Five More Thoughts on Packers’ 30-17 Loss to Lions

What began as a promising season has completely unraveled for the Green Bay Packers. They handed the Detroit Lions just their second win in Wisconsin since the early 1990s on Monday Night Football.

That wasn’t really all that surprising, however. What was surprising was how unprepared the Packers looked despite having an entire two weeks to make themselves prepared.

The game wasn’t as close as the score indicates and the score doesn’t even indicate it was that close to begin with. I’d call it a blowout. An embarrassment.

This is where we start talking about jobs.

Clearly, Aaron Rodgers has been carrying this football team. There is not only a general lack of talent around Rodgers, but the coaching staff can’t seem to maximize what talent there is.

That’s going to be a talk for later on, though. Let’s get on with it.

Time To Take Some Shots

I said it last night. Take the frickin’ training wheels off Brett Hunley, already. Honestly, I don’t think Hundley played that bad. He was hamstrung by one of the crappiest game plans Fat Mike has ever dreamt up. Hundley averaged just 6.4 per attempt (compared to Matthew Stafford’s 10.9). Here’s what I found more telling. The team’s top two receivers — Jordy Nelson (8.8) and Davante Adams (7.6) — both averaged under 10 yards per reception. Randall Cobb averaged 11.6 per, but that was only because of a 46 yard reception. He may not have the Aaron Rodgers’ accuracy, but Brett Hundley has the arm to throw more than 2-yard receiver screens. Let him throw the damn ball.

The Magical Disappearing Running Game

The Packers handed the ball to about every guy who’s ever carried a football on Monday night. The list includes Ty Montgomery, Aaron Jones, Jamaal Williams, Trevor Davis and Randall Cobb. Hundley ran for 22 himself. The grand total — 17 carries for 78 yards. Want to talk about helping a young quarterback? Run the damn football! Jones was contained for the first time this year, but Montgomery averaged 6.6 per run. Stack two of those together and viola! You’ve got a first down.

Third Downs Were Huge

Rob talked about this very thing on Monday and then we watched it play out. The Lions had been terrible at converting third downs this season. The Lions converted eight of 13 on Monday night. The Packers were an abysmal two of nine. Throw in two failed fourth down tries and you’re at two of 11. Eighteen percent is what you’re looking at right there. Meanwhile, the Lions are at 61 percent. A complete failure by the Packers’ offense and defense.

Mike Daniels Talks the Talk, Walks the Walk

I don’t mean this in a good way. Daniels was pretty much invisible like he’s been since week 1, with two tackles. That is, except for his headbutt of Lions’ center Travis Swanson on Detroit’s first series. Daniels talked about retaliating against divisional foes for taking down Packers’ players, last week. Well, the Lions haven’t taken anyone down because the Packers hadn’t played the Lions before Monday night, this year. Apparently, Daniels thought he was playing against the Vikings. Saying he felt he was held, Daniels drew a personal foul on the Lions’ first series. What’s more, it would have been a three and out, minus the penalty. And that pretty much set the tone for the evening. Marvin Jones scored shortly thereafter.

And Here’s One Good Thing About the Defense

Let’s not pretend the Packers’ defense is any good. They can’t rush the passer. They can’t cover anyone. The one thing they can do is get in the backfield. It’s the one thing that really stuck out as a positive. The Packers wrapped up 10.5 tackles for loss. All of these guys had at least a half — Blake Martinez, Josh Jones, Davon House, Morgan Burnett, Nick Perry, Damarious Randall, Chris Odom, Kevin King and Dean Lowry. Burnett is playing really well, when he’s actually healthy, and Blake Martinez is easily your defensive MVP at this point.