Bye Week Assessment

[milani]

With 12 games (minimum) to go in the '23 season here are my thoughts on improvement.
1. Need a solid, long-term LT...Walker had a couple of decent games after Bakhtiari went down, last 2 he's sucked. Move Zach Tom to be current & future LT. Would like to give Nijman another chance at success at RT before losing him with no return to FA.
2. MLF needs to commit to using short, high percentage passing game to soften D's to the run. Don't have the horses up front to be run-first so play to your talent. Keep motion, play-action but utilize high % slants, pick plays, outs to chip away & move the chains. Obviously mix in runs, but not every 1st down, leaving the offense with 2nd & 8. With 70-75% success Loves confidence will soar.
3. Watson needs to run his 10-15 yd in/out breaking patterns to see what he can win vs defender. MLF can then mix in a deep drop, longer developing play with good chance of Watson winning & succeeding a chunk play.
4. At least 2/half designed Love keeper runs outside after play-action to keep D's honest. Kid can move, use him.
5. With consistent D pressure use screens. That mean they need to practice AND become good at them.
6. No more experimental TE blocking. Sims appears decent at it, Kraft needs to earn playing time as right now he sucks at blocking.

I agree. We need an LT that can at least neutralize the Bosas or the Crosbys even though they move them. Walker got trounced the last 2 games. Will he get better? Not that much. And the MLF commitment change in the offense should have occurred going into the season. Recall when we went into AZ in 2021 he had no Adams or Lazard due to COVID. He did just that and we executed well except for our last drive. And he was without Tonyan for the last quarter. But we did have Big Dog. Somehow somewhere I think we need to find a veteran TE for the simple plays. Being in position, block adequately, and can make the short yardage catches for a 1st down. A crucial drop on that last drive was a killer.

 

[Firethorn1001]

So, in six seasons Gute has three guys you might call special. Gary is the only blue chipper on this team. I'm really not seeing it with this GM.

At times he is way too attached to RAS rather than finding guys who can play football

 

[Pugger]

With 12 games (minimum) to go in the '23 season here are my thoughts on improvement.
1. Need a solid, long-term LT...Walker had a couple of decent games after Bakhtiari went down, last 2 he's sucked. Move Zach Tom to be current & future LT. Would like to give Nijman another chance at success at RT before losing him with no return to FA.
2. MLF needs to commit to using short, high percentage passing game to soften D's to the run. Don't have the horses up front to be run-first so play to your talent. Keep motion, play-action but utilize high % slants, pick plays, outs to chip away & move the chains. Obviously mix in runs, but not every 1st down, leaving the offense with 2nd & 8. With 70-75% success Loves confidence will soar.
3. Watson needs to run his 10-15 yd in/out breaking patterns to see what he can win vs defender. MLF can then mix in a deep drop, longer developing play with good chance of Watson winning & succeeding a chunk play.
4. At least 2/half designed Love keeper runs outside after play-action to keep D's honest. Kid can move, use him.
5. With consistent D pressure use screens. That mean they need to practice AND become good at them.
6. No more experimental TE blocking. Sims appears decent at it, Kraft needs to earn playing time as right now he sucks at blocking.

The guys need a hell of lot more practice at screens before we use them in games. We do need our TEs to block better than they presently are. This along with WR blocking is an issue here.

 

[Pugger]

Well, season isn't as bad as I thought.....yet.

But LOTS of improvement needed.

Well, this season is kinda what I expected. I figured the offense was going to be a major work in progress but with the draft capital we spent on D they should be better than this. I lay a lot of the blame here at the feet of both MLF and Barry.

 

[Schultz]

The guys need a hell of lot more practice at screens before we use them in games. We do need our TEs to block better than they presently are. This along with WR blocking is an issue here.

I remember not all that long ago that the Packers were the best screen team in the league.

 

[Pkrjones]

I remember not all that long ago that the Packers were the best screen team in the league.

GB still has mobile OL's capable of getting in front...just need to practice it more & perfect. Coaches need to stress fundamentals & importance of details. Can't allow whiff blocks that blow up the play, those incapable lose playing time.

 

[Scotland Yard]

With 12 games (minimum) to go in the '23 season here are my thoughts on improvement.
1. Need a solid, long-term LT..

It is almost criminal negligence how Gutekunst/LaFleur have handled the OT position.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but, in six drafts Gute has drafted two true OT's (not C/OG's that they transition like Tom). That would be 2020 6th round selection Simon Stepaniak (bust) and 2022 7th round selection Rasheed Walker (not looking good).

And after three years of Bakhtiari being injured, in the 2023 draft they had 13 selections and not one OT (not any OL at all)...just hope perpetually banged-up Bakhtiari can play and whatever else sticks to the wall at RT. If Bakh is hurt, the ship sinks. Unbelievable.

Tom should be at C right now, I think he'd be an excellent one. Myers just can't do it, but, maybe could still be useful as an OG given the chance.

 

[Team Ronny]

For a guy (Myers) in his 3rd season..he sure makes alot of mistakes. I would try Tom or Tenuta at c.

 

[OldSchool101]

Take out Bak, Jenkins and Jones?
It’s a brand new Offense. I would venture if you did a survey of total snaps by an Offense going back 30 years? We’d be bottom 1-2% on the inexperience scale. I might be being generous on that one.
Get Jenkins and Jones back? We might raise that to the 4% tile

To make these grande declarations this quickly into a 1st season isn’t fair imo

 

[milani]

The guys need a hell of lot more practice at screens before we use them in games. We do need our TEs to block better than they presently are. This along with WR blocking is an issue here.

Remember 20-25 years ago we were the best screen team in football. Dorset Levens, Ahman Green, Tony Fisher, and even James Starks came along and ran it well. But the key was the timing of the O Line.

 

[gopkrs]

Remember 20-25 years ago we were the best screen team in football. Dorset Levens, Ahman Green, Tony Fisher, and even James Starks came along and ran it well. But the key was the timing of the O Line.

the timing and cunning of the back is very important also.

 

[Pugger]

It is almost criminal negligence how Gutekunst/LaFleur have handled the OT position.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but, in six drafts Gute has drafted two true OT's (not C/OG's that they transition like Tom). That would be 2020 6th round selection Simon Stepaniak (bust) and 2022 7th round selection Rasheed Walker (not looking good).

And after three years of Bakhtiari being injured, in the 2023 draft they had 13 selections and not one OT (not any OL at all)...just hope perpetually banged-up Bakhtiari can play and whatever else sticks to the wall at RT. If Bakh is hurt, the ship sinks. Unbelievable.

Tom should be at C right now, I think he'd be an excellent one. Myers just can't do it, but, maybe could still be useful as an OG given the chance.

After Bak's injury, yes they should have addressed it. It should be no surprise those tackles taken in the 6th and 7th round are struggling. Most players taken on the last day are projects. I'm wondering if perhaps every time their turn came up in higher rounds in those 6 drafts an OT that wasn't a major reach wasn't on their board? I also wonder if they were gambling that Bak's knee would respond better and it just didn't happen. It is a damn shame for both David and the Packers that this injury has festered this long and may possibly be career threatening. I have a strong suspicion they will take a tackle a lot higher this spring.

 

[gopkrs]

After Bak's injury, yes they should have addressed it. It should be no surprise those tackles taken in the 6th and 7th round are struggling. Most players taken on the last day are projects. I'm wondering if perhaps every time their turn came up in higher rounds in those 6 drafts an OT that wasn't a major reach wasn't on their board? I also wonder if they were gambling that Bak's knee would respond better and it just didn't happen. It is a damn shame for both David and the Packers that this injury has festered this long and may possibly be career threatening. I have a strong suspicion they will take a tackle a lot higher this spring.

They need to work on the O line for sure. The days of just getting by with average guards are gone imho. So they need to look there also. Draft and/or free agency. They need two of them anyway. And if Myers is as bad as many seem to think; that position needs to be addressed also. I would put the O line as number one priority and then... They can do that and still address other positions imho.

 

[Poppa San]

They need to work on the O line for sure. The days of just getting by with average guards are gone imho. So they need to look there also. Draft and/or free agency. They need two of them anyway. And if Myers is as bad as many seem to think; that position needs to be addressed also. I would put the O line as number one priority and then... They can do that and still address other positions imho.

I would not be surprised for 3 OL on the first 2 days of the draft. Two OTs and an iOL. If Myers doesn't improve a lot then Tom or Jenkins gets center if they don't draft one. Add a DT if not 3OL. Build up the trenches.

 

[Schultz]

IMO priorities should be
1. OL- preferably LT
2. Safety
3. DL- preferably inside
4. RB
5. ILB

 

[El Guapo]

The Vikings' main problem for way too long has been a weak offensive line. The Packers strength for decades has been consistent O-line play. I'm remembering a playoff game maybe 5-8 years ago when the Seahawks DE was going to "blow up the Packers' offensive line" according to all of the pundits. That guy (can't remember who) was a beast, but he had virtually no stats as we neutralized him.

What every young QB needs is a good-to-great offensive line. We don't have that for Love. He's got two greats on the left side that can't stay healthy, a bunch of other guys on the right, and a poor center.

 

[OldSchool101]

After Bak's injury, yes they should have addressed it.

Yes. Although I suppose the thought was we’ve invested 100+ million and they expected him to be back at least last year and made an educated gamble there. Obviously our # number didn’t come up there. It’s had a serious impact on our games this far.

I would not be surprised for 3 OL on the first 2 days of the draft.

When possible, I find myself drafting Joe Alt at #9 area in Draft Mocks.
I love his Mountain of a Man size and his football Pedigree. Tyler Guyton from OK is another that pops up regular in the earlier Day2 area where we should be selecting 2X

Patrick Paul has been all over the board, but more recently he’s risen into that solid Day 2 area. He could be a fail safe if we miss earlier. He’s got the wingspan equivalency of a B-36 Bomber

IMO priorities should be
1. OL- preferably LT
2. Safety
3. DL- preferably inside
4. RB
5. ILB

That is almost exactly how my Mocks have been coming up. At iDL I’d be looking for 1 more 295lb+ (preferable 305 area) guy.

I’ll just mention I’ve noticed thus far there’s a large crop of iDL (like 6-8 of them) in that later Day2-Earlier Day3 range. I found myself adapting to that (in interactives) and getting one in that area instead of reaching where it’s thin at the top.

 

[El Guapo]

Yes. Although I suppose the thought was we’ve invested 100+ million and they expected him to be back at least last year and made an educated gamble there. Obviously our # number didn’t come up there. It’s had a serious impact on our games this far.

I whole heartily agree. They had to expect that he would come back, because most players do go back from ACLs. Even if they knew he was done, once you've made someone the highest paid LT in the league, how do you go out and spend more money on that position immediately? The rest of the team would suffer.

I assume that the Packers (and most teams) have a basic formula of how much of the cap to commit to each position group, with the ability to modify as needed.

 

[Guacamole]

He sure hasn't yet. So far, he looks like a garbage int. throwing machine.

Agreed. They should fire him today.

Barry should have been fired last season