What a start to the season. Who would have thought that the Green Bay Packers with a new head coach and offensive scheme, and revamped defense would be 8-2 and sitting atop the NFC North? Well, here we are entering the bye week, leading the division with 6 games to go.
Head Coach Matt Lafleur is keeping his coaching staff in Green Bay for the first part of the week to do some self evaluation while the players head out of town for the bye week. The coaches will spend time a portion of the time self-scouting their counterparts on the other side of the football. The thought is that they will be able to see with fresh eyes what opponents maybe noticing in their game planning sessions.
Even though the Packers are 8-2, there is no shortage of things the team needs to clean up during the bye week for this team to make a deep playoff run.
The offense still seems to lack urgency sometimes. During those points in the game, they get away from what has been working. Then a couple of drives later, the offense will be clicking again. In those moments, they need to stay with Aaron Jones and force opposing defenses to stop him, which that haven’t been able to do. If Sunday afternoon at a snowy Lambeau Field was any indication, Aaron Jones is going to be a key factor in any type of playoff run.
During the bye week, the coaching staff needs to find a WR2 to help compliment Davante Adams. Right now Lazzard is the defacto WR2, but they need more production from him. If they are able to find a consistent second option at wide receiver, that will open things up not only more for the running game but also for Adams.
The third thing that the team needs to improve on during the bye week is special teams. The Packers currently rank 20th in special teams. The punt returns are nothing to write home about. Most of the team they are fair catching the ball or only advancing a few yards. Anytime that they have a huge return whether on kickoffs or punt returns it gets called back. Punter J.K. Scott started out the season well but has been inconsistent since. Mason Crosby on the other hand has been nearly perfect, and a rock in the kicking game after some competition during training camp.
The Packers have had a great start to the season. The defense has done a better job than expected and has won a few games for them. With 6 games remaining in the regular season, hold on to your seats, meaningful football has returned to Green Bay in late November and December. Playoff football is right around the corner and this team is extremely healthy this late in the season. Go Pack Go!!
Anthony Haag is a writer for PackersTalk.com. He has been a Packers fan since the day he was born and truly bleeds green and gold. He makes annual visits to Lambeau Field and has attended his fair share of games. You can follow Anthony on Twitter at @anthony_haag
