The Green Bay Packers played on Thursday, so we have time to reflect on what they did and on what’s ahead.
I’m extremely thankful for the questions you guys sent us this week. We had some extremely valuable topics to address, so the mailbag has really good content.
Is this good? https://t.co/5K9QsXLLMZ
— Taylör 泰勒 (@Taylor_Crabb) November 29, 2024
The craziest part is that the four NFC North teams are among the six teams with the hardest remaining schedule, according to Tankathon. And well, that’s because the division is awesome and they are playing themselves.
But beyond these intradivisional games, the Detroit Lions have to face the Buffalo Bills. And based on record, the San Francisco 49ers are one of their easiest games — it will depend on how the 49ers are health-wise.
The Vikings have some sneaky difficult games against the Arizona Cardinals and Atlanta Falcons. For the Packers, beyond the NFC North, the hardest game is versus the Seattle Seahawks — the other one is against the New Orleans Saints.
The Packers have the most favorable strength of schedule among the NFC North teams, but it won’t matter if Green Bay can’t win the head-to-head matchups.
Packers mailbag time! Send your questions.
— Wendell Ferreira (@wendellfp) November 29, 2024
It’s great, in fact. I’ve been saying that the Packers are good at sustainable things and bad at the unsustainable things, which is a promising combination. Your graphic shows that the Packers are the best offense in the NFL in early downs, and those are the best ones to predict future performance — late downs are too noisy for projection purposes. The offense is really, really good, and Matt LaFleur deserves more praise than he usually gets.
That’s usually what happens with well-coached teams. They get better down the stretch. It has happened to the Packers multiple times since Matt LaFleur took over, so it’s not exactly a surprise. The Packers are a clearly talented roster, it was down to important adjustments to correct those self-inflicted mistakes.
It’s not easy to do that, we the Packers will have a big test on Thursday against the Lions, but they are moving in the right direction.
Jordan Love’s interceptions were tied to poor footwork, and part of that was the injuries. The pass rush showed signs of life against the Dolphins. So there are reasons to be optimistic.
While I personally think that Evan Williams has been better than Javon Bullard as a deep safety, the Packers like the flexibility of moving these pieces around. In base defense, Bullard was the safety alongside Xavier McKinney. When the Packers went to nickel, Bullard would move to the slot, with Williams playing deep.
It’s an interesting wrinkle and adds different elements for the opposing offense to consider.
Yes, the cornerback room is a reason for real concern, especially until Jaire Alexander returns. It’s both a short- and long-term issue, and the Packers failed to address it with the urgency they should have in the offseason.
Now, though, there’s not much left to do. If Corey Ballentine’s injury is serious, the Packers will probably have to promote Kamal Hadden from the practice squad to have enough depth. Help is not on the way.
The Packers have an open roster spot, so they won’t need to release anybody to activate MarShawn Lloyd at this point. And even if they eventually do, I fully expect them to keep Emanuel Wilson and Chris Brooks on the 53-man roster. It’s basically going to be a redshirt season for Lloyd, and I don’t expect a huge role for him early — maybe if the Packers clinch a playoff spot a week early, he might get more touches against the Chicago Bears in Week 18.
