The Tuck Rule:

"Always trying to make the first one miss.”

Pantz

*Mother nature gave me some fireworks last night. Me love me some fireflies (aka lightning bugs). Thanks to all that made it possible to enjoy our freedom. Peace

I’d love to get the inside scoop as to what goes on in game planning the offense from week to week. Is it, “We can exploit weaknesses this way”, or, “We gotta prioritize getting player X the ball because he’s so good” or a combo of the two? At least MLF is playing lip service to the latter. I think we all love seeing 85 running people over. It feeds the soul.

"There are so many mouths to feed, but coach Matt Lafleur and Love have to decide between wants and needs."

I would love to see Kraft and the RBs more involved in the passing game, but Lafleur is going to have to remember he has TEs and RBs on field on passing downs. His under use of the TEs and almost zero use of the RBs in the passing game last year was near criminal, particularly in light of the drop problem the WRs had. Hopefully Lafleur has a better play calling year in 2025.

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A related thought that has been bouncing around in my head recently: It looks like we may have an offensive line this year that is built slightly more to run block than pass block. Our North Division opponents have all juiced up their pass rushes this off season.
So it’s possible that Love will have even less time in the pocket this year.
How do you counteract that? Well, for one thing, the Packers drafted a dangerous X-factor in Savion Williams and already have another in Jayden Reed (as well as adding Mecole Hardman)
My prediction is that we will see a LOT more use of misdirection plays to slow the pass rush, to help this O-line.
If it works, the deep shots to Golden, Watson, etc. may get a blink more time, and even when it doesn’t, the short field will be more chaotic, which will be great for Kraft and Reed (and hopefully Williams and Jacobs).

Yes, Kraft has great YAC numbers, but his ADOT is pretty low...around 5 (a little above, a little below--depending on the source you use). He's mostly an outlet guy, but that's mitigated by his value as a blocker. His number of routes run in 2024 was something like 17th among TEs, but that's so variable depending on scheme and given the number of times the Packers run the ball, that shouldn't be too surprising. His target share was around 16%. That put him around 20th among TEs.

I'd argue that the Packers have struggled to figure out how to feature a TE for the last 15 years (give or take). By drafting Golden and Williams, it seems that the Packers are leaning more strongly into 11 personnel groupings--that shouldn't be a shock: 11 personnel has been the coin of the NFL realm for a long time. When the Packers brought in both Musgrave and Kraft, it had that feel that maybe they were going to shift to a Patriots-esque "Gronk and Hernandez" type of attack. That hasn't really materialized, and--yes--Musgrave has struggled to stay on the field.

So in the end, the question of what is meant by "focal point" is what's at issue here. I don't think his number of targets or routes run will change very much. He's still going to be asked to block a lot...they really didn't do anything to find another TE who will demand snaps and be a quality blocker. Maybe they feel Musgrave is moving that direction. The thing that can change is the types of routes he runs, pushing him downfield more and hitting seams. His catch % will naturally drop if they do, but the payback might be worth it.

Need before want.

Fans are like children who always want dessert before dinner, which always ends with the need being ignored and the want making them feel ill and hungry later.

Make need an easier/better dish to serve, and the want will be more enjoyable, even with a smaller serving.

The fact that Kraft, in two seasons, has surpassed Finley, whose mention still makes me cringe in pain, speaks volumes to why I still cringe hearing Finley. The castor oil for that cringe is Richard Rodgers.

Kraft is a stud in his own right. If Musgrave can become the dude we suspected, then the offense will add a dimension we have never witnessed.
The Gronk/Hernandez comparisons keep dancing in my head.
Go Packers!!!