Green Bay Packers: 3 Players who need to Produce in 2nd half of Season

The second half of the Green Bay Packers season is upon us and it would be nice to see these three players produce more in the final eight games.

Halfway through the Green Bay Packers’ 2019 season, I’m not sure that things could have gone much better than what they already have. The Packers sit at 7-1 overall as well as 3-0 within the NFC North and they’ve played the last four games without their star wide receiver, Davante Adams.

Meanwhile, the defense is creating sacks and forcing turnovers while the offense is getting better each and every week. However, there is always room for improvement and if the Green Bay Packers are going to finish the season strong and hopefully make a Super Bowl push, seeing an increase in production from these three players will go a long ways towards achieving that goal.

Geronimo Allison

Without Davante Adams this Green Bay Packers’ offense was still able to put up points and also went 4-0 during that stretch, but it was largely without much production from Geronimo Allison. Instead, we saw both running backs step up in the passing game along with Allen Lazard who started the season on the practice squad, while Marquez Valdes-Scantling had some big plays and Jake Kumerow hauled in a touchdown pass as well.

Yet Allison – who many thought could be Green Bay’s number two receiver at the start of the season – struggled and has for much of the season. Over the last four games, Allison caught just 10 of the 21 passes thrown his way for 108 yards or 10.8 yards per catch, including a few dropped passes which have been an issue all year.

It appears that the Green Bay Packers’ offense is starting to find their groove, but if Allison can be more reliable and productive during this second half of the season, he gives Matt LaFleur and Aaron Rodgers another weapon that opposing defenses have to worry about.

Jimmy Graham

After a down 2018 season in Green Bay, 2019 has been a bit of a roller-coaster ride with a number of ups as well as some downs. We’ve seen Jimmy Graham go for 61 yards and a touchdown against Philadelphia while also posting a 65 yard, one-touchdown game against Oakland. And to his credit, his blocking as of late has been much better.

However on the flip side of that coin, Graham has disappeared against Minnesota and Denver where he was targeted just two times and didn’t come away with a reception during those two games. We also have to mention the dropped passes in the red zone.

Although at this point in his career Graham isn’t the same athlete that he once was, he can still create mismatches and if he can find open space and prove to be a reliable target in the passing game – especially in the red zone – he like Allison will provide this already loaded offense with another big weapon.

Rashan Gary

Coming into the season – especially with having Za’Darius Smith and Preston Smith – we knew that Rashan Gary didn’t have to step in and be “the guy” right away for this defensive front. As a result, Gary hasn’t seen the field consistently through the first eight weeks of the season as his snap counts have fluctuated from six in a game to 26 and everywhere in between.

While it is a luxury for the Green Bay Packers to be able to use Gary sparingly, you still want to see the 12th overall pick make strides – which he has – as well as produce on the field. So far this season, Gary has four solo tackles, eight pressures, one of which was a sack, and a fumble recovery.

In regards to what the Green Bay Packers want to see from Gary moving forward, OLB coach Mike Smith summed it up best just a few weeks ago:

"“My big thing with Gary is his self-confidence,” outside linebackers coach Mike Smith said this week. “Not worrying about making a mistake as much as making a big play. Go for the big play. You can’t be half-pregnant. I think at times, he’s so worried about making a mistake where, ‘Gary, you’re one of the best athletes on the field, if not the best athlete on the field.’ So, he makes some great plays but he’s worried, ‘I don’t want to mess this up.’ I just tell him to go. That’s my big thing with him.”"

As Smith stated, Gary might be the best athlete on the field at any given time and he needs to use that to his advantage as goes for the big play. So hopefully in the second half of the season, we see Gary “cut it loose” and begin making some plays for this defense on a more regular basis.