"Next, with all the blitzing and pressure the Lions were bringing, not a single screen pass? The Lions sure used that play to plunge knives into the hearts of the Packers. Also, why not a single pass to the running backs - another great way to counteract heavy pressure?"

I've been beating lack of the screen game into the ground as well as the remark Al made about MLF. It seems every season LaFleur DOES have one of those games where you just scream at the TV WTF are you doing??? And you're screaming it all night long.

No screen passes, no Jaylen Reed, no Center worth a F##K. Gutey has some work to do this summer. A Center, a few CBs, a pass rusher or two, and maybe a Tee Higgins in Free Agency would about do it because I have news for my fellow fans...The Packers DO NOT have a #1 WR on this roster, not right now and this season it's become OBVIOUS.

Please don't tell me Watson is the #1 either and I really like Watson. He's just not a #1 and I don't think he ever will be.

The Packers do not get consistent pressure rushing 4. They do not have multiple players that can stand up consistently in man coverage. They need to blitz to get pressure, yet we expect them to stuff the run and shut down the entire field vs the pass? Somehow, Hafley is supposed to “scheme” all of that? Yikes.

And yet, the Packers are a good team. They’re fun to watch. They are in the mix for the Super Bowl. Going “all in” to ENSURE a Lombardi trophy is a myth. I choose to enjoy the roller coaster. I will NEVER ride the Worry Bus.

GPG!

The packers #1 problem just wasn't the center.
It was the whole OL was tipping the play again.
We had this discussion last year.
The OL doesn't know where the LOS is.
The total Alignment is pathetic.

Watching live, I thought the nose was lined up in the neutral zone and rewatching Al's clip proved that was true and he was offsides when the ball was snapped. That and when Z. Smith was playing patty cake on Love's head while rushing was something the Packers couldn't have gotten away with.

Why was it called OPI on Watson instead of incidental contact or on the D as they both didn't see the other player and just collided? Another 4 points left on the field.

Well summarized Al. The Lions called us on things that have been present all season and often before and the coaching staff do little about. We don’t learn, we don’t change, we perpetuate.

Whether it’s Myers at C, the wider inability to run block, the use of Stokes and Valentine in zone, the retention of McDuffie in passing downs and the unwillingness to try inexperienced options in lieu of the failed status quo or to accept that sometimes the better option is to opt for coverages players might have a chance of executing over the ideal whiteboard approach. Games are played with real people not concepts.

Your point about Reed and the tactics employed is both salient and telling. That should have been one of the first elements of the game plan. Failing that it should have been an early and fast adjustment. Kraft too seems to have been an afterthought in the original plan. Jacobs took a quarter to appear essentially. Staggeringly inept. LaFleur seemed to have gone into this game thinking his OL was inviolate. That shows a complete disconnect with performance and reality. Organizations that have a false conception of themselves do not do well in any field of competition.

The Lions showed that they have a have a more accurate assessment of our strengths and weaknesses on both sides of the ball. Both teams started our playing to our weaknesses on both sides of the ball. The result was the first half drubbing, of Love personally and of the Packers.

6 1/2 seasons in and more than ten games into this one, our coaches seem to have little grasp of our real strengths and weaknesses and to be living in a false comfort zone. There’s no better way to hold a roster back than that. The inability to know yourself is fatal. This far in it won’t get better no matter how good the roster. In this case it’s clearly not perfect, but on O in particular it showed in the second half that it’s better than LaFleur let it be in the scripted phase, indeed the entire first half.

The writing is in the wall. Other teams see it. We keep repeating yet don’t seem to grow. The LaFleur bubble is burst. We aren’t winning tactically consistently, before or in game. I increasingly believe one reason is that the coaches don’t really have a clear grasp of our own merits and limitations. We look like we listen to our own hype and have built a self perpetuating bubble of reinforcement that drifts ever further from reality.

This was one game, but it was one where a divisional opponent essentially cruelly exposed the emperor as naked, and with a rag tag group of back ups. It wasn’t brilliance of talent but of evaluation of the Packers. This won’t get better even if the roster does it will come back to undermine us time and again, as it has in past seasons with different players. Time has just cast the traits in higher definition. Stop the train, we need to get off.

If the Packers really were outcoached that badly, and yet lost on the road on a last-second field goal (with a few questionable calls by the officials to boot), it stands to reason that the Packers are WAY more talented than the Lions and should've beaten them handily--which means, of course, that since the Lions are the best team in the league, the Packers should beat EVERY team handily and easily win the Super Bowl this year.

My own estimation of the Packers' roster is not so lofty. While I think they are one of the more talented teams in the league, I don't think they are that much better than the Lions or a handful of other teams, and in fact, they are probably not quite as good. But they are in the mix. I consider them to be a contender.

I agree that Matt Lafleur's offense got beaten to the punch by the Lions' defense early in the game. It was disappointing that they had no answer for the Lions' blitzes. I wonder how much the crowd noise may have had to do with that. The announcers said it was extremely loud in that dome when the Packers had the ball. Yet I haven't read any postgame analysis that mentions this. The O-line got better later on, but they never found their groove.

The criticism of Jeff Hafley is harder to understand. Jersey Al does not mention the names of any Lions offensive players, except Jared Goff, who is mentioned once. Goff was a #1 overall pick, by the way, and is one of the better QBs in the league. He has been torching defenses all season. Here are some other Lions players who touched the ball:

Amon Ra St. Brown--a fourth round pick in 2021 who is now one of the best WRs in the league
Jameson Williams--a #12 overall draft pick in 2022 who is now living up to his draft placement
Jahmyr Gibbs--another #12 overall draft pick in 2023--one of the best RBs in the league
Sam LaPorta--a second round pick, #34 overall--a very good tight end

Now granted, the Packers have one of the best safeties in the league, Xavier McKinney, playing deep, but aside from him, they didn't have the horses to match up with the Lions' skill players. Jahmyr Gibbs vs. Isaiah McDuffie is not an even matchup at the 2-yard-line. It's the kind of matchup we want to avoid, but there are other matchup problems with players like St. Brown, Williams, and Laporta. Losing their #2 and #3 safeties to injury during the course of the game further hurt the Packers' chances of containing the Lions.

If we play these guys again, I think we need Jaire Alexander on the field, and Edgerrin Cooper would help a lot too. Even with them in the lineup, the Lions will probably put up plenty of points, but the Packers will have a better chance of outscoring them.

This was a game where everything that could have gone wrong, did. Those happen. Happened at CHI too. We will be fine and I expect to beat DET if we see them again.

" This was a Ben Johnson Master Class - please don't let him go to the Bears next year. And Aaron Glenn wasn't too shabby either!"

Its going to be interesting to see how the Lions will look when both of these guys leave and gut the coaching staff. Ben Johnson is a tremendous play caller/game planner. He knows how to attack defenses. And Glenn has really been good as a defensive coordinator. Both guys should be prime candidates for HC jobs.

"As for the defense, yes, they could have been better, but they actually did a nice job against the run. The problem was going into the game without Alexander and Cooper and then losing Williams and Bullard in-game. When you have to play McDuffie 80 snaps and Wilson 44 snaps and then Zayne Anderson (who had played a total of zero defensive snaps over three and a half years in the NFL), for 53 snaps, there isn't a lot you can do as a defensive coordinator but pray that the Lions make mistakes and beat themselves. But they didn't. "

While I agree that the injuries really hurt the defense, I feel like they can find a better way to manage. To me they need to make a big change at least while Cooper is out. They need to get McDuffie and Wilson off the field in passing situations. They are simply not fast enough to be able to do a lot of covering. I would much rather see them going to a big safety look. Put Oladapo in to play a LB/S tweener role. Either that or go with a 5th DL/DE and only go with 1 LB. Just change it up a bit. McDuffie is a liability in the passing game. They need to find a way to get faster. I believe Oladapo could fill that role well.

A little better officiating and we win on the road against the NFL's best team, but the loss is on the coaching staff?

Love me some Jersey Al, and Jim Taylor.

When will the Packers and the Coaches realize they need to win their division games? Detroit has beaten us several times in a row, now. I remember, not too long ago, saying how Detroit was our biggest rival, in the North--and I was being laughed at, by many, for saying it. I purposely excluded the vikings from that conversation because when the vikings and their fans are excluded, from anything, they throw a hissy fit. Still, I did say Detroit is our biggest rival, now and that has proven itself to be true. I think the Packers players are looking for a rematch with Detroit. I think they may get it. First up, though, are the Seahags. Take care of business and GO PACK, GO!!!

As usual Al your article is spot on. The Lions game is just another example of MLF being out coached in a big game. As others have posted where are the screen passes? Why not throw passes to the RBs? Why is Reed invisible on offense? I posted before the game that the OL had to win the LOS for the Packers to win this game. They clearly did not. They did not dominate the LOS and they needed to.

The defense needs Alexander, Cooper and Williams back and playing at 100%. The backups were no match for the Lions skill players. Add in nearly no pass rush and the Lions offense is too for the Packers to hold down.

Having said that it was clear that the Lions found the numerous weaknesses for the Packers on both sides of the ball and exploited them. This has been the problem with MLF in big games from the beginning as Coldworld has correctly pointed out and its a big factor in why the Packers come up short in the playoffs since he's been the Packers HC. Six seasons in and MLF has not shown any growth in this area of his coaching. It needs to change or we will wee this film again and again. Thanks, Since '61

Clearly the Lions watched the tape against Chicago. Almost all of Chicago's offense was screen passes. No adjustment was made to stop them either. We are going to keep seeing screen passes go for chunks of yards until the defense starts showing they have at least SOME ability to stop it.

I always look forward to Al's witty pop culture references. Re: the coaching I also think there are overt insufficiencies with a number of Defensive personnel that no amount of coaching will correct.. When I think of someone (s) like Ben Johnson or Dan Campbell trying to get Gary and Clark to transform into a top D.End/D Tackle, I'm not too hopeful. Stokes, MacDuffie, Wilson, Valentine & Ballentine will not magically metamorphose into starting-caliber players no matter who the coach is.

Another question I have: isn't the same coach working with both Walker and Edgerrin Cooper?
Can a coach untangle LVN's potential? (Maybe, on that one).
I think we have a critical mass of defensive personnel limitations.

There may be some lackluster coaching going on too. I would question Stenavich, Butkus & the DL coach.--not MLF.

...and here we go again. The sky is falling when the Packers lose on the last play of the game. Football is a team sport played by individuals paid to do a job. Just like any job, some people have good days and some people have bad days. But trying to micro-analyze everything is yet just one more way to punish the fan base. There's a lot of competition for the eyeballs of Packers fans so everyone supplying info
is trying to one-up their competitors. The net result is a feeling that somehow losing a game is the same as having your pet dog run over by a car.

Some things to consider:
The Lions are really good. I started chirping about them a couple of years ago, some here thought I was nuts. They've benefited from some good fortune amidst the bad. The Packers aren't there yet, but they will be. By the way, the Vikings are really good too. Flores has the defense playing out of their minds and they've done a remarkable job resurrecting Sam Darnold from the trash bin.

Aaron Glenn is smart. He, along with all the other d-coordinators, know Reed can kill them. So they keep him from doing that. With Doubs out, the others had to step up and didn't. Watson disappears sometimes when he's needed or gets slippery fingers.

The offensive line is better than expected. I noticed there wasn't much complaint when Myers was doing well. He didn't have a good game, true, but lets not forget that the Packers did score 31 points. My biggest complaint about Myers is with Gute. Gute could have drafted Creed Humphrey, now an All-Pro, but took Myers. I suspect they will let Myers walk, shift someone to center and look for a guard or tackle. But that happens with every team.

It is not beyond the realm of possibility that the Packers miss the playoffs. A couple of losses in the next four games could be the end of it. That doesn't mean that wholesale changes are necessary. Some smart personnel moves(and a more favorable salary cap) should put the Packers in great shape in 2025.

I think good teams understand there will be unforeseen injuries among really good players-- (Alexander, Cooper, Bullard, Williams ) and poor officiating and don't use those unfortunate circumstances as excuses for losing.

Detroit played with 2nd-3rd stringers and dominated. Some of it is coaching but most of it is culture.

***We are looking for someone to blame. I don't really think GB has fully digested that they are no longer the big dogs in the North and as a result have not focused single-mindedly on drafting the best players, hiring the best coaches or requiring the necessary intensity and excellence to be the best.***

I expected much more comments after last, hard to feel outcome.

My take from the game is that you can not start cold the game vs top 1 team in the league. Packers, by my opinion lost this game in the first half. Second half was trying to catch the way away runner, who has speed to do it.

My main complaint is those red flag that MLF throws on calls hard to overturn, even if he is right. You are running to win the close game, man! Keep yout TO intact.

I would agree with many of posters here that Packers OL are little bit shaky. Jenkins are not playing that well as we expected, Josh Myers had one (f*cking one - 1!) game when he played well, othertime he looks like disaster... We have bad RG and questionalvble LT. Every week at least one of those lineman playing bad enough so we can not say that OL is very good or good. They are playing under the average level.

Referees are another story. But we can do much of nothing about them. I could understand one or 2 suspect calls, even when both goes towards one tem, but there was few more and it was always in the favour of Lions (I'm talking on suspect calls, not the correct ones!). On the other side, if there was 2 referees that saw situation different why they are not review it through NY. Not by discussion. Go watch the replay and than make the decision. Not NY, but you, referees on the field. It is simple and take same time as small
councel meeting on hard issues.

We all have expectations for our Packers. But often we forget few things: - young team, many of the players goes through not so rare second year slump. Few bright experienced players can not cover for them. Also, as someone mention - this is the first year DC Jeff Hafley establishing the defense. And lets be honest - players need to adapt themself on new requests and new way of playing as the group. We have talent on the D, as well as on the O - just give them the time...

I thought that Brian Gutekunst are to modest when he declared that 2025 season is the goal. It looks like he was right. Those players need at least another season under their belt.

I want to ask you all, as I agree with many of you who is not on Stokes bandwagon. Where is Kalen King, what is with him - any news about PS player who played one wonderfull season, one bad season and became injured. Anyone's thoughts on that? Why Packers do not try him, after all, he was draft pick isn't he?

I'm not losing my hope for the season. I know that this team can beat any team any time anywhere, just they have to put their heads together and play like they play last season in Dallas. Seahawks should be another test. Lets hope they will pass it with A grade!

Currently, I think GB is willing to commit to tinkering around the edges but not to a full-scale COMMIT-like the Lions. If Johnson and Glenn are poached, things might falter somewhat, though. GB seems to be actively hoping Ben Jonhson finds another home instead of raising their own level of excellence.

so the lions had 8, yes 8 people on defense who were not starts and many not even on the roster when the season started. and yet their coaches get them to play, and beat up our O line. meanwhile our D with how many number 1 draft picks cannot get close to a QB no matter what or cover the middle of the field. something is really rotten in the state of denmark

LAFLUER SHOULD OBVIOUSLY WORK ON HURRYING UP THE PLAY CALLING OPERATION. SNAPPING THE BALL WITH 1 OR 0 SECONDS ON THE PLAYCLOCK GIVES THE OPPOSING DEFENSE A BIG ADVANTAGE. JUST RUN YOUR SHIT AND GET OUT OF THERE.