The Lass Word: Losing Games Early
Slow starts are killing Pack.
By KenLass
History will record the Green Bay Packers lost to the Detroit Lions on a game-ending field goal by Jake Bates. That is only true in the technical sense. In reality, the Packers lost this game well before they jogged into the locker room at halftime.
They lost this game by going five plays and punt on their first possession, three plays and punt on their second, and two plays and fumble on their third. By the time they settled down to execute an eleven play, 70 yard touchdown drive on their fourth series, they were already behind 10-0, and having to rely on their defense to keep them in the game, against a Lions offense that specializes in relentless execution.
Yes, Green Bay did rally to take the lead twice in the second half, but what would that half have looked like if the Packers had been more productive in the first two frames? Imagine Green Bay putting, say, 21 points on the board before intermission, maybe getting out to a solid lead early on? It may have completely altered the chemistry of the game.
To beat the Lions, you have to get out front of them. Force them to abandon the power running game and play catch up. Put them in third and long situations so they can’t go for it on fourth down. Make Jared Goff throw a pass longer than five yards. That only happens if your offense takes command early and comes out sharp.
Unfortunately, when the Packers play the top teams in the NFC, slow starts have become the norm. Green Bay has lost four games this year, all to the top three teams in the conference. Each time, they struggled to get anything going early. In week one against the Eagles, they managed just six points on two field goals in the first quarter, yet that would be their most productive first quarter of any of the four defeats. In week four against the Vikings, playing at home, they went scoreless until the final fifteen seconds of the first half, a game they eventually lost by two points. In week nine against the Lions, again playing at home, they mustered three points in the first quarter, none in the second, as Detroit reeled off seventeen straight. The Packers lost 24-14. And now again in week fourteen, Matt LaFleur’s team was blanked until Josh Jacobs plunged into the end zone from one yard out, with just five and a half minutes to play in the first half.
In his remarks immediately after the game, LaFleur pinpointed the first half, not the end, as the key to the defeat. “We started on the offensive side of the ball too slow. We go punt, punt, fumble. It’s only a handful of plays that separates these types of games.”
It’s difficult to flesh out the causes of the slow starts. Is this team just not emotionally ready when they play a crucial game? Are the opening scripts of the game plans not effective? Does it take a few quarters for Jordan Love to get into the rhythm and flow of the situation? Or are the Packers just not quite good enough to compete with their top rivals until the opposition gets comfortably ahead and begins to lay back? Did LaFleur make a tactical error Thursday night by electing to defer after winning the coin toss, allowing the Lions to quickly choose to receive the opening kickoff and get their red hot offense on the field immediately?
It’s not like the offense can’t do it. They scored seventeen first quarter points against the Titans. They had 24 points on the board before halftime against the Cardinals. Seventeen against the 49ers. They are capable of dynamic starts. Until they play the best opponents.
One has to be encouraged that, despite the slow starts, this team doesn’t quit, and does make adjustments that are often effective. In each of the four defeats, the offense revved up after halftime and managed to get enough points on the board to make the games reasonably competitive. Love came out from the halftime break Thursday night handling the variety of Detroit blitzes much more effectively, moving skillfully in the pocket, putting the ball on receivers more accurately. Green Bay outscored the Lions 24-17 in the final two quarters.
Solving their early game malaise will be critical for this team down the stretch, and into the playoffs, should they qualify. Upcoming are games at Seattle, a notoriously difficult place for visitors, against a team in the thick of its division race, and at Minnesota, which still has a shot at the NFC North title, and even the number one seed. It will be important not to fall behind these teams early. The coaching staff has to get these guys lathered up coming out of the tunnel.
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Ken Lass is a former Green Bay television sports anchor and 43 year media veteran, a lifelong Packers fan, and a shareholder.
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Comments (53)
barutanseijin
December 08, 2024 at 07:06 am
Is it that the coaches are not getting the players amped up? Apparently they did Thanksgiving ‘23 vs the Lions.
This time , Jordan Love was constantly scrambling around in the backfield trying to avoid a sack, and the rushing game wasn’t helping keep the other guys honest. The O line just isn’t at the level it needs to be for the Packers to beat the better teams in the conference. That’s on the front office and the scouts.
stockholder
December 08, 2024 at 07:49 am
The OL was the problem.
Tom looked terrible. At first.
Unless they show a mean streak.
This will happen every game.
Coldworld
December 08, 2024 at 08:10 am
We get what we value on the OL. Until we change the coaching and thus the philosophy, emphasis and criteria we won’t get better and Gute will continue to draft to meet the coaches desired templates.
It’s not merely the players, we’ve seen Hanson, Newman and Myers favored despite consistent results and well beyond the point where they were obvious. The coaches have essentially refused to allow opportunities to promote realistic competition.
After this long, it’s baffling that those coaches have not been held to account. It is well past time to remove the ceiling the flawed coaching has imposed. Stenavich is just a slower burning parallel to Drayton and Barry, but just as impenetrable a barrier to becoming really good.
stockholder
December 08, 2024 at 08:35 am
CW - I don't agree with you.
The OL, has a make -up of Long shots.
And Myers over C. Humphrey was on Gute.
Bahk is gone. Even Bulaga.
This is a over achieving OL.
No one in the NFL has done better with
picks so late! ( that end up starters.)
Gute takes the Long shots.
And this coaching staff has done miracles.
The constant changes are a revolving door.
Ever Coach upped their game.
And they now depend on Love.
Packer History has Shown.
Depending on a Qb, won't make us better.
jannesbjornson
December 08, 2024 at 11:13 am
If he wanted a guard, he should have bagged Coleman, or Beebe. Morgan is a Tackle. Rhyan was abused with inside stunts by Deetroit.
jannesbjornson
December 08, 2024 at 11:47 am
P.S. Humphrey is starting at LT on Sunday for Andy Reid. the guy Wolf passed over for the" Mechanic" Ray Rhodes.
stockholder
December 08, 2024 at 11:51 am
Creede Humphrey-
jannesbjornson
December 08, 2024 at 07:59 pm
Creed.
Coldworld
December 09, 2024 at 10:47 am
You blame Gute, I blame Stenovich’s approach and, by implication, LaFleur through his retention. I’d argue that the current issues emerged immediately he took over as OC and started to set the overall OL philosophy and emphases. However, we clearly do agree that the OL is fundamentally inadequate and that this is not new.
MainePackFan
December 09, 2024 at 07:09 pm
Reading through your comments, I find it interesting that you continue to be critical of Lafleur yet absolve Gutekunst as if Lafleur alone controls this team. You mention Hanson, Myers and Newman. Are you suggesting LaFleur's influence led to those picks?
LLCHESTY
December 09, 2024 at 12:14 pm
I missed the beginning of the game on TV but my 1st thought when listening to it on the radio was the OL thought it was going to be an easy night and got a rude awakening. But the opposite could be true as well. Maybe they thought they were going to crush them and were over amped. Emotion and momentum are fickle partners in football, just when a team thinks they're going to be their sweethearts forever they are up and gone.
Bitternotsour
December 09, 2024 at 12:26 pm
they lost by 3 on the road on a last drive in a hostile stadium to the team with the best record in football. All in all, they accounted themselves adequately and live to play another day. The playoffs are in sight.
Spock
December 08, 2024 at 07:32 am
I couldn't watch the game but listened to Wayne & Larry on Sirius. Early in the first quarter Larry said something like (I'm paraphrasing as best as I can remember), "I'm the first one to tell you when I see our lineman playing well but they just aren't playing very good right now." In the second half (again paraphrasing) he said, "The line is playing much better now."
Why the OL was so unprepared for the blitzing is a legitimate question but if the OL isn't getting it done NOTHING is going to go well! It must have been a heck of a game to watch; it sure was a heck of a game to listen to. GPG!
Coldworld
December 08, 2024 at 08:25 am
For most of this season, with the exception of the Willis games, the worst performances have come early on, when the plays are scripted and the embodiment of LaFleur’d game plan. That was true for the last two seasons as well. When Love is given his head, and is confident, that’s when we’ve seen the best from the passing offense.
On Thursday, Cambell simply out thought LaFleur. That’s actually not been an unusual outcome. Think back only as far as Chicago. Yes we won in the end, but we were tactically whipped. Detroit and better teams are good enough to capitalize even if we are potentially better. Of course, for large part of this season we’ve seen penalties and indiscipline aggravate the phenomenon.
The reality is there for all to see, it’s been there for seasons. LaFleur is a very capable play designer, but he’s not a tactician and he’s not winning those battles the majority of the time. His teams play better outside of his scripts and game plans and getting there is part of the cause of inconsistency.
Seven seasons in, LaFleur isn’t getting more tactically astute, isn’t producing more motivated or focused performances. Players aren’t really developing either. If we want to stop being a pretender, we are going to need a real head coach, not a media friendly but largely ineffectual one.
NickPerry
December 08, 2024 at 08:42 am
I honestly don't know what to think anymore but for the life of me I will never understand WHY LaFleur continues to go AWAY from things that have been working in previous games, and back to some old things that just don't.
After last season I had thought MLF was one of the top head coaches in the NFL. While I don't think he's terrible by any stretch, he continues to make the same mistakes over and over. For example...Challenges. LaFleur should NEVER be allowed to challenge a call. Are the coaches in the box who assist him in deciding really this bad? I've already beat the lack of the screen game against Detroit to death, but that type of stuff is another thing that drives me nuts about MLF. If somethings working then keep doing it until they actually stop it. Don't stop it FOR them!
I've been critical of his assistants from the jump. Murphy hired him and then they made him keep the defense. He hires Hafley and they KEEP many of the assistants. For example, Jason Rebrovich. His last job was as the Defensive Line Coach of the Jaguars in 2020 and then is OUT of coaching in 2021. He's hired in GB as a OLB coach in 2022. In 2023 they change his coaching title him a "Pass Rush Specialist" for a team with 30 sacks...(Some Specialist). Now this season he's the D-Line coach. I mean WTF are they doing?
As far as Gutey goes that's a another day. I've already been a little long winded this morning.
dobber
December 09, 2024 at 09:26 am
"For example...Challenges. LaFleur should NEVER be allowed to challenge a call."
We say this, but LaF is actually middle of the pack in his challenge success (add the www. beforehand...this server doesn't seem to like actual links, anymore).
milehighreport.com/2024/9/5/24235727/nfl-head-coach-challenge-records
porupack
December 08, 2024 at 08:44 am
I agree with the half problem assessment. Its easy to identify a half trend (early game starts), but hard to figure the problem with any meaningful detail. It does seem other coaches have are a step ahead of MLF, and figured out how to attack GB early and set the tone.
There are still many wrinkles that are available to coaches in their opening sequences....and MLF has tried some of those, but I'd like to see him outsmart the other coaches, being one step ahead. How about some quick tempo right away? He pulled that off on situations. Its time to open the playbook.....but dammit, drill that so it is executed blindfolded, with ankle weights... and one hand tied behind their backs, with a greased pig for a football.
NFLfan
December 08, 2024 at 08:54 am
Fast starts cannot mask what the QB has to deal with against a dominant DL.
This is one of my questions: Why is it taking 2-3 seasons to figure out if a player is ever going to improve or is being coached poorly? Walker& LVN are examples. GB should be thinking the way Dan Campbell, Ben Johnson and other successful coaches do --recognize problems promptly, attempt to fix the problem, if that doesn't work, then have the maturity to 'cut your losses' within in a reasonable time-frame.
Stop keeping favorite 1st round picks on the field when they cannot perform. If it's coaching, then find a coach who can succeed w/them, but stop trotting them out there for 2-3 seasons while they continue to drag the team.
Savage, LVN, Walker, Gary.
My guess is Alexander is finding ways to protect himself from more injury because GB hasn't figured out their weak Pass Rush.
I can't imagine MLF relishes dealing with these projects for 3 years.
cdoemel
December 08, 2024 at 11:22 pm
You just love when the Packers lose don’t you?
Matt
December 08, 2024 at 09:52 am
Slow start on offense is only a half of the truth.
Defense lately has started hot but as the game goes on, after halftime they can't stop anybody.
Offense is starting slowly, but after some time they are hard to stop.
dobber
December 09, 2024 at 09:19 am
So, really, to summarize your comment and the idea of this whole thread--the Packers need to play more consistently, and more consistently at a high level, on both sides of the ball?
It's been awhile since we've had much to complain about with STs...
Leatherhead
December 08, 2024 at 10:49 am
I feel sorry for some of you. 9-4, on our way to the playoffs for the 5th in 6 years, a top offensie and one of the winningest coaches in NFL history, and you can’t even enjoy it. Hell, some of you think we need to fire La Fleur and replace most of our roster.
Sheeesh. We could finish with 13 wins. We’re a missed FG and a bad call from being 11-2. If you cannot appreciate and enjoy that, then I truly do feel sorry for you.
NFLfan
December 08, 2024 at 11:13 am
@LH-If GB wishes to be known as a top contender then constructive criticism is warranted.
If they are comfortable being a top 7-8 team, then continue on with the status quo. They seem bewildered
that they are not beating the best teams.
Leatherhead
December 08, 2024 at 11:20 am
Firing one of the winningest coaches coaches in NFL history is not constructive criticism. It’s stupidly.
NFLfan
December 08, 2024 at 12:15 pm
They are not beating the top teams.
Leatherhead
December 08, 2024 at 01:52 pm
Nobody is beating the top teams. We've come closer than most.
Do you remember all the way back to 2021? We were the #1 seed, we had a bye the first week, and then we lost at home. It could happen to another team that same way.
I see a missed FG and a bad call as being the difference between 9-4 and 11-2. So that's what is separating us from the "top teams".
Make the playoffs and win, just like 2010.
dobber
December 09, 2024 at 09:20 am
We'll also remember the 1990s when the Packers couldn't beat the Cowboys...until they did.
The whole point of the regular season is to get to the post-season. That's what the Packers are doing.
HarryHodag
December 09, 2024 at 08:44 am
Leatherhead-Amen, brother.
Coldworld
December 09, 2024 at 10:52 am
Or accepting that the record is actually a valid measure, despite his rosters. The team never quite lives up to its potential and tends to fail for recurring reasons, on field and off is the epitome of three wise monkeys. 7 years and still the same things being rued and excused. You are waiting for Godot.
Bitternotsour
December 09, 2024 at 11:20 am
I see some growth, you accept him as static and unchanging. I blamed Rodgers and LaFleur's inexperience and fear for yielding. I saw him come into his own the second half of last season.
I'd say that we are probably both correct and that both things are true. He's coming up short. I don't think his shortcomings are insurmountable. Andy Reid came up short in Philly. He grew. LaFleur is young. Shanahan still hasn't won a super bowl, but arguably is the best offensive mind in football. Will he do it in SF? Who knows. LaFleur gets his teams into the dance, and they are on the doorstep again. Youngest team in football, 2nd year QB, more changes in personnel and coaching. I think it just has to play out, and as a fanbase we have to acknowledge both our impatience with the product, but also the growth and growing pains associated with it.
Leatherhead
December 09, 2024 at 12:20 pm
Just out of curiosity, how many teams are living up to their potential?
If 'failure' is not winning the Super Bowl, then 31 teams are failures. Statistically, that's about 3% successes and 97% failures. That would mean that on average, an average team would win one Super Bowl every 32, and we're double that. If you're twice as successful as you should be, it's time to go to Vegas.
Nobody's waiting for anything, except maybe you, waiting for them to fall short. We're lining up this weekend with a chance to get to 10-4. We're trying to secure our playoff invitation....which is, of course, the purpose of the regular season.
HarryHodag
December 09, 2024 at 08:44 am
Ya, "constructive criticism" has done well for the Bears and Jets for example. Sometimes I'm amazed that some fans can't see the bigger picture. Right now Green Bay would be atop the NFC South and West with their record if not for the Vikings and Lions.
This is still the youngest team in the league with a second-year starter at QB.
Enjoy the ride.
Coldworld
December 09, 2024 at 10:54 am
Yes, we can beat bad teams. Woopee. We aren’t the worst in the league. 7 years in and that’s your rallying call?
Leatherhead
December 09, 2024 at 12:24 pm
We can beat good teams, too. We beat the 49ers, Rams, Cardinals, Texans....all of whom are still in the playoff hunt.
How about "7 years in" (actually the sixth season) and we've made the playoffs 5 times out of 6?""" How about "MLF has one of the highest win rates in NFL history?"
Your definition of bad teams, over the years, is pretty much "If the Packers can beat you, you're a bad team".
HarryHodag
December 09, 2024 at 08:46 am
Leatherhead---Amen, brother. The 'fire everybody' crowd thinks there are dozens of Hall of Fame players drooling to live in the league's smallest market and a Super Bowl winning coach sitting in his car in the Lambeau parking lot.
Change isn't always good. We have it pretty good right now. I'm sad some can't see the obvious.
Packerpasty
December 09, 2024 at 09:37 am
they could also easily have lost those couple of games...the point is to show growth and get to a super bowl, MLF is an "O.K." coach but I dont see him as a great motivator of men..
SinceLombardi
December 08, 2024 at 02:53 pm
I guess they do start slow against the better teams , especially. No matter I think it’s safe to say they really are third best team in their division. They need a few players on defense.
Last year they hid the defense a little down the stretch by putting up points early and making opponents a little one dimensional. Even with the upgrade at running back, last years team was better.
Coldworld
December 09, 2024 at 10:55 am
The stretch last year was mostly against weaker opponents.
Bitternotsour
December 09, 2024 at 11:22 am
and yet, they won. and they made the playoffs. what point are you making exactly.
Leatherhead
December 09, 2024 at 12:29 pm
This is not true at all.
Starting with Thanksgiving, we beat the Lions, a playoff team, on their own field.
Then we beat the Chiefs, the eventual Super Bowl Champion
We lost a road game to the Giants, and then another to a playoff team, Tampa Bay.
Then we beat the Panthers, and the Vikings (another playoff team) on their home field, and the Bears, and then we went on the road and beat the #1 seed in the playoffs, the Cowboys.
This is your definition of "mostly against weaker opponents". Weaker than who? Us? The average opponent?
Booner
December 08, 2024 at 04:54 pm
Fast starts on offense can't cover up this weak defense that Gute has put together! He does not no what he is doing! Total failure for the draft capital he has used on that side of the ball!
T7Steve
December 09, 2024 at 10:19 am
Those starts are accompanied by only 50-55 plays and the last two games it left the D on the field for 70+. The D has been starting out good but been put back on the field after 3 and outs or stalled drives by the O and it starts to tell later in the games, then they have trouble getting off the field. Snowball effect.
veteranviewer
December 09, 2024 at 12:54 am
Run the ball out of the gate.
Leatherhead
December 09, 2024 at 10:12 am
I''ll just say this: Very few games are won or lost in the first quarter. Very few titles are won in September and October. How you start, IMO, is not as important as how you finish, because most games are decided near the end of the game.
T7Steve
December 09, 2024 at 10:25 am
Don't you think one thing leads to another? Slow starts put more pressure and tire the D who then have trouble getting off the field late in games.
What no one here has been commenting on is that at least they're making adjustments and improving their chances. Our old gripe was that they never made in-game adjustments to counteract what a team is doing against them.
Leatherhead
December 09, 2024 at 10:34 am
Of course, I'd like to see us score TDs on our first four possession. But I've been around the track enough times to know that the front runner doesn't always win the race.
Coldworld
December 09, 2024 at 11:01 am
The Tortoise may beat the hare, but not often. But then the point is one can underperform against bad teams and recover. Not against good ones and not always against bad ones. Dubious though our D was on Thursday, a better first quarter, let alone a half would have dramatically changed the equation. You have an apology for everything. Unfortunately life doesn’t.
Bitternotsour
December 09, 2024 at 11:11 am
The packers needed a stop on the last drive and didn't get one. The Chargers needed a stop on the last drive and didn't get one. The Bills needed a stop on the last drive and didn't get one.
The point is, that games are won when they are won. It's not an apology to acknowledge that wins and losses can have narrow margins, and that your team isn't divinely entitled to wins. It's an acceptance that every game in the NFL is in play, and that if you're miserable watching football, you should probably not watch football.
Leatherhead
December 09, 2024 at 12:32 pm
So we went out and "underperformed" against Detroit and lost on a last second FG. ONE PLAY, or even one call, would have changed the result. That's your definition of underperforming.
Actually, the expression is slow and steady wins the race. There is no mention of it not being often.
Leatherhead
December 09, 2024 at 01:55 pm
"""You have an apology for everything"""
I don't think a 9-4 team needs an apology. I think that it's pretty good, especially if the HC is no good (as you believe) and his assistants are no good (as you believe, with Steno and Butkus) and many of the players are not "good enough".(as you believe).
T7Steve
December 09, 2024 at 11:02 am
It's not good to stumble out of the blocks, is it?
I just hope that they can come out hot in some of these stretch games and be able to get some rest for some starter and look at some of the depth.
Wouldn't hurt to save some tread on Josh J's tires for some spring in the playoffs.
LambeauPlain
December 09, 2024 at 12:58 pm
Ken, the fast starts came against defenses in the bottom half of the NFL in points allowed/game.
The slow starts and 4 losses came against 3 teams that rank 3rd, 4th, and 6th in the NFL in pts/game.
I don't think it is any more complicated than that. Good defenses usually create slow starts.
Diogenes
December 09, 2024 at 03:34 pm
The Packers are not that far away from a championship. The DL players and coaches need to focus and amp up their game. The secondary in the Lions game was impacted with multiple player injuries. The players need to get healthy while the defensive coaches provide stronger preparations. The Packers need to win two of their next three games to reach the playoffs. With renewed focus, the Packers can beat any team.