When you run practice against a less than average defense every day, you probably think your offense is pretty good. Then shock during games when you can't move at will.

[Edit] Have we not seen that shocked, confused, perplexed face on MLF every game?

Preseason is deemed a vanilla script to protect much of what will be real in the regular season, but that was all there was, and as evident weekly, all there will be.

Which came first?

The illusion of Complexity creates the delusion, or did delusion create the Illusion.

Why was Rodgers so, near adamant against the Illusion of MLF?
Did he recognize it was borne from delusion?
Did he recognize the lacking in the ability of the players to utilize it?

Does MLF even know what basics are, or is he so delusional in the Illusion?

No matter what each of us think, the toilets need to be flushed.

"That also means spending significant time teaching these young players what to do. Making contested catches, running the right pass patterns, and using your body to box out defenders are fundamental things this young receiving corps needs to get better at."

Hmmm... Sorry Gil, you totally lost Matt LaFleur and his staff with the word TEACH.

I find it impossible to believe that EVERYONE of Gutey's draft picks have been busts for the most part. What I do find much more believable is THIS staff is incapable of "Teaching" a player to get better and be a good Pro because they have NO CLUE.

People here didn't like when I said this is starting to feel a lot like those 70s and 80s teams, and it felt as though we were heading in that direction again. Well, to all of those CHTV commentors and readers who didn't watch the Packers BEFORE 1992, welcome BACK to the 70s and 80s. That's Packers Football every Sunday without much hope it will get better.

That's what THIS season feels like. It feels HOPELESS. Like it just won't and can't get better because it feels like regression every time they take the field. There's been NOTHING that I've seen on the field that makes me feel it will get better this year. Nothing the Packers can even hang their hat on. When things go bad we can at least do this...There is NO THIS.

Other than THIS is all there is THIS year.

Gil - Gutekunst insisted earlier this offseason that Love was "absolutely” ready.
Seems that was the problem to start with.

Quarterback Jordan Love is struggling with his decision making and accuracy.??
Just about every guy on this team said he wouldn't.

When the after Rodgers party began. No one mentioned Deshone Kizer.
Now the comparisons have begun.

Ok let's keep evaluating Love, so Gutey can Fire MLF.
Draft the next QB. Wait for the next generation to fix the packers.
And let Gutey laugh his way to Fort Knox.

So, when an NFL team is struggling and out of sync, the thing to do is get back to basics. Keep it simple and go back to what you do best.

I don't know what this offense does best. The line doesn't block so nothing else matters. The receivers don't fight for balls and Dillon seems to be the only RB on the roster.

The lack of flexibility of this coaching staff ensures the young players will learn nothing.

LaFleur has a poor cast of coaches. He put too much value on having worked with coaches before (even if they were not that good), rather than get some of the hot up-and-coming coaches that he hasn't worked with in the past. He is also reluctant to fire his coaches when they don't perform well.

Perhaps the responsibility of firing and hiring coaches should be passed on to Gute for two years, with a brief to clear out the dead wood and get new coaches/coordinators in. Hopefully that will kickstart LaFleur to seek out the best and not necessarily the cosiest fit for him.

DM to Leatherhead:

Hey! Resurface please. This article is a perfect big bait trolling along the weed edge to draw you out. Drop a back-to-basics post, dude. C'mon.

I'm old enough to remember, quite frankly, a HC who stressed fundamentals, and was obsessed with pad level. We don't hear those wacky notions much these days 'round 1265. Are O lineman who are not fundamentally sound capable of getting back to basics? Can a HC who can't seem to identify his team's strengths call plays that lean in to those elusive strengths? Will said HC forget about Aaron Jones being turned loose and whine in his post-game presser about how we need to find a way to get 33 more touches? Tune in Sunday to find out!

We have lost to 2 teams now that just benched their starting QBs. They were good enough to beat the Packers but not good enough to continue as starters in the NFL. This season is turning into a clown show. It's embarrassing! I would be very happy just to see us play competent football this weekend. Getting back to basics is sound advice. Good article Gil!

I agree with most of these basic points.

I would mention that the WR and TE screens have been wholly ineffective for most of the season and Jones had a big first down with one when he returned. They've had a couple of good gains with WRs and TEs since that moment, but I'm not sure I expect success to become a trend with that play any time soon. It always seems to get read quickly and snuffed out when it's the TEs or WRs.

I hope these guys get on the same page soon. Too much talent being wasted. I disagree that any of it is on Love now. The interviews recently seem to indicate that almost all of the failures are in route running, lining up wrong, and the O line being terrible. It's hard to make perfect decisions in those cases.

I don't think he had more than 2 balls (one wiped out by penalty) that were off target last week and added 6 or 7 (I had Musgrave for the one that stat sites didn't) drops to his league leading totals.

He's been WAY better than everyone else on offense. Including Jones and Bak who were ranked ahead of him.

Is it OTA time already?

Gil, good article but the screen game is NOT ready to see action. The fundamentals necessary for it to work are simply missing.

I agree, lets toss some bombs and have receivers streak down the sidelines for big gains. Lets run wide and made the linebackers gas out by the third quarter. Lets kick the shit out of the ball and put up 4 field goals. Lets too left and right to our two tight ends mid field. ya back to the basics. Lets get our entire receiving team catching passes all over the place and put up some points. Lets get some interceptions and some run stops behind the line of scrimmage. Ah the basics instead of trying to be fancy. LOL
This team cant do the basics thats the joke.

You know what turned the franchise into a winner again? A coach who was teacher, and hired others with the ability to teach.
MIke Holmgren had assistants capable of teaching his schemes alongside footballs fundamental techniques. The majority of assistant coaches from his staffs all went on to have long careers. I know its still a little early, But MLF's "best" hires??? Jerry Gray ran out the door the second his contract expired and Hackett and Getsy haven't impressed anyone. Do you see a single coach left on the roster that he hired having future success?
MLF was able to navigate the egos of the veteran team he inherited to some really good records. But now, after half a season, it is plain to see he is not a fit for a young team.

Rather than Barry (who should also be fired), I would say Butkus standouts as the most inept. The offensive line play is the most disappointing. There are decent veterans (Jenkins, Runyan, Tom) along the line but even they don't seem to know what they should be doing or they do poorly in the basics. O-lines need disciplined practices with repetitive drills that make everything automatic. I wonder what they do in practice?

Getting back to basics would be a huge step forward, for this team. Better tackling, better blocking, better route running, learning how to catch the ball and hang onto it, are all fundamentals this team needs to work on. GO PACK, GO!!!

try to get more pass int. calls.. throw more bombs..it worked first couple of games...was one of the best plays..

Back to basics huh? That was some of the best play calling I've seen from laflower in 2+ years.