Green Bay Packers Thread

Mike McCarthy's time has to be up, there's no debate about it anymore. He is dated as hell (remember when he was probably the best playcaller in the league bar probably Sean Payton? Feels like a lifetime ago), he is far too conservative and has been getting more and moreso as each year passes, he seems to have lost the locker room, and he and Rodgers are apparently on the outs - and only one person is winning that dispute. I would even go so far as to say that at this stage, he (McCarthy) is a liability who costs us a lot more than he benefiting us.

I also don't see us doing much this season, which kind of sucks. But we have a whole lot to be excited about.

- I yammered on about Aaron Jones before the season, and the last two games have been why. The guy is an absolute star in the making, and I . Still possibly a bit 'thin at the hips' but Jamaal Williams is a very solid guy to rotate in for him, probably enough to be a 400+ yard back for the next few years... Jones has consistent 1,000 yard season on under 250 carry potential though. I also noticed on or two great pass blocks which were nice to see in terms of using him on 3rd downs etc, and I had thought he was a pure runner... but those catches, especially the TD, were excellent.

- The three WRs we took are paying off. Moore is only on 1 catch for 10 yards granted, but St. Brown is really showing the potential to be a seriously dangerous threat for a long time once he gets the basics down, and MVS who looked like he would take years to develop if he even ever did is on 24 catches in 10 games (23 in the last 7) for 400+ yards. Moore might just be suffering from congestion at the spot which will probably clear with Cobb and at least one of Geronimo Allison or Trevor Davis going this offseason. But even if Moore never catches another pass again and the other two develop, that would be amazing value for a 4th, 5th and 6th rounder.

- DB is full of inexperience and question marks, but I really like our CB corps moving forward. King's injuries are becoming a pretty big concern but he has looked pretty class on the field this year, Jaire is looking like a legit 'cornerstone' player (along with Kenny Clark and Martinez, giving us one at all three levels), Josh Jackson has flashed at times... and I forgot we even had Breeland. Some of the unknowns have shown up in spurts too, but we do need to get a rangy FS with Dix gone (I think Josh Jones could do very well at SS beside one, as he did early last year).

- Hats off to Frackrell, after being a bit of a joke for his first few seasons. He is far, far from a complete player and I don't want him as a starter next year, but if we have two proper OLBs and Frackrell able to rotate in for them for tiredness/injury/fatigue, that's pretty exciting. This is a key example of how Capers had no interests in playing to players' strengths and instead just putting square pegs in round holes (Frackrell is OK in coverage, terrible against the run usually, and cannot power rush etc past players... but he's got a good step, burst, and CMIII-like closing speed. He gets sacks and contributes very little else... so let him focus on getting sacks). He's now on 8 sacks in the last 7 games after getting 5 in 29 under Capers.

- Our OLB situation needs addressing, quite badly. This is a theme of our defense which I kind of "like" (for a lack of a better word) - our weaknesses our obvious and addressable: OLB and S on defense, OL depth on offense. Perry has been playing injured and poorly at that with just one sack while CMIII is on 3 I believe... yet despite that we are top of the league for sacks. I reckon we'll see more emphasis on guys who can cover and defend the run/set the edge over guys looking for 12+ sacks each year, as Pettine loves to create pressure from all over and not just his OLBs (who need to be versatile to help confuse defenses... all those false starts last night were not a coincidence). With a rangy safety and let's say a rookie/FA stud at at least one of the OLB spots, I think this defense could be very effective. But the run defense 100% has to improve, a lot... statistically we are 8th worst for yards allowed per game and 12th worst for yards per attempt, and maybe I've just missed the games we did better at, but it's been very noticeable when I have seen us play.

- Injuries are catching up, the defense crumbled late due to them and being on the field so long but it was the offense that cost us that game. We forced 4-5 3-and-outs in a row and yet nothing came of it, the game should have been well out of reach before the halt.

- Also, JK Scott's punting continues to impress... I've been watching since 2002 and don't recall us ever having a punter land in-and-around the 10 yard line so often. With us having got good at 3-and-outs (and 3rd downs, where we are top 10 and only just behind the top 3-4... WTF!?!?!?!?) that's a massive bonus to have, and is something the offense should be taking a lot more advantage of than they have.

I really hope he is gone before the next game but figure we'll be officially out of Tre playoffs before anything is announced, the players just don't want to even play for him anymore.

Not so sure on overhauling the roster though. I think one of st. Brown or MVS could make the slot position (personally I'm very impressed with both) or ILB where Jake Ryan back will be huge against the run and where burks was always going to take a year or tuition - plus Martinez is an absolute star. FS and OLB definitely yes) though we're one of the top teams in the league for sacks and while two dimensional and not starting quality, Frackrell will be huge for pressure if he keeps up as is). Some depth at oline or a long term Bulaga replacement sure but our line has been good this year, both in pass protection and run blocking.