The Green Bay Packers are halfway through the season having just finished their bye week. Later today, the Packers will faceoff against the Chicago Bears in a week 11 matchup. Yet, I wonder, have the Packers finally answered my top five questions from the beginning of the year? We visited those five questions twice already and I think it is time to update my responses to those questions.
Click here for part one and here for part two if you’ve not read those yet.
Now, it’s time for our midseason response to those questions. Here is part three:
Packers Questions Number Five – Jeff Hafley’s Defense
To begin the year, there was a ton of wonder and curiosity as to what Jeff Hafley’s defense would look like. Well, this question, I believe, has been answered for the most part.
We really should have seen it coming honestly with his background as a defensive backs coach but the best part of this defense has been the corners and safeties. But here’s the thing, it’s not always about the x’s and o’s but about the Joe’s and when the Packers lost Jaire Alexander and Evan Williams for a couple of games, their secondary looked more pedestrian. So, even though Hafley’s defense is designed to let the secondary dictate a game, the players still matter considerably.
Other notes for this defense: Xavier McKinney is the leader and soul of this defense. The run game has been average at best and mostly inconsistent which hasn’t change since part two. And finally, Eric Stokes and Quay Walker are probably not going to get any better at this point and are just serviceable players at best. Edgerrin Cooper already looks night and day better than Walker.
Number Four – Packers’ Run Game
I quite honestly could just copy and paste everything I said from the part two article and just update the stats. I will add that Josh Jacobs probably could use a few extra carries per game. Since the Packers played the Cardinals, Josh Jacobs has averaged 17 carries per game. However, that does include an outlier game against the Jaguars where he rushed 25 times. It drops to 14 per game with that one not apart of the equation.
As mentioned in number five, the Packers’ run defense has been leaky. However, apparently so has everyone’s run defense. The Packers are currently ranked 9th in the NFL having allowed 1017 rushing yards in nine games. That’s 113 rushing yards given up in every game on average. It still needs a lot of help.
Number Three – Safety Rotation
I’m going to keep this one short. Xavier McKinney and Evan Williams are the Packers starting safeties. Evan Williams injury made the defense look quite a bit worse. Javon Bullard is okay in a pinch but he should definitely keep developing as the slot corner. This will keep Keisean Nixon on the outside over Eric Stokes and Carrington Valentine which surprisingly hasn’t been the worst thing.
Number Two – Who Is The Number One Receiver?
Welp, I had this one wrong from part two. I was positive that I knew who the Packers number one wide receiver was. I said it was Jayden Reed… and Tucker Kraft. However, ever since I proclaimed Reed the number one, Reed’s reception totals dropped to 3.75 per game. He has been averaging 51.5 yards per game with a low of 10 against the Texans. Did I jinx him?
All of that being said, in the last game against the Lions, he had 113 receiving yards. So maybe, I’m still right… I don’t know.
And that’s the Packers for ya. I think that’s what they want. They want us and their opponents, mostly their opponents, not to know who the “guy” is for any given game. I bet they keep it that way.
Packers Questions Number One – Jordan Love Still?
This season hasn’t been the best for Jordan Love. I mean it hasn’t been terrible but Love has been dealing with a few different injuries. The young quarterback has also had an interception problem. Have those interceptions been all of his fault? No, but it is still a problem.
Love still hasn’t been able to play consistent as mentioned in part two and so evaluating Love’s play this year has been limited. He has all of the skills available to him to be great, he just needs a chance to prove it.
With the Packers playing the Bears at noon today, Love will have a great opportunity to keep his ownership stake in the Bear’s franchise. Let’s hope we see that and some more consistency.
Also, please no picks.
Go Pack Go!
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Damon is a diehard, fully-immersed cheesehead who currently lives in southern Missouri. He teaches at a local high school and has a family YouTube channel about all things Packers. You can follow him on twitter at @packersfamily and on YouTube at The Packers Family.
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