While left guard Donovan Jennings was the lowlight of the Green Bay Packers' offensive-line disaster class, he was far from the only problem. The Minnesota Vikings' pass rush put the entire front five through a paper shredder.
Whatever it is, the Packers' problem is more likely a fundamental one of inexperience and unpreparedness. Although right tackle Zach Bako-Bewele was almost certainly not healthy, his teammates don't have that excuse.
Even Bako-Bewele has to be better. Aaron Banks returning in Week 2 won't solve anything. Jager Burton could be an upgrade, but it's telling that he didn't get the nod over Jennings. While penciling Burton in could help, it would be a Band-Aid on a bloody nose.
If the fundamental issues persist, any individual upgrade won't make much difference.
Solving Packers' offensive-line catastrophe goes beyond shuffling personnel
Pinpointing the root problem is tricky. Inexperience, sure. Bako-Bewele was the only true veteran in the group.
Unpreparedness, absolutely. That's on both the players and perhaps more so the coaching. Everyone knows Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores is a blitz-happy maniac, but there has to be a better answer than Green Bay's utter lack of one.
Was the culprit inadequate coaching adjustments? Poor communication? F-grade execution? All of the above.
It's not immediately clear what the answer is, but it's not as simple as benching Jennings. Yes, he earns the most rotten tomatoes of the bunch. His 34.7 PFF grade ranks dead last among 59 qualified guards in Week 1.
For clarity's sake, here's how the rest graded out: right guard Jacob Monk, 55th of 59; center Sean Rhyan, 15th of 24; left tackle Jordan Morgan, 46th of 57; Bako-Bewele, 44th of 57. Not pretty.
Packers fans don't need PFF to confirm what we saw. Awful across the board. In fact, Morgan and Bako-Bewele led the way in pressures allowed with five and four, respectively. Jennings and Morgan were the only ones not charged with surrendering a sack.
The painful reality is that the naysayers got a whole lot of material from one. That organically constructed crew of former draft picks fell flat on its face, proving as vulnerable as skeptics predicted. We already had questions about both guard spots, and to some extent about Rhyan at center. But this? Unbelievably bad.
The Packers only have so many personnel moves available. Banks, Burton, and Anthony Belton are the reinforcements waiting in the stables. Burton is the only one with encouraging upside, and the team seemingly doesn't think he's there yet.
Whoever suits up next week against the New York Jets, it's going to take much better preparation, execution, and live adjustments - the whole shebang - than the effort this group just put forth.
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