The Green Bay Struggles Continue

Over the course of the 2016 NFL season, the Green Bay Packers haven’t lived up to their usual self and are now below .500 over the course of 10 weeks.

Now with a record of 4-5, the Packers look to rebound from their third straight loss and sits one game behind the division co-leaders, Detroit Lions (5-4) and Minnesota Vikings (5-4).

The Packers losing streak began in week 8 in a nail biting 33-32 loss to the Atlanta Falcons on the road. Green Bay and Atlanta battled it out with multiple lead changes, but it came down to a clutch touchdown pass to Falcons WR Mohamed Sanu that gave Atlanta the lead in the fourth quarter, and for good.

Coming off a tough loss on the road, the Packers looked to redeem themselves as they faced an inefficient 3-5 Indianapolis Colts team in a week 9 back at Lambeau Field. With ineffective plays here and there from an offense lead by QB Aaron Rodgers, and a very lacking defensive depth, Green Bay struggled yet again. This time, the green and gold started to pick things up nearing the end of the game instead of the whole way through, and ended up losing 31-26.

On this past Sunday, November 13th, the Tennessee Titans hosted the Packers at Nissan Stadium in Nashville. In this, big matchup for the Packers, nothing was done to improve off two straight losses and the defense seemed completely absent. Not only did Green Bay lose to Tennessee, they lost 47-25.

Arrowhead senior and avid Packers fan, Nick Noll, talked about his opinion on Green Bay’s struggles.

“I think there is a lot that needs to change with the Packers,” Noll stated, “The team needs to fix their predictable offense and total build up their lacking defense.”

The Packers struggle could relate to a lot of things. For one their defense has been decimated with injuries. Cornerbacks Sam Shields and Demarious Randell both got hurt early on in the season and have yet to return, with Shields ending up on the IR. Star linebacker Clay Matthews has missed several games with a leg injury. He is expected to return against the Washington Redskins on November 20th

The struggles can also be attributed to the packers offense this year. With injuries to Eddie Lacy and James Starks, Quarterback Aaron Rodgers has been forced to throw for career high attempts in games against the bears and falcons this season according to rotoworld. Rogers is at a career low in completion percentage, quarterback rating, and yards to start off the season. The offensive play calling is also very predictable.

Arrowhead junior Zach Kocher says he was surprised with career low stats.

“I thought Rodgers would be great,” says Kocher “With Jordy Nelson back this season, I thought all was good.”

Even with a 4-5 record, playoff hopes are still alive for the Packers. They are only one game out of first place in the division against the Detroit Lions, who they play in Week 17. Running back James Starks came back against the Tennessee Titans, and the Packers recently signed running back Christine Michael off waivers on Wednesday.

With the pickup of Michael, the Packers look to strengthen the running back position that has been very poor since the loss of Lacy.

Arrowhead junior Adam Nannetti said it was a great move.

“He was the best choice on the market. He has some great potential to do great things in Green Bay.” ,says Nannetti.

If the Packers can win enough games leading up to Week 17, they might play the Detroit Lions for the Division Crown on January 2nd