The Packers first half against Pittsburgh was not pretty. The offense sputtered from a combination of conservative play calling and dropped passes. The defense held the opponent to field goals but couldn’t get a stop when it needed to. That all flipped in the second half. The offense came out on fire, scoring on every single drive while the defense tightened up and got after Aaron Rodgers.
This Jekyll & Hyde routine is not unfamiliar to Packers fans, and its hard to have too many concerns when the team is 5-1-1. That being said, if this team wants to have a real shot at a Lombardi come end of season, they have got to find a level of consistency that they haven’t really shown yet.
This Panthers team provides the perfect opportunity to find that level of performance. If the Steelers game was about rising to the moment on a big stage – this game is all about not playing down to the level of your opponent any longer. So what are the biggest things Green Bay needs to do for that to happen?
Its Time to Take the Training Wheels Off
This has been a refrain from me (and many others) for weeks now. You have a 55 million dollar quarterback. He is playing like a guy you pay that money to. Let him be the engine that drives your offense.
You see the name at the top of that chart? When teams expect the Packers to pass the ball, they do it better than anyone in the league. That’s not scheme, that’s a quarterback that is in complete command of his offense.
What more does this coaching staff need to see? The run game just isn’t what it was last year, you have a quarterback at the peak of his powers, enough with the early down dink and dunking, let Jordan Love go out there and bury teams.
Packers Need To Be Meritocracy
This seems obvious on it’s face. Your best players should play no matter what they are being paid (or not paid). While this should apply to the entire team, there is one spot in particular that needs to keep this in mind. And that is the CB room.
Since taking over Brian Gutekunst has hit on his free agent signings more often that not. This year appears to be the exception. While the jury is still out on the Banks signing, the Hobbs decision has been an abject disaster to this point. The team finally seemed to realize this going into the Steelers game, effectively benching him and giving the majority of his snaps to Carrington Valentine.
This should not change this week. The Packers clearly hoped that Hobbs could shift to an outside role after playing the vast majority of his time at the slot position. This hasn’t been the case.
Was Valentine perfect? Very much not. But he at least made things difficult and was fighting on every play. The Packers pass rush can cover a lot of things, but at some point the corners need to a least put up some token resistance. I wouldn’t be surprised however if the Packers looked to make a move via trade or practice squad signing.
Keep an Eye on the Kicker
Coming into the season, one of the small joys for Packer fans was not having to worry about the kicker. Despite joining the team mid season, Brandon McManus was near perfect on field goals and did not miss an extra point. This year has been a little rougher. McManus missed a game due to injury and saw his replacement break the Packers franchise record for longest field goal. Coming back from injury this week saw McManus miss half his attempts. Do I think he is in danger of losing his job? If he gets back on track this week I doubt it. But if he struggles again? The Packers are still carrying Lukas Havrisik on the roster for a reason.
Final Prediction
The Panthers have shown they can be a feisty team, but the Packers are better at almost every position. Combined with a home crowd that is among the best in the league, I don’t see a path for the upset here. The Packers build off their second half performance against the Steelers and keep their win streak alive
Packers 31 – Panthers 17
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