On October 17, 2010 the Green Bay Packers suffered a brutal loss to a terrible AFC East team(the Dolphins) to move to 3-3 on the season. Tensions were high, fans were frustrated, and the media was having a feeding frenzy. Sound familiar?
A few short months later Aaron Rodgers and his teammates were holding the Lombardi trophy.
Is inferring that that means this team is on the same path ridiculous? Maybe. But, it’s important to recognize how our expectations were created and whether our reactions to those expectations are valid. Despite massive disappointment at the end of the last three seasons, the Packers have lived an outrageously charmed regular season life. Matt Lafluer just lost back to back games for the first time in his four year head coach NFL career. That’s insanity.
It is not uncommon for good and even Super Bowl winning teams to struggle with their identity through the first two months of a season. The New England Patriots were notorious for having underwhelming opening months throughout their dynasty run. Every year the media would do the same thing to New England that they’ve been doing to Green Bay this year and every year New England would be right there at the end. In fact one could argue that’s what made New England a good team. They grew, evolved as they went through struggle, and we’re playing their best football at the most important time of the year. Conversely their main AFC rival the Indianapolis Colts always seemed to crush everybody in their path throughout the regular season and then just couldn’t quite get it done when it mattered the most.
Perhaps this struggle for Green Bay represents a shift in mentality, teambuilding, and approach that eventually will lead the team where they haven’t been able to get in years previous. Maybe in order to turn that team that couldn’t get it done into one that can they have to go through this.
Yes the offense looks awful, the defense has been underwhelming, and the special-teams cracked again last week. But this is essentially a makeover of one of the leagues best teams. It wasn’t going to be easy. 13 wins a year weren’t getting it done and by spending their draft capital on a running back and defense this team has made a clear shift towards a different style of football. The sort of team that runs the ball, plays good defense and then has a Hall of Fame quarterback dagger you. In my opinion that’s the only way to get it done. The elite offense of the last few years continuously failed when it was needed the most.
I couldn’t be less concerned with our current record or any of the narratives about this team. All you have to do is look back at the final four teams playing last year to see how common struggle is.
The Chiefs were anemic. Everybody had figured out how to stop Patrick Mahomes remember? Make him take the easy stuff and he won’t be able to help himself. The first six weeks were filled with Kansas City crisis talk yet there they we’re in the AFC championship game.
Everybody remembers the Bengals run to the Super Bowl but I don’t think many remember their season. They were as up-and-down average as a team could get. One week they would look great against the Baltimore Ravens and the next week they would give up 42 points to the Jets third string quarterback and one of the leagues worst teams.
The 49ers were a question mark to make the playoffs as late as week 13!
And if I had a dollar for every time somebody criticized the Rams methodology and Matthew Stafford in October last year I could probably buy my own football team.
The point is, although it’s nice to be great early in the regular season being not great is not the death sentence that the national sports media will make you think it is. Being not great can just be about figuring it out.
Maybe Aaron Rodgers is right and this offense needs more simplification, less motion, and easier playcalling. Maybe Joe Barry needs to be more aggressive. Maybe the front office needs to go out and get a wide receiver to help this team. Those could all be true but I truly think this is a team that is in the process of figuring out something better than they’ve been in the past. And that’s not gonna come without doubters and haters.
Mark my words this team is going to figure it out and when they do they will be more dangerous than they’ve ever been before. Jump off the bandwagon if you want but mark my words the Packers will laugh last.
