of the NFL. JAX has been stockpiling the best of the best, at the top of NFL drafts for years, and I thought that showed readily on Sunday. Felt this was a trap of trap games, and that they were far better than their record indicated.
The Packers did well to dodge that bullet.
I thought there were also some positives on the coaching side, and I give Matt LaFleur credit where credit is due, not unlike criticism. His team looked pretty damned sharp, with a mere 3 penalties on the day. They suffered adversity in losing JL to injury, as well as Evan Williams, and they rallied for the W, against a highly talented team at home.
Myself, I was barking immediately following the game about the GB OL run & pass blocking, and have to admit after reviewing some key plays, I was in error on some of that. Rasheed Walker's seal block while pulling with Jenkins for Josh Jacobs' long TD run was a thing of beauty. Myers also showed improved run blocking vs. a tough D front.
Kraft YAC & Cheese also gets a nod for his block on the game breaking Willis throw to Reed. THAT's why you draft a complete TE. A stellar block by Tucker Kraft.
Wisma Packer
October 28, 2024 at 09:52 am
OK, Packers played down to its opponent yesterday.
I choose to believe that Packers will play UP to their opponent next Sunday. Packers 34, Lions 27.
GPG!
Packerpasty
October 28, 2024 at 09:55 am
they've played down to their opponents way too many times...thats on the coach.
Packerpasty
October 28, 2024 at 09:53 am
Lame calls....MLF and the coaching staff...which I think is the third best coach and staff in this conference, only above the Bears....you saw what the Lions do to lesser teams, its time for the Packers to actually be ready for an opponent and play at a high level...hope its next week or it could get ugly...MLF has periods where he coaches at a high innovative level and then there are frequent lapses where ya just gotta scratch your head about his decisions....and then theres Love and some of his decisions...let him get fully healthy start Willis against the Lions at least then there will be an excuse if Pack gets hammered...
tobinrote
October 28, 2024 at 09:59 am
I know i am being irrational, but i have never been on the Love bandwagon, thinking him a mostly solid mit-tier qb, but yesterday not even that given that his injuries would not let him make many even moderately good throws. and Willis just comes in and delivers.... the guy is all upside.... but the most telling thing to me yesterday is just how much number 33 means to the team. without him the whole D seemed to revert to unable to get off the field form. imagine a rookie that crucial, quietly on the D side of the ball, to exaggerate a bit what the superhero Jayden Daniels brings to make Washington now a contender for the next 15 years. and with Cooper showing his stuff with only a minor glitch here and there, we should not be seeing that much more of the Walker playiing more that situationally which will be a big improvement for the D. I will warm up to Love once he can routinely make routine throws, and one he stops throwing into coverage locking in a receiver and not scanning the field. a real test nest week, can we even be competitive: a lot depends on whether 33 is good togo
Starrbrite
October 28, 2024 at 10:15 am
Next week I believe the Packers will remind the Lions we are as good or better than they; even with our injury situation.
Someone apparently convinced Packer fans the Jags are a crappy team. They are a talented team and were picked by many to win their division. This was a good win.
The handwringing over Love playing with his injury is nauseating. Pro athletes are/must be—warriors.
Cooper needs to play full-time.
Hail to 9-man H.S. football—Tucker Kraft (and me).
Next week Van Ness becomes Hutchinson…
Gi Packer!!!
greengold
October 28, 2024 at 11:31 am
"Someone apparently convinced Packer fans the Jags are a crappy team."
You're right, Starrbright. JAX lost to MIA in Week 1, a pretty damn good team at the time, in MIA by just 3 points. Lost to CLE by 5 at home. Were slaughtered by a white hot Bills team in BUF. Lost to a white hot HOU team by 4 points. Beat IND. Lost badly to CHI in CHI. Beat NE 32-16 prior to playing GB at home.
We were fortunate to win v. JAX. That is a talent stacked team that we faced yesterday. They clearly had multiple weapons to turn to when their 2 starting WRs went down.
I had wondered why our Packers pass rush struggled to get home... JAX LT Cam Robinson's blocking efficiency rating is the lowest in his 8 year career at 95.2 ... He's a great LT who surrendered sacks only to Miles Garrett (#3 Overall EDGE) and Keon White (#22 Overall EDGE), 2 each. Their Guards rank well ahead of both Sean Rhyan & Elgton Jenkins, and their C, Mitch Morse, blows #37th ranked Josh Myers away.
JAX has been stockpiling top talents over years of high draft order slotting. They get paid to play too, and it showed.
Tank Bigsby holds an 82 PFF grade Overall in the Run for 2024. The Packers D held him to his 2nd lowest mark on the season at 66.7.
I totally agree with you on Edgerrin Cooper getting more snaps, and I'd love for the real Lukas Van Ness to stand up. It is time for that light switch to go ON! DET OL has given up 11 sacks this season. The Packers OL has surrendered only 6... 2 by Walker, 3 by Rhyan, 1 by Tom.
As Kevin Green once said, "It is time."
Starrbrite
October 28, 2024 at 01:06 pm
An excellent post Greengold
Packerpasty
October 28, 2024 at 05:55 pm
Im pretty sure the real LVN has been standing up...and getting pushed around..obvious by now he's not what Gutes thought he would be especially being drafted up where he was...come on people grasp reality..what you see is what you got.
GregC
October 28, 2024 at 12:03 pm
A lot of fans spend the week before a game studying the opponent's weaknesses and convincing themselves that this will be a blowout win for the Packers. Then when it doesn't happen, they are outraged, and even when it does happen, they think it should've been MORE of a blowout. Making a realistic assessment of opposing teams is not something that fans are good at. Just look at those embarrassing Around the NFC North articles that appear on this site every week, telling us how terrible our division rivals are, even when they are winning. This is what a lot of fans want to read. I gave up reading them a couple weeks ago because they just got too silly.
Starrbrite
October 28, 2024 at 01:07 pm
We’ll said
Starrbrite
October 28, 2024 at 01:07 pm
Wups—meant well said
Packerpasty
October 28, 2024 at 05:53 pm
"Van Ness becomes Hutchinson"...hahaha...I needed that chuckle this afternoon...good one...I just hope I hear his name called at least once by the announcers....I want some of your kool aid!
Starrbrite
October 28, 2024 at 06:22 pm
Believe Pasty—Believe!!! Tsk tsk
Houndog
October 28, 2024 at 10:19 am
Note to Jonathan,
Willis was not an in-season emergency pick-up, he was traded for before the final cuts!
Just sayin"!
LambeauPlain
October 28, 2024 at 12:17 pm
No, he wasn't. Willis was on the Packers radar since he was drafted two years ago. He was a pre-draft crush of some "draft experts" to sneak into the first round.
Even though he "dropped" to the 3rd, Gutey indicated he was on their board (but not on day 2).
McManus? Now that was a 5 alarm fire "in-season emergency pick-up"!
dark41
October 28, 2024 at 11:59 am
It's easy to forget that there are 2 teams playing every game, not only our Packers. I don't believe in trap games. Every NFL team can win on any given Sunday. I believe that this makes 5 of the Jags' losses by 1 score. They could be 6-2 instead of 2-6 with a single play or 2 in each of those losses. I credit the Jags with nearly pulling off the win on their home turf vs a good GB team. They made plays on both sides of the ball and had a sound game plan for the Packers.
I don't blame MLF for playing Love as long as he did. No way he could have known Love's status until Love actually went down. I do question what Hafley was thinking by playing so much soft zone - felt like Joe Barry was back in the box, especially in the 4th quarter. Lawrence consistently found soft spots in those zones. Having said that, Lawrence was getting rid of the ball quickly all game, so unlikely blitzing with press man coverage would have fared any better.
Bottom line for me is that we can't take any team lightly, especially in their house. I'm impressed that the Packers showed again that they can find ways to win games, regardless of injuries. I think McManus and McKinney deserve game balls. Go Pack go! :)
Starrbrite
October 28, 2024 at 01:09 pm
Bam—Right On Dark41
CanPackFan
October 28, 2024 at 12:53 pm
For the life of me, I cannot figure out the following from the win this week - (1) Why isn't Carrington Valentine playing over Stokes? Stokes looked awful. Did Valentine piss in Hadleys' cornflakes? Did he have a leg amputated? Mind boggling... (2) Why isn't Cooper getting more snaps? He's our best LB. In my mind, this was poor decision making by Hadley. I sure hope Gutes can find us some D help? And I hope Hadley plays his most productive personnel...?
NFLfan
October 28, 2024 at 02:08 pm
NBC reporting (20 minutes ago) that an MRI showed Love avoided a major groin injury.
4thand10
October 28, 2024 at 07:17 pm
Its my understanding that Valentine and Alexander have been dealing with injuries for a number of weeks.Bullard is a safety and was more or less thrusted into the role of CB… so “ juking him out of his jock “ is a bit unfair… its not his natural position. This isnt the capers style defense where safeties play corner and LBs play corner….just saying. They olay fast usually because its their natural positions… just like any other football team. No more generic terms of “DBs” that play any position… and im thankful for that because it was a total mess when that was going on. Hafley most likely was forced to do zone based on injuries so i dont falt him. Bad game…sure. Bad defense… No. Next year when there is more beef up front and maybe a CB in the draft we wont be taliking crazy.
On Lafluer… I agree, however they thought Love could go. The game plan was bit laxed. Love was under pressure and the WRs weren’t getting open. Jax has good corners and Doug Peterson is a pretty good coach as well. I remember him playing for GB. The guy has a ton of football knowledge.
This team needs to get healthy. Im sure if Love cant go there will be a good plan in place for Willis. Willis jumped into the game without a game plan which LaFluer admitted. I liked how GB baited Jax into the run game and “ Willis wont throw” facade and then….. boom …downfield to #11. Just perfect.