Longtimefan makes some great points about the Pats struggles last season. You can add the Packers slow start ending with Rodgers "relax" comments.
It's a long season, filled with peaks and valleys. No team can be at the top of their game every week, and sooner or later every team is gonna have a clunker like our team did the other night. It's one game in a marathon. I knew we were likely in for a long night when I learned the Broncos had their Super Bowl team and other franchise greats at the game to honor Pat Bowlen. Think the opener with Seattle last season; we were running into an emotional buzz saw.
That said, there are serious issues for this team to address, many of which were exposed in Denver.
I believe I posted at the beginning of the season that the loss of Nelson was going to have a very negative effect on this team's strength- the passing game. Many said we could spread the ball around and replace his production, but for me, that wasn't the issue. You might be able to replace him statistically, but not his impact. We lost arguably one of the games top 5 wr's, and this teams premier deep threat. There isn't anyone on the roster who can replace what Jordy brought to the table, and the 'trickle down' pressure it's put on the group has proven-at least so far-unable to overcome. Opposing defenses jobs got a lot easier.
I think the passing game/route tree is too vanilla and predictable. Where are the routes with wr's crossing , the motion, the routes designed to clear out and create space? Too much is dependent on guys quickly winning one on one battles.
The big plays in the passing game are usually the result of 'sandlot' street ball types of plays when the initial routes don't work. As Denver showed, a really good D that can bring the heat and cover will take that away. And once that's gone, the Packers don't seem to have any answers or adjustments.