Incredible potential and excitement surrounds this team. The Green Bay Packers MUST make a huge splash with their defensive coordinator hire. Its a pivotal moment that can take their momentum and speed this train down the tracks toward another Lombardi trophy. If the hire is another "safe" re-tread, they risk losing the fans and locker rooms enthusiasm. Greatness belongs to the bold. Be great MLF. Do not settle on this hire

Might anyone be able to tell me what is happening with Brendon Cox, jr. these days? Ascending, descending or just plain not in the Packers plans moving forward? Shocked he didn't get elevated for the 49-ers game? With Enagbare's very unfortunate injury Gary, Smith & Van Ness were forced to play the entire game with a 3-linebacker rotation...and...those guys simply ran out of gas. Cox, jr. would have allowed for a 4-man rotation. My understanding is that Cox (played for Florida State) was a 5-star high school recruit...almost the equivalent of a 1st round draft choice but, had immature personal issues in college. Is he just not cutting it or what? To date, he has not been offered a Futures contract as many other players have. Anyone have any insight as to what is going on here???

Sigh...

Happy or sad? I'm not sure! Happy because we're thinking potential championship again (already!), but sad because we're back to having unreasonable expectations. Oh well.

Pie over cake every time!

Corey Ballentine is 27, so "young" is a bit of a stretch. I'm definitely pumped about the rest of our 25-and-unders!

22: Dontayvion Wicks WR, Lukas Van Ness ED, Carrington Valentine CB, Grant DuBose WR, Thyrick Pitts WR
23: Romeo Doubs WR, Jayden Reed WR, Rasheed Walker OT, Tucker Kraft TE, Luke Musgrave TE, Ben Sims TE, Karl Brooks DT, Quay Walker LB, Colby Wooden DT, Malik Heath WR, Brenton Cox Jr. ED, Christian Young LB, Joel Wilson TE
24: Zach Tom OT, Christian Watson WR, Daniel Whelan P, Bo Melton WR, Eric Stokes CB, Anthony Johnson Jr. S, Kingsley Enagbare ED, Isaiah McDuffie LB, Emanuel Wilson RB, Luke Tenuta OT, Henry Pearson FB, Zyon Gilbert CB, Anthony Johnson CB, Caleb Jones OT, Keshawn Banks LB, Ellis Merriweather RB, Arron Mosby LB
25: Jordan Love QB, Josh Myers C, Devonte Wyatt DT, Anders Carlson K, Sean Clifford QB, AJ Dillon RB, Patrick Taylor RB, Samori Toure WR, Kristian Welch LB, Robert Rochell CB, Kadeem Telfort OT, Jonathan Ford DT, Deslin Alexandre LB, Tyler Coyle S, Michael Jordan OL, David Long Jr. CB, Deandre Johnson LB

"Good coaches are going to want to come along for the ride on which the Packers are about to embark. It could be a special few seasons or more that are coming our way."

YES...Good coaches should want to come along for the ride BUT good coaches should want to come to Green Bay because it's Packers...Green Bay is ALL about Football and winning championships. That's what the Packers do. But now it's time for Matt LaFleur to get these coaches in place. LaFleur showed me a lot this season. I went from wanting him gone to being pretty happy he's here. MLF has his warts, ALL coaches do. But the dude is getting better and like it or not, he did a hell of a job this year.

Bright spots in the season...

I'll say it started against Pittsburgh. Sure week one against the Bears and the comeback against the Saints were great, but the magic started around week 10 in a loss. That's when MLF let Love loose. All those 3 yard passes without a cloud of dust weren't doing it. LaFleur told Love to "Let it Rip" and THAT'S when the turnaround started. Instead of 22 WR screens called each game we saw 2. Everything started to go downfield and the MIDDLE of the field was finally being used (yes I'm looking at you Rodgers). Matter of fact the WHOLE field was being used. How refreshing.

There was so many more "Enjoyable" moments but what was so awesome other than this Packers squad was there was NO DRAMA. Rodgers took his act to NY, continued his gametime on Tuesdays on MacAfee, and now has even fucked that up.

I can't wait to see who LaFleur hires as the next DC. As long as it's not Staley I THINK I'll be okay. He just HAS to get this right and he needs to do it SOON. Before the best are all hired away.

LETS GO!

Other than a new Defensive Coordinator, the most important additions to this team are going to be a talented RB to spell and eventually replace Aaron Jones, and a talented Safety.
If we add those two things (yes, I know we have many other spots to bolster) I think we're going to be very competitive in 2024.

We need to be ready to keep our inertia in case a key cog goes down: A better backup QB, an Enagbare replacement, a Campbell replacement (unless he miraculously recovers his abilities of two years ago), an additional run-stopping DT, a replacement for Nijman (assuming he leaves and Tenuta/Jones etc. aren't good enough), a good backup center, etc.

Jordan Love went from question mark to a guy you can win with to a guy you can win BECAUSE OF.
They NEED Aaron Jones, and need to begin looking for a younger version of him.
Can’t wait to see who’s on the DC list. Will it have to be someone with a drastically different approach than Barry? Or, will he present a similar approach but simply do it better?

I hated to see SF make that last drive. And Barry let them drive down the field. How many times did that happen in the last three years. This years team could play toe to toe with anyone. Another bad memory to carry.

Enough. What to do with players?

Offense. Time to let Bak go. Also Runyan, Dillon and Te, can't think of his name. Goes to show how important he was. I sure would like to keep Aaron Jones. Maybe he will do a team friendly deal

Draft a OL high and RB too. Then multiple for RB and Ol so Gute can find gems in later rounds.

Defense. Dump Campbell. He digressed this year. I liked McDuffie as he played down hill better. Keep Alexander. Perhaps Savage can be reclaimed by the new DC. And keep Owens for the veteran minimum. If Enegbare hadn't blown his knee, I would say let Smith go. So we will need to draft OLB high again. Then a ILB and multiple DB's. Keep Ballentine for depth.

And now DC. Vrabel, Leonard or some up and Comer that is more aggressive. No old retreads. I am through with bend and don't break or coaches that play soft at end of games. To win Super Bowl, you have to take chances late in games. Be aggressive. We know how soft defenses give bad, long lasting memories.

The more talented team doesn’t always win.
Especially when you look at the play-offs.
And thats what you must remember about Change.

The packers had something to prove this year.
And Love carried this team like 12 and 4 before him.
But the Lions are still in the way.
On paper their just as talented
and they don’t have to make changes.
"WE are, like every team."
And it’s already started with Barry.

Fortification doesn’t matter.
And the optimism has been there since 2010.
Change at DC won’t work, unless you change
the continued failure, of our 3-4-4.
A new DC won’t master the play-offs.
(The TRUE failure of the Rodgers era.)
Unless the Pack changes to a four front.
It’s just a new spin on a old problem.

A pleasant season that exceeded all my expectations. Not because they made it to the playoffs and even won a game (I predicted here that they could make the playoffs in a weak NFC this season). I thought it would be good because of our running game, the O-line and the #1 picks on D to help carry the team.

I wished the youngsters would show improvement over the season and they showed improvement every game and even in games.

Now we're in the offseason and it's time to improve this team. It has to start on both lines of scrimmage. Both sides showed improvement through the season, but it has to start out of the gate next season and still get better as it goes along, and also, we know how much importance depth is.

I'm going to go out on a limb and predict the new DC will be an improvement.

Improve special teams. Wonder if we'll be able to retain the ST coordinator R.B.? Haven't heard of him doing any interviews.

The coaching on O needs to improve drastically. MLF needs the help. Can't go all the way into the playoffs trying to decide the best combination on the line. If they have certain play packages for the different groups, that will be a tell for opposing DCs. I haven't noticed it this season as in the past, but I'm probably not as smart as those guys. HA!

Good morning.
Great article, Tim, but there ain't no cake on this planet that could compete with my Key Lime pie! Man, I gained three pounds just thinkin' about it and typing this!
I think the off-season needs to focus on the defense. First, hire a coach that will get it done, someone aggressive and unafraid to throw the kitchen sink at other teams. I think I'd prefer a young up-n-comer with something to prove over a retread. But someone who commands respect and can instill the same to the field of play, a tough guy, a hard-ass!. No more passive softie bullshit.
Find a way to keep Aaron Jones, I think the youngsters look up to him, and he certainly appears to have graciously accepted the role as their leader when he showed up in CA last summer. He closed out the season in an All-Pro manner, and if he's not already as likeable as Donald Driver he sure as hell ain't far behind. He is our present day "Mr. Packer'. What's not to like?
For now, I'm anxious to see the list of potential DC's, and the draft is only3 months away. Damn, this is exciting!

The Ugly Purple has not won a SB.

Succinct. Mike drop. All that needs to be said.

Eagles hire Vic Fangio as DC less than 24 hours after he and Miami part ways.

DC Job -

This has to be one of if not the most attractive jobs in the league. They have a good front office. They have a good HC with a QB who is already wildly considered a top 10 QB and he is just getting started. They have offensive weapons that put fear in other teams.

They are not only oozing with young offensive talent. They have a lot of young defensive talent as well. They have the experienced vets in Clark, Smith, Campbell, Alexander. Smith and Campbell could be gone but we will see. But to go with those guys they have a lot of young guys who are emerging. Last years draft Walker and Wyatt have been really good. Enagbare until he got hurt was a good rotational pass rusher. This years draft was a homerun. LVN is just starting to tap into his potential. Wooden showed potential. Brooks was an absolute steal. Valentine another steal. Johnson looks like he could be a contributor at the least. They also have some year 3 guys that have been good as well. Slaton and McDuffie.

Another reason why this has to be attractive is that they have 5 picks in the first 100. They have the ability to add some really good talent.

The defense has the makings to be very good with a good DC.

I already said who I want to be the next DC and why. But regardless whoever is the new DC we need to give them time as it takes time for the players to fully understand what they are doing.

Tim: In your 10thn paragraph you said "Barry should never have been retired and was retained once too many times". Did you mean "hired" instead of "retired"?

Our local paper reported that although Barry is out as DC, there are conversations taking place that would retain Barry somewhere in the Packers organization. Apparently Lafleur is trying to take care of his friend. As long as it is not as a defensive coach, I am fine with that move.

Whomever we get for our DC, I hope he advocates for DBs and LBs who can actually tackle. I want solid man to man coverage guys who can blitz the QB, if called upon. I also feel a DT is needed. Someone like a Jerzahn Newton, who can be called upon to spell Kenny Clark, once in a while. Another Edge guy would also be good. Enagbare's injury will need time to heal and we cannot count on him being able to play next season.

What is the thought on Mike Vrable if he was interested

I'm not sure how long it will take me to get over this...

Green Bay went into this year with one goal - evaluate whether Love can be the QB of the future. And to do that evaluation, they chose 7-10 pass catchers that were rookies or second year guys. No vets.

The odds of that plan working had to be what? 20%? 30%? 1%?

This thing should have blown up in their face. The rookie receivers should have played like rookies and the TEs should have been developmental projects, as most rookie TEs tend to be.

And they just hit on all of them. Which is a massive victory in it's own right, but is equally as massive in having provided GB with the opportunity to see what Jordan Love can be.

We should be sitting here right now arguing about whether the offense stunk because of Love not playing well... or was it the young inexperienced receivers... or is it MLF's play calling... and of course the reasonable interpretation should have been that it was a mix of all three.

The fact that you come out of this year talking about a Super Bowl window starting next year is just off the charts unbelievable. We are so lucky to be Green Bay Packer fans.

After catching covid, I just have to make remarks about the 49er game. Isn't Jordan Love the QB of the future? It certainly didn't look like that in the first quarter of the 40whiner game. For the first series leading to a FG, it was Jones left, Jones right, Jones up the middle. Where was Love? He could very well have been sitting on the bench and that lead to the beginning of the end. By the time the Packers reached the end zone, Love was a rust bucket...lacking continuity. And it showed for the rest of the game. Never, ever, leave your QB on a boat without a paddle. La Fleur did that. Love's involvement in the game must start with the first series in the game. This is jump in and swim...not test the water with your big toe. Because of La Fleur's cautious conservative play calling, Packers got roasted.

Don't disagree with anything Tim wrote but I have to put an addendum on the Taylor Swift appearance. That was good, but Packer fans had Simone Biles in house all season. I'm a bit of an Olympics nerd so to me royalty was in the house whenever Simone appeared. She likely is the world's greatest female gymnast. In her arena, her accomplishments are equal to Taylor Swift's in hers. She also became a fan of Green Bay and the Packers even though cold weather is not her thing.

I don't know if her husband Jonathan Owens will return as he is a free agent so it was nice to have Simone cheering for the Packers this year.

Tim:
Now that the Packers season is over, it's time for me to get another hobby/life or start reading the news.....Curling it is! For many years, Ask Vic was my go-to source of football information/entertainment ("Wide receivers; dime a dozen"). This past season I stumbled onto this website, and the void created by Vic's retirement is now filled. Many thanks to you and all the other writers/"analysts" who presented thoughtful commentary throughout the season. It has been a fun ride. Be looking forward to your comments next fall. Go Packers. Cheers!

I doubt Vrabel will be coming, him and MLF didnt see eye to eye, plus he should get a HC job...the draft should be interesting, a RB is needed for sure to help Jones if he stays...the team is on the upswing but a good draft is needed to avoid a Plateau next year....it happens...

One of the best memories for the year for me, was just seeing the rookies play so much ball. With Rodgers under center, it seemed every year there were such high expectations and they rarely relied on a rookie to play much, unless forced into that role by injury (Bulaga starting the Super Bowl as a rookie, Bakhtiari starting LT as a rookie).

But this year, it was clear from the start they were needing to play the rookie TEs and WRs, but the impact on defense by the rookies was great to see. Brooks and Van Ness each had 4 sacks. Kenny Clark had zero sacks as a rookie and Rashan Gary had 2. So they relied on rookies and second year players on both sides of the ball.

One question. I don't see GB having 3 picks in the top 50. I see them having #25, #41 and #58

Confession: I don't get too excited about the Bears rivalry. I mean, they haven't won much in 30 years so it's not much of a challenge.

That said, this year was a lot better. Bears fans had their hopes up.

It was oh so sad to hear them suffer after the opener given their off-season of delusional build up. And it was oh so sad to see them after the loss at the end of the season, when they knew nothing had changed since Don Majkowski....

Superb article.. That's an excellent favorite moments list. There were so many but that outlines and illustrates the enormous progress made since last year and over the course of this season.

With the coaching changes and the DC opportunity created there, even despite the dysfunctional silo structure, the primary product Football, on the field has totally pivoted in short order.

Haven't seen that in decades since Reggie and Holmgren I suppose, and I was having my doubts about when it would, but I think we are at a similar moment. New DC, the draft ahead. GPG