With Seattle’s beatdown of New England complete, the NFL season has finally come to an end. With that in mind, it becomes time to figure out what the Green Bay Packers need to do so that they’re the team delivering a Super Bowl beatdown of their own.
If the Packers wanted to take any lesson from the Seahawks victory, as well as their own loss in the playoffs, then the top priority should be very obvious.
Packers Have To Improve In The Trenches.
While blaming special teams has been the main hobby of Packers fans this year (myself included) the line play might be the bigger culprit. Too many times in losses this year the Packers couldn’t run the ball consistently enough to salt away leads. The two losses to Chicago are the biggest examples. But even in some wins the games were closer than they should’ve been because Green Bay couldn’t run out the clock.
So what do the Packers need to do to fix it? The first thing is letting Jordan Morgan play the position he was drafted as. With Rasheed Walker likely departing in free agency, the Packers need Morgan to step in and be an upgrade. Packers GM Brian Gutekunst mentioned wanting to continue to cross train Morgan, but hopefully the coaching staff leans into giving Morgan as much time as possible at LT.
Assuming Morgan starts and Zach Tom returns healthy, there are still a lot of questions about the interior of the line. Elgton Jenkins likely won’t be back, and Sean Rhyan could be gone as well. If he goes then the options at center are Jacob Monk and that’s about it. In an ideal world Green Bay goes out and signs Tyler Linderbaum, but I expect at least one draft pick if not more devoted to that position.
The defensive line is in a similar spot. Rashan Gary may or may not be on the team, and Lukas Van Ness hasn’t shown enough to be comfortable penciling him in as a starter. The Packers have Micah Parsons and Devonte Wyatt both coming off serious injuries, and then it’s basically second year players and rookies possibly. Like the offensive line, I expect the defensive line to be another focus of the draft and free agency.
The Packers Need To Resume Their Quest for A Kicker
It was fun while it lasted. After an exceptional debut season with Green Bay last year, Brandon McManus came crashing back down to Earth in year two.
You don’t need any sort of advanced metric to know that’s bad. While I can’t recommend a draft pick being spent after the Carlson disaster, the Packers need to do everything they can to bring in competition this season for a position that did cost the team multiple games last year.
A New Corner or Two Probably Wouldn’t Hurt
I’m going to keep this brief because A. This has been talked about constantly, and B. I don’t think it’s as big as a concern as others. The corner play in the back half of the season especially fell off a cliff. This can be attributed to poor personnel of course, but also with the degradation of the pass rush post Wyatt and then Parsons. If Green Bay can shore up the defensive line and return to consistent pressure with four guys, I think they can get away with below average talent at corner.
That being said it would be beneficial to bring in at least one guy, whether via free agency or the draft. A reunion with former first round pick Eric Stokes may even make sense after he had a solid year in Oakland. Regardless of where it comes from, adding another body makes sense both from a talent and depth standpoint, and I expect the Packers to do something with the group.
A Rabbit’s Foot, Horseshoes, 4-Leaf Clovers, A Swarm of Lady Bugs.
Nobody want’s to hear this, but luck is as much a part of a successful Super Bowl run as anything else. The Patriots faced an absurdly easy schedule, then their toughest opponent in the AFC playoffs lost their QB the game prior. Seattle benefited from being lucky that the Vikings are morons and let their best QB walk out the door. Additionally the Seahawks were one of the healthiest teams in the league.
Coaches love to preach next man up, but at the end of the day there are guys you simply can’t lose. There are real flaws with this Packers roster, but nothing hurt them more this year than simple bad luck. Bad bounces and bad injuries killed Green Bay this season. Hopefully it averages out next year.
