The Green Bay Packers limped to the bye week with a perfect record but if a return to the Super Bowl is in the future it will take a minor miracle to get there. Not that they don’t have a good team, they do, but due to injuries and the disappearance of Eddie Lacy, I don’t think they have the horses to compete for a title.
The curious case of Lacy got a little light shed on it today when head coach Mike McCarthy for all intents and purposes called him overweight. McCarthy said he is bigger than he was as a rookie and he was borderline overweight then. Who can forget that rookie picture of a robust Lacy that went viral?
It’s obvious something is wrong with the man who many thought was the top player in fantasy football this year. Lacy was an afterthought in the Packers last game against San Diego with only four carries and didn’t even start. Maybe that experience and the week off to self-scout will rejuvenate Lacy. The Packers playoff future depends on it.
Without a running game to speak of, the injuries to Jordy Nelson, Davante Adams and Randall Cobb has left the Packers’ offense a patchwork unit that not even the great Aaron Rodgers can raise the level of. Rodgers may be playing the best football of his career but without the multitude of weapons he is used to his explosiveness is limited. He has really played game manager the first six weeks and has hit enough big plays to win each week. It will extremely difficult to keep doing that with the schedule the Packers face down the stretch.
The Packers are yet to beat a winning team but will play one three of the next four weeks. It’s likely the Packers will be facing an undefeated team two weeks in a row and then after a game against the lowly Lions they have a showdown at Minnesota in what will be a key NFC North game. The Vikings are riding high at 4-2 and feel more than capable of dethroning the Packers in the division.
Say what you want about the Broncos and Peyton Manning, but their defense is twice as good as the Packers improved defense and Rodgers struggles against top defenses. This is going to be a very hard game for the Packers to win. Following that is a trip to Carolina and you can bet Cam Newton and Co. haven’t forgotten the beatdown they took in Lambeau Field last year. In fact, the Panthers have been on fire since then and look like a serious contender for home field advantage in the playoffs.
Yes, the Packers defense has improved this year, but one certainly has to be at least a little concerned over the way Philip Rivers and Chargers tore them apart. In Lambeau no less. You can bet Manning will utilizing the quick release routes much like Rivers did, especially considering he can’t throw anything else anymore. The Packers may be just what he needs to get untracked.
Of course, on the flip side the Packers may get and stay healthy in the second half and prove to be the team everybody expects them to be. But right now I think there are a lot of “ifs” needed to make that happen.