The Best and the Wurst is a weekly series wherein I highlight just a few of the things that stuck out to me in last week’s game.  They are not only or merely the best or wurst players overall, but are merely observations from the game.  Sometimes the considerations aren’t even players at all, but play calls, incidents, or various nonsense.

 

 

Before we begin, let’s take a live look in on Green Bay after the Packers’ have dropped a third straight game, this time to the hapless Lions at home:

The Best

Damarious Randall: Randall is playing lights out. Yes, he secured the onside kick to give the Packers their 102nd chance to beat the Lions in the 4th quarter, but he’s also been shining in coverage for weeks now. On top of that, he made a tackle behind the line of scrimmage against the Lions. Randall was a bright spot for a defense that actually played well yesterday. Had this defensive performance been coupled with an offense from recent seasons, this would have been a blow out. Randall reminds me of a young Charles Woodson.

Ha Ha Clinton-Dix: Clinton-Dix made up for his terrible play last week by showing up in this one. Not only did he make a number of strong tackles, but he was able to make a great interception of Matt Stafford. Unfortunately, the offense did nothing with that turnover.

 

the wurst 3

Aaron Rodgers: If you’re looking for what’s wrong with the Packers’ offense, look no further than Aaron Rodgers. This is not the Aaron Rodgers that we know. This is not the reigning NFL MVP.

After the game, Rodgers stated that he “missed a couple” of throws.

Hmm. How about something closer to 9?

Maybe one of those misses is actually due to miscommunication or a missed holding call on a defensive back, but they all certainly look to be Rodgers’ fault. We’ve seen Rodgers overthrow a receiver every once and awhile. He’s human. But we have not seen him overthrowing receivers on a consistent basis, nor have we seen him throwing balls into the dirt like Donovan McNabb in his prime.

Drops: Many times that Rodgers did make a good throw, the pass was dropped by the receiver. I counted 7 drops, and there would have been even more if one counts drops associated with rough but (called) clean coverage from the Lions.

If you’re trying to figure out what has happened to the Packers’ offense, look no further. Fans can blame play-calling all they want. The fact of the matter is that the Packers normally experience maybe one or two terrible throws or bad drops a game. This offense is absolutely talented enough to accept nothing more. And yet here we are.

Were the quick routes utilized on the first drive effective? Yes, but some of the longer routes called later look like they would have been successful had they actually been executed. McCarthy and Clements have their work cut out for them this week, but they have no more important task than figuring out why their offensive veterans are playing like nervous, inexperienced practice squad rookies.

 

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Taylor O\'Neill is a Packer fan born and raised in Oshkosh, WI. He currently lives in Florida and is pursuing his PhD. Taylor is a writer with PackersTalk.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @TaylorONeill87 for more Packer news.

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