State of the Packers Address

The 2018-19 season finally ended, and whether you like them or not, the New England Patriots are once again on top. I am sure that the majority of you cannot stand New England, but they know how to get it done, and every other team, including our beloved Green Bay Packers, are looking up at them and trying to find ways to be the team that will be the last one standing in February.
 

The Packers had quite a season, although the negatives outweigh the positives. They finished the season 6-9-1 and out of the playoffs for the second year in a row. Let’s go back and look at some of the highlights and lowlights of their 100th season.

Win of the Year:

With only six wins the whole year, unfortunately it is not a big sample size, but what else could it be? The Packers kicked off the season on a Sunday night at Lambeau Field vs the Chicago Bears. After the Bears jumped out to an early lead, it looked like the Packers were in big trouble during the game itself and possibly for the rest of the season as Aaron Rodgers went down with a knee injury that appeared that it could possibly be season-ending. Amazingly, Rodgers came out and played the second half and delivered one of the most thrilling comeback wins in Packer history, at least for the regular season as they overcame a 20-0 deficit to win 24-23 and start their season 1-0.

Honorable Mention:

On a Monday night in October, the Packers hosted the San Francisco 49ers, who were playing without their star quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. Instead of a comfortable win for the Packers, they were in for a battle on this night. The 49ers had a 30-23 lead late in the fourth quarter, but Rodgers started to get hot and found Davante Adams in the endzone late in the game to tie the score. Quarterback C. J. Beathard, possibly wanting to go for it all late in the game, threw an ill-advised pass into coverage that was intercepted by Kevin King. Rodgers, given new life after a SF penalty on third down, scrambled up the middle for 21 yards before spiking the ball and then delivering three clutch completions, all on sideline passes before Mason Crosby kicked the game-winner for a 33-30 final score.

I picked the above game over the thrilling 44-38 overtime road win over the New York Jets because the Packers were already out of playoff contention by then.

Most Deflating Loss of the Year:

All Packer losses are deflating, but some hurt more than others. In my opinion, the most deflating loss had to have been the 29-27 defeat to the Los Angeles Rams. Coming off a bye week, the Packers were trying to get some huge confidence-boosting wins after that win on Monday night vs the 49ers the week before the bye. After the Rams kicked a go-ahead field goal with under two minutes remaining, the Packers had a timeout in their possession and needed only a field goal to win it and stun the eventual NFC Champions. Instead, Ty Montgomery, who ran the ball out on the ensuing kickoff instead of taking a knee when he was two yards deep in the endzone, fumbled the ball away and ended any hope of a comeback. I really think that this was the beginning of the end of the Packers’ season. It’s quite possible that they would have missed the playoffs anyway, but you never know what could have happened had they defeated the Rams, who were undefeated at the time. Instead, they lost in such heartbreaking fashion and went 3-6 the rest of the way. Ty Montgomery was traded to the Baltimore Ravens during the week of this loss.

(Dis)Honorable Mention:

The Packers completed a stretch of four road games in five weeks, going 1-4 and losing all four of their road games during this period. They returned home to face the lowly Arizona Cardinals, who were ranked dead last in both rushing and passing offense coming into this game. The Packers were having their own struggles at times, but surely they would handle a team like Arizona and keep their fading playoff hopes alive, right? What happened instead was the nail in the coffin to their season as they lost 20-17 after Mason Crosby missed a field goal at the end that would have tied the game. The offense was just pathetic and the defense couldn’t get off the field at critical times during the game. Mike McCarthy was finally let go a few hours after the game. Joe Philbin would take over and coach the remaining four games, where he would go 2-2.

When the Packers began the season, they were coming off a 7-9 campaign where Aaron Rodgers missed a huge chunk of the season with a broken collarbone. Dom Capers was finally shown the door and Ted Thompson was reassigned. With a new general manager and defensive coordinator in place, and with Rodgers finally ready to go for the season, there were high hopes that the team would contend once again. We instead were treated to a flawed roster, greatly weakened by mediocre (at best) drafting and bad free agent additions during the few times Ted Thompson actually went that route. Also, it was clear that Mike McCarthy had overstayed his welcome in Green Bay. It was time for a change.

A little more than a week after their season ended, they found their next head coach in Matt LaFleur, who was the offensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans. He worked under Sean McVay, the Rams’ head coach, and once coached under Mike Shanahan. He hired Nathaniel Hackett to be his offensive coordinator and kept Mike Pettine, who had just finished his first season as the Packers’ defensive coordinator.

The coaching staff is in place, but what about the roster? Davante Adams has proven his worth as a receiver, but there are a lot of question marks at that position. Will Randall Cobb be back? Can Geronimo Allison return from his injury and be a solid #2 receiver? Will the young rookies take a huge step in their second year? Will TE Jimmy Graham be back, and if he is back, will he finally play like the guy we thought we would be getting? I think Aaron Jones is one of the most explosive running backs in the league. Jamaal Williams is a great compliment to him. We could always use a solid #3 running back. The offensive line is decent when everyone is healthy, but we need depth in that area. We also need pass rushers. The young secondary showed promise at times, but we need to find a safety or two. We need a defense that will force turnovers, something that was severely lacking in 2018.
 

Finally, we need Aaron Rodgers to bounce back in 2019. He has played through injuries and has produced a few thrilling moments, but his reputation has taken a huge hit last season. His accuracy seemed to be way off, and his inability to make plays at crucial moments in games cost the Packers dearly. Not too many people are calling Rodgers the G.O.A.T. (Greatest of all Time) anymore. Tom Brady just won his sixth Super Bowl, Drew Brees is still getting it done, Patrick Mahomes just won his first MVP Award, and others like Jared Goff are just getting warmed up. For the Packers to contend in 2019, Rodgers has to at least be in the conversation for the League MVP Award. It has been eight years since Rodgers and the Packers won Super Bowl XLV. At the time, it looked like they were just getting started, but they haven’t been back to the Super Bowl since then. Since 1992, we have had either Brett Favre or Aaron Rodgers but have only two Super Bowl Titles to show for it. We know that this opportunity will not last forever. We want more Vince Lombardi Trophies added to the collection.

We will have to wait and see. Hopefully Matt LaFleur is the coach that we need and Brian Gutekunst is the GM who will rebuild this roster and get the players we need to capture more championships. Davante Adams was named to the Pro Bowl and said that he cannot wait to go back there next year. Aaron Rodgers talked to him and said that he will be busy instead, implying that they will be playing in the Super Bowl next year. Can we realistically expect that? Teams have overcome longer odds in recent memory. All I know is that you should bet against Aaron Rodgers at your own risk. He has proven people wrong so many times in the past. He can do it again.

I am excited for next season. There is still a lot of work left to be done, but I really believe that it will be our year again very soon. Take care Packer fans! Next season will be here before you know it.

Go Pack Go!

@DieHardPackrFan #DHPF #GregGoshaw @gg901