Thanks for the positive article Jonathan because we really need it after that beat down! There is plenty to be concerned about but these next couple of weeks provide some valuable time to regroup and right the ship!

After all the angst and emotion, we're 2-2. I'm not going to downplay the seriousness of losing at home to a division opponent, because if you can't beat them on your homefield you probably aren't the best team in the division. Given what Chicago and Minnesota are, this was Detroit's toughest division game of the year and they cruised.

That Bar Rescue guy puts his clients under a "stress test", to see where things break down. Well, we've had our stress test. Now we have a two week road trip to Vegas and Denver see if we can fix things.

IMO, problem #1 is providing better protection for Love. Every time he gets knocked to the ground by a large, strong guy we have a potential injury, and if he's injured, he's not playing and he's not practicing and he's not developing.

If we protect Love, then we might be able to stay on the field and score points and win games. This game, we didn't, we didn't, we didn't, and we didn't. The only real solution I can think of is to trade for a starting caliber offensive lineman, if we could do that, and at some point get Jenkins back, we might have enough horses to get the job done.

The future may remain bright, but it's going to take a lot of work to keep moving in the right direction. A serious offensive line overhaul will be needed in the off-season; mistakes have been made in drafting and retaining a few of these players. If you can't run, you're putting too much stress on your QB and passing game.

Coaching changes are needed, and those possibly include anything from head to toe. Some problems never get fixed in Green Bay, and run defense is at the top of the list. Aren't you supposed to "earn" the right to rush the passer--after you've done what's necessary to put yourself in that position?

And what about the play-calling and lack of substitution on the offensive line? As bad as a couple of these guys played, how come they were out there for every offensive snap? What's the point of having reserves on the roster if you're not going to use them when needed?

We have a mini-bye to maybe get a few things sorted out. MLF says "We're going to have to do a few things different....it's insane to do the same things over and over again and expect a different result." Well okay, then actually do it instead of just talking about it. Here's our first chance to see whether MLF's dissatisfaction and desire for improvement is real or just more hot air.

Hopeful article, but people need to get a grip on something. Love is not an accurate thrower of the football, and he's not going to be. He was never considered to be an accurate passer in college and he isn't now. The reality is that its not something that is genuinely teachable, its just not. He has other attributes, and of course that's not to say he won't make the occasional great throw, but consistant accuracy will always be an issue.

LaFleur is what many of us feared he might be. His coaches are what most of us thought they were. The team is what that necessarily results in.

How is it that Gooty gets a pass as the leader of the operation? As a scout, or leader of scouting….not bad at all.

As a business leader….he sucks. Over paid 12 and help on too long. Didn’t over pay 69, but invested a bit much for that guy at age 29. 13 games in 3 years and $40mil next year….yikes.

23….Ja is more like Ha. He’s not the best corner in the league. He’s above average….thats a financial miss.

Last two things… from making the football version of Space Cowboys, in this case the old guys weren't hero's. King …kiss his ring Rodgers got his play mates Big Dog, Cobb, etc. He gave in, gave up punted to 12 rather than being a bold leader. Didn’t big dog have 12 catches and 3 fumbles? That's value

Lastly don’t pay 52 more than the going rate for a one trick sack or bust pony. 53 can be a Great piece if you Aden players around to account for his single minded sack or bust style…… like the 45 home run guy who strikes out 150 times and bats .225

This is pretty much the team that a lot of fans were expecting, IMO. Some good wins, some tough losses. But we're hoping to see the team improve from week to week. They cruised against the Bears, blew it in Atlanta, then stormed back to beat New Orleans. This week, the play calling was odd, as you noted with all the passing early on. But there was no running game without Jones, and the OL were five blocks of wet paper as far as pass blocking was concerned. The team needs to take a look at the OL, and put in some different players, even if they have less experience (see Rhyan, Sean). Also, LaFleur needs to have a Plan B ready if Plan A doesn't work, instead of stubbornly sticking with a plan that is obviously not working. Strong pass rush? Get the ball of the QB's hand quicker with short routes or swing passes that are easier to complete, and move the chains, eating up the clock to give the defense a chance to rest. The roller coaster ride we expected just took a big dip. But there are still thirteen games to play, and with some self evaluation from the coaching staff, perhaps they can start to form a coherent offense designed around the strengths of Love and the rest of the offense.

Before the Lions game, i commented (down the hall) that a pattern is developing concerning the success of this Packers offense.
The Packers played the Bears and Atlanta who last year ranked 29th and 27th, worse yet, 32nd and 31st in defensive scoring, and the offense basically was humming, sans the 1st 3 quarters against the Falcons, but at least scoring enough to win.
Then they played last seasons 5th ranked defense in the Saints. We saw what happened.
So logic would say that we'd have success against last years 32nd ranked defense of the Lions.
But....Not so fast!!
Die hard fans know that Detroit's defense turned it on the last 6 games of the 2022 season. In those 6 games, the defense only gave up 19.5 PPG. Very good for them.
Especially considering they gave up 27 PPG in their first 11 games.
So far this season they are at 19.25 PPG. I believe a defensive scoring average of 19 PPG in this league is not elite, but it's still getting it done.
The Lions aren't quite there yet, considering how wide open Watson was on that 1 yard TD catch. Though they had their safeties out.
Like it or not, this Lions defense is for real and it's probably going to get better.

This author mentioned the Packers are now a mid tier team, and i agree.
I think the best case scenario at this point is to be a mid tier team at seasons end while they continue to grow. They certainly have the schedule to do that.

I disagree on Walker to a point,, he gets inside fairly well and tackles for loss because of his quickness, but otherwise allows too many yards before the tackle.
He is maddening to watch sometimes for his lack of play recognition, the same things scouts said about him in their draft reports.
We saw again on Walkers penalty jumping over the line, that some of his problems are upstairs.

The 44 yard pass to Reed looked really good, Love threw a perfect dime to him, and Reed kept great focus bringing the ball in.
Since the regulation clock clearly went down to zero's before the ball was snapped, the refs were either incompetent, or they decided to give the Packers some mercy yardage.

It is what it is, but regardless, it was a beautiful pass - catch.

The talent was sent to the coaching staff to be trained up in the Packer Way.
When integrated into the team, the result did not reflect the totality of the expectation.
This leaves us with the realization that the coaching is suspect. This is the same conclusion that has been arrived at for the last three years.
If MLF is unable/unwilling to fire JB, then someone higher should consider reliving him
of this albatross .

Okay, I'm going to go along with the idea that the Packers are essentially a new team, and young, and inexperienced. . . and what we saw on the field Thursday night was a new, young, inexperienced team horrible to watch in the specifics of being new, young, and inexperienced.

The above is what the coaches are attempting to deal with. The season is long and I'm not ready, entirely, yet, to bail on the coaches. But, man, they have to show, eventually, that they can coach, effectively, successfully, a new, young and mostly inexperienced team. I think the makings are there for a great team. . . if the coaches are up to it.

What happened last night is what I suspected would happen when I ventured a comment last Tuesday, saying the Lions will probably kick the shit out of the Packers.

So the Packers move on. Another game. Another test.

I don't like feel good articles. They tend to mask problems and protect the authors of problems. Yes, we now know that this young GB team is likely a .500 team this season. That's a reasonable expectation.

This is an exciting young team regardless. Yes, beat downs of your team are not fun to watch. But the same old, same old comes out once again - bad defense, poor play calling, and no meaningful in-game adjustments. It seems to be the MLF game profile.

The military and business have many similar strategies in becoming successful. One if them is that you MUST be able to control and FIx the things under your control. Every week I wonder (1) how Barry is still employed, (2) how this Oline does not put its 5 best out there when these players can play different positions, and (3) how the penalties particularly on offense have risen so dramatically (MLF)?

I love the Pack but this is looking like a subpar coaching staff. GB fans deserve far better. I don't want to hear the usual MLF post game excuses - I should done this, I got away from the running game, we got shredded on defense, etc. We've heard them all before, ad noseum.

So, Mr LaFleur - no more talk and excuses. We need action. FIX the things you can fix. Now, please.

GPG

It is games like last night that reinforce the Packers are a marshmallow team. The hope that the Packers on paper looked to have the best talent in years on both the O and D lines...4 games later...SMH.

The D looked like they had waved the white flag after the 1st quarter as the Lions just manhandled their way to 3 straight driving scores after Ford's INT. On the field they looked dejected and disgusted.

The OL at times let pass rushers travel to Love with minimal blocking...at times untouched. One of Love's sacks was Newman missing his guy, Myers tried to slow him but whiffed, as JRJ's guy then quickly followed behind. About 2 seconds of action.

With so much parity in the NFL in terms of talent acquisition, coaching is the primary difference maker. The hope MLF would grow into a take charge coach to start the Love era was probably a fool's hope.

I will still hope. I like the talent on the Packers. So I hope it can rise above coaching incompetence.

Well, that was a humbling reality check for many of us, myself included. The Packers are just not ready to be competitive with the truly good teams in the league. They are instead what we realistically expected before the season kicked off: a promising squad with a bunch of issues to iron out that likely hovers around .500 most of the season.

The good news is that they are still 2-2 with some very winnable games coming up. I do think this team can turn in some fun performances and still be alive for the playoffs come December.

What to like are that our offensive skill players appear to be for real. Love is athletic and poised and can make big plays - if he ever sorts his accuracy issues out he’ll be truly dangerous.

What not to like is that this team still has a long way to go to shed its soft, front runner tendencies. Just once, I’d love to see them come out playing tough, disciplined football and push another talented team around. I’m getting more pessimistic that we’ll ever see Packers like that without coaching changes.

Maybe spend less time and money on the outdoor surroundings of lambeau field and remember what pays the bills inside of it
Get a coach with some balls, trade and free agent spend and do it now not coach and draft and spend to develop
That’s what Rodgers was pissed about the whole time

There's a really easy solution for the defensive problems: If Joe Barry can't coach all this talent to be effective, get someone who can. Enough already.

What was everyone expecting this team to be? It has C+ level talent being coached by C- level coaches. It’s A level talent has either been traded (AR, Davante) or has aged out to a lower level (Bahk, Jaire, Jones, Clark, Campbell). A few young guys may get there (Gary, Watson, Walker, Wyatt, Van Ness) but they are certainly not there yet. A couple that could have been A’s like Jenkins or Stokes have been limited by injuries.

This team has been limited from obtaining top talent by its D level financial mismanagement which is paying $60 mil for players not playing for them. Now that Bahktiari is on IR, that figure could be considered to be closer to $80 mil.
This team is exactly what I thought it would be. With a couple losing seasons and some cap space clearance this team can again acquire talent and compete for titles, assuming Gute can minimize the draft whiffs like Savage and Dillon.

They are who I thought they would be. 500 team +- 2 games. There will be ups and downs. This year is basic OJT for QB and WRs. It's also training for MLF who needs to learn how to game plan and call game without a HOF qb.

Defense needs to improve against the run. Given the talent level, the defense is clearly underperforming.

Expect inconsistency. By the end of the year, we should see better consistency. If not, then well, we've been there before.

It's time to remember that the NFL is a week to week league. Teams look terrible one week and great the next. Some teams look bad for several weeks and then turn it around and go on a winning streak. For example the 2016 Packers were 4-6 when they went on a 8 game win streak which took them all the way to NFCCG that season.

I'm no expecting anything like that for the 2023 Packers but if Jones, Watson, Jenkins and Alexander can get healthy and return after the full bye in time for the Broncos game and if the coaches can figure out the OL and the run defense this team and the season can get back on track and look much better than it does right now.

The biggest change needs to come from the coaching staff. They need to take a long, hard, honest look at what they're doing and what they need to do to improve the team's performance. The players need to hold each other accountable. One of the big issues for the team remains to be leadership on the field. On offense I think that Love and Jones need to step into those roles. On defense Clark and Alexander need to step up as well. Maybe Preston Smith also.

The Lions game proved that the team needs someone to rally around on the field when things get really bad. The coaches also need to step up on the leadership issue. The team is too undisciplined and that's on both the players and the coaches. Coaches need to preach it and players need to remind each other not to let things get too far. I don't think any of that is taking place right now. Focus on execution and get more physical.

There is plenty of work to do but get back to some basics and work on them. One play, one game at a time. Plenty of season left for the Packers to grow into a solid team regardless of the won/loss record. Thanks, Since '61

Matt LaFleur said if they can't effectively run the ball and stop the run they're going to lose. LH says "hold my beer."

Giving up 200 yards rushing in two games out of four isn't bad, it's fugly.

It's gonna be a long, up and down season folks, buckle up.

At the same time I wouldnt be suprised if MM has some analytics guy telling him that the Packers gave up 4.246 points less than expected and the offense scored 1.1456 points more than expected and combined with the excel spread sheet telling him that profits are up by % 0.57 over expected, in part thanks to the $5mil PR campaign to make fans think it was all AR12's fault and thus protect the brand, and conclude that he is, in fact, not an idiot....

I still dont understand how some people thought this was going to be a good team. That the people drafted were first class and we were young and ready to play quality football. There may be five guys on this team that can play football at a high level. Two are on the injured list, one is playing and one is playing part time.

Get rid of lafleur now instead of when u have to in 2 years

We all expected an unpredictable season. The Lions are a good team and we need to acknowledge that.

Now we get an extra long week to get healthy and do the work to improve on the many mistakes. We also get an opportunity for revenge against the Lions later this year when we hopefully will have many of these kinks worked out. Key word, “hopefully”.

The cookies are still in the oven,

People acting like the sky is falling.

Answer this question- do you think it is possible the Packers go .500 through the first 3/4 of the season?
Let's say they lose every other game through week 13. They're the epitome of a .500 team.

That would put them at 6-6.

Then they start to gel, get it together, and start to take a step.
Is that possible with the youngest team in the NFL?

The last 5 games of the season:

Giants (1-2, last in their division)
Bucs (2-1, anemic offense, 3rd in division)
Panthers (0-3, last in division behind Bucs)
Vikings (0-3, and, more importantly, perennial late season bed shitters)
Bears (still suck.)

If things break right, Packers go .500 through week 13, figure it out and win out the final 5 games- which, on paper as of right now, looks doable- that's.. let me do some numbers crunching real quick..

11-6 GPG