Green Bay Packers' Biggest Disappointments at Season's Quarter Mark
One-quarter of the way into the season, the 2-2 Green Bay Packers have finally started to hit their groove. Everything hasn't gone according to plan for the squad up to this point, though. Both on offense and defense, there have been some early-season disappointments in 2014.
With three-fourths of the season left, we'll look at areas where Packer fans hope to see improvement by season's end. There's no better time to kick the team up a level than on the short rest leading up to the Minnesota Vikings matchup on Thursday night.
No. 5: Inside Linebackers
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Coming into the season, the pair on the inside of the linebacking unit was A.J. Hawk and Brad Jones, the same as it's been since the start of the 2012 campaign. Green Bay has played a multiple-front defense this season, even playing base 4-3, which is rare under defensive coordinator Dom Capers' watch.
Starting by Week 2 was reserve linebacker and noted special teamer Jamari Lattimore, in for Brad Jones, who sustained a quad injury. Before missing time, the tandem of Hawk and Jones left a lasting image in Seattle, but not the one they had hoped for:
"Brad Jones also didn't have a clue. Watching Wilson run the dummy read option. At least Hawk is pursuing Percy...
— Zach Kruse (@zachkruse2) September 11, 2014 "
"More terrible ILB play. Hawk gets lost in the mess and Brad Jones is no match for lead FB. 21 easy yards: pic.twitter.com/uwxHXZSaAi
— Zach Kruse (@zachkruse2) September 11, 2014 "
Non-pass-rushing linebackers were a concern heading into the offseason, but the only new face is rookie Carl Bradford, who was drafted as an outside linebacker and forced inside to make the 53-man roster. He has yet to see a snap on defense. After the first wave of the offseason, Bleacher Report's Matt Stein listed inside linebacker as the third-most important position for the Packers to address in free agency.
Pro Football Focus (subscription required) hasn't taken a liking to what they've seen in the corps, either. Brad Jones, with only 70 snaps under his belt, has the worst defensive grade on the team with a negative-5.8 mark. Hawk and Sam Barrington, a rotational inside linebacker spelling reps while Jones is out, also have negative scores. Only the replacement starter Lattimore has a positive grade on the season.
No. 4: Clay Matthews
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If someone told you that Clay Matthews was slated to disappoint heading into the year, you wouldn't have believed them. With the addition of his first proven pass-rushing teammate in Julius Peppers and the confidence the team showed in the former USC Trojan with his recent $66 million extension, it almost seemed impossible to imagine a big drop-off.
Currently, Matthews has one sack in four games, which sets him on pace for a career low in the statistic. While he had an interception off of a Tramon Williams deflection against the Chicago Bears on Sunday, that's not the player he's being asked to be, or is built to be. Pro Football Focus has his pass-rush grade as a fairly neutral plus-1.0, while his run defense grade is well in the negatives at minus-5.4.
Another cause for concern with the former Butkus Award winner is his health. At the end of the Detroit Lions game, he was held on the sideline with an apparent groin injury. Questionable for a point during the past week's practices, Matthews did suit up in Chicago. He hasn't missed any games yet this year, but since his rookie season in 2009, the outside linebacker hasn't played a full season.
"Clay Matthews at middle linebacker. Meanwhile, Bears best play is fumbling a snap.
— Packer Report (@PackerReport) September 28, 2014 "
He has moved around more in 2014 than previous seasons. Lining all over in the flex defense, it's hard to tell in just a limited four-game sample size if it's for better or worse with Matthews, but he's surely not producing at the level that he's formerly been capable of.
No. 3: The Packers' 3rd Receiver
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In 2013, Jarrett Boykin netted 49 receptions for 681 yards and three touchdowns while playing as a spot starter for the injured Randall Cobb on offense. In the offseason, James Jones, the previous third receiver on the team, left in free agency for the Oakland Raiders. With a healthy Cobb back into the No. 2 spot, Boykin was expected to be solidified into the third-receiver role for the season.
He just simply hasn't been able to perform at a high level yet this season. The first game of the season, he essentially spent the game covered by Richard Sherman as a decoy, which didn't work great for the team overall. In the next two games, he was targeted seven times but only brought in two catches for 17 yards. Some of those targets resulted in drops by the former Virginia Tech receiver.
In Week 4, Boykin was listed as an inactive due to a knee injury, passing the torch to Davante Adams, the second-round receiver out of Fresno State who he had been splitting time with the previous two weeks. Adams has put up better raw numbers, tallying nine receptions on 13 targets for 79 yards, but he isn't a game-breaker by any means. Called back, though, was a touchdown pass against the Bears that would have made every highlight reel.
Green Bay's gone from James Jones to Jordy Nelson to Randall Cobb, then eventually back to James Jones as the preferred third wideout target under Aaron Rodgers' tenure as starter in Green Bay. It's a safe bet to say that if Boykin, a third-year undrafted player, isn't able to produce currently, then there's little hope for his name sticking with the listed talents.
Adams has the potential, but he is also very raw at the moment. Miscommunications between the former MVP and the inexperienced receiver are present on the All-22 footage.
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No. 2: The Run Defense
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After nose tackle B.J. Raji was placed on injured reserve with a torn bicep, the interior triangle on the defense was compromised for the season. With no proven nose tackle bodies in that system on the roster, the Packers had to throw their bets on Letroy Guion as the starting nose tackle. Guion, a free-agent addition by way of in-division rival Minnesota, played a total of one snap against the run in the preseason.
The loss at nose tackle wouldn't have been so bad if the surrounding players were able to make up for it. As explained earlier, the inside linebackers on the roster aren't great. Those are the two other points of the interior triangle that are emphasized run defense players.
The two defensive ends that bracket the nose tackle in the base 3-4, which the squad is using off and on now, are both undersized. The ideal 3-4 defensive end is 6'4", 300 pounds. Green Bay's current starters are Mike Daniels, listed at 6'0", 305, and Datone Jones, listed at 6'4", 285, per Packers.com. They are good players, but as pass-rushing penetrators, not stout run defenders.
It's really no surprise that Green Bay leads the league in rushing yards allowed, but the lead being at nearly 20 yards more per game than the second-worst team, the 0-4 Oakland Raiders, is shocking.
Outside of bringing in a new, veteran big body on the defensive line, it's hard to imagine the team getting better down the stretch, either. Especially considering the recent injury history of the squad.
Currently, it seems that the Packers are hoping that one of their young run defenders, Mike Pennel, an undrafted rookie out of Colorado State-Pueblo, or Josh Boyd, a second-year lineman out of Mississippi State, develop into the piece that they'll need in the playoffsif they do reach the playoffs.
At the moment, Jones, Guion, Boyd and Pennel all have negative grades against the run on Pro Football Focus. Only Mike Daniels has a positive grade against the run as a defensive lineman. Most of that production comes from being quick into the backfield, not as a stone-waller, as explained in this piece.
No. 1: The Packers' Offensive Rushing Attack
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In 2013, Eddie Lacy won the Rookie of the Year award, giving the Packers their best campaign from an individual runner since Ahman Green. To the amazement of many, many fantasy owners, he's simply not produced anything that resembles those efforts in 2014. There could be many reasons for this, but let's not completely let the back off the hook.
The past week, many began to question if Lacy's results were the new norm or simply consecutive outliers. The test case was set up, with the Packers facing the Chicago Bears in what seemed like a must-win game.
"You can run on Chicago. At this point in the season, they're seventh in most rushing yards allowed thus far in 2014. Green Bay, in contrast, hasn't been able to run the ball efficiently this year.
If they aren't going to gain yardage on the ground against the Bears, it's going to be difficult to do it against anyone. The issue, though, is created by the Packers.
"
Lacy managed to get 17 touches on the ground totaling 48 yards, a less than three yard-per-carry average. The Packers offense isn't built for the run game. The team has switched to a scheme that uses more power runs, but with four former left tackles starting on the offensive line, the squad is much better built for a zone scheme.
Corey Linsley, the only player on the Packers that doesn't have a college background as a back-side tackle, is a rookie center that measured in at the combine at 296 pounds, nearing the bottom fifth for even combine-eligible centers.
Why doesn't the team run more zone blocking runs than power plays that ask for force up front? Their featured running back is having issues with vision, as Lacy never had to make those reads on the fly at the University of Alabama.
Vision is a teachable trait, though. Hopefully, for the Packers' sake, Lacy is able to make the jump at some point in 2014.
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