10 Things Green Bay Packers Must Fix During Their Bye

The Green Bay Packers have a flawless record.  As of today, they are a perfect 7-0 and the only remaining undefeated team in the NFL.  Needless to say, they are a pretty talented football team.

Green Bay has started off well and looks to be a true contender for a repeat Super Bowl victory, a feat that has not happened since the 2004-05 seasons with the New England Patriots.

However, just because they have the league's best record, it does not mean that they can take it easy.  As any football fan will tell you, it takes more than a good team to win the Super Bowl.  It takes determination and constant attention to detail.  

All teams are reaching the midway mark through the 2011 season, and the Packers are on their bye week.  If they want to repeat last year's results, they are going to need much more from their team than what they are getting currently.  

Here is a list of 10 areas or players in which the Packers need to improve on in order to stay undefeated for at least another week.  

Defensive Line

Overall, this defensive line has not done a terrible job this season.  It is ranked in the top 10 overall and has shown good things at times during the season.  However it is hard to tell exactly how good this team is, considering the level of teams it has played thus far.

Starting from Week 1, the Packers defense has only played two solid rushing teams in the Atlanta Falcons and the Minnesota Vikings.  Of those two teams, the only team they really played well against were the Falcons, who could only generate 95 yards rushing.

However against the Minnesota Vikings, they allowed 218 yards.  It looks like at times this line gets either too aggressive or just flat-out misses huge defensive assignments.

Over the bye, it would be beneficial for them to get back down to the basics and fill in those gaps.  This will allow for easier linebacker help and overall better defensive numbers.

James Starks

James Starks needs to get his numbers higher.  Without the run game, the pressure on Rodgers will eventually break the team.

The opposition is already starting to drop most of its defenders into coverage to try to force Green Bay to beat them with the run.  Starks only has 374 yards of rushing while also only having one touchdown for the season.

Starks needs to start scoring and becoming a big-time scoring threat in order for the rest of the defense to open up to the threat of the big throw downfield.  Although Starks is average 4.5 yards a carry, which overall is pretty efficient, he only has 83 attempts through seven games.  This breaks down to slightly less than three carries per quarter.

If he wants to show the team and the coaches that he can help the team down the stretch at crucial times during a game, coming off a bye week would be a perfect time.

Ryan Grant

Just like James Starks mentioned earlier, Ryan Grant needs to be able to be a bigger part of this offense.  Understandably with a quarterback like Aaron Rodgers, it is tough to be an integral part of the offense.

Grant has totaled 229 yards throughout the season, which is far from the average that is required for a championship team.  He has zero touchdowns as well as averaging four yards a rush.

Like the rest of the run game for the Green Bay Packers, it is not necessarily the efficiency that is in question but the effectiveness.  Not having scored is a huge problem not only for Aaron Rodgers, but the offense as a whole.

When facing better and more elite teams with solid defenses such as the Baltimore Ravens or the San Francisco 49ers, it is going to be vital to have a balanced attack rather than relying on solely the arm of Rodgers.

Look for the Packers to fix their offensive rushing woes and come out with a grind-it-out style to send a statement against the San Diego Chargers next week.

Offensive Line

They have done a decent job at holding off defenders during the pass rush and keeping quarterback Aaron Rodgers upright.  However, the only problem is their ability to block and open up holes for the rushers.

From the output of the rushers in Grant and Starks, it looks like the ability of the offensive line is struggling.  They cannot keep a consistent run game going, which is ultimately hurting the offense.

During the week off, it is going to be imperative that they work on keeping the holes open for the backs as well as continuing to keep Rodgers upright.  The Packers offense is dependent on the play and ability of this line.

Offensive Consistency (Rushing)

In the fourth quarter, it looks like the run can do some damage.  The rushers for Green Bay have the ability to do some things well, such as keeping plays alive and drives alive while giving great field position.

However, other times show that they have the inability to do anything productive and put more pressure on Rodgers to score and keep this team afloat.

With the exception of Aaron Rodgers and the receiving corps, this Packers offense is extremely volatile in terms of consistency.  It can range form even quarter to quarter, as shown in the game against St. Louis.

Green Bay can go off for over 20 points a quarter or score zero.  It is something that the Packers need to work on because although this may still result in a win against weaker teams, having consistent play will be vital against stronger opponents in the playoffs.

Offensive Consistency (Passing)

Aaron Rodgers is in the running for the league's MVP award as well as the Super Bowl trophy at the end of the year.

He is doing an excellent job at spreading the ball around and finding guys in the end zone.  However, as mentioned in earlier slides, the lack of stability in terms of consistent scoring will hurt the team in the long run.

Not being able to score against the Ravens is one thing; it is another thing to not be able to score the entire second half against the lowly St. Louis Rams.  There are plenty of areas for the Packers to work on mainly because the teams they have played have not put up too much opposition against them.

This is not entirely on the fault of Rodgers; the receivers need to be able to understand the situation and find space for Rodgers to throw to them.  During the off week, it is going to be important for the receivers and Rodgers to be on the same page when they go up against the Chargers secondary, which is ranked in the top 10 in the league.

Defensive Consistency (Against the Pass)

The Green Bay Packers are awful at defending against the pass.  Although they are undefeated, that does not tell the tale of their horrific defensive play.

Granted Charles Woodson does lead the league in interceptions, but they also are ranked close to dead last as a team against the pass.  They consistently give up over 300 yards of passing yards to their opponents and luckily play against teams who cannot capitalize in the red zone.

If the Packers do not brush up on their defense in the secondary, elite teams are going to torch them if they are giving up that many yards.

Going into next week when they face the San Diego Chargers and Philip Rivers, it is important that they do not leave open holes in the secondary.  Rivers and his skilled group of receivers will find and exploit these defensive woes.

Blitz Packages

Next week against the San Diego Chargers, it is going to be crucial for them to be able to pressure Rivers in the pocket.

Although Rivers has not played to his full potential this year, against a spotty Packers defense, it is going to be a mission of his to put up big numbers.  If the Packers are not able to pressure the Chargers, it is going to be a long day for McCarthy and his coaching squad.

They will need to find intricate ways to use their defensive forces in Clay Matthews, Raji and A.J. Hawk.

Rushing only the front four will ultimately end in Rivers throwing for close to 400 yards and over three touchdowns.  Bringing pressure is going to be an essential part of the game plan.

Look for the defense of the Packers at the beginning of the game to make a statement and try to send Rivers into the ground.

B.J. Raji

Raji has not done too much this season by his standards.  As big and physical as he is, it almost seems as if teams have found the formula to keep him contained.

If he is going to be a big part of this defense, Raji will need to find his groove and start playing more efficiently and consistently.

If Raji can clog up the middle of that line and force the opponents to have to throw into Woodson or roll out to the arms of Matthews and Hawk, then he has done his job.  However, if the opponents running backs can consistently walk over the Packers front four, then it is going to be a long regular and post season for these Green Bay packers.

Special Teams

Assuming the defense steps up, the next step in the equation is the special teams, or more specifically the punt return team.  

Later on in the season when defenses clamp down and there are less openings to work with, field position is going to be crucial.  Once the field shortens, it relieves some pressure off the offense to have to play spectacular day in and day out just for a chance to win.  If the return team can change the teams field position from 60 yards to 50-40 yards, it will help them do much more damage.  

With most teams hitting mid-season stride, it is likely that everyone is playing hurt and not at 100 percent.  Therefore, there is a premium on having to do less overall work with the same efficiency in order to preserve the teams health for the run in the post season.  

This is one of the most overlooked aspect of the game but with good special teams, it could mean huge payouts in the long run.