After kicking off the season with two dominant performances, the Green Bay Packers find themselves 3rd in the NFC North and 7th in NFC standings. Let’s dive into the biggest problems with this Green Bay Packers team.
The Packers are 5-3-1 with plenty of football left to be played, but the inconsistencies have become this team’s identity. The most important problem, in my humble opinion, starts with the offensive line.
Offensive Line
Yes, the play calling on offense has been hard to watch but, the offensive line has been arguably even harder to watch this season so far. The lack of consistency on the offensive line has caused the run game to suffer.
Packers running back Josh Jacobs currently has 608 yards of rushing on the season. Not bad, but only 99 of those yards are before contact. Jacobs currently averages 0.6 yards before contact per carry.
To put that in perspective, 15 quarterbacks in the league have more yards before contact than Jacobs. Not great.
This is arguably the worst offensive line we have seen in quite some time. Aaron Banks, the free agent signing that was given an absurd contract, has either been hurt or on the field missing blocks.
The problem is the state of the offensive line just got worse. Packer’s center Elgton Jenkins is likely out for the year after suffering a leg fracture in Monday’s game against Philadelphia.
No, Jenkins has not played the best this season, but having to move this line around again is only going to make it harder on this offense.
I believe there are ways for the offensive line to work, but the Packers simply haven’t figured that out yet. I do not think it is an exaggeration to say that the fate of this Green Bay team rides on the ability of the offensive line to play better.
Coaching
Another season, more coaching problems but this time it’s more than just special teams. While the struggles on offense are mostly due to the offensive line, as this prevents the team from balancing the run and pass game, the play calling from Matt LaFleur has been questionable.
Matt LaFleur has yet to find a way to make this offense work, and his job could be in jeopardy if he doesn’t find a way soon.
The lack of creativity along with the questionable decision making has led a lot of people to wonder if Matt LaFleur is the guy to take this team to the promise land.
With the caliber defense this team seems to have, as they just held the Eagles to 10 points, the window is wide open, and Matt LaFleur could potentially waste the potential if the offense keeps failing to show up.
Additionally, one of the more frustrating trends with this coaching staff at the moment is the refusal to put the better player on the field. Specifically, at kicker.
Yes, the Packers paid Brandon McManus a heavier contract this past offseason, which he rightfully earned. However, McManus has been suffering from a quad injury for weeks and has yet to look like himself before the injury.
The Packers have a kicker on the roster who made the franchise long field goal against the Arizona Cardinals, Lucas Havrisik. After making a 61 yarder look easy a few weeks ago, the staff has insisted on rolling out McManus.
The results? Well, McManus has been 1 for 5 between 40-49 yards this season. He’s also missed a kick in seven of his last eight games. Additionally, McManus has only made 64.7% of his kicks this season.
The coaching staff insisted on rolling with him as the starter against the Eagles. During the game, there were opportunities to kick both a 57- and 60-yard field goal, but the Packers elected to punt, only to try a 64-yard desperation kick to tie the game at the end.
The 64-yard attempt from Brandon McManus was shanked. If the coaching staff had played the right player, well the Packers may still be first in the NFC North, and they may not be fighting to stay in the NFC playoff picture.
Special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia was asked about the team’s confidence in McManus. His response, “Why not the confidence in Brandon?” I can think of a few reasons.
Matt LaFleur also has continuously argued for McManus and most recently stated, “We’re confident in Brandon.”
The Packers have lost three games. In those three games they have lost by 3 points in each. That isn’t a coincidence. It’s time to make the change and cut the losses.
Moving Forward
This Packers team looked unstoppable weeks 1 and 2. The team is much different now, with several key players on IR. The potential on defense is out of this world, but the success is being held back by the offense and the coaching.
The Packers will face a very injury depleted Giants team Sunday. Their backs are somewhat against the wall now, with little room for error given the tight race within the NFC.
A bounce back win is in store, but it will likely look like a struggle. The Packers win Sunday 27-17.
