State of the Franchise: Aaron Rodgers, Packers back on track? Published: Jun 18, 2019 at 09:40 AM NFL.com Writer Members of the organization, fans around the world and those who are hoping we're going to post a video of : The are at a cro sroads. The winningest team in NFL history in terms of championships (four titles, 13 total championships) has mi sed the playoffs in each of the past two seasons, despite having a future Hall of Famer at quarterback. Titletown has become Concern City (which, I'll admit right now, I kind of regret typing, because it's kind of dumb). As famed coach Vince Lombardi once said, And there hasn't been a lot of it over the last two years. The good news for the is yep, is still there. And there is excitement brewing ( ) because of a brand new coach. So let's dive in. How the Packers got here The high: -- Rallying in Week 1 to beat Chicago. After losing chunks of 2017 to Dylan Windler Jersey a broken collarbone, Rodgers entered 2018 and vowing to win his third MVP award. Then Rodgers went down with what looked like in the second quarter, and the fell behind the upstart , 20-0, at Lambeau Field. Of course, Rodgers re-entered the game in the second half and , pushing the to a 24-23 win. The lows: -- Everything from Week 2 on. After tying with the in Week 2, the got above .500 just two more times in the season, moving to 2-1-1 in Week 4 and 3-2-1 in Week 6. -- Losing at home to the in Week 13. The ! The won three games all year. -- between Rodgers and Mike McCarthy. preceded as head coach of the after the lo s to Arizona. 2019 VIPs Head coach: Matt LaFleur. This was a great hire by the . And it's in line with a trend I've pointed to throughout this series: To be hired as an NFL head coach, one must A) have a connection to Sean McVay (LaFleur was McVay's offensive coordinator with the in 2017, and they were a sistants together in Washington from 2010 to '13) and B) have been born after Star Wars: Episode IV -- A New Hope. (That's the one released in 1977, for all of you football nerds out there; LaFleur clears it by two years.) I was a huge fan of LaFleur going to Tenne see as the offensive coordinator last year. I envisioned a world in which the ' offense was modernized around quarterback , and I was all in. My vision did not exactly come to fruition. Tenne see finished 27th in points and 25th in yards, and I think the team finished high only because the began to just hand the ball to running back , who rushed for 585 yards in the final four weeks of the season (146.3 yards per game). In fairne s to LaFleur, I should note that Mariota mi sed some time last year. And he's upgrading from Mariota to Rodgers, which is like upgrading from a Motel 6 to a Ritz-Carlton. I write that as a fan of both Mariota and Motel 6 -- I stayed at one in Pismo Beach, California, one time, and it was amazing. But if you're going to give me an ocean view room at the Ritz instead, well, I'm going to take it. I don't mean that in a bad way. Quarterback: . He's fine. I kid -- Rodgers is one of the best of his generation. But because of the way things ended with McCarthy after 13 seasons, ; he's kind of in a similar situation as after the drama that Kyle Korver Jersey came out of the ' locker room. Rodgers presumably can't really have too many problems with LaFleur, unle s he wants to be painted as the bad guy. It's like the kid in your cla sroom who already has his name on the board; he doesn't want to get that checkmark and be sent to the principal's office, so he's got to say and do all of the right things. If I'm being truthful, Rodgers wanting to have the best season of his life so he can prove the haters wrong would be, yes, petty -- but it would also be something fans should be encouraged about. A refreshed Rodgers with a brand new perspective could be a scary thing for the rest of the NFC North, and for the NFL beyond. Even though Rodgers will turn 36 this season. And he mi sed nine games in 2017. And he spent most of last year . He's healthy, and ready to go now. (Although you might want to .) Projected 2019 MVP, Non-Rodgers Division: , receiver. Rodgers is the obvious pick. He's a potential MVP candidate for the NFL. But Adams has started to become recognized as one of the top receivers in the game. That will come as no surprise to the fans who have watched the two-time Pro Bowler steadily climb the WR ranks. He caught more touchdown pa ses than anyone else combined in 2016 and '17 (22), but he really broke out last year, topping 100 receptions (111) and 1,000 yards (1,386) for the first time, while catching a career-high 13 touchdowns. He could post even better numbers this season. With in Dallas, Adams is the only receiver who's ever caught more than 38 pa ses in an NFL season. 2019 breakout star: , running back. This was one of Larry Nance Jr. Jersey the weird things about the last couple of seasons under McCarthy: Jones has looked like a legitimate running back for the . Which seemed so out of place for this team, when you consider that just nine seasons of 700-plus rushing yards were posted by Green Bay players from 2006 to 2018, and just two players -- Jones last season and in 2007 -- have topped both 700 rushing yards and 5.0 yards per attempt in that span. It's like if you went to see "The Fast and the Furious," but instead of car chases, it was The Rock reading "To Kill a Mockingbird." While I'm sure Dwayne would make it entertaining, it just wouldn't make sense. Jones was terrific when he was allowed to run the ball, ranking first in the NFL last season with 5.47 yards per rush. Maybe LaFleur should diverge from the D. Henry plan and actually let Jones run before Week 15. Another new face to know: , safety. If there is one thing that really bothers me about fandom, it's when a guy who has been great for your team jumps to the other side, and your fans are like, "Whatever, that guy wasn't that great anyway." As a fan, I'm not going to do that about Amos, who signed in Green Bay after four seasons with Chicago. I'm sorry to see him leave. Just as I'm sorry the ' inability to simply draft their own good players leaves them targeting players in free agency, with last year. Amos is good. He's going to be fine for the and will give their secondary some stability. The 2019 roadmap The competitive urgency index is: HIGH. Anytime you have one of the top quarterbacks in the league, you are expected to make playoff runs. The mi sed the playoffs in consecutive seasons, and that got McCarthy fired. Will the be able to ... Get to the quarterback? Rookie defensive end is one of those physical freaks, the kind of defender you dream up with the create-a-player feature in "Madden." And the to take advantage of the first-round pick's athleticism, either lining him up outside or kicking inside of and . Defensive coordinator Mike Pettine is going to have fun finding a role for him. Find a guy to play alongside Adams? Adams is one of the best in the busine s. We've established that. But who is going to step up in the No 2 role or in the slot, especially now that Cobb is in Dallas and Jordy Nelson ? is one of the top candidates, kind of a hipster pick, because he showed some flashes as he recorded 38 receptions as a rookie in 2018. also returns after he mi sed all but five games last season, with a groin injury landing him on injured reserve. The didn't look to free agency or the draft to fill this need, which means they obviously believe the ideal candidate is already in-house. Ever hit on a tight end? What is up with the tight end position in Green Bay? Since Rodgers became the starting quarterback in 2008, not one tight end has topped 800 receiving yards in a season. And it's not like the team has Ante Zizic Jersey just shuffled through a bunch of hoping to get it right. In recent seasons, Green Bay has looked to , Martellus Bennett (who should have been motivated by a desire to get revenge on the Bears) and to have a huge role on the offense. None of them did. (Cook and Bennett are gone, while Graham is returning for Year 2.) Can third-round pick break the pattern? Rodgers seems to ignore his tight ends like you avoid your co-worker who makes awkward small talk in the breakroom when all you want to do is cook up some popcorn. Maybe all of those tight ends secretly heat up fish in the microwave. Three key dates: -- . This is an obvious one. The are 8-2 in their last 10 regular-season games in Chicago -- but 0-1 since the added . -- . The and will likely be vying for wild-card seeding, so this game has huge implications. -- . The close on the road the final two weeks, starting with this matchup and continuing against the in the regular-season finale. For what it's worth, they last won in Minnesota in 2015 and in Detroit in 2017. Green Bay have the No. 5 seed in the NFC on lock by then. One storyline people are overlooking:The ' secondary is going to be low-key pretty good. The traded up last year to nab cornerback in the first round of the draft. I hated that pick -- in that I hate to see my rivals do something smart. Alexander's tape is impre sive. There was a sick pick he made off last year in Week 2 that would have stood, if hadn't been flagged for roughing the pa ser. Alexander mi sed some time with an injury, but he's going to be an All-Pro if he stays healthy. Five of the ' defensive backs were drafted within the first two rounds of the past three drafts, including Alexander, (Round 2 in 2017), (Round 2 in 2017), (Round 2 in 2018) and (Round 1 in 2019). Add Amos to the Matt Mooney Jersey mix, and it's reasonable to expect the pa s defense -- which already ranked 12th in the NFL in 2018 -- to take another step forward. One storyline we might be overthinking:Rodgers' age. I alluded to this above, but age (Rodgers is turning 36 in December) is just a number. Peyton Manning had his best season at 37, when he threw for 5,477 yards and 55 touchdowns. Basically, 37 is the new 24 for quarterbacks. One more thing:The beer chug. My honest reaction to first seeing Rodgers at a Milwaukee Bucks game after his left tackle chugged two was that Rodgers was being a cool teammate by putting Bakhtiari over in that situation. John Cena would never do that. Rodgers had done the right thing. Also, that offensive line is vastly underrated. For 2019 to be a succe sful season, the Packers MUST ... -- Get back to the playoffs. Until last season, Rodgers had never mi sed two postseasons in a row as a starter. It would not be good to stretch that streak to three. -- Make a run in the playoffs. You know, win some games. In closing An unbiased look at the schedule suggests this should be a 12-win season. Is that going to be enough to move the past the in the NFC North? Probably not. But 12 wins would be pretty good. And if they got into the playoffs as a No. 5 seed, a matchup at top-seeded Chicago would be amazing. I jest, fans! Seriously, this team is loaded and should be in the playoffs again. That's not great news for the rest of the NFC North. This article has been reproduced in a new format and may be mi sing content or contain faulty links. Please use the Contact Us link in our site footer to report an i sue.
Click here Click here Click here