Packers Building That Chemistry

You can’t have a winning team in any sport without good team chemistry. What that team chemistry achieves can vary from sport to sport, but the result is always success. Outside of football, my second sport is hockey. When hockey players have good chemistry on the ice, they can usually pass the puck to their teammate exactly where the recipient wants it for them to take a shot. On defense, good team chemistry will result in teammates knowing where the other is or will be, at all times. If an opponent skating with the puck breaks one way, good team chemistry allows a defender to stay in position knowing their teammate will pick up that puck handler. Team chemistry on a football team, in ways, can be very similar. 

What’s probably the first thing you think of for team chemistry on a football team? I’d say Quarterback/Receiver chemistry. The minute the ball leaves the Quarterback’s hand and it’s left sailing through the air, it’s fair game unless it hits the ground. It may seem like a very simple task, but there’s a lot of trust that goes into throwing that ball to a receiver. A Quarterback needs to know what route each receiver is running, how fast that receiver usually runs, and the best place to put that ball in that receiver’s hands. From a receiver’s perspective, they need to know their Quarterback’s tendencies in certain situations. If the clock needs to be stopped, the QB may lead them much closer to the sideline so they can make the catch and get out of bounds. If a QB is being pressured, what can they do to benefit them the most? Switch to a comeback route? And a receiver needs to know their QB’s capabilities. If that receiver prefers the ball placed in one place, can their QB get it there? They may have to adjust accordingly, if not.

This is why you read about Quarterbacks getting together with WRs, TEs, and RBs in the offseason to work on timing. Every pass-catcher is different. One receiver cutting across the field could run 10 yards from the time the ball leaves the QB’s hand to when it gets there, another could only run 5. The Quarterback needs to know this before they throw that ball through the air so that the ball isn’t behind the receiver and in the hands of a defender. 

Chemistry can be very similar for defense. I mentioned earlier that in hockey, defensive chemistry often relies on knowing where your teammates are, or will be. Football is very similar, especially in the secondary. Outside of just getting flat-out beat, what’s the most common cause of blown coverage? Miscommunication. Unfortunately, over the last few years, the Packers have had a lot of miscommunication on defense leading to big plays for the offense. Miscommunication or not, this shows a lack of chemistry between players. If a corner is going to let a receiver go, they need to know the safety is going to be there to pick them up. Assignments aside, chemistry will also tell them what their teammate’s tendencies are in certain situations. The play may be designed for the Safety to pick up the perimeter WR if the CB cuts them loose, but what if the tight end is running in the secondary? The CB needs to know whether or not there’s a chance the safety could cover elsewhere before turning the WR loose. 

The Packers are getting there but could improve.

Improving that chemistry for 2024

In the first half of the 2023 season, we saw the Packers’ offense struggle. Whether or not this is truly the case, part of the reason seemed to be a lot of disconnect between Jordan Love and the receivers. You’d see Love throw a pass that would end up 10 yards away from a receiver and wonder what the heck happened. Whether it was Love or the receiver’s fault, we’ll never quite know. It could’ve been Love not quite knowing the best place to put that ball, or it could’ve been the receivers’ fault for not running the correct route. Either way, to fix it, you need that team chemistry to help slow them down and get them back to knowing what the other is going to do in the situation.

Avoiding this in 2024 could be as easy as having a full year under your belt with this group of receivers. They could already have a good idea of where that ball needs to be and they need to do their best to ensure it’s there each time. The likelihood of a new receiver making the roster this year is slim to none. So, these receivers should already have good chemistry with Jordan Love deeming this question unnecessary. But they can always get better. Hopefully, Love has been putting in the work with his receivers to ensure when that time comes, they play to the best of their own abilities and not have to worry about one another. 

On the defensive side of the ball, I believe signing a player like Xavier McKinney is huge for team chemistry. That may seem strange to you since he’s the new guy in the bunch, but you have to look at the confidence a player of his skill set can instill in the other 10 men on the field. If only a serviceable player is in that position, the confidence in them easily picking up a receiver or diagnosing a play is small. With McKinney being a star in the past and now today, the defense has the confidence to follow their own assignment completely, knowing that if things turn south, the safety may clean up the mess. 

The Packers have the chance for team chemistry to hit an all-time high this season. Hopefully, they improve on last year and 2024 will be a very successful year.