Packers: Positives, negatives from Week 10 vs. Dolphins

Positives and negatives from the Green Bay Packers’ Week 10 win over the Miami Dolphins.

The Packers limped their way to a win against the shorthanded Miami Dolphins at home Sunday afternoon.

While a win is a win, the Packers simply are not good enough to compete with the elite teams in the NFC.

Positive: Aaron Jones

Aaron Jones looks like the long-awaited replacement for Ryan Grant. The Packers have failed to provide balance for Aaron Rodgers and the offense for years.

Ryan Grant’s season-ending injury in Week 1 of the 2010 season essentially derailed his career and sent the Packers on an embarrassing streak of terrible performances rushing the football.

While Jones has many flaws in his game to clean up, he clearly is the most talented runner the team has. Jamaal Williams‘ role in the offense has gradually diminished over time, while the team finally put Ty Montgomery out of his misery in Green Bay.

Jones looks like he could finally be a bell cow for an offense that is in desperate need of some balance on the offensive side of the ball.

Negative: Pass rush

Against a backup quarterback, with three of his starting offensive linemen out with injury, the Packers pass rush was non-existent against the Dolphins.

If Nick Perry and Clay Matthews couldn’t have a big game on Sunday, then they never will. Matthews’ decline has been shocking. After once being among the most feared edge rushers in the league, he is now completely irrelevant and shouldn’t be paid another penny by the Packers.

The Packers have repeatedly ignored opportunities to improve this part of their defense.

They balked on a potential deal for Khalil Mack despite having two first-round picks in next year’s draft, acquired no one at the trade deadline, and couldn’t even bring in Bruce Irvin on a cheap one-year deal after he was dumped by the Raiders.

Positive: Bashaud Breeland

The Packers may have stumbled their way into a potential long-term piece on defense. Breeland was among the most coveted free agents on the market during the offseason, and the Packers managed to scoop him up for chump change after he failed a physical with the Carolina Panthers.

Breeland had a decent debut against the New England Patriots, and followed it up with an interception of Brock Osweiler Sunday.

The Packers will clearly try to get rookies Jaire Alexander and Josh Jackson as many opportunities as possible, but Breeland looks like a potential option for the long haul if they feel they should add a veteran piece to their young and budding secondary.

Negative: Josh Jackson

After a strong preseason that included a pick-six, Josh Jackson has been invisible from the Green Bay defense. Jaire Alexander has solidified his spot in the starting rotation, while Jackson’s role in the defense has changed drastically.

The Packers don’t seem sure of where to use him considering his role in the defense is still evolving.

With Kevin King failing to make any sort of impact in his second year, the Packers need Jackson to improve his play substantially to provide the secondary with the depth they have lacked in recent years.

With Bashaud Breeland’s role in the defense expanding week-to-week, Jackson’s opportunities may become more limited.

Positive: Marcedes Lewis

The Packers finally got Marcedes Lewis involved offensively. In what was only his second catch of the season, Lewis caught a flat pattern pass and scampered for a 30-yard catch-and-run.

Lewis showed that he still has some of the speed he once possessed while with the Jacksonville Jaguars. With Jimmy Graham failing to get separation from defensive backs, the Packers need to involve Lewis in the offense much more.

As a blocker, Lewis has always been one of the best in the league. Graham’s biggest weakness as an extension of the offensive line has been blocking, and Lewis can help make up for some of those deficiencies.

Lewis is not the premier tight end option that he once was, but can still provide the offense with desperately-needed help at the position.

Negative: Mike McCarthy

Mike McCarthy was an absolute disaster on Sunday. Playing Brock Osweiler and the average Miami Dolphins, McCarthy inexplicably opted to go for it on a fourth-and-short inside his own territory rather than trying to pin back a bad quarterback in the cold with a punter that the team spent a draft pick on.

As if that wasn’t ridiculous enough, McCarthy assigned Jimmy Graham to be the primary blocker on his side instead of Bryan Bulaga, which is an absolute cardinal sin.

The Packers are a bad football team being carried through the season by a supernatural player. So far this season, the Packers have beaten Mitchell Trubisky, Josh Allen, C.J. Beathard and Brock Osweiler.

It took heroics from Aaron Rodgers just to escape two of those games. The Packers do not belong in the conversation for the Super Bowl, and barely even look like a hopeful for a playoff berth. Mike McCarthy needs to be replaced at season’s end.