The Green Bay Packers bye week couldn’t have come at a better time. After being embarrassed by the Detroit Lions the week before, the Packers were hoping to bounce back in Week 5. But that didn’t happen. Instead, the Packers fell to the lowly Las Vegas Raiders 17-13 in Las Vegas. It wasn’t a pretty sight. The Packers, as a whole, struggled. But for the Green Bay Packers offense, the effort was a head-scratcher.
Green Bay Packers Offense in the Middle of an Identity Crisis
Heading into Monday night, Matt LaFleur knew that it was going to be tough for his offense. Leading up to the game, it was reported they would be without starting running back Aaron Jones. Not having a player of Jones’s caliber was a big loss. But still, the rest of the Green Bay Packers offense, and their head coach, made things even more difficult.
It didn’t take long to figure out that LaFleur was hell-bent on establishing the running game. It’s something he and the offense had failed to do in their two previous games. But to do so without their best running back didn’t seem like the proper game plan. Backup running back A.J. Dillon wasn’t awful, finishing the night with 20 carries for 76 yards, but he’s not nearly the weapon Jones is.
There is a lot of blame to go around for the Packers poor offensive showing. We take a look at these factors and what LaFleur needs to do to get the Green Bay Packers offense back on track.
LaFleur Needs to be Better
As a disciple of Kyle Shanahan, a lot is expected from Matt LaFleur. His mentor is arguably the best offensive play-caller currently in the NFL. What he is doing with the San Francisco 49ers offense, and specifically with what Brock Purdy is doing, is a thing of magic. It might not be fair to compare LaFleur to Shanahan. While not fair, it is something that will happen.
Shanahan is known for establishing the run so it can open up the play-action passing game. It’s something that LaFleur has stated that he wants to do with the Green Bay Packers offense. However, so far this season, LaFleur and the offense haven’t been able to do so. The week that he finally made an effort to get the running game going, he tried to do so without the services of his best running back. It wasn’t just head-scratching, it was downright dumb.
It didn’t take the subpar Raiders defense long to figure out what Lafleur was doing. While Dillon did gain 76 yards, he only had a 3.8 yards-per-carry average. There are times that offenses struggle to run the ball, but can still carve out a way to win. But LaFleur never adapted, which led to his young quarterback Jordan Love struggling.
Without an adequate run game, the passing game struggled. When Love did run play-action, the Raiders weren’t fooled. Love wasn’t helped out by the receiver’s inability to get open. But with how LaFleur runs his offense, he didn’t do any favors to his receivers either. Many will point to the Packers young offensive roster as an excuse for their failures. But don’t buy into that. LaFleur has been an offensive play-caller for six seasons (one season with the Tennesse Titans) now, he should know what to do with a young roster. He needs to be better.
Pass Catchers Need to Help Out their Quarterback
With this being Jordan Love’s first year as the Packers starting quarterback, they knew he would have some clunkers. He had played well in the Packers first three games but has had some tough moments in their last two. Still, in games where he will struggle, his supporting cast needs to do a better job of helping him out so the entire Green Bay Packers offense doesn’t go down with him.
It had appeared that Love and Romeo Doubs had developed a special connection. But you wouldn’t have guessed that on Monday night against the Raiders. Doubs caught just one ball for four yards. For a receiver who some look at as a number one option, he needs to do a better job of winning one-on-one battles. The ability to do that is what makes a number-one NFL wide receiver. If LaFleur isn’t going to scheme him open, he needs to show he can get open on his own.
Christian Watson, who seems to finally be healthy, caught three passes for 91 yards on Monday night. Packers fans finally got to see his big play potential again. But for a wide receiver who has his size (6’4″, 207 pounds) and speed, he has to do more for the passing attack. While he is a great down-the-field weapon, he needs to be better in the intermediate passing game. The Packers expect more from Watson and in his second season, he needs to start to show it.
From all indications, Luke Musgrave is the type of tight end the Green Bay Packers offense has been missing in recent history. However, Musgrave is the opposite of what Watson currently is. Musgrave has been solid in the short passing attack but has yet to make his presence felt stretching the middle of the field. He has the speed to stretch the field and beat opposing linebackers and safeties. If he starts to do that, he would be a huge asset to Love and the rest of the passing game.
Cleaning Up the Offensive Line
If you didn’t think losing David Bakhtiari for the rest of the season was a big deal, now you know. Maxx Crosby was a one-man wrecking machine Monday night, which made emergency starter Rasheed Walker’s life miserable.
But it wasn’t just Walker who struggled mightily on Monday night. The rest of the starting offensive line, Elgton Jenkins, Josh Myers, Jon Runyan Jr., and Zach Tom, also struggled. If the Packers are going to have any type of success on offense, it is essential that this unit plays better.
Losing Bakhtiari leaves a massive hole. Walker has the skills to be an adequate NFL tackle. While he has potential, right now, he needs as much help as possible. LaFleur did assign tight end Ben Sims to help Walker out on occasion, but he is going to do it more. In seasons past, Marcedes Lewis did that and provided a safety net to then-starting tackle Yosh Nijman. While Sims isn’t in Lewis’s category, he could provide some type of safety net for Walker.
The Packers have a massive problem on their hands when it comes to starting center Josh Myers. He continues to struggle and that was highlighted when the Raiders lined up Crosby over him. He isn’t providing the push needed in the middle of the offensive line for the run game. When he is in pass protection, he is downright a liability. Offensive line coach Luke Butkus and LaFleur are going to need to make a decision on Myers. If not, struggles will continue.
How the Green Bay Packers Offense Can Improve Over the Bye Week
Matt LaFleur and his offensive staff will have a lot of work to get done over the bye week. If the Green Bay Packers offense stays the course in what they have been doing, things aren’t going to get better.
LaFleur has been given a lot of credit for the Packers offensive success in his first five seasons as the Packers head coach. But without the benefit of having Aaron Rodgers, now is where you are going to see how good of a play-caller LaFleur actually is. The Green Bay Packers offense needs an identity. It is up to him to create one.
Main Photo: Stephen R. Sylvanie – USA Today Sports
