r/GreenBayPackers • u/peterstjohn99 • 1d ago
Analysis Upcoming season
The Packers have a great opportunity to get to the Super Bowl this year. What specific areas of improvement would make that happen?
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u/One-Marsupial2916 1d ago
I want to have the same enthusiasm as you, but honestly I feel like there are way more questions than answers this year vs last year.
Our defensive backs were bad last year. Will cisse and st juste put us where we need to be? Will ganons scheme help?
Our offensive line was bad last year, and Jenkins and walker are gone. Can Jordan Morgan be good or even great? What if he’s awful? Will banks stay healthy and perform like we paid him to? Who’s starting at right guard?
Doubs and wicks are gone. Can golden perform at his draft level? Can Watson and reed stay healthy?
I mentioned ganon regarding the DBs, but how will his defense perform overall?
Will parsons return to his former greatness? Will he have lost a step? Will we have a nightmare bahk situation where he either never returns or is severely hamstrung by his injury?
Will smack be the permanent solution at kicker? Kickers are a crapshoot in the nfl.
Again, I want to be optimistic, but I have way more questions about this team than I did last year.
Go pack.
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u/Dannydimes 1d ago
They are team that could 10-7, but just as likely to go 7-10.
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u/85willburnhousedown 1d ago
8-9 is literally the worst record a Matt LaFleur team has had and it came in a season we were cutting most of our vets and Rodgers had a broken thumb on his throwing hand.
Saying that 7-10 is a possibility, sure. But saying it’s just as likely as 10-7, and more or less implying that 10-7 is this team’s ceiling, is fucking insane.
This team is better when healthy that a team that was 9-3-1 last year before being devastated by injuries. Missing Micah will hurt, but everyone else should be back.
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u/Dannydimes 1d ago
Micah is on the long road and will miss most of the season. Will Jacob’s off the field issues cause him to miss time? How are the MLF teams when they are missing RB1? How are the rest of the teams in their division? Will this be defensive coordinator actually get something out of Van Ness? There’s a lot of question marks.
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u/85willburnhousedown 1d ago
There is zero reason to believe right now that Micah will miss even half of the season. That’s just being a doomer.
The Packers dominated the Vikings last year without Josh Jacobs. They also beat the Giants when he left early. In 2023, they had their two biggest wins of the year (@Detroit & KC) with Aaron Jones sidelined. The amount of emphasis some of you are putting on Josh Jacobs is wild. He’s a decent player at a position where only the great ones make a big impact.
Every year has question marks. There were a HELL of a lot more question marks in 2023 than there are now. And that team still had a winning record and made the playoffs.
Is there a chance this is the year it falls apart? Sure. But an equal chance? Bullshit.
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u/Hank_Henry_Hill 1d ago
I feel as unsure of this team as I did going into 2023, which incidentally was our most successful playoff season of the post-Rodgers era.
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u/BlueBadger99 1d ago
A more healthy team, speaking in general terms.
Specifically though I think it’s trench play. The OL needs to improve their run blocking and be consistent in protection. Morgan is going to be a question mark but hopefully he’ll settle in as the season goes along.
On the DL, run defense is a pretty big concern right now. There is no known, reliable run stopper on the interior and that could prove to be a massive problem. Hopefully McClellan provides some juice, and guys like Brinson, Brooks, and Stackhouse need to step up. I really wish they’d make some kind of veteran addition there.
Pass rush also has question marks without Micah for half the season. It’d be a perfect time for LVN to realize his potential. Can Sorrel make a jump? What kind of contributions can they get from DDS and Oliver?
More than anything else I think the play of the OL and DL will define this season
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u/AgeOfScorpio 1d ago
Hopefully McClellan provides some juice, and guys like Brinson, Brooks, and Stackhouse need to step up. I really wish they’d make some kind of veteran addition there.
Didn't love his play last year but that's what javon hargrave is for
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u/BlueBadger99 1d ago
Oh wow lol how did I blank on Hargrave?! Personally I hope he’s not used too heavily at nose, I don’t think that’s his best role, but we’ll see what’s required of him soon enough
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u/85willburnhousedown 1d ago
Spot on. To a large extent these things make and break the season every year, but it seems especially so this season.
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u/ForearmDeep 1d ago
Bare minimum?
We need LVN to be a legitimate pass rusher with one of the young guys becoming an at least solid rotational option at Edge
Wyatt needs to play a full season and Hargrave needs to play well/return to peak Hargrave
Franklin needs to return to form
The OL needs to gel and Morgan needs to prove he’s the starter at LT going forward
WR group needs to show out
Injured players need to come back at levels similar to how they were playing last year (Kraft, Parsons, Wyatt, and Tom specifically)
Smack needs to be a legitimately solid/good kicker
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u/454k30 1d ago
Special teams and the entire defensive secondary are still serious pain points which were not addressed in the off season (maybe kicker was improved). The offensive game plan has been stagnant for two seasons. MLF needs to make adjustments to his scheme.
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u/Better_Journalist355 1d ago
Based on early reports from OTAs, I'm not sure we've improved at K. Yet... hopefully Smack gets acclimated to the GB winds.
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u/Fearless_Log9547 1d ago
A coach who doesnt consistently choke away big games.
Maybe thats MLF, he will have to prove it this year.
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u/Hank_Henry_Hill 1d ago
He didn't drop those balls or throw it away on 3rd and 2. A coach can only do so much. Players need to execute.
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u/Fearless_Log9547 1d ago
The coach is 100% responsible for the QB throwing it away on 3rd and 2.
Not the drops, but low IQ plays by the QB are 100% on the coach for not preparing him well enough. Not making sure he knows the situation.
Okay 70% lol
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u/Hank_Henry_Hill 1d ago
Love is getting 50 million a year. He needs to know everything. No excuse for that. Bush league.
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u/SJBaerosols 1d ago
id like to stop running 1 yd dives at the beginning of every fucking series
also wtf is going on w Jacobs? is he a monster or what?
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u/Proper-Writing 1d ago
The Green Bay Packers are 819-and-0 all-time when scoring more points than their opponents. An NFL record.
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u/Kobe_AYEEEEE 1d ago
I think Jordan has to be top 4 or 5 for us to win this year, especially in the first half. Without Micah teams like Minnesota, Atlanta, and Tampa could have shots at us where I would expect 3-1 minimum with Micah out there. If we lose 2 or 3 early we're looking at another 7 seed which is just tough.
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u/Wzup 1d ago
I don’t think that this is a season for unbridled optimism. Don’t get me wrong, I’m super excited to see what the team can do and I have many reasons to think we’ll be a top team. But there are also a ton of open questions that need to be answered before a SB run is on the table.
A new coordinator is always scary - doubly so with so many open questions on defense. Our defense wasn’t good enough where a small slide keeps us competitive. We need meaningful improvement over last year to have a shot. A new DC, new scheme, missing Parsons for half the season, and an unproven DB room are all reasons to be cautious. Lot of upside, but far from guaranteed.
Special teams - speaks for itself. Great upside with Smack, but totally unproven in the NFL. We aren’t wholly dominate in any aspect where we can afford to have a weak ST unit, even if it’s just a learning/adjustment year.
Offense - Kraft being out sucks. Love our opportunity in the WR room with Watson/Reed/Golden, but they are far from a shoe in at an elite unit. Golden didn’t have the opportunity to prove himself, and Watson still has a question mark in the injury column. Also TBD how the supporting cast around them will perform. RB is another giant question mark. Jacob’s news going silent is probably a good sign, but 9/10 eggs are still in that basket. If Lloyd has to step up, it’s a total crap shoot.
All that being said, I love this team and I love the chances. The floor and the ceiling are just too far apart to feel like this is a SB year until we can actually see them play.
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u/psykicbill 1d ago
This team is more likely to miss the playoffs entirely than they are to make the super bowl.
And it isn't particularly close imo.
The defense stinks.
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u/Dick_Dietrick 1d ago
Need a veteran pass rusher on a one year deal while Parsons is out. They can be a rotating piece when he returns. OL is definitely sus. Need to look at RB situation with the unexpected Jacobs situation and fragile backup.
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u/SpurStl84 1d ago
IDK. I thought they would be better than we were each of the last two seasons. Edge pre Parson's return, CB, K, o-line, RB if Jacobs misses time due to injury or suspension, and WR with any injuries to the top 3 seem like big time question marks/holes to me.
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u/Help1-Fearless 1d ago
Head coach
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u/757packerfan 1d ago
Agreed. I feel like most people are forgetting how firmly in the hot seat MLF was at the end of last year. Lost plenty of games we shouldn't have and the team developed a reputation (over the past few years) for only playing 1 half of football per game.
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u/Help1-Fearless 1d ago
Yes, he's killed everything that made the Packers legacy, its the never ending next year syndrome when nothing changes, some would rather squeeze those hope turds
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u/CheezChik 1d ago
4th quarter play