Packers Twitter is always a cesspool of negativity after a loss, but this week we reached close to peak negativity. Following the loss, normally rational fans and analysts were already writing off Jordan Love and Matt LaFleur. Podcasts and articles galore explored the possibility of hiring a new head coach, drafting a QB with the first pick, and maybe even moving on from Brian Gutekunst. We need to pump the brakes a little here. There’s close to 0% chance that the team will be moving on from LaFleur and/or Gutey, they haven’t even moved on from Joe Barry and the defense has been trash for three years. Maybe Jordan Love will be the QB next year, maybe not, but for now we probably have 11 more games with him. So, we may as well focus on some Packers positives. Until and unless the season turns around, I’m going to devote this space to going over Packers positives each week.

  • Many former starting and backup QBs were just fine with Jordan Love’s performance. This includes the Kurt brothers, Benkert and Warner, and JT O’Sullivan, who have pointed out that Love is making good decisions and good throws, but the offensive structure and the other ten guys on offense are letting him down. Sure, he’s been inaccurate more than you’d like, and he’s thrown the ball up for grabs more often than Aaron Rodgers (spoiler alert so has every other QB in NFL history), but he isn’t playing like a Zach Wilson or Blaine Gabbert type full-on bust. The next step for the Packers is to figure out a way to shore up the pass blocking (get Love on the move, use Yosh Nijman, more play action, etc.) and get Love a veteran wide receiver or tight end who he can depend on and who will whip the other receivers on the team into shape.
  • Zach Tom is a certified stud. He’s the 9th ranked tackle per PFF season to date and actually has a higher run block grade than pass block grade. He is definitely the right tackle of the future and all he cost was a 4th round pick.
  • AJ Dillon had his strongest game of the season against Denver. He showed burst, power, and decisiveness. This AJ Dillon combined with Aaron Jones being healthy changes the whole offensive dynamic.
  • We all know that Rashan Gary is having a strong comeback from his ACL year, less known is that Rasul Douglas is having a career year. He got beaten by one double move earlier in the season but other than that he’s probably been the second-best player on defense. He’s the 7th best graded corner on PFF. If the Packers defense goes in a different direction in the future, either in this season or next, and starts to focus on more man coverage, Jaire and Rasul are a great pairing.

Mike Price is a lifelong Packers fan currently living in Utah. You can follow him on twitter at @themikeprice.

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