When the Packers win, are you happy?
To quote Shery Crow...
"If it makes you happy
It can't be that bad
If it makes you happy
Then why the hell are you so sad?"
I am happy the Packers won a game. I can be as critical as the next person, but am I going to go off the deep end because the Packers didn't win by as much as "they were supposed to?" Well, sometimes, but this is not one of those times. The Packers are one of four teams in the league with only one loss. Have you been watching what's going on in the NFL this season? We saw the Giants embarrass the Eagles in Philly, the Patriots beat the Bills in Buffalo, and numerous more upsets like those. Did the Packers avoid getting upset at home on Sunday? Yes they did. So I'm not going to jump up and down and carry on about "what's wrong" with this team, especially only five games into the season. Every team is dealing with their own imperfections and issues. In the end, parity is what the NFL lives for and they have it big time.
So everybody take a breath, and let's talk about a few things on my mind.
WR1 - While the controversy seems to have died down a bit, that doesn't mean it's still not lurking. While Matt LaFleur doesn't even want to talk about it and rejects the idea of a #1 receiver, I think the concept still lives in Jordan Love's head. Romeo Doubs is his #1. As I pointed out in my "three things..." post yesterday, Love looks for Doubs above everyone else. No offense to Doubs, who is a fine receiver, but he's not Jamarr Chase. If the Packers had no one more talented than Doubs in the WR room, then this would be just fine. But they have Matthew Golden, and will soon have Chrisitan Watson back. Golden, despite being a wet behind the ears rookie, has shown the most secure hands on the team, consistently gets open and now has shown the smarts to adjust his when the quarterback is scrambling out of the pocket. Love is playing at a very high level this season, but the next step will be to not zero in on Doubs. If he has to zero in on anyone, do it with the more dangerous receiver - Golden.
Morgan vs. Rhyan - Jordan Morgan looked very comfortable at right guard, which shouldn't be a surprise as it's one of the two positions he has had the most reps at. Morgan started the game and was replaced by Rhyan on the Packers second offensive drive. Rhyan logged 11 snaps during that drive but then was relegated to strictly special teams duty from that point on. In fairness to Rhyan, I didn't see him do anything poorly in that drive. So why sit him down? It's obvious the Packers want to get Morgan into the lineup and bank those reps for the future. Rhyan, like Jon Runyan before him, will likely be allowed to walk after this last year on his contract is up. If you recall, Rhyan was two snaps short last year of earning an extra 2M dollars for 2025. Life in the NFL can be cruel if you're not near the top of the pyramid.
Zach Tom - He got off to a slow start in the game and was kind of getting pushed around at first, but he righted the ship and looked better as the game progressed (perhaps the pain killers kicked in). I heard Rob Demovsky on ESPN Milwaukee state that Tom was in considerable pain after the game and was struggling to just get dressed. Tom said he felt good enough to play before the game, although far from 100%. When Demovsky asked him if maybe he shouldn't have played, Tom wouldn't answer that. Sooooooo, don't assume that the offensive line musical chairs is finally over. The Packers likely still have a problem there and we could see Morgan and Rhyan playing next to each other next week.
Pass rush woes - The success of the defense early this season was predicated on the pass rushers getting to the quarterback, allowing the defensive backs to be aggressive in coverage. The Cowboys showed the NFL how to combat that - get the ball out way before the rushers can get home. After a slow start, the Bengals switched to that approach and a veteran quarterback like Flacco was more than adept at executing it in the absence of a real pass rush. After not getting home with four, Hafley reverted to trying some blitzes, but with the same results. Too often on tape you could see 3 or four Packers rushers bunched together in the middle, kind of getting in each other's way as penetration was not happening. That is where the Packers sorely miss Devonte Wyatt. His alibility to shoot gaps and get in the backfield opens up space for the other rushers. Without it, you just have a big logjam in the middle no one can break through.
Overall, however, the biggest problem with the defense is the lack of turnovers. It's not easy to get interceptions when teams are dinking and dunking you to death, so maybe that's not surprising. But not a single fumble created?
Speaking of pass rush, here is your PFF nonsensical rating of the day. Warren Brinson was given the highest pass rush score of 80.6 (ahead of Micah Parsons' 74.8), with 2 pressures in 19 pass rush snaps. Lukas Van Ness, with a sack and two QB hits in just 15 pass rush snaps, was given a 67.5. Huh?
On to Arizona and Go Pack Go!