The Green Bay Packers regular season kicks off in just over a week against the Chicago Bears. With a number of changes this offseason, along with the league’s youngest roster, there are a lot of unknowns with this year’s team. However, there are reasons for optimism as well.
So, with training camp and the preseason behind us, we’ve learned quite a bit over the last five or so weeks. And as we turn our focus to the 2023 regular season, here are six reasons to be optimistic about this year’s Packers team.
The trenches
Football has certainly changed a lot over the years, but one thing that remains the same is that games are often won or lost in the trenches, and the Packers appear to be very good in this aspect on both sides of the ball.
The interior defensive line looked much faster this summer and did well creating consistent push up the middle against the run, along with moving sideline-to-sideline in pursuit of the ball carrier. The edge rusher room is “loaded,” as Matt LaFleur said, and from the top of the depth chart to the bottom, they were able to generate regular pressure throughout the summer. A year ago, the depth of the edge rusher unit was a concern, but right now, that is far from an issue.
On the offensive line, the Packers have an experienced unit that should be one of the best in football. In the preseason, Jordan Love had 19 dropbacks in the first two games but was pressured only twice and wasn’t sacked. Against Seattle in the finale, Love wasn’t hit or sacked in that game. As an offensive line unit, the Green Bay running backs averaged 4.6 yards per rush over those three games, which, for reference, would have ranked 11th last season.
Success for the defense begins with stopping the run and putting the opposing offense in predictable passing situations, where the pass rush can really have an opportunity to get after the quarterback, and the secondary can be more aggressive. On the other side of the ball, if Love is under consistent pressure when dropping back, things probably won’t end well. If the run game struggles, that puts this young offense in obvious passing situations, which again, probably won’t end well.
Winning games this season starts up front on both sides of the ball. And the good news for the Packers is that they have the potential to be good in both areas.
Packers running backs Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon
There is a lot of inexperience on offense, but the Packers have a veteran duo at the running back position that can be one of the best duos in football. Among qualified backs, Aaron Jones led the NFL in yards per carry in 2022 with 5.3. With AJ Dillon, meanwhile, LaFleur has said that the emphasis for him this offseason has been running with a low pad level and using his big frame to his advantage. Along with their impact in the run game, both are also very active in the passing game and will continue to be this season.
As was just mentioned, a consistent run game will be a must for this Packers offense if they are going to find success, as it will help keep Love out of obvious passing situations and then really opens up the entire playbook for LaFleur from a play-calling perspective. However, in addition to that, a somewhat balanced run-pass mix is also a core element of the LaFleur offense, as is utilizing play-action, which of course, becomes more effective when the offense is able to move the ball on the ground.
It’s difficult to envision a scenario where this Packers offense finds consistent success without an effective run game. As I just said, it’s a must. But between the offensive line play and these two running backs, the Packers are positioned well to have a strong rushing attack this season.
Speed and Versatility on offense with LaFleur as the play-caller
The skill position players on the Packers offense may be inexperienced, but there is a lot of speed and a lot of versatility. Christian Watson and Jayden Reed both have sub-4.4 speed, while Luke Musgrave and Ben Sims were two of the fastest tight ends in this year’s draft class, not to mention that Tucker Kraft also posted an elite Relative Athletic Score.
The Packers receivers can, for the most part, play both from the slot and out wide. The running backs can line up in the backfield, slot, or out wide, and the same goes for the tight end group, all of which can play in-line, from the slot, or out wide if needed.
What this combination of speed and versatility throughout the position groups does is it allows the offense to achieve that ‘illusion of complexity’ we’ve often heard LaFleur describe. In short, what this means is that defenses are kept off-balanced by the offense being able to run a wide variety of plays from just a few personnel groupings, helping to create mismatches that can then be exploited. In this instance, LaFleur’s scheme is able to do some of the heavy lifting by creating favorable one-on-one matchups or getting guys into space, so not all of that playmaking burden falls on Love’s shoulders.
Jordan Love can win football games
I would say the biggest thing we learned this summer, and the biggest reason for optimism, is that Jordan Love can lead this team to victory. Now, that doesn’t mean the Packers are going to finish with a winning record and make the playoffs. There also is still going to be a learning curve for him in his first regular-season action as the guy, but he has the ability to win games.
Throughout the offseason, LaFleur has mentioned the importance of Love getting the process right, which includes everything from when he enters the huddle to when the ball is released, and if done correctly, the results will follow. Well, the results are following, and Love looks very comfortable with the quarterback process.
He has done well knowing when to try to push the ball downfield or when to try to fit it into a tight window, and also knowing when to hold on to the ball, continue going through his progressions, and when necessary, taking what the defense gives him. Love has also shown that he can throw guys open, has excellent pocket awareness, and has the ability to buy time and create opportunities, not to mention that he remains very calm when under pressure or the pocket is closing around him.
Add all of this together, and when done consistently, it’s a recipe for success.
Rich Bisaccia
The addition of Rich Bisaccia to the coaching staff in 2022 did not only improve the play of the special teams unit on the field but there was an organizational shift within Green Bay in how they view the special teams unit. In short, it became a priority, and we’ve seen that with a number of free-agent additions over the last two seasons who were initially brought to Green Bay to help on special teams. A few of these players include Dallin Leavitt, Keisean Nixon, Rudy Ford, and Zayne Anderson.
In Rich Gosselin’s annual special teams rankings, the Packers finished the 2022 season ranked 22nd. That on its own is nothing to write home about. However, it’s a far cry from 32nd, which Green Bay had been ranked in 2021, as well as on a few other occasions over the previous decade. This was also a group that started the season somewhat slowly, but one could argue fairly easily that by season’s end, they were playing much better than the 22nd-ranked unit.
More than likely, there are going to be ups and downs from rookie kicker Anders Carlson this season, but the Packers’ collective special teams unit, now in Year 2 under Bisaccia’s tutelage, has the potential to again make another jump.
The Cornerback Room
The Packers cornerback room is filled with playmakers. On the boundary will be Jaire Alexander and Rasul Douglas, both of whom have a knack for making the big play when it matters most. Only three players in the NFL had at least four interceptions in the fourth quarter last season, and two of them were Alexander and Douglas. Keisean Nixon will be in the slot. Carrington Valentine, who had an excellent summer, really showcasing his ability to make plays on the ball, will be the backup. And eventually, Eric Stokes will return.
Late last season, we saw more cover-2 and cover-6 from this Packers defense, along with Alexander being able to switch sides of the field depending on where an opponent’s top receiver was aligned–although he still didn’t follow the receiver if they went in motion. This helped put the members of the secondary in better positions to make plays. A huge contributor to the defense’s late-season success was their ability to create turnovers in those final handful of games.
This Joe Barry defense is predicated on playing zone. So, although the Packers have the personnel to compete in man coverage, that isn’t going to all of a sudden be the calling card of this unit. But with that said, what we need to see this season are more timely adjustments, and just because a team plays zone doesn’t mean they have to play soft as often as Green Bay did. One encouraging aspect from this summer is that in practice we saw the Packers corners challenging the receivers a bit more at the line of scrimmage.
Turnovers are a volatile stat, so it can be difficult to predict how often they will happen. However, with a young offense, winning the turnover battle feels like a near must for the Packers this season. It will take away possessions from the opponent and give Love an additional possession or two with likely good field position at times.