Hey everybody, thanks for logging on. Sorry about the adjusted time, but the team schedule is different today due to the Monday night game. Go ahead and start sending in your questions and I'll get rolling shortly.
I live in NY metro area, read the NY Post everyday ... they are reporting that Russell Wilson is benched for Winston (Dart is banged up with concussion) ... their season is over, they would like nothing more than to help to wreck ours ... this game will not be a cakewalk ... Giants are dangerous now ...
The Giants are 2-8 but are SO close to being so much better than that. They're beating the Bears handily, I believe, if Dart doesn't leave the game. Winston is going to let it rip out there. That's the way he plays. This game is a huge challenge on top of everything the Packers are going through right now.
Will the injury report be posted today? Time.
It will be today but I don't know what time. I wouldn't expect it before 4 p.m. CT.
Mike, do you suppose Bo Melton outstanding Savion Williams and Malik Heath was mainly due to injury concerns?
That's my best guess. I don't think Williams or Heath was healthy enough to play a full game.
Do you think the Packers defense has been dominating the offense in practice also? Perhaps game day offensive output is already known by coaches as a gap.
That's not how it works. In the regular season, the vast majority of the 11-on-11 work is against scout teams for each side. They'll do some competitive periods (like two-minute) with ones vs. ones but that's not how the bulk of practice goes as they install game plans.
What are our plans for next upcoming game. We have lost 2 in a row. How do we come back from that?
A two-game losing streak isn't the end of the world, especially when one side of the ball is playing pretty well. The offense just has to avoid mistakes, most of which are self-inflicted. They've moved the ball but haven't cashed in to score the points it should. But it can't keep committing penalties and having other negative plays.
Any word or thoughts about our kicker situation?
I'm getting tired of the folks who say they should just go with Lucas Havrisik. We have no idea how things have gone in practice. Both kickers are kicking in practice. There are no media observers or published results, like in training camp. If Havrisik were kicking better than Brandon McManus in practice, I have to believe they'd go with him. Because they aren't, it's only fair to assume McManus is the best option.
Is it just me or does it seem like whenever the Packers have a subpar game someone gets hurt?
Injuries can happen anytime, but they definitely feel more impactful coming off a loss. The Packers have lost two really, really good offensive players the last two games.
Why do you feel that Jordan Love and the offense is struggling as bad as they are?
Because there's a killer mistake on every drive, and it's never the same player making it. A penalty, or a missed block, or a dropped pass, or a failure to protect the ball ... as I've been saying, it's across the board.
How do we bounce back from losing 2 straight?
Against the Giants, it's run the ball against a struggling run defense (ranked 31st) and protect Love from a pretty fierce pass rush. Brian Burns has 11 sacks. Defensively, make a play if Winston gives you a chance to make one. He'll take risks anywhere and everywhere, and if he throws you one, you have to catch it.
If Josh Jacobs's stayed with the original run, does he pick up the first down on that last play?
I don't know how he could've with a blocker in his lap at the moment he got the handoff.
You said the Packers were not good at dinking and dunking in II. What do we lack to be good at that?
They aren't good enough, at least not yet, to do it for an entire drive to score consistently enough. Somebody always makes a killer mistake, as outlined above.
After 9 weeks I have come to the conclusion that this team has not progressed as expected three years ago. Youth is no longer an excuse. Our QB is facing the same struggles he had 3 years ago. It is not normal that over the last 3 years we still have penalties for illegal procedure or false starts. I am sorry but this is coaching or the guilty parties are not a fit for a championship team. Comments?
It's on everybody. You don't start the season 2-0 against those opponents like the Packers did without everybody knowing how to be successful in this league. So they've got to work through it, coaches, players, everybody. Playing the blame game is a waste of time with 8 games left in the regular season and plenty available to be accomplished.
The running game isn't working. Why won't MLF adjust his offensive approach? Why not pivot to more short and intermediate passes?
Asked and answered.
The Giants have a good front and the Packers' o-line has struggled a bit, what do they need to do to find success this week?
They have to be able to run the ball against the Giants. They're allowing 152 rushing yards per game, 31st in the league. Do that, and then keep Burns away from the QB.
I know it doesn't help the team any, but a "playoffs?" or "we let them off the hook" rant in the postgame would at least make some feel better on the outside. sometimes I feel like there's a condescending "we know so much more than you we won't dignify you with emotion or a real response."
If a rant isn't someone's style, it'll just come off as fake anyway and won't do any good. Wasted energy.
What's our plans for our offensive line now with Elgton Jenkins out for an extended period of time, this is my biggest concern as Love with a clean pocket has over an 82% completion rate.
I assume Sean Rhyan will take over at center, as he did in the game. The other option would be Jacob Monk, but he hasn't played and doesn't have the experience Rhyan has. The rest of the unit I would expect to remain the same at this point.
Do you feel confident about the defense? If so, the offense will get better or else Lafleur should be let go!!
I'm not going to address anyone's job security, but how can anyone not feel confident in the defense? It just held the Super Bowl champs to 10 points. Nobody can ask for that every week, but this defense will keep the Packers in games until the offense figures it out.
Firmly in the McManus corner. The messaging hasn't been good though, when we hear last week was the first week his leg was feeling better. That's internal discussion.
Can't argue. I can only go off of what I know.
Our defense is elite we need the Offense to step up and that means Love has to take over and direct this team.
I think everyone on offense has to play better, including the QB. This doesn't fall on one guy.
Detroit has been good, yet they switched play callers, any chance the Packers do the same so Matt can focus on being HC?
That's up to LaFleur. I can't answer that for him.
Why the regression from the first two games of the year?? ... what can we apply going forward from those two games when the offense worked ... real head scratcher ...
Yeah, it is. But it isn't. Because that's how this league works. Every team watches film and tries to figure out how to take away what you do best, and make you adjust. Defenses are sitting back with two deep safeties and taking away the big plays, making the Packers put together a long, tough slog down the field. And it's working. Until you show you can beat it, opponents will keep doing it.
Has the offense reached out to defensive coaches to ask how batter better to defeat the 2 high shell defense?
I don't think it's a big secret. You have to run the ball better against light boxes to get them to commit another body to the run defense. If you don't do that, then you have to be efficient with short, quick throws, and the Packers haven't shown they can do that without making a mistake along the way.
I see they did try the jumbo set a few times, and it seemed to show promise...execpt for the fact they couldn't line up right. not enough practice, or different personel, or something else?
Probably some of both. I don't think they were expecting Melton to play as many snaps on offense as he did, and Dontayvion Wicks was coming back from a multi-game injury absence and had been limited in practice. Other receivers were limited due to injuries as well.
I have been thinking this week "there is no winning". Because when the offense was taking a lot of long shots, everyone was asking why we don't take the underneath game. And this week everyone is saying we aren't pushing the ball down the field. I get both arguments. Balance is needed… any thoughts as to what happens mid game that keeps us off balance? Errors & penalties obvs, but I mean otherwise.
No, that's really it. When you have a negative play due to a penalty or TFL or sack, it puts you behind the sticks and makes life difficult.
At first glance having Winston at QB should provide some turnover opportunities, but once the ball is back in the hands of the offense, how do they insure better run blocking and more disciplined play overall?
That's what has to be shored up in practice. I don't know what else to say about it.
Why do they not roll Love out more if OL is struggling ??
That's usually a game plan decision based on the opponent, as far as moving the pocket and how that particular defense plays those situations.
Why, oh why on God's green earth neither Love or LaFleur changed the 4&1 play? Surely, they too heard the defender calling out the play.
Great question. I don't have an answer. They had two timeouts available.
Good afternoon, Mike. Do you think the Packers should consider playing Anthony Belton in a rotation, possibly with Aaron Banks, who seemingly hasn't played great when healthy? I know Belton's strength is moving people in the run game. (I can't remember if Belton has played Guard at all as a rookie, so maybe this is a silly question, haha!)
They drafted Belton because they thought he could play guard or tackle, but I believe he played mostly tackle in the preseason. I think they have to let Banks settle in and get going. He's battled injuries yes, but he certainly played better than this in three years as SF's starter and that's what the Packers need to see.
Josh Jacob's post game interview says the Eagles knew the exact play that was going to ran on the 4th and 1 play. Do you know if there was a "kill" play included with that play call?
I don't. Jacobs seemed to indicate there wasn't. I think a timeout was the only alternative.
Any idea when Jayden Reed could come back?
We'll see. I was thinking initially we might see him on the practice field around Thanksgiving or a little after. That time is getting closer. But that's just a guess on my part.
Are the OL struggles due to personnel, coaching or something else?
I've been saying for weeks the lack of continuity up front has held the unit back. We saw what it looks like when the unit settled in for the Arizona and Pittsburgh games. Then losing Tucker Kraft vs. Carolina and now Jenkins changes the whole equation up front again. They have to work through it. Nobody's feeling sorry for them.
Is it fair to say the defense has superior players and coaches at this moment? E.g. Last week they said corrections would be made to stop the run and they indeed were against the Eagles.
I'd say the defense has been much healthier and has been able to play much more cohesively, which makes adjustments easier.
What is needed to get rid of the alignment penalties? Seems it should be easy to be where you should be at the start. These are smart and experienced players.
Agreed. There's no excuse. It's a lack of focus that has to change.
Is it fair to assume that life should be easier against the Giants or do we have to watch out for another "trap game"?
This Giants team isn't far off from being 5-5 or 6-4 at this point when you look at their games.
I was only able to listen to the game. It seemed like there were a couple of opportunities for a long field goal attempt. Were conditions not good for kicking that day?
I was saying in the live blog I thought McManus' range based on pregame warmups was around 55 yards and in. They had two fourth downs around the PHI 40 or 41, which would've meant 58 or 59 on the FG. I wasn't surprised they didn't try it with the field-position risk. Obviously the 64 try at the end was desperate without that risk.
Would you agree that the day the the Packers traded for Micah Parsons, the pressure to "win now" was really poured onto MLF and has increased dramatically at this point? Basically putting him in a "No Excuses" mode.
The expectations for this team rose and they haven't been met to this point, but the Parsons trade was also for a multi-year window here. He's not a one-year rental.
I read that Rhyan shined at C after EJ left with injury. Did you hear the same?
I thought he did just fine. He had a whale of a block on the 4th & 1.
How can the team overcome all the mistakes to force teams out of the 2 deep safety set?
Execute. If you can score touchdowns against that type of defense, you'll force them to do something different. It's really that simple without being so simple.
How can Love level off his play? It's like an old Jekyll and Hyde movie, as he can make some tremendous throws, but his bad plays look like the worst QB play in the league.
You never stop learning in this league. He's not at the point he can carry the team and overcome everyone else's mistakes, nor should he be expected to. But he's still developing in Year 3, just as those before him were at this stage as well.
How can Christian Watson explain that weak ball off head effort? His job is to catch the ball, not play DB. That could have been a huge play on a perfect (or good enough) pass effort they needed.
All I can figure is he didn't think he had a chance to catch it and just misjudged his opportunity. So he made sure it wasn't intercepted.
Carrington Valentine has looked really good. Do you think if he keeps this up he's got a starting position locked in for the future? Like his playing style.
Valentine has been tough in coverage since he moved into a starting role. Hopefully he can keep it up. Every week presents a major challenge in this league.
I think the Pack is on the verge of a big winning streak, with new and old heroes arising each week. Call me crazy.
This team is capable of anything, from beating the league's best team to losing to its worst. It's maddening on many levels, but the positive possibilities are there.
Who is the most likely candidate to step up in the WR room?
I think Watson's role will continue to grow as he plays more games after the long layoff, and they need Matthew Golden healthy to take advantage of what he offers.
A two game losing streak isn't the end of the world but the way they lost those games should be very concerning especially with the teams left on the schedule.
They lost those games because one side of the ball failed. It's fixable.
I believe resolving the offensive issues starts with the OL, specifically the interior 3. The injuries will be hard to overcome, but do you think we have the personnel to make our OL a team strength again this season?
Time will tell. The depth is certainly an issue without Jenkins and a number of players with little experience behind the starters now.
It seems that the Giants game has turned into one of the more important games on our schedule. Loss will be demoralizing and will have a greater effect on rest of season. A win could be a trajectory towards a revival of energy.
Exactly. This game is potentially a major inflection point.
How is Lukas Van Ness progressing with his injury? He seemed to be emerging before he got hurt.
He hasn't returned to practice yet. We'll see if this is the week he's back out there. I have no information either way.
I love hearing the players aren't losing confidence amidst some struggles. They know they have the talent to be great and there is still a lot of season to go. How much harder does game planning get when the QB is unknown?
I think it's a challenge, but you focus on sharpening your techniques and refreshing on rules and responsibilities, and then adjust as the game goes to what the new QB is doing. That's the game.
Watching the last couple games it seems as though Jordan may be overthinking plays at times. Perhaps it is the line and blocking, perhaps it is the drops or wrong routes by receivers. Is there any indication from him that he has lost his confidence because of these issues?
I don't think Love's lost confidence at all. The Eagles' pass rush definitely affected his game, and there were times he tried to let a downfield route develop and paid the price. Other times he had protection but made a decision too quickly. But Love believes in his teammates. He has to. It's just not an easy game.
Jeez. Look at these questions. Thank you for sticking with us, Mike. Serenity now. Just beat the Giants.
Comes with the territory.
Every team faces injury challenges. Why is GB so poor at replacing injured starting players?
I think they've succeeded at times, not so much at other times. Replacing Pro Bowl-level guys is always hard.
Do you agree with Orlovsky's assessment that LaFleur needs to "unleash" Love?
I like Dan, but I don't know what that means when the opposing defense has two deep safeties all the time. That can't be ignored.
It seems watching other games there are plenty of other teams making the mistakes the Packers make. Not an excuse but football is fast and great athletes.
Right. Those mistakes happen all the time. The question every week is if you can make enough good plays to overcome those miscues, or not.
Good lord these comments are crazy. Spoff you might need to just resign if we lose this week… I hate to think what would come your way.
I'm not going anywhere, as long as they'll have me here.
It is curious that the Packers have been behind at halftime in 5 of the last six games. Does that in any manner reflect our pregame planning and selection of plays to start the first half?
Slow starts have definitely been an issue for the offense. We've heard from players and coaches that defenses often are going off-profile against GB and defending them in ways they haven't shown on film. It's a constant adjustment battle. GB's success with explosive plays early in the season, in three of the first four games in particular, has led to this I suspect. And the Packers haven't had a strong enough counter to keep winning.
I'd like to see Love rallying his offense on the sideline, firing them up while our defense is on the field….we need that spark!
Maybe, but I don't think you can ask a player to be someone he's not.
When do you think the attention to detail will be a more costly (in terms of fines or playing time) to the offenders? It seems obvious that the status quo has netted no improvement. Those killer mistakes are just that. Is the juice not worth the squeeze in the locker room?
How players are held accountable behind the scenes is beyond my purview. Benching somebody for the sake of benching him when your depth is questionable isn't necessarily a solution either.
I hope they aren't overloooking the giants. If I remember correctly Jamius Winston embarressed us in his first start in TB. he can do it again if they let him
Winston is capable of throwing 5 TD passes in any given game. He's also capable of throwing 5 INTs. You can't sleep on him, and you have to make him pay when he gets reckless.
The Eagles lost to the Giants (34-17). So how much does holding them to 10 points really mean? How do the (2-8) Giants figure out what's the Packers couldn't?
The Eagles also beat the Giants 38-20. It's a week-to-week league. Every game is different.
The West Coast offense would love to see 2-shell all day.... we need to start showing some patience and quit making mistakes
Yup.
I know you're tired of tush push questions, so I'm sorry in advance. At the going rate of things, do you think we'll get to the playoffs before we see these blatant false starts called?
If they aren't calling them now, they're not going to. It's a major officiating failure.
I've noticed JL "canning" a lot of plays. While most maybe think that's what he's supposed to do when he doesn't like what he sees at the line, I think the defenses are a step ahead when anticipating the next play call. Either way, it seems like a lot of opportunity for confusion (i.e. penalties, etc.)
You can't take away that ability, though, or you're playing high school football against pros. That won't work.
When the Pack has a bad opening game, we're told that most first game are outliers and that we shouldn't put too much weight on the outcome. If the same is applied to winning the first game, we don't have much to be confident in this season. How can this offense turn it around this late in the season?
It just needs one good game to build on, and to make opponents react. That's how you get out of a rut is start by putting one good game on film.
What I don't like, are those runs out of shotgun formation. They don't make sense to me at all, even less when the o-line is this weak.
They had several successful runs out of shotgun in that game, including Jacobs' TD run. The Eagles caught on for the 4th & 1.
I know if a frog had wings it wouldn't bump its ass when it hops, but if they had just gotten that 4 and 1...
Yeah, who knows. They were about 20 yards from game-tying FG range, and enough time to possibly score a TD when they had just done so on their previous drive.
Best wishes to Jaire if he does in fact retire? Would have been fun to see him at Lambeau, even if in street clothes
I wish Ja the best as well.
Is Romeo Doubs's injury serious?
I don't know. Perhaps we'll find out more later today.
Mighty Casey has struck out, but the sun will come up tomorrow. Do you think the team morale is still high in light of the injuries and losses?
I think this team believes it can succeed. They're disappointed and frustrated, but nobody's quitting or losing faith.
Hi Mike, in looking at the injury report, we seem to have a lot more injuries than other teams we play? We expect injuries and there seem to be more significant this year. At the beginning of the season we certainly thought we would have depth, but that is dwindling. What more can ML do when his depth players are going down now?
That's where the reserve players need to develop their games in practice and be ready to step in. Easier said than done, and there's no substitute for game experience.
Brutal stretch coming ... 3 games in 11 days, two of them Division games ... how does the coaching staff manage the work load, including the many coaching related issues that need to be addressed ??? ...
Next week, once the hay is in the barn, so to speak, on the Vikings game, there are some assistant coaches (not involved in play calling) who will start working in advance on the Lions for the short week. Responsibilities are often divided up like that for these calendar anomalies.
Time to extend Quay Walker. He's taken it up another notch this year.
He's playing really well and headed for a significant payday.
I see that Micah responded to a TV pundit about the Packers' play. The said pundit then went on a negative rant about Micah specifically. Do you think listening to the media could be motivating? Or do you think it's best to try and tune out the outside conversations?
If I were these guys, I'd tune it out as best I could. But to each his own.
I've always thought it was dangerous to play a team after they've been blown out (Carolina) and after they've changed coaches (Giants). Now we have both this year.
Yup. So it goes. The Packers have to rise above that.
It seems like cover two has always haunted us. Didn't the Chiefs ruin our perfect season the same way?
Yes, and then everyone played the Packers that way in 2012 until they drafted Eddie Lacy in 2013 and changed the running game.
Do you have a "Serenity Now" phrase for when people ask you if Malik Willis should replace Love (with no offense to Willis)?
That one works pretty well.
I was surprised ML didn't use Luke Musgrave more. What do you see about this, Mike?
I don't know. Could've been a matchup thing vs. Eagles. I'm not going to draw any huge conclusions from one game.
Packers playoff starts this Sunday. Am I too crazy?
That's a little extreme. The season will be defined by the 5 division games over the last 7. But entering that stretch at 6-3-1 vs 5-4-1 feels like a huge difference.
Wasn't Devonte Wyatt's return a big factor in our run defense against Philly?
Wyatt appears healthy again, and Colby Wooden was back in there as well.
Some perspective. A month ago, the Eagles lost back to back to the Broncos and the Giants only scoring 17 in each game and the narrative was the Eagle's offense was a mess. Losing 2 in a row is a cause for concern, not hyperventilating panic.
Right. The Eagles had a rough 5-day stretch, and they're not exactly celebrating scoring only 10 points vs. the Packers. All you can do is keep fighting.
Slow starts might be an understatement. GB avgs 5.6 pts in the first half the last 5 games. Woof
Yeah. The flip side is the defense has given up a total of 6 points in the first quarter all season. That's rather amazing, and hopefully I didn't just jinx it.
In my opinion based on how good the nfc is right now the packers may need to get to 11 wins to make the playoffs. That means finishing 6 and 2 which is not going to be easy.
Nope. But you just have to get one win before you can start stacking them.
Do you have any idea how other offenses are having success attacking the two high safety looks?
They run the ball better, and turn short throws into explosive gains. If you can't do one or both of those things, and then execute in the red zone when the field shrinks, they aren't changing their stripes.
Thanks for another good chat Mike. Hope the next one has a better starting point from a dub...
Oh wow, I've gone well over an hour. LaFleur is taking the podium soon so I'd better get going. Thanks for all the participation today and enjoy the rest of your week. I'll be back on the live blog from Jersey on Sunday. Take care, Spoff
