What the Green Bay Packers Need to Do to Stay in NFC North Contention

Following a 19-7 road loss in Week 3 to the Detroit Lions Sunday, the Green Bay Packers have issues to address in order to secure a fourth straight NFC North title.

Surprisingly, it was the offense that hurt them in Week 3 while the defense impressed.

It is vital that Green Bay improve in three areas, with two divisional games approaching in the span of five days:

1. Eddie Lacy and the running game must step up.

2. Randall Cobb's must be more involved in the passing game.

3. The defense must improve at stopping the run.

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Reestablish Eddie Lacy between the tackles

Perhaps the most glaring problem with this 1-2 Packers team is the lack of offensive balance—most importantly, the disappearance of Eddie Lacy.

With Lacy limited to 113 yards rushing through three games, opposing defenses will likely plan on rushing four linemen. This allows the defense to drop seven into coverage and minimizes the broken coverages and mismatches that Aaron Rodgers is so capable of exploiting. The Lions did that Sunday.

According to the Associated Press, Detroit rushed four linemen at Rodgers on 25 of 29 of his dropbacks. His 5.8 yards-per-attempt average against the Detroit rush was the lowest of his career. Because the Packers could not establish the run with Lacy, there were more Lions defenders in the secondary limiting big plays.

Another problem with the ground game has been the toss . This staple of the Packers offense for years has been ineffective through three games.

Rob Demovsky pointed out that the toss was used six times against Detroit for a net of 12 yards. One of these went to James Starks for 15 yards. The other five (to Lacy, Starks and DuJuan Harris), went for minus-three yards total. These stats implicated either poor offensive line blocking or the running backs not finding holes.

However, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that Lacy was baffled when asked about his struggles. "I don't know if I have to be more patient or speed things up, but one way or another I'm responsible for the run game."

In order to fix the ground game, look for Green Bay to use Lacy on more runs between the tackles. Running inside will encourage Lacy to make quicker decisions and use his power to gain yards. The outside runs are too slow in developing and don't really play to the strengths of the second-year back.

Randall Cobb must step up

Now to the passing game, where Randall Cobb has been nearly as anemic. The big-play ability has not been there despite three touchdown catches. Tom Silverstein reports Cobb is averaging 9.0 yards per catch and has only caught one pass over 20 yards.

These numbers are far too low for Cobb's standards. 

Cobb also did not help his cause yesterday dropping two passes that would have kept drives alive. On the second series of the game, Cobb dropped a deep loft down the right sideline. This forced a Green Bay punt and likely took points off the board.

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Later, Cobb let another third-down pass go through his hands. "I have to make that play, Cobb said. It's third down."

With all the attention on Jordy Nelson (five catches for 59 yards against Detroit), it is crucial that Cobb start making plays. With Greg Jennings and James Jones now long gone, Cobb needs to rediscover the big-play ability that has made him so valuable the past three years.

The Packer defense must shut down the run

Lastly, the defense needs to stop the run. Although much improved from Week 1, the Packers run defense still allowed Reggie Bush (12 carries for 61 yards) to have success late. 

With 10:40 remaining in the game, Bush broke off a 26-yard touchdown. This extended the Lions lead to 19-7. But even after Bush's TD, Green Bay could not stop the Lions rushing attack. The game concluded with the Lions picking up first down after first down on the ground.

In a game where Matthew Stafford threw two interceptions and was limited to a 61.6 passer rating, the Packers could not afford to let Bush and the Detroit running game to seal the outcome. 

If the Packers want to keep their hopes alive in the NFC North, they will need to stop runners such as Matt Forte. They will get a chance in a critical divisional meeting with the Chicago Bears in Week 4. 

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The Green and Gold's season is far from lost, as the Packers started the previous two seasons 1-2. With the Bears and Minnesota Vikings the next two weeks, their season could hinge on how fast they improve in the aforementioned areas. 

Expect Eddie Lacy to find himself against a porous Chicago run defense. Additionally, expect the pass defense to continue to get better as they will face the still-erratic Jay Cutler and Minnesota rookie Teddy Bridgewater in back-to-back weeks.

And with Aaron Rodgers at the helm, the offense will surely score more points.

As Vic Ketchman of Packers.com said about the offensive struggles, "That'll change because this offense to too talented to play as it did [Sunday]. It's not if, it's when." 

Relax, Packers fans. 

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