LATEST NEWS: Numerous flaws in the Packers fourth consecutive defeat, but few appear tied to….
GREEN BAY – Not in a rush to begin his Sunday night, Rasul Douglas sat at his locker, still dressed in his game trousers and undershirt.
Wearing trousers and shoes with a rucksack slung to his shoulders, he was deep in discussion with Darnell Savage, the safety for the Green Bay Packers. Savage missed his first of four games on injured reserve on Sunday afternoon against the Minnesota Vikings, but Douglas’ postgame shower could wait. He was interested in learning his seasoned comrades’ viewpoint.
A few of minutes went by. With a stride towards the players parking lot, Savage left via the back entrance. Douglas didn’t leave his locker. The Packers, who have now lost four games in a row, are urgently fighting to save their season after falling to a Vikings club without its star receiver Justin Jefferson 24-10. At this moment, it seems hopeless; as if the 2023 championship is already behind us, but the post-game discussions are still going on.
After Savage, undrafted rookie Malik Heath made a trip to Douglas’ locker. Dontayvion Wicks, another rookie receiver, then made his way across. Elgton Jenkins followed.
Douglas said, “I might just stay here for a little while.”
Seven games into the season, and the Packers are already experiencing so many issues and missteps that it is difficult to pinpoint the causes. According to Douglas’s best explanation, the Packers’ problems seem to be 20 different things coming together to produce one clear outcome: poor football.
Harrison Phillips, a defensive lineman for the Minnesota Vikings, celebrates sacking quarterback Jordan Love of the Green Bay Packers.
The most perplexing thing is that so few of the problems centre on Jordan Love, the starting quarterback in his rookie season. That’s the essence of this season at this moment, more than any one single game, the winning or eventual loss. The Packers would want to know by January what the best course of action is for the most crucial position on the field. The tragedies around Love are making that hard as November approaches on the calendar.
Consider Sunday’s inaugural drive. The Packers were in the huddle for a run-pass option as they faced a third-and-1 at their 28-yard line. At the snap, a Vikings pass rusher pushed through the offensive line and encircled Love with two arms. Right up until Love broke loose, it was a sure thing. On a botched play, the rookie quarterback maintained his calm, throwing a dime to Romeo Doubs down the right sideline for a potential 20-yard gain.
Except back at the line of scrimmage, left tackle Rasheed Walker was run blocking, since that’s what offensive linemen do on a run-pass option. Love delivered his throw, but Walker had already gotten too far downfield. What the Packers received was a 5-yard penalty instead of a highlight-reel conversion.
“RPO,” the right tackle said. Zach “There will be linemen downfield,” Tom said. It’s also prolonged. That is what will occur. Yes, it hurts, but given the complexity of the play, I wouldn’t say that’s something we need to improve on.
The following snap was an offside leap by the Vikings. Love attempted to take advantage of a free play by connecting with youngster Jayden Reed far downfield, but he misjudged his open receiver. The Vikings penalty still netted the Packers five yards. One more third-and-one.
Love sent the ball to large tailback AJ Dillon, but Harrison Phillips, the defensive lineman for the Vikings, was unobstructed. After forcing the Packers to punt, Phillips stuffed Dillon for no gain.
Tom said, “That play was a miscommunication.” That’s the kind of (crap) that we are discussing. That kind of thing is absolutely necessary; you have to stay alert. Due to a misunderstanding, the nose guard unblocked when it should have been an easy first down. The game is over because of a TFL.
Love broke a sack for a 20-yard conversion on third down during that drive, but he also failed to find an open receiver on a free play. It just wasn’t valid due to a penalty. Love didn’t overlook Phillips’ block. Nevertheless, the Packers offence punted.
Throughout Sunday’s defeat, there were several instances of errors that had nothing to do with quarterback performance.
During a second-quarter holding penalty, right guard Jon Runyan erased Aaron Jones’s 5-yard run on second-and-6. When the Packers finally encountered a third-and-16, Love sprinted for seven yards. One more punt.
Yosh Nijman, a left tackle, received a face mask penalty in the fourth quarter. The Vikings refused, seeing as how Love got sacked anyhow. With two touchdowns behind them, the Packers had to somehow get into the end zone. After two plays, Love made a 15-yard scramble up the middle on fourth-and-16. He needed one more.
During their losing skid, the Packers defence has played with more precision, maybe because to their increased experience. It’s still not producing takeaways that are revolutionary. Defensive lineman Devonte Wyatt recovered after outside linebacker Preston Smith’s strip sack against Vikings backup quarterback Jaren Hall in the fourth quarter. The Packers were in full-on catch-up mode at that point.
Quay Walker was the recipient of a throw from Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins in the first quarter. Cousins departed the game with what appeared to be a ruptured Achilles tendon. Walker easily intercepted a throw from Cousins after it struck his hands, but the Packers linebacker was unable to grab it. In a tie game, a takeaway would have given the Packers a short pitch.
Walker replied, “I have to accept that.” “I have to come down with that play if I want to be the leader of this defence, this squad, and the best player that I think I am. It touched my hands at the conclusion of the day. I must see this play through to the end.”
Following the game, Walker basically apologised to his teammates for failing to pick up the interception. Douglas brought him to a halt. In actuality, almost every player on the Packers roster has had an impact on the field over the previous four games, if not on Sunday afternoon.
Douglas said of Walker, “We’d probably be 7-0 right now if we had 11 of him.”
The rookie’s involvement in the offence is growing as he caught two catches for 28 yards, the second of which was a 17-yard gain on first-and-15. (Penalty for false start, Rasheed Walker) In order to get the Packers within one possession in the fourth quarter, Wicks also failed to complete a throw on an open slant close to the goal line.
Christian Watson had two targets in the end zone in the fourth quarter. With five minutes remaining, the first happened on a fade route on third-and-16. Love’s throw was spot on, but Watson was cautiously stopped from raising his right hand to catch the ball by cornerback Akayleb Evans. It was too late for Watson to make the catch by the time he recovered.
On the second, Love took a snap from the 34-yard line, and Watson was double covered. Watson moved in front of both Vikings defenders, giving himself a clear path to the football, but it sprang into the air and deflected off his hands.
According to Watson, “it was a must-have at that point in the game.” “We simply need to figure out how to make them.”
The Packers are failing to act on far too many “must-haves.” His problems with Love do not exonerate him. In the third quarter, Reed got behind the Vikings coverage on a third-and-eight play. Love underthrew the pass, which made the youngster turn to face Josh Metellus, a safety for the Vikings, who was ready for the ball. One play later, Metellus picked up Love and went 43 yards in the other direction, setting up a Vikings score.
Josh Metellus, a safety for the Minnesota Vikings, wrestles the ball away from Jayden Reed, a wide receiver for the Green Bay Packers, to pick it up.
The pick was a stain on the last line of Love. In addition to the interception, he completed 24 of 41 throws for 229 yards and one score to Doubs, earning a 72.1 passer rating. What his last statement omits are the errors that have been made around him, which, if they persist, might taint his ultimate assessment this season. A quarterback with MVP potential—well, an Aaron Rodgers in his prime—can conceal the errors made by those around him.
It’s difficult to anticipate the same from a quarterback making his NFL debut.
Coach Matt LaFleur stated, “There will be a few plays you wish you could get back, but we also need to make some plays for him.” We may have dropped five or six balls. It will be difficult to overcome it. It’s got to be caught. We need to become better at throwing, catching, and blocking the ball. We must cease having penalties that set us behind and force us into these clear-cut pass scenarios. In order for you to run your offence early in the game, we need to figure out how to convert a third down. We run a 2-minute offence for half of the game, so you can’t even get into your typical rhythm because you’re not moving the chains, no matter what you practice all week or what you prepare for.
That’s the disappointing thing. You invest so much time and energy into something, you make a plan, but you never even have the opportunity to carry it out.
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