The Green Bay Packers will close out the regular season later today against the Chicago Bears. Since the regular season has come to an end, that now means it is time to revisit the top five questions I had about the Packers heading into this season. Those questions were the following:
5. What would Jeff Hafley’s defense be like?
4. Would the Packers’ run game be improved?
3. What would the safety position and rotation look like?
2. Who is the Packers’ number one receiver?
- 1. Finally, is Jordan Love still the long term answer at quarterback for the Packers?
You can find that first article here. Let’s look at those questions now!
Packers Questions Number Five – Jeff Hafley’s Defense
This questions stemmed from my curiosity on what this defense would look like and how different would it be from the Joe Barry-coached defense. Well, I honestly don’t believe we have the full answer to this question yet.
I know that is probably weird to hear considering we are about to finish an entire season, but even a great chef is limited by the ingredients they have in their pantry.
That’s not to say that we didn’t get some answers. Jeff Hafley’s defense is a 4-3 style defense that wants the players to play loose and aggressive.
The reason that I say that we don’t know the full extent of what this defense will eventually look like is because Hafley doesn’t have all of the players that he would like to run his defense. The best players on this defense are the guys that were brought in specifically for Hafley’s defense. Xavier McKinney, Evan Williams, and Edgerrin Cooper were brought in specifically for this defense. Is it a coincidence that they have been playing the best?
Also, I would be doing a disservice if I didn’t mention Edgerrin Cooper a bit more. Cooper is going to be a star for a very long time in the NFL, and quite possibly could be a top five off-ball linebacker in this league sooner than later.
Number Four – Packers’ Run Game
The Green Bay run game – offensively and defensively – was mid to bad in 2023. This is why, heading into the season, I was curious about the run game. Well, this question has an answer now.
Josh Jacobs is probably the best player on offense for Green Bay. The offense runs through the run attack and Jacobs is the focal point. He currently has 1,285 yards rushing and my guess is it won’t improve much more than that against the Bears. The Packers will likely rest him if the game gets put away early or if they hear that the Commanders are up big against the Cowboys.
Emanuel Wilson rushed for a additional 429 yards and could push for 500 if he gets the majority of the attempts against the Bears. Chris Brooks has played well this year and has rushed for 124 yards this season.
The Packers’ rushing attack is significantly better.
What about the defensive side?
I was also curious if Green Bay’s run defense would be better in 2023, and it has been. The defensive line has not been good in putting pressure on the quarterback, but they have been good at stopping the run. Matter of fact, Rashan Gary made the Pro Bowl this year more for his much-improved run stopping ability than his quarterback pressure and sacks.
Green Bay gave up the fifth most rushing yards in 2023. In 2024, the Packers are sixth best at stopping the run – a drastic improvement for sure!
Number Three – Safety Rotation
I’m going to keep this one short. Xavier McKinney and Evan Williams are the Packers starting safeties. Evan Williams’ injury made the defense look quite a bit worse. Javon Bullard is okay in a pinch, but he should definitely keep developing as the slot corner. This will keep Keisean Nixon on the outside over Eric Stokes and Carrington Valentine, which surprisingly hasn’t been the worst thing.
I literally just copied this from part three because the answer to this question hadn’t changed. Xavier McKinney and Evan Williams have played so well that this question was answered earlier in the season. Oh, and I hope Evan Williams can make it back in time for the playoffs because that could be a game changer.
Number Two – Who Is The Number One Receiver?
The answer to this question is Romeo Doubs. And honestly, my answer has changed so much to this question. I wanted to believe that the number one receiver would change depending on the game, and that’s true to a certain extent. But Doubs is the most reliable and therefore is the number one guy. I also don’t think a true number one is on the team.
Matter of fact, I fully expect the Packers to draft a minimum of two wide receivers in this upcoming draft to keep the position stock and to see if they can get some improvement. They need to, since Green Bay will have to make contractual decisions in that group really soon!
Packers Questions Number One – Jordan Love Still?
I asked at the beginning of the year if Jordan Love could replicate what he did at the end of the season last year. And, honestly, this question hasn’t been answered in totality yet. The beginning of this season did not start off very well for Love. His early season injuries didn’t help anything, but he played pretty recklessly and turned the ball over way too much.
However, since the bye, Love has been playing a bit more consistently and hasn’t thrown any interceptions. His touchdowns are down but that is probably due to Josh Jacobs getting more redzone touches and those becoming touchdowns.
This question can be answered in the next few weeks if Love can play consistently and play well to get the Packers to win in the playoffs and go on a run. But as of right now, this still hasn’t been answered for me.
Either way let’s hope the Packers crush the Bears later today and that the Commanders lose to the Cowboys.
Go Pack Go!
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Damon is a diehard, fully-immersed cheesehead who currently lives in southern Missouri. He teaches at a local high school and has a family YouTube channel about all things Packers. You can follow him on twitter at @packersfamily and on YouTube at The Packers Family.
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The post Packers Questions That Still Need to Be Answered – Final first appeared on PackersTalk.com Blog Posts and Podcasts.