What happened to Lukas Van Ness during the game? After making the tackle, he left the field and we didn’t see him for the rest of the game. Did we just miss him or did something happen to him?
Gilles from Rumelange, Luxembourg
Hello II. I could see it coming, after the first game everyone seemed very excited about how “good” we were, a little too much in my opinion. After the Falcons game we see the real thing again, nothing has changed from previous seasons, our same problems and mistakes and after every single game we hear it again and again “we have to play better”. Do you think we will eventually find a solution?
If that’s a popular sentiment in the Packers-verse, take it with them. In this column, I’ll parrot what I wrote last week: “The fans’ right to celebrate. It’s only human after a long season of change. But we stand by what we wrote last week. Win or lose, the Packers can’t get too hung up on Sunday result. The Packers have bigger goals than beating the Bears. They did it twice last year but didn’t make the playoffs. They can’t be charmed by early success. The Packers have to stay that way.”
The open question was what would have happened if Rodgers had 54 seconds left and needed a field goal. Seasoned Love could definitely do better. Time will show.
Is this how we will define success for the next 15 years?
To my untrained eye, it didn’t look like the moment was too big for Rasheed Walker. You always want to have your All-Pro LT in there, but hats off to the “canning jars on the shelf” for going up. On a related note, were our run struggles due to missing Aaron Jones, the second string OL, or a combination of both?
Walker has been one of the most improved players on the Packers roster this offseason. As I talked about in the preseason, the moment is definitely not too big for him. Walker was a flying starter in College Station. Depending on what happens with David Bakhtiari and Elgton Jenkins, the Packers may need Walker in the coming weeks. Losing Jones is never easy, but it takes more than one player to make the running game thrive.
With it looking like Elgton Jenkins could be out for a few weeks, what do you think the chances are that we see Zach Tom move to left guard and Yosh Nijman or Rasheed Walker take over at right tackle?
It’s something the Packers will have to think about this week. We’ll see how Wednesday goes.
Steve from Ellison Bay, WI
Daniel Whelan is my surprise for the first few weeks. His punting was great and he got down more than one bad punt. Does the movie confirm this? A tip of the hat to the Boy Scouts.
He’s got a real leg.
Joe Barry is the defensive coordinator. He is responsible for the defense. It encourages alignment and accountability during the game as well as the overall game plan. I am frustrated by the reluctance of the Inbox writers to criticize Joe Barry. You will criticize the defense, but you will not criticize our defensive coordinator. I am not asking you to vilify the man, but to make an honest assessment of the defense plan.
Honestly, reading the questions — or rather the statements — makes me feel like Will McAvoy in the “Newsroom” series premiere. I don’t know what you want me to write to make you feel better, Brent. LaFleur stood at the podium Monday and said the Packers were crushed to the ground in Atlanta. What else to say? The plan and execution were not good enough to win.
What did you think of the defensive call that sent De’Vondre Campbell into the boundary covering the receiver? To me, that’s probably the poorest D play call I’ve ever seen!
It’s man defense (funnily enough, it’s the look most fans are blindly clamoring for) and Ridder checked it out. You can check out the LaFleur press for a full explanation.
Two takeaways from the game: 1) edge retention on defense was poor, bordering on terrible, and needs to be cleaned up; you can’t give a kid like Bijan Robinson an edge, he’ll burn you almost every time. 2) It’s very hard to win a game like this when your QB throws for 151 yards. The Packers need to be more efficient and successful in the passing game. The second observation I think comes out on its own, I’m not sure about the first. Barry must now adapt in order to win.
Passing yards were not an issue. 47 offensive plays were a problem in a game in which the opposition ran 78 and held the ball for more than 36 minutes. Without the final series, the passing game was fine.
Bobby from New Berlin, WI
Do you think Aaron Rodgers would choose to play for the Jets again in 2024 or maybe go somewhere else where the team is with other teammates?
I don’t know. I cover the Packers.
Thank you for the rational response to a one-point road loss. Learn from it and prepare for the next opportunity and opponent. The Packers glass is at least half full – a home game and we beat the Bears.
The Packers went 1-1 again and now have two games at Lambeau in five days. You have to take advantage of Green Bay’s only two home games in the next six weeks. I’ll end it here. Enjoy… Tuesday.
