Packers: Positives, negatives from Week 3 vs. Washington

What did we learn from the Green Bay Packers’ Week 3 loss?

A closer look at the positives and negatives from the Green Bay Packers’ loss to the Washington Redskins:

Positive: Aaron Jones

The Packers need to stop kidding themselves. Aaron Jones needs to be made the starter at running back immediately.

Jamaal Williams does a few things well, particularly in pass protection, but Jones is a significantly more talented runner. Jones only got the ball six times Sunday after sitting out games one and two due to suspension.

Jones averaged seven yards per carry on those six touches. The Packers are essentially a rebuilding team being pushed towards the playoffs because of their quarterback. Jones could be a potential long term piece for the running game if the Packers could just make him the full time starter.

Negative: Muhammad Wilkerson

Muhammad Wilkerson is done for the year after suffering what the team called a “significant” ankle injury. It was so bad that Wilkerson even stayed overnight in the hospital after being operated on in the Washington D.C. area late last night.

The Packers, as they always seem to do, have lost another key player to what was a somewhat improved defense.

The Packers looked to finally have themselves a strong defensive line. While Mike Daniels is among the most overhyped players in football, he and Kenny Clark were a tough task for offensive linemen along with Wilkerson.

Wilkerson chose to come to Green Bay in part to reunite with defensive coordinator Mike Pettine, who was his defensive coordinator with the Jets.

Positive: David Bakhtiari

David Bakhtiari is so consistent at left tackle. With a hobbled quarterback the Packers need Aaron Rodgers to have as much time in the pocket as possible.

But with this offense, the Packers essentially need their offensive line to block significantly longer than others due to their receivers’ constant inability to get open.

Bakhtiari was going up against a very tough Redskins front seven yesterday. The Redskins came into the matchup ranked first overall in defense, and against a fierce pass rush, Bakhtiari did his part as he does every single week.

Negative: Coaching

Mike McCarthy just can’t figure it out.

It has just become an expectation in Green Bay that every passing play will feature Aaron Rodgers dropping back to pass, not having his first three reads open, and then scrambling away in ways only he can, only to either run for yardage or hit a narrowly uncovered receiver on the sidelines.

If the Packers had any other quarterback in football, this method would be unsustainable.

The last time we saw the Packer offense play with any kind of creativity or explosiveness was in 2014. Ever since then, they have been flat, predictable, and slow. The best indicator of the lack of speed on offense is what the team asks of Randall Cobb.

Not only is he inexplicably the team’s punt returner, but the offense uses him on all of the fastest and twitchiest routes.

Keep in mind that Cobb’s poor 40-yard dash time years ago made him drop in the draft, and that was before breaking his leg in 2013 and dealing with numerous other ailments.

Positive: Geronimo Allison

Even though his walk-in touchdown was due to a blown coverage, Geronimo Allison has matured into a solid number three receiver for the Packers.

While he doesn’t possess any straight-line speed, Allison is shifty enough to gain some yards after the catch a la Davante Adams. Allison looks like he will be in the team’s long-term plans going forward.

Allison has also developed the most reliable hands on the team. Randall Cobb had an uncharacteristically tough day catching the football, and Davante Adams has been plagued by drops throughout his career.

Allison, however, has been incredibly reliable catching the ball once he breaks open.

Negative: Familiar trends

The Packers looked like themselves against the Redskins. The fact of the matter is, they are not a Super Bowl threat. It doesn’t matter how great one player is, if the team as a whole is lacking, then it will fail. Against the Redskins, we saw what Mike McCarthy’s team is and isn’t.

The Packers’ front got blown off the ball on seemingly every single play as Adrian Peterson gashed them over and over.

You’d think the Packers would have devised a method to deal with Peterson after all these years, but even at 33 years old, he carved up the defense.

On offense, there was absolutely nothing done in terms of scheme that could keep the Redskins’ defense guessing.

Opponent game plans against the Packer offense are simple: Play man coverage against an average receiving corps, assume a bunch of late-round picks at running back won’t be too overwhelming to deal with, and run to daylight against a weak front seven.