Green Bay Packers Week 11: Studs & Duds

The Green Bay Packers managed to tear the hearts out of their own fan base yet again with another 4th quarter falter against the Seattle Seahawks. Here’s a look at who I thought played well and who did not in Week 11:

Studs:

Aaron Jones

Apparently if you give the ball to Aaron Jones good things will happen. It certainly worked in the first quarter. However, he finished the game with 11 carries. This is completely unacceptable. Jones is likely the most impactful player on this entire offense, and the coaching staff and quarterback have decided to freeze him out.

Kyler Fackrell

Kyler has gone from the butt of every one of my jokes to the most impactful edge rusher on this team. He repeatedly made plays. He doesn’t possess any elite traits, but his instinctiveness has improved so much it is difficult to even recognize him from the previous two years. He went from zero pass rush moves to a slew of impact techniques, plus the counters to go with them. I guess I’m officially starting the Fackrell apology tour.

Robert Tonyan

What a way to make an immediate impact with your first play! I predicted Tonyan would make the roster before the preseason started, but I thought he’d get a few more snaps than he’s received so far this season. He’s got great tools, but what was really inspiring for me was he took off when Rodgers extended the play and got open. That is something many of the young pass catchers have struggled with thus far.

Duds:

Mike McCarthy

I’ve said I think McCarthy is a really good coach a lot in the previous weeks. I still think he is. But this offense is absolutely broken. The play calls take way too long to get in, which leads to things like two wasted timeouts in the second half. And they just forgot to give the ball to Aaron Jones in the 2nd half.

You can get mad at McCarthy for not challenging the pass to Tyler Lockett. That’s fair. But it is ridiculous in a professional sports league that your coach has to tell the officials when they are wrong. Just go to college replay rules because they actually work.

Aaron Rodgers

Take. The. Checkdown. Has Aaron Rodgers never watched Tom Brady play? Brady takes everything the defense gives him. Rodgers must have missed a wide open Aaron Jones 10 times. His decision making has been highly suspect and it appears he is watching the offensive line expecting them to fail. The offenses issues are equally McCarthy and Rodgers fault, so it is time to stop playing the blame game and find solutions.

Green Bay will face a must win game against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday night. A win puts them right back in the playoff picture, while a loss all but mathematically eliminates them. The Packers will have to play significantly better in the fourth quarter to have any chance at staying alive.