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When All Hope Feels Lost
There are few things worse to me as a fan of the Green Bay Packers than the Packers scoring a touchdown and not feeling the need to celebrate. Everybody has their own way of celebrating when the Green and Gold hit paydirt, whether that's just high-fives all around, drinking a celebratory shot, playing a song, or sounding an alarm; it's supposed to be a happy moment. But when the Packers are down by several scores late in a game that seems out of reach, that happy moment turns into more of a somber "well, we got that going for us." That is exactly what happened when Matthew Golden scored his first career regular-season touchdown with about eight minutes left in the game to bring the Packers within two scores.
What should have been a happy moment for Packers fans was instead filled with "too little too late" comments. Everyone had pretty much already tossed in the towel and was thinking about their weekend plans. Anything was better than still being emotionally invested in the absolutely embarrassing effort the Packers put on the field Thursday night. Personally, I'm forever the Packers optimist. No matter how bad things might look, I'm always trying to find that path to improvement, or that "look on the bright side" comment. I'm always the last man standing on the optimism bus, but after last night, I'm very close to pulling that "Stop Requested" cord to get off.
But before I make that move to set off the chime and light up that sign for the driver to see, let's look forward.
There's never a good time for a team to just absolutely lay an egg. But if you're going to do it, it's not bad to have it happen in a Thursday night game when you have 10 days until you hit the game field next. A little extra recovery time and some time for self-evaluation before looking towards the next game can go a long way.
I don't expect any drastic personnel changes, This is the coaching staff we have, and there's no merit with the current status of the team to changing a whole lot. I know that's not a popular comment right now, and many are calling for Matt LaFleur's head, but firing MLF isn't going to suddenly reverse the poor status of the offensive line, nor is it going to cause receivers and tight ends to actually catch the ball when Jordan Love does have time to throw it. The in-house interim candidates would likely be Jonathan Gannon or Adam Stenavich. Many want Steno's head as much as LaFleur's, so that idea is out. Are they going to put in Gannon and have Stenavich completely take over the offense? I don't think that's going to go the way that many think it will. Oh, and sorry, but Mike Tomlin or Jon Gruden aren't waiting outside the Lambeau office doors waiting to take the Packers to the Super Bowl this season like Facebook might want you to think. I hope I don't have to explain that installing a completely new offense three weeks into the season and expecting success is completely absurd. If we want to board the Gruden bus for 2027, fine, I'll buckle up. But now? Come on.
So, if that's not happening, what are we doing?
The Packers' running game right now is bad. Historically bad. Of course, we have fans blaming the running backs, which sure, they may share some blame, but it's not exactly like they're running behind stellar blocking. As a result, the Packers' offense is completely one-dimensional. And if your offense is one-dimensional, defenses are just going to laugh when you try to run the ball and continue to pin their ears back to get after the quarterback every down. I don't think Josh Jacobs is coming back any time soon. Some fans probably don't even want him back. So, it's Lloyd, Brooks, and Johnson unless Brian Gutekunst decides to go out and nab another running back capable of breaking into the rotation soon. But even if the Packers somehow nab a running back capable of being an RB1, it's going to be hard to be successful with the offensive line in the situation it is.
Everyone is clamoring for an offensive line trade or free agent signing to help, which, yes, a veteran presence may help the Packers' current group. There are a few options out there, but whether or not the Packers pull the trigger is the question. Even if they do nab a veteran guard, I don't think that automatically fixes the situation; more will still be needed.
Communication is key. Thursday night's game famously displayed still shots of four Packers' linemen on two Atlanta defenders while a blitzer runs free to Jordan Love. Of course, all the jokes flew around, and also the comments questioning competence. Let's get this one straight: these players aren't guys picked up off the street and plugged into the lineup. Even though they may not look like it right now, these are offensive linemen who made it into the NFL for a reason; they're not going to just purposely ignore a blitzer to help double-team a defender. Communication breaks down, and players end up in the wrong position by mistake. Which is why simplification may be needed. If linemen who have been learning this system all spring and summer long are still struggling to pick up on adjustments, outside of spending extra time going over those details, perhaps coaches need to meet them halfway and scale back complex adjustments, making them more straightforward to avoid those embarrassing debacles.
For years, the Packers have drafted linemen based on their versatility. They want guys who can play at least four other positions on the line than what they played in college. Which, sure, it works out occasionally, but when you stick a player in a certain position all their career, like Sean Rhyan at mainly right guard and thrust him into playing center and being the one to call out all these adjustments, perhaps you're asking for trouble. Streamline positions to build chemistry; don't just shuffle around, building inconsistency.
It's only week 3, and the Packers are seemingly at a crossroads with a lot of hope being lost. There are some paths that can be taken to achieve success, and they won't be easy. However, nothing in the NFL is easy, and the best teams are the ones that tackle issues head-on and not tiptoe around them, as the Packers have seemingly done as of late. It's time to change; no savior is coming to turn our season around by way of magic; it's on those currently in the building to make that happen.
Filed Under: Packers NewsFeaturedGreen Bay PackersGreg Meinholz
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Greg Meinholz is a lifelong devoted Packer fan. A contributor to CheeseheadTV as well as PackersTalk. Follow him on Twitter @gmeinholz and Bluesky @gmeinholz.bsky.social for Packers commentary, random humor, beer endorsements, and occasional Star Wars and Marvel ramblings.
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NFL Categories: Green Bay PackersTags: Green Bay PackersMatt LaFleurBrian GutekunstOffensive LineAdam Stenavich
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