3 Areas of Concern

1. LaFleur has reached the point where he can no longer be defended.
2. The Offensive Line situation was offensive.
3. The NFL is unable to hide their officiating problem any longer.

LaFleur Has 16 Games Left…

…to prove he’s able to close games out against tough opponents. There have been countless games over the course of his tenure where Green Bay was clearly the better team with the lead, late in games, and we’ve come up short. Typically, I’d blame the quarterback for choking, but Love has made the plays in each of these games to win – it’s been the play calling, design, and overall team attitude in such scenarios that have led to the eventual demise. Aside from Sunday where the O-line dictated that not to be on the quarterback. I may have been the last LaFleur defender, and the issue now is he spent the entire offseason talking about “finishing games,” and wanted to be aggressive to prove that he “isn’t conservative” when late in games. The issue I take with this is it’s the same problem; the lack of awareness of when to be over-aggressive vs. when to be smart and conservative. The play in particular came with the Packers leading 22-17 with 13:17 left in the ballgame and the defense had kept the Vikings in check for pretty much the entire game. It didn’t feel necessary, and keeping the points on the board meant the worst-case scenario is your offense gets the ball back late in the 4^th quarter in a tie game – had he chosen to keep the field goal on the board the game would’ve been 25-17 with just over 13 minutes left in the game. It just didn’t feel necessary, and actually felt forced, like he was trying to prove to the team and fans, “Hey, see, I’m going for the win.”

OL Situation is Bad…Is it Fixable?

The Packers started Donnovan Jennings and Jacob Monk at the guard positions (Left and Right, respectively) when they hadn’t been with the starters all camp or preseason. The headscratcher is that rookie, Jager Burton, and 2^nd year pro, Anthony Belton, had looked good, Burton especially. The continuity alone – or lack thereof – could be the reason for so many missed assignments up front. While no one should have much confidence or expect things to drastically improve, it is possible. Hell, it can’t get any worse!

The Officials Took Over the Game

The referees essentially gave Minnesota 3 free possessions on one drive. We all know when that happened…it was the ensuing drive from when LaFleur took the points off the board and Love checked to a QB sneak on 4^th and a long 1 from Minnesota’s 17-yard line in the 4^th quarter. That decision and lack of execution coupled with the assist from the refs completely swung momentum into Minnesota’s favor. Each call was more egregious than the previous, with the last being on an interception in the end zone by Evan Williams which would’ve stolen momentum right back to Green Bay and given Love and co. the ball and a 5-point lead with 6:49 left in the game.

Green Bay wasn’t alone in the disastrous zebra show on Sunday; the Saints had a game-changing play wiped away due to an explanation that makes it impossible to defend the league that it’s not rigged. New Orleans was playing the Lions in Detroit; they strip-sacked Jared Goff when the ball was jarred loose, flying backwards when a Saint defender scooped it up and scored a touchdown. The league proceeded to review it and called it an incomplete pass because Goff “intended” to throw it forward. Just an absolute farce, no other way to put it.

Breaking Down the Stats

While Green Bay had minimal issues moving the ball, even with the atrocity that was of the O-Line, the concern I had towards the end of the 1^st half was the time of possession discrepancy. The Vikings had a large advantage in that department due to the quick drives by the Packers, whether they scored or not. That’s a result from not being able to establish the run ‘nor being able to run at all. The Packers finished the game with only 66 yards rushing on 21 attempts (3.1 avg). That will wear the defense down and allow for scores by the opponent later in the game, which is exactly what we saw.

Much has been made on social media about the Packers outgaining the Vikings 419 to 239 averaging 6.3 yards per play vs. Min’s 3.9, and it should be a big deal. When a team outgains an opponent by that margin, especially on yards per play, that team should not lose. Yet, somehow Green Bay not only lost, but lost by 3 scores. It’s rare, it does happen, but it’s extremely rare. We keep saying this, but all that matters are Wins and Losses. Turnovers obviously played a part in this, but the game was essentially over after the sack-fumble, but as stated prior, the refs handed Minnesota 3 turnovers on one drive. Therefore, the turnover margin was really 5:1 in Minnesota’s favor. That’s how you end up outgaining your opponent by a significant margin, but lose the game…by 3 scores.

Is there a Bright Spot?

First and foremost, the fact Jordan Love was able to pass for 387 yards while being chased on nearly all of his 45 drop backs, is incredible. He didn’t look sharp early in the 1^st quarter, but eventually settled down and made some really impressive throws that were mostly caught. The drops didn’t seem to turn their ugly head and had Packer nation feeling “good” about how things were trending. Love finished 21 of 42 (50%) for 387 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 interception for a QB Rating of 88.1. It’s worth nothing the interception was due to immediate (and immense) pressure and it was tipped upon release.

The other bright spot was the defense, specifically Keisean Nixon. Nixon started the game with a tackle for loss on the game’s very first play. Then on the next play he came up with a huge interception. Prior to the Points Off The Board drive, the Packer defense allowed 141 yards on 48 plays (2.9 yards/play) and 17 points; goes without saying, plenty good enough to win almost any game. This is one of those games where the Packers gave up 39 points and the defense wasn’t to blame.

The reigning question will be “Can they close out games against tough opponents?” The good news is this team did just that on 5 occasions a season ago – but that was mainly due to their Closer, Micah Parsons. If, and that’s a BIG IF, the offensive line can get their act together and Micah returns to form – there’s hope.