Things are looking pretty grim for this Green Bay Packers team with only three games played. The Packers are now 1-2 after having lost to the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday Night. This is not how anyone anticipated the start of the season to go. The last time the Packers started 1-2 in a season was back in 2014.
Maybe history can repeat itself a bit. Back in 2014, Green Bay started the season 1-2. Funnily enough, their one win in that stretch was against a Jets team that they were down 18 points to. The two losses were ugly losses to the Seahawks and the Lions in which the offense couldn’t get anything going.
Sound familiar?
After that rough start, Green Bay was able to rally, fix their offensive woes, and finish the season 12-4. They even found themselves in the NFC championship game – a game which they should have won, but I don’t want to get started on that! This current Packers team needs all of the attention. But history does show us that teams can have terrible starts and turn it around.
So, what does Green Bay need to do to turn it around?
Packers Offense
The fix to the offense isn’t an easy one. It might sound easy: “just fix the offensive line.” But, that’s easier said than done. Fixing the offensive line and building a good one won’t happen in a single season. However, making it serviceable, now, that one isn’t impossible. But to do that, Matt LaFleur is going to have to rethink how this offense runs.
First things first: Brian Gutekunst and Matt LaFleur need to find their starting five and keep them in their positions. No more cross-training for now. The offensive line isn’t settled and can’t find any cohesion. This needs to be done quickly. That doesn’t mean the Packers shouldn’t go out and find some additional help.
On Saturday, Brian Gutekunst signed former first round pick Laken Tomlinson off of the Cowboys practice squad. He is 34 years old but should know his assignments and not get as confused as some of the linemen currently on the roster. Tomlinson has 134 starts under his belt and should be an upgrade to what the Packers already have.
Adding A Guy or Two Just Won’t Do
But, just adding a few players just won’t do. The NFL isn’t Madden. The starting five have to play together. If they don’t, then there won’t be any cohesion along the line. That’s what I mean about finding the starting five and just locking them in. Green Bay hasn’t been able to do that yet. Once they do, it’ll go along way to help this woeful offense.
But the offense itself, as mentioned earlier, needs to change too. LaFleur’s play calling has gone a bit stale as of late, but will need to be more innovative. A quick game approach will be needed for this team to be successful. The Packers made their bed with this offensive line and needs to adapt to it. This o-line won’t be like the Packers offensive lines of old that protected Aaron Rodgers so well. They’ll only be able to give Jordan Love so much time. Meaning, the passing game will need to become a quick passing game.
The Packers did this a bit against the Falcons and it worked. For example, on the drive that ended with a turnover on downs in the redzone, the Packers were able to drive the ball into the redzone using the short-quick passing game. One particular play that caught my eye: Matthew Golden had lined up in the back field with Love. Golden then simply ran to the flat, caught the ball and with his speed turned up the sideline for a big gain.
Really this simple play did two things. First it allowed Love to get the ball out quick and not get hit, which is essential! And, it forced the Falcons to come up closer to the line similar to what an effective run play would do. Which of course, the Packers don’t have.
Packers Missing Run Game
Because of the offensive line problems, the Packers also can’t establish the run game. With Josh Jacobs, Green Bay really wanted to go more toward a power run game attack, but with Jacobs out for a while, they really need to go back to the Packers bread-and-butter, a zone run attack.
Mike McCarthy used to say that the quantity of run attempts is just as important as the quality of runs made. McCarthy’s number was fifteen attempts – not much, but enough to keep the defense honest. The Packers against the Falcons, on Thursday night, only had nine total rushing attempts.
Using a more zone run scheme could do both. It could allow our stable of running backs opportunities to gain yards and still keep the defense honest. But LaFleur will have to come up with opportunities to marry the play action with the zone runs. Right now, the playaction has no bite at all. For proof, see the fourth-and-one attempt against the Falcons. Gervin Dexter Sr, of the Falcons wasn’t blocked at all on the play and instead of making an attempt at the running back, he just made a mad dash toward Love who had the still ball. The play action failed miserably.
The run game needs to be utilized and needs some help.
Offensive Summary
In summary:
- 1. The Packers need some help on the offensive line, but don’t expect much. Adding Laken Tomlinson is a start.
- 2. Green Bay needs to find their starting five and not change anything to develop cohesion. It might be rough for a while while they work things out.
- 3. The offensive line still won’t be good but can be serviceable, so the Packers offense will need to adapt to a short-quick game. This will protect Love while also acting as an extension of the lacking run game.
- 4. Don’t stop trying to run the ball. Running the ball is still necessary; try and get at least fifteen attempts per game.
- 5. Finally, try a more zone-run scheme approach and then marry that to the play action game.
None of this will be easy, but if this season is to be saved, it’s what I believe needs to be done.
Packers Defensive Side
This side is a little easier to fix than the Packers offense. Well, kinda. First, Micah Parsons needs to come back. Lukas Van Ness has looked amazing through the first three weeks of the season but people have been missing it because of how bad the rest of the team has looked. Pair LVN with Micah Parsons, other teams offensive lines might look as bad as the Packers offensive line.
Secondly, for the defense to be improved, the offense needs to be improved. It all comes down to the offense. It’s hard for a great defense to stay great when they are constantly forced to stay on the field because of a lackluster offense that keeps getting three-and-outs. How does this get fixed? Well, see the offensive stuff above.
Thirdly, Keisean Nixon is the most high-low player ever. When he is playing well, he looks like an All-Pro player, when he is playing low, other teams will full on target him. Jonathan Gannon needs to be able to adapt and protect Nixon when he is having an off-game. When he is on point, let Nixon play. The defense has to be able to adapt.
Conclusion
I know this is a lot. And most of it does fall on the offense, but it’s what needs to be done. The Packers were able to do it in 2014 and completely turned their season around. Matter of fact, they were able to do it in 2010 as well and they overcame a ton of injuries. They won the Super Bowl that year. It’s a long season and a lot can change. I didn’t hear no bell.
Did you?
No matter what,
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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