Football is a sport about teamwork, comradery, and most importantly, winning games. It doesn’t matter how good the team is doing, or how good a single player is doing. If the team isn’t winning games, people will lose their jobs. This has been seen most recently with the division rival Bears relieving Matt Nagy of his services as head coach. NFC North rival Vikings also fired Mike Zimmer due to the team’s poor performances.
In football, you need to win games, especially when it matters most. The Packers have seen their fair share of winning, but the team has struggled when it really matters in the playoffs. There are three things the Packers need the most this year if they want to win games and reach the Super Bowl.
1. Get The Offense Ready Early
Last season against the New Orleans Saints, the offense came out flat and couldn’t get anything started against a stellar defense. The team looked miserable offensively and Aaron Rodgers became meme worthy after his agonizing smile at the end of the game was caught on camera. He was baffled. It was to the point where there is nothing to do but chuckle about the situation that occurred. The Packers knew that was a major issue and focused on getting the offense going as they scored 24 or more points during their 7 game win streak.
When the offense clicks, the defense seems to catch stride as well. Last season, the defense averaged under 20 points allowed per game during the win streak.
Having the Packers offense click is also very important given the youth of the starters. Rodgers will be leading a younger group and one can only hope there are very few hiccups. Rookies make mistakes, and it is alright, but it does happen. The best the team can do is get everyone their extra reps and focus on keeping a crisp offense. Confidence is everything, especially for young, impressionable players.
2. Defensive Consistency
Last season, one of the biggest proponents of each win was the defensive consistency. In 2020, head coach Matt Lafleur was heavily criticized for the defensive inconsistency going from shutouts to 5 straight touchdown drives. During 2019, the defense was all over the place and the team struggled as a result. In 2020, the defense began to calm down but the problem still presented itself.
Last year was a step in the right direction. The defense seemed to take over most games and kept the team in the fight game in game out with stellar play. The Packers defensive consistency will be the most clear key to victory this year.
Obviously, defense and consistency are both major keys to winning for every team. The difference with the Packers is the build up of offensive question marks. There’s a multitude of different offensive players who need to learn the team and where they click. The only way to ensure the offense won’t hurt the team is to counter it. The best counter here is keeping the defense ready and prepared. When it really comes down to it, the games will be won this year based on how many points the Packers limit.
3. Smooth Sailing Ahead for Packers
No matter what team it is, scoring and preventing the opponent from scoring can only go so far. Green Bay can prove itself to be a difficult atmosphere to play in. There are heated rivalries in the division, media crawling everywhere, and most importantly not a single moment where a player can focus on something other than football.
The front office and fans have a demand for winning. As seen the last few years, Packers fans are tired of making it so close yet so far. Going out in the first round the same way this season would be an utter disappointment. The players have displayed this frustration through their demands for perfection, with Aaron Rodgers leading the way.
This culture change is more than just words and minor action. As Rodgers said during his post practice interview, “You won’t play” when referring to making the same mistakes consistently, regarding the Packers receivers. This message goes for the whole team though, not just the receivers.
The team expects everyone to play up to their potential and living with mistakes is in part what went wrong last year. Living with the same mistakes allows for them to occur again. The biggest, most important aspect of this coming season if the Packers want to win is keeping everyone’s head on straight. Players need to stay focused and prepared all season to avoid making the same costly mental errors.
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