3 Things the Packers Need to Work On in the Offseason
I’m not gonna lie. Yesterday’s loss was a bit demoralizing, and it should be for any cheesehead. Some people are upset with Jordan Love. Some are upset with Matt LaFleur. Some are upset with both. There’s a lot of blame that can be dealt out to many.
I’m sure everyone has their 2 cents to throw into the pile, so here’s mine.
These are 3 things that need to happen with the Packers for next season.
1. The Packers Need a “Get-Up-and-Get-Em” Receiver.
What happens when you hear the names; Robert Brooks, Antonio Freeman, Donald Driver, Andre Rison, Devonte Adams, and Randall Cobb? You likely think of all the amazing catches they made for us. These are the kinda guys I’m talking about. The type of player where, if you need to make something happen, you can just loft them the ball and trust they can come down with it.
Jordan Love has been compared to Brett Favre a lot, which is both a compliment, and an insult. Lately it’s felt more like an insult, because he doesn’t have any guys like this. Both Favre and Rodgers had “get-up-and-get-em” guys. Love does not. Having a receiver like this could help rope in some of Love’s more erratic behavior. Watson is the best we’ve got for this, but he appears too injury prone to be trusted in the long term.
As to who we should find for this, there are options, but many of which look to be re-signing with their current teams. I feel our best candidate could be Tee Higgins from Cincinnati. The Bengals look to be making room in the cap to keep him, but he’s showed clear frustration with the team. He may come at a high price, but there’s moves we could make to get him aboard, and it’s worth at least looking into.
2. Dontayvion Wicks Has To Go
I complained about him a lot over the last 2 seasons, but last night’s game against the Eagles was my last straw with this guy. Many blame Jordan Love for the Slay interception. But if you watch the replay several times (believe me, I had it on a loop for 10 mins straight), you’ll notice that Wicks allowed himself to get bullied out of position. So instead of a big gain and possible touchdown, the ball goes the other way. Jordan Love made a pass through a razor thin window, and hit it with perfection. While contested, I believe it would be caught 7 out of 10 times by any receiver not named Wicks. I feel this play was designed for Watson, but with him on the sidelines due to injury, for some reason they trusted Wicks for the job. That one’s on LaFleur and Love.
This one miss isn’t my only ammo against this guy. His stats are awful. He’s tied (with Reed) for the most drops on the team this season. Additionally, adjusted for number of targets, he’s got the worst reception percentage on the team. If Love and LaFleur are to be blamed for anything, it’s trusting this guy WAY more than they should.
I understand he’s very talented as a run blocker, which is something that comes in quite handy for a team that runs a lot. Especially with Josh Jacobs tearing it up. But a receiver’s first job is to receive, and he stinks at it. Show him the door.
3. It’s Time to Fix Discipline Issues
The Packers were the 12th most flagged team in the NFL this last regular season, with Elgton Jenkins and Rasheed Walker leading the charge. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen the Packers shoot themselves in the foot over penalties. It’s making drives more difficult, if not stopping them in their tracks entirely, and it’s allowing other teams to extend drives that should have otherwise halted.
Now, most NFL fans regardless of team preference would agree that the officiating was poor this year, and it seems to get worse as time progresses. It’s something all of us agree on. But blaming poor officiating isn’t and shouldn’t be a replacement for poor fundamentals. I saw this team beat themselves in big games too many times this season to allow it to continue. LaFleur talks a big game when it comes to punishment for these sorts of things. But he rarely, if ever, delivers.
You’ll notice I brought up Matt LaFleur’s name a lot here. But you’ll also notice moving on from him was not on my list. That’s for a reason.
I believe in Matt LaFleur. I love his locker room speeches after games, and I feel this team truly respects him and would do anything for him should he merely ask.
I’ve questioned his play calling on several occasions (more this season than years prior), but I think most of his folly lies in him possibly believing his players are more capable than perhaps they’re ready for. For 2 consecutive seasons, he’s coached the youngest team in the NFL. So essentially he’s having to bring a lot of players out of the NCAA style of play into the NFL. There’s an understandably large learning curve for both him and his young team. If we’re still seeing similar problems in 2 or 3 years, then we can have the conversation about moving on from him. Until then, I’ll grant him a level of grace.
COVER PHOTO CREDIT: Chris Szagola/ASSOCIATED PRESS
