Love will have his ups and downs as all QBs do. He just needs to be in a position to run a safe offense behind a good O-line. Till the run game gets going (and I believe it will) that safe offense may be passing. As long as MLF can keep changing the looks, the O-line keeps protecting well, and Kraft is allowed to sneak out to catch passes along with the other receivers the Packers will be a tough team to beat.

The team that has the easiest time defeating the Packers seems to be the Packers. As I've noted before, they can't keep winning in spite of special teams. This has been proven season after season.

I think McManus will be ok. I think it may have been too soon but maybe it just takes time to get the rust off. The shorter second missed kick looks he was just overcompensating after the first one. He was one of the reasons we had more confidence in STs at the start of the season.

Mostly just a bunch of complaints after a big win. This is now the norm. I guess inspiring come from behind wins on the road against good teams have become boring to Packer fans. I started listening to Andy Herman's podcast with Mike Wahle, and after ten minutes of listening to Wahle talk about the Packers subpar run blocking and praise the Steelers jumbo package, I shut it off. Not that I don't want to hear about my team's shortcomings. I just don't think the shortcomings should dominate the discussion when they are winning. Isn't football supposed to be fun?

I was not panicking after the first half as apparently most Packer fans were. It was a close game, and the only real difference was the performance of the kickers. I didn't think Jordan Love had any handcuffs on him either. The drive-killing plays that were mentioned were all pass plays. Sometimes receivers drop the ball, or the throw is off target, or whatever. Sometimes--believe it or not--the opposing defense makes some good plays to stop your drive. You live to fight another day. I'm sure glad the Packers players and coaches don't get discouraged as easily as the fans.

Al, I was also very disgusted watching the Packers in the first half that I went to bed. In the middle of the night I was shocked to see the final score and at first I thought it was 35-25 with Pittsburgh getting the win. What a great 4th quarter and Watson had some huge blocks and catches. Kraft is showing how good he can be, and Love with some clutch throws under pressure. Its a long season though we can't complain with the way the season is unfolding.

"Personally, if I'm the offensive coordinator, when a go route is schemed up, I'm using Watson or Golden, not Doubs. Seems obvious, but..."

Because it is so obvious, that's probably why the Packers chose Doubs in a few cases.

That first half was a thing to forget. The second half, however , was a thing of beauty! I'll take the W, and am looking forward to better play, for a whole game, from this team, next game!
Too bad about Jaire. I will always remember his blitz of Kark Cousins, in the end zone, for a sack and a Safety! Also, for his doing the griddy, after kicking Jefferson's ass, all game long, in Minneapolis.

Watching Love accept the challenge of showing Rodgers who's the boss was nice to see. When Love zones in he is everything that you want in your starting QB. If we can figure out how to start faster we will see more of second half Love. Maybe abandon trying to be a run first team behind that O-line would be a good start.

...Personally, if I'm the offensive coordinator, when a go route is schemed up, I'm using Watson or Golden, not Doubs. Seems obvious, but...

Totally with you on this Al. Let's start using our WR speed with Watson, Golden and Williams. It doesn't need to be deep routes just a little more catch me if you can.

I thought Jacobs would be more of a factor in this game but the Steelers were going all out to stop him. They bit hard on play action or blitzed from the middle which left the middle of the field wide open. They did a better job of taking advantage in the second half. Also a lot of the problems in the first half were drops not necessarily scheme. Love was making the throws.

“I think it's time for LaFleur to let go of some of his predispositions and let Love be Love.” It’s what supposedly happened in late 2023 when the team took off and Love with them then vanished in 2024. So what does that statement really mean? The answer I think has considerable significance.

I agree with you on Jacobs. Fortunately Wilson continues to look capable and does a pretty good job moving the chains. This is why we are lucky to have him. I have often wondered whether he would benefit, as Jacobs does, from getting snaps throughout the game. This week would be an ideal one to find out while resting Jacobs.

Valentine is our best cover corner. He’s also looked a lot more physically competent this year. That was his downside. While it may not.be a strength, this year it’s not been a weakness. Therefore he should be starting. It’s as simple as that. Wicks lacks straight line speed and go routes negate his elite short area advantage completely.

Doubs caught a lot of long over the shoulder passes in college. He’s not my first choice on a go route either, but Watson has had issues over the shoulder and Golden’s size means he needs to get a lot of separation and that means not knocked off his route at the line. That’s not a recipe for regular success. For different reasons, both Golden and Watson are actually best on deep crossers. That’s what I’d like to see more of.

As for go routes, the obvious candidate is Williams. It’s the simplest route really, he has both the size and the speed and he’d be an excellent double bluff decoy, since to date he really hasn’t been targetted at all except very rarely and close to the line of scrimmage. I don’t know if he too can’t catch over his shoulder, but, to be honest, I’d have had him doing that consistently since we drafted him.

Pennell seems to be heading to the Chiefs today for a visit. It almost seems like that was an understanding before the deed was done. The Chiefs do have a need. Something at the back of my mind keeps telling me there was some bad feeling when he left the Packers. If so, it’s possible we aren’t that attractive to him (or that my memory is deceiving me).

JaiMe Alexander = 💩

I agree Jacobs is out of sorts physically. He is definitely not himself, he needs rest and healing of that leg! Williams is a beast as well. Packers are lucky to have him in the wings!

"A kickoff that goes into the end zone after hitting the landing zone (puts the Steelers on the 35 yard line)"

That should be the ball at the 20 not the 35.

"I've been asked about Jordan Love many times by many people this year if I think he will be THE GUY for Green Bay. I have reserved judgment and answered simply that what he does this year will allow me to truly know how I feel and answer that question. There's still more than half a season to go but I'm at about 80% yes and trending up right now."

Love has been great in the 4th quarter when we need a score to take the lead or put the game out of reach (Crunch time). Even in the loss and tie he did his part to put the team in position to win late in the game. I'm at 95% and trending up!

I want the team to play with full consistency all the time. No mistakes and no excuses. I don't care the other team is full of professional athletes we should win every down on every play. If the WR drops a pass the coach made a bad play call.

Sound about right?

Football is a game of back and forth. You can't expect to dominate every minute of every game. It just doesn't work that way. I didn't see this as a tale of two offenses. Just how the variance of playing a game with an oblong ball works. No team in the NFL is that far behind another.

"At halftime of this game, I was so disgusted, I ran upstairs and raided the snack cabinet. Mixed nuts, tortilla chips, granola bars, I had them all in a ten minute period,"

Based on the result, maybe this should be a new pre-game ritual?

"Jacobs"

Jacobs plays a physical game at RB. He's a big dude and should be able to handle some abuse, but he's also 27 which is getting pretty long in the tooth for a RB. He also absorbed 301 carries last season (and an additional 36 catches). When he led the league in rushing in 2022 (and had almost 400 touches) he followed that with a weaker year and missed time with injuries. Several observers said that he never looked spry that season--he also missed time in camp due to a contract dispute. In the end, the question I'm asking is "are the Packers managing his reps effectively?" At his age and with his contract, maybe you just run the legs off him...but I think we see more Emanuel Wilson (or whomever is RB2) over the second half of the season.

"Personally, if I'm the offensive coordinator, when a go route is schemed up, I'm using Watson or Golden, not Doubs. Seems obvious, but..."

Sometimes it's hard to tell in-game whether that long route to Doubs or Wicks was specifically called, or whether it was an adjustment by the receiver based on coverage. I agree, though, in that asking Wicks in particular to go long isn't a winning proposition. A mention was made of Savion Williams going long...he has the length to compete, especially on the boundary, but he's more elusive and strong than he is fast. 4.48 at the combine is pretty average for WRs...the question is whether he translates that speed to pads. With his strength, that's a real possibility. I'd rather be getting him the ball underneath on crossers and letting him make plays at this stage.

Is there a universe in which the Ravens cut Jaire and we resign him at the vet minimum? He knows the system. Does he have anything left?

I'm always going to remember the Steelers game as the "Red Bull" game. They must have had a chug or two at halftime because they FINALLY came out with some fire in their bellies.

I'm a hair concerned of a letdown facing Carolina this week. The need to keep last Sunday's second half motivation through next Sunday. It would be very embarrassing to poop the sheets against the Panthers.

The start of the 21(20) completions was the end of half hurry up. Why not come out in hurry up to try to establish that kind rhythm from the start?

"I'm at about 80% yes and trending up right now."

I'm right there with you Al. Maybe a bit higher.

I have always like Love's demeanor, worth ethic, steady growth in performance and leadership. To me he's more like Bart vs Brett or Aaron.

But the age when he wins a Championship is spot on...27. The same trips around the sun as Bart, Brett, and Aaron had prior to winning a Championship.

"There's still more than half a season to go, but I'm about 80% yes and feeling even more optimistic right now."

Between the latter half of Love's first year, what he's shown this year, and the times he was near full strength last year, I'm 100% confident that "he's the man." It's obvious to me at this point that some of his bad playing last year was due to his injuries. Sure, he'll make some questionable mistakes—what quarterback doesn't? Even Mahomes makes them regularly but compensates with unbelievable plays. That's exactly what Love did when he threw the ball to Watson, just over the safety's outstretched hands. He knew he could make that throw because the safety bit on another route. Another example is when he got hit but still threw to Kraft, who was in single coverage with no help nearby. With a player like Kraft, that kind of play works more often than not. The cornerback is at a huge disadvantage with their back turned to the play. The other thing I notice about Love's play is he puts the ball in the right spot for YAC most of the time. The guy is as cool as a cucumber and extremely confident in his abilities. Not sure he will be a HOF, but I'm confident he will have a long career as a starter of the Green Bay Packers.

Should anyone really be much surprised that tucker Kraft and the underneath YAC yards were wide open on the day that deep threat Christian Watson returns to the lineup?

My observations:
The Packers pulled out all the stops for 2 games they deemed very important: The first game (Lions) and the most recent (Steelers). I would say both the coaches and players have gotten a bit lazy with the other games and have come out flat, disjointed, not really showing effort in swarming, tackling, etc.

Next week is another example of a 'lesser' team. It is up to LaFleur to hold himself and his team to consistent, higher standards as they play every team. They need to show respect to all teams, as most of them have strengths in several areas.

Marpag1.
Yeah, that, and we still have Reed's return to look forward to! If the running game gets fixed this is going to be fun!

---"Second drive, six plays and a touchdown. the key? Never had to convert a third down."

I'd argue that 6 plays/touchdown key was tempo. LaFleur got plays in off the script and they executed in a hurry. When he left the script in the first half they got ponderous. The drops didn't help.

Nixon is being asked to be a CB1 and he is a CB2. It's like asking Heath to WR #1 every game.

I attribute the offensive asymmetry more to LaFleur's game planning than anything else. Because the lulls seem to have become quite common - for how long now? However there appears to be a remedy in-hand. And that is the transcendence of Jordan Love.

For at least the last 2 games Love has masterfully taken control of the O - despite the first halves ineptness. His recent performances also supports the notion of a potential MVP season. However - more than anything else - I have seen that Love has become a better QB - than LaFleur as a play caller.

Jordan Love isn’t getting handcuffed at all.
That doesn't concern me.

Different views-
Only 80% trending up?
When Brady has called
Love, a dark horse for the MVP.
It must be the horror plays
You forgot to mention.

Raiding the cupboard tells me; that you
must see Doubs as a Love problem too.
Being cautious doesn’t fit, when he’s going deep.
And something tells me Wicks wants in.

I think it’s too early to give up on Hobbs.
But with your wanting Valentine.
Gute’s Free Agency signings were too elevated.
And he’s had too many chances to get starters.

Being committed to DL rookies has a downside.
If Gute is serious about getting to the super-Bowl.
He better get veteran help on that DL.