Another week, another game without Kevin Zeitler. The Green Bay Packers signed the veteran right guard to solve their offensive line and running game woes, but he was a healthy scratch again in the loss to the Detroit Lions.
While it made sense that they brought him up slowly after joining the team early in the season, it's hard to justify keeping him on the bench at this point. This team can't run the ball, and while getting Josh Jacobs back in the fold helps, that's not enough.
That's why Matt LaFleur's explanation for keeping Zeitler off the field doesn't add up. He talked about how he doesn't have experience playing center, as if he knew Sean Rhyan would leave the game with an injury.
It's time the Packers get Kevin Zeitler on the field
“I think all these guys are doing a pretty good job,” LaFleur said of not activating Zeitler. “Getting Banks back was part of that... And then you got to have guys that obviously can come in and snap the ball and play center, and we were down to our third center today,” the head coach added.
To be fair, Travis Glover has done a good job at right guard, but it's not like the bar was particularly high. Also, 'good' won't cut it in the most competitive division in pro football, and this team must get the best guys on the field.
Aaron Banks has struggled when healthy, but he was always a lock to get the starting left guard job back, given his age and salary. As for the other side of the line, there's no way to say with a straight face that Kevin Zeitler isn't the best option for the job.
Otherwise, why even sign him? Was it just a desperate move and an admission of guilt by general manager Brian Gutekunst after putting together such a dreadful offensive line? Is he not in as good shape as they hoped? It doesn't add up either way.
The Packers didn't lose to the Detroit Lions because they couldn't run the ball, but it definitely didn't help. Just like last season, Jacobs kept running into stacked boxes and drawing the first contact either at or behind the line of scrimmage, and that's simply not sustainable.
Zeitler might not have experience at center, but that shouldn't be relevant at this point. The team reached out to him to help them solve their season-long woes on the ground, and nearly a month later, they still haven't given him an opportunity to prove his worth.
There's still plenty of football to be played, and the Packers shouldn't beat themselves up too much after this loss. That said, they can't expect better results if they keep making the same avoidable mistakes and inexplicable decisions.
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