Is there a Packers’ Identity Problem? The Green Bay Packers escaped Arizona with a win on Sunday and now, actually find themselves sitting atop the NFC as they head to Pittsburgh for a Sunday night matchup against Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers. It’s been far from perfect, but what the team showed to close out the game in Arizona needs to be the momentum they ride into Sunday night’s game.
The Packers Continue to Beat Themselves.
Whether it be on offense or defense, the amount of penalties that this team has built up outside of the first game this season has been nothing short of pathetic. The self-inflicted wounds this team inflicts on itself week after week —whether it’s pre-snap penalties or soft coverage on 3rd and long — are very alarming and have not stopped or slowed down after the bye week.
Tre McBride was the only actual weapon Arizona had last week, even with Marvin Harrison Jr playing fresh off a concussion. The player who should have been the focus of this defense had two touchdowns. Both of those touchdowns were wide open, and that’s vastly understating it. There was no one in the same area code as McBride — the team’s BEST offensive player.
I don’t care if the Packers play mostly zone defense; you still have to be aware of the other team’s biggest threat. Keisean Nixon, late getting back to his zone, leaves McBride wide open for his first score. The second touchdown, Quay Walker runs with a wideout on a vertical route, even though he has safety help, instead of manning his zone where McBride was. This is defense 101 that needs to be instilled and forced home with this team.
The other frustrating and alarming thing that must change for the Packers is how soft they get in 3rd-and-long situations. They, in turn, give up unfathomable first downs. Those of us old enough to remember the horrid 4th-and-26 (just thinking about it makes my blood boil) will understand that, even when it’s 3rd-and-4th or 4th-and-26, we will never feel comfortable. If the Cardinals and Jacoby Brissett can complete a 43-yard pass on 3rd and 23…from their own 16-yard line…something is extremely wrong.
Stop Defending, Attack
We saw it in the 4th quarter, on the final offensive and defensive drives of the game; this may be what we see moving forward. This all starts with that 4th-down play and the decision to go for it rather than kick a field goal and try to tie the game. When LaFleur first ran out, Havirsik, the end of the match flashed before our eyes: him hitting the FG, then Arizona driving down to kick the game-winning Field Goal.
Finally, we saw the team and staff show they have the guts to go for the kill and try to win the game. The gamble paid off, and on the ensuing defensive drive, Hafley let Micah Parsons loose, brought the pressure, and won the game.
This week, the offense needs to maintain that aggression and keep this Steelers defense guessing. That does not mean they need to keep throwing those quick wideout screens they keep doing, for some reason. Trust me, if they keep throwing those, one will be picked off for a pick-six.
On the other side of the ball, while we would love to see Parsons and the pass rush get home, there is no way Rodgers holds the ball long enough to let that happen. This puts the pressure on Nixon, Hobbs, Valentine, and the secondary to sit on those quick throws. Rodgers has loved throwing to DK Metcalf so far this season. Our corners aren’t the biggest, but we need them to jam the receivers right off the snap. This will let Evan Williams and Xavier McKinney come in to help if needed.
At some point, the Packers have to decide what kind of team they want to be. Will they be the one who plays not to lose? Will they be a team that takes games by the throat and finishes them? Arizona should’ve been a wake-up call, not a sigh of relief. You can’t rely on luck when you’re aiming for the top seed in the NFC, and you can’t expect Rodgers to hand you the ball back twice in Pittsburgh. The talent is there, the grit shows up in flashes, but until this group stops tripping over itself and starts imposing its will, they’ll keep flirting with disaster instead of defining dominance.
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