This Defense has been bad since Whitney Mercilus went Down. They look slow and confused. Savage just keeps over playing everything. Not to mention the missed tackles. I hope they get Alexander back soon. At least we can see some man to man again. Whatever the reason. This defense has lost their discipline. I missed MVS. The packers got No respect in the 4th quarter. The Field Shrank. The improvement on special teams was obvious. Amari Rodgers needs to be on the Kick-offs to start. His confidence depends on it. And St Brown should never have been cut.

We have to consider that the Brown's possess an elite Oline in synch with NChubb. It would be respectable decision if Barry focused on the pass defense, knowing Mayfield is prone to playing the Gunslinger, hero ball. That doesn't excuse the poor tackling, bad angles and poor edge contain which you rightly mention were very poor. But, just saying...Barry committed resources in favor of the pass contain, it was reasonable strategy. But I agree with other comments about Stokes, and other CBs giving way too much cushion to Brown's receivers. Bad.

If GB practiced a bit, maybe that would help.

My major concern is the defensive line. They just don't seem to be playing with the same activity level they were earlier in the season. Save Clark, they look slow and sluggish. This defense is starting to look a lot more like Pettine's defense of a year ago than the Barry defense of mid-season this year.

Getting Alexander back will help, but the guy the Packers really need back, Z. Smith, is looking less and less likely. If the D-line can't regain their mid-season form, I am very concerned about the Super Bowl aspirations of this team. As in years past, a good offense paired with a very average defense is not enough to win the big prize.

WR snaps Lazard at 86% and St Brown at 81% and yet the RBs totaled 100% together.

Why, oh why not some 2 back sets? Both Jones and Dillon are more productive in this offense than either Lazard or StBrown, why take a better player off the field in favor of a lesser player?

I get the need for 2 WR a lot of the time, but why 3WR soo damn much when the talent level and productivity do not support the decision?

The trends of this team in 2021 demand some 2 back sets, MLF needs to expand his playbook with 2 back sets and start running them out there, I thought this would occur after game 10 or so, sadly he has not adjusted to the trends of his team as the season played out.

Controlling the TOP is critical to protect the defense. 2 back sets will help there.

This is gonna hurt us in the playoffs.

Other than Clark, Slaton had a couple of positive plays in the ground game. The rest of the OL was dire against the run, starting with Lowry as a perennially open door. Gary and Smith without Mercillus lack support. Garvin doesn’t seem back to where he was and Galeai is just too slight to do more than situationally rush. Is this what is making Barry play his DBs so soft or did he bet on Mayfield being that bad and try to tempt them away from the run?

Offensively, we really missed MVS, but we can’t just throw to Adams and Lazard. If we are playing 3 or 4 WRs, we have to establish them as targets in order to lessen the focus on those 2. I love Jones, but in the second half the situation was screaming for Dillon. LaFleur really needs to rethink how he handles those two.

porupack is right. The Packers are fighting the God of Injury to a draw so far. But Father Time is his teammate, and not having Z Smith and Alexander is showing up in both large and small ways. At some point this defense will break due to the lack of core players, and the offense is approaching the same condition. While I have been hard on Joe Barry, both he and his are assistant coaches are adjusting the scheme to max out their players who are on the field. Yes that means keeping the offense in front and limiting either splash plays or deep hits. By squeezing down on the red zone the Packers have been able to limit the damage. (So Far) Side Notes: This ref crew dumped most of the current PI and LOS calls yesterday. They called a playoff game. The difference between a regular season game and yesterday was striking. Both Charles Woodson and Leroy Butler would have had no problems in pass coverage at all. The Browns running the ball played into the Packers defense. To put it bluntly, even if you run the ball, you are running the clock, and the clock favored the Packers. So the Browns had no choice but to throw at the end of game, which played into the cover the Packers were running. But that is how the NFL has so tilted the game, that a solid run game is a negative factor in close games.

Thanks a bunch for putting these together so quickly each week TGR.

I for one appreciate having the numbers available so quickly after a game - it helps to reconcile the patterns that I’m seeing in the game.

Merry Christmas.

The weaknesses that were evident before the season began are rearing their ugly heads now; lousy DL and lack of a #2 receiver.

Most fans wanted Lowry and Lancaster gone and somehow they're the starting defensive linemen. Both are slow, both get trampled regularly, and neither provides much pass rush. Lowry was being lauded earlier this year for a few good games but we just got a preview of what it will be like having to rely on those two to stop playoff running backs and running QBs.

People posting how much we missed MVS is a real indication of the sad state of the receiver room. MVS has 25 catches all year. He's never likely to catch more than a couple of passes a game. He's proven that over the years. The same with Lazard.
The way the playoffs stack up at the moment if we manage to hold onto the bye we'll have to beat both Dallas and Tampa Bay. Dallas sent out a full complement of receivers tonight, scoring five TDs in the first half... Lamb, Cooper, Gallup, and Schultz. Tampa even with their best receiver, Godwin, down will still send out Evans, AB, and Gronk not to mention the little speed guy who torched King last year.

The poor play of the offense in the 4th quarter usually comes down to Rodgers looking for Adams because no one else can get open. It hurt this week and it killed us in last year's championship game when Rodgers simply had no one to throw to with the game on the line.

As almost every year, Rodgers takes us to the playoffs, but then the bottom falls out. This team has looked awful for two weeks now. Same soft D, same inability to finish, as we've seen for ten years.

Minnesota game will be a real test of the coach's ability to find answers.