Green Bay Packers: Positives, negatives from bye week
By Evan Siegel
Green Bay Packers fans watched as their team took a week off after their loss at home to the New Orleans Saints in their first game without Aaron Rodgers.
The Green Bay Packers may be 4-3 and still in contention for a playoff berth, but their roster is completely depleted and thoroughly outmatched by their opponents.
The following are some positives and negatives from the bye week:
Positive: health
The Packers finally have a chance to get somewhat healthy before their Monday night clash with the Lions.
More than two weeks off is crucial for a team looking to get a crucial division win to try to prevent their season from spiraling down the drain.
Green Bay Packers
Davon House, Kevin King, and Montravious Adams are nearing full health and would be a helpful addition for a team desperate to keep its season afloat.
The Packers have had the absolute worst luck with injuries over the years.
Far more missed games than any other team over the last five years and two seasons with Aaron Rodgers going down has brutally plagued this team.
The Green Bay Packers may get Rodgers back by season’s end, but that is still an unlikely possibility. Brett Hundley needs as healthy of a roster around him as possible to be successful in an uncreative, boring offensive scheme.
Negative: divison standings
The Packers had an excuse for their loss to the Minnesota Vikings. On the road, they lost their only savior to injury and were not adequately prepared to win without him. The Vikings won this past Sunday after the Packers lost to the Saints, launching Minnesota two games ahead of the Packers in the division.
The Packers are not clear of the Detroit Lions yet either. Detroit is clearly a better team than Green Bay at this point, and will not have a problem scoring on their awful defense. Green Bay is not in any realistic position to win the division this year, and a wildcard berth is the best the Packers can hope for.
Positive: Brett Hundley
Brett Hundley is getting an extra week to prepare with the first team offense before Monday night’s matchup with Detroit.
One could argue Hundley was still not quite ready for the matchup with New Orleans given how fast the situation collapsed with Aaron Rodgers. The Packers would ideally like to try to maximize Hundley’s trade value for a possible future trade.
Hundley has yet to prove he can be as good a pocket passer as he is hyped to be.
The former UCLA Bruin has lots of talent and a big arm, but he has yet to show consistent passing ability from the pocket in the NFL. Monday night’s matchup with Detroit will be a big test for him, as he tries to prove his doubters wrong on national television.
Negative: complacency
The Packers are notorious for being ultra-conservative with their resources. Ted Thompson almost never dips into free agency, and absolutely never makes trades.
With so many gaping holes on the roster, Thompson again ignored the trade deadline altogether and left his porous team out to dry.
Without Aaron Rodgers on the field to cover up for his countless errors, Thompson’s roster will now be exposed.
An inexperienced, unproven running game with aging receivers and an unhealthy offensive line comprises the offense.
The defense is made up of poor athletes, backup defensive backs, and late round linebackers. The roster is not good enough to beat most teams in this league, and the Packers are about to find that out.
Positive: Vince Beigel
The Packers are getting closer to seeing Vince Beigel on the field. The rookie out of Wisconsin was placed on the PUP list in training camp, prompting Ted Thompson to swallow his pride and sign Ahmad Brooks.
Beigel may possibly be able to go against the Lions this coming week, but more likely will suit up the week after that.
The Packers could desperately use new blood on defense.
Clay Matthews is overrated, and Nick Perry is having his worst season since his rookie year. Ahmad Brooks has been decent, but is 33 and is clearly a one-year rental.
The Packers are more desperate than ever to add fresh legs to their linebacker corps, even though like every other Packers linebacker ever, he’s injured.
Negative: Martellus Bennett
The Packers brought Bennett in on a three-year deal this past offseason after letting Jared Cook walk out the door.
Bennett has been a total disappointment.
He dropped four passes against the Atlanta Falcons and only continued this trend up until the very play Aaron Rodgers went down.
Bennett has shown signs of attrition and a lack of ability to gain separation against defenders.
Bennett announced he will retire at season’s end, once again opening a void for the Packers at tight end.
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The team will have Lance Kendricks under contract for one more year, and will have a decision to make on Richard Rodgers.
The Packers probably won’t address this position early in the draft, for that will be reserved for their next defensive lineman out of UCLA.