Category: Latest Packers News

Will third time be the charm for Hall of Fame semi-finalist LeRoy Butler?

The long-time Packers safety has a strong case for the Hall of Fame, but will voters agree? He’s a semi-finalist for the third straight year.

For the third time in three years, long-time Green Bay Packers safety LeRoy Butler is one of the 25 semi-finalists for enshrinement into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Butler is one of six defensive backs among the semi-finalists, joining Steve Atwater, John Lynch, Darren Woodson, Troy Polamalu and Ronde Barber.

The next step for Butler is becoming one of the 15 finalists for the first time. Those 15 players will be announced by the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Jan. 2, 2020. From there, five modern era players will be picked for the 2020 Pro Football Hall of Fame class.

Butler is a four-time All-Pro, four-time Pro Bowler and a member of the 1990s All-Decade Team. He helped the Packers win Super Bowl XXXI and was the first defensive back in history to produce 20 career interceptions and 20 career sacks.

The Packers selected Butler out of Florida State with a second-round pick in 1990. He played in 181 regular-season games with 165 starts over 12 seasons and produced 38 interceptions, 13 forced fumbles, 10 fumble recoveries, 20.5 sacks and three touchdowns.

In terms of “Approximate Value,” a player value statistic developed by pro-football-reference.com, Butler ranked 29th among all NFL players and third among defensive backs between 1990-99.

He was also one of only 14 players to be named a first-team All-Pro four times during the decade. The 13 others are all Hall of Famers.

Butler and Atwater are currently the only first-team players from the 1990’s All-Decade team that haven’t been inducted into the Hall of Fame. Thirty-two other players from that team are already Hall of Famers.

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Packers promote OT Yosh Nijman from practice squad to fill roster

Rookie offensive tackle Yosh Nijman will fill the roster spot vacated by Cole Madison.

The Green Bay Packers filled the open roster spot left by Cole Madison’s placement on injured reserve with the promotion of rookie offensive tackle Yosh Nijman from the practice squad, according to Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

The Packers’ offensive line, once injury-free, now needs the help.

Madison suffered a season-ending knee injury during practice last Thursday, and starting right tackle Bryan Bulaga left Sunday night’s loss to the San Francisco 49ers with a knee injury that could keep him out several weeks.

Nijman, at 6-7, has tremendous measurables but entered the NFL as a raw offensive tackle prospect. He was with the Packers during training camp and has spent the entire season on the practice squad. He’ll provide the Packers with an emergency option should more injuries strike the position.

Packers coach Matt LaFleur kept the door open for moving starting right guard Billy Turner out to right tackle, a backup plan they’ve practiced dating back to training camp. In that scenario, backup interior offensive lineman Lucas Patrick would be the front runner to taking over Turner’s spot at right guard and leave Alex Light – who played in place of Bulaga on Sunday night – as the backup tackle on both sides.

Nijman, a converted defensive end, started 22 games at left tackle and 11 at right tackle at Virginia Tech.

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Tight ends are carving up the Packers’ defense

The Packers can’t over the middle of the field, and tight ends are taking full advantage.

The Green Bay Packers’ inability to cover the middle of the field has made life really easy on opposing tight ends.

Over the last five games, the Packers have been carved up by the position.

In games against the Oakland Raiders, Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Chargers, Carolina Panthers and San Francisco 49ers, the Packers gave up 36 completions for 546 yards and five touchdowns to opposing tight ends.

The destruction began against the Raiders on Oct. 20 against the Raiders and continued well into Sunday night’s implosion in San Francisco. Mike Pettine has healthy linebackers and safeties, and he even had the opportunity to re-assess his coverage against tight ends during the bye week. The issues covering the middle of the field are becoming inexcusable.

The Packers came off the bye and gave up six catches on six targets for 126 yards and a game-sealing, 61-yard touchdown to George Kittle. Three of his catches went for 20 or more yards.

Here’s the recent damage from tight ends:

Darren Waller/Foster Moreau/Derek Carrier: 11 catches, 172 yards, 3 TDs
Travis Kelce: 4 catches, 63 yards, TD
Hunter Henry: 7 catches, 84 yards
Greg Olsen: 8 catches, 98 yards
George Kittle: 6 catches, 129 yards, TD

Up next for the Packers is Evan Engram and the New York Giants. He’s a big, athletic target who has 44 catches, almost 500 receiving yards and three scores this season.

Overall, the Packers have allowed the third-most receiving yards and fourth-most receiving touchdowns to the tight end position in 2019. Until Pettine’s defense figures out the issues in the middle of the field, the Packers will continue to get gashed by tight ends.

Packers QB Aaron Rodgers sets new low for passing futility against 49ers

No quarterback has ever thrown for fewer yards on 20 or more attempts than Aaron Rodgers.

Since 1950, only six quarterbacks have completed at least 20 passes and produced fewer than 125 passing yards in a single game.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers not only joined that list on Sunday night in San Francisco, but he set a new record for fewest passing yards by a quarterback with at least 20 completions in a game.

Rodgers finished the Packers’ 37-8 loss to the 49ers with 104 passing yards on 20 completions and 33 attempts. The previous low was 110 yards, set by Bubby Brister in 1995.

The 104 passing yards was Rodgers’ second-lowest in a single game of his career, trailing only the 77 yards he produced in a 29-10 loss to the Denver Broncos in 2015. He also averaged 3.15 yards per attempt, the lowest in a game he started.

Since Week 9, Rodgers ranks 36th out of 36 quarterbacks with at least 20 total attempts in yards per passing attempt (5.13).

On Sunday night, Rodgers averaged 5.2 yards per completion and left the game with only 66 net passing yards, thanks to taking five sacks that lost 38 yards. Rodgers didn’t have a completion that traveled more than 10 yards in the air and had just three completions of 10 or more yards overall. Of his 20 completions, nine gained three or fewer yards.

Overall, only four quarterbacks have attempted at least 30 passes and averaged fewer than 4.0 yards per attempt this season. Rodgers joins Tom Brady, Sam Darnold and Ryan Finley.

After 11 games, Rodgers ranks 16th in the NFL in yards per attempt and 12th in passer rating.

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49ers changed up coverage in smothering performance against Aaron Rodgers

The Packers had no answer in the passing game for the 49ers’ man-to-man coverage.

Primarily a zone coverage defense, the San Francisco 49ers threw Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers a super effective changeup during a smothering performance on Sunday night at Levi’s Stadium.

According to cornerback Richard Sherman, the 49ers played mostly man-to-man coverage against the Packers and focused their defensive efforts on stopping Aaron Jones in the running game.

“We played a lot of man-to-man. (Defensive coordinator Robert) Saleh called a lot of man-to-man today and we felt like that was the plan to try and stop the run and stop Aaron Jones,” Sherman said after the 37-8 win on Sunday night, per the 49ers.

The 49ers’ combination of tight man coverage and relentless pressure turned Rodgers and the Packers’ passing game into a non-factor. Rodgers completed 20 passes for only 104 yards, the fewest ever by a quarterback with at least 20 completions in a game in NFL history.

The 49ers also accomplished their primary goal, limiting Jones to 38 rushing yards and zero catches.

Unable to block the 49ers’ defensive front and with no receiver or tight end not named Davante Adams capable of shaking man coverage, the Packers were completely handcuffed on offense.

The 49ers’ coverage changeup suggests a defense that was highly confident in being able to consistently cover a group of young receivers that has struggled to produce in the passing game this season. There was no fear in the Packers’ ability to produce big plays against man coverage.

49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said a big reason why his defense limited Rodgers was the fact that “guys weren’t open in rhythm,” and coverage was “very tight.”

Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Allen Lazard, Geronimo Allison and Jake Kumerow combined for four catches and 23 receiving yards on 10 targets. Tight end Jimmy Graham caught one pass for seven yards.

Packers coach Matt LaFleur said Monday he needed to do a better job of putting receivers in the passing game in better positions to make plays.

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Browns sign former Packers WR J’Mon Moore to practice squad

The Packers’ fourth-round pick in 2018 has landed in Cleveland with the Browns.

The Cleveland Browns added another former Green Bay Packer on Monday, signing 2018 fourth-round pick J’Mon Moore to the team’s 10-player practice squad.

Moore, the 133rd overall pick in 2018, was waived by the Packers at final roster cuts on Aug. 31, ending a tumultuous 18-month run in Green Bay. He was out of the NFL for the first 12 weeks of the 2019 season.

Moore played in 12 games as a rookie and caught two passes for 15 yards while also losing a fumble on a kickoff return. He failed to improve during his second training camp and slowly but surely fell down the Packers receiver depth chart, leading to his release.

Although physically talented, Moore struggled with the mental part of the game and was inconsistent catching the football.

Over four preseason games in 2019, Moore caught four passes for 19 yards and one touchdown.

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Packers leaving door open for Billy Turner to replace Bryan Bulaga at RT

The Packers didn’t commit Alex Light as the starting right tackle with Bryan Bulaga out with a knee injury.

Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur didn’t commit to Alex Light replacing Bryan Bulaga as the starting right tackle with Bulaga out with a knee injury.

Although he didn’t specifically say it, LaFleur left the door open for starting right guard Billy Turner to slide out to right tackle until Bulaga, who sprained his knee on Sunday night, is back.

“We’ve got some other thoughts, potentially, to make sure we put our best five out there,” LaFleur said Monday.

Light replaced Bulaga in the first quarter of the Packers’ loss to the San Francisco 49ers. Bulaga got rolled up during a run play, left the game and didn’t return.

Light struggled to handle the 49ers edge rushers, especially first-round pick Nick Bosa. Overall, the 49ers had five sacks and 10 quarterback hits.

“I think there was some good (with Light). Overall, that was probably our worst game up front all season,” LaFleur said.

Having Turner play right tackle might give the Packers their best opportunity to put their best five offensive linemen on the field. If he moved out to tackle, Lucas Patrick – who has played in 35 games with six starts in his career – would likely play right guard.

The Packers experimented with Turner at right guard during training camp, possibly in preparation for any potential injury to Bulaga during the 2019 season.

Turner, who has started games at four different positions in his NFL career, started four games at right tackle for the Denver Broncos in 2018. He played left and right tackle at the North Dakota State University.

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Studs and duds from Packers’ 37-8 loss to 49ers in Week 12

Breaking down the studs and duds from the Packers’ 37-8 loss to the 49ers in Week 12 of the 2019 season.

The San Francisco 49ers turned the Green Bay Packers from a contender into a pretender on Sunday night at Levi’s Stadium, the site of a complete dismantling of Matt LaFleur’s team on Sunday night.

The Packers are now 8-3, with two complete meltdowns in the last four weeks.

Here are the studs and duds from the Packers’ 37-8 loss to the 49ers:

Studs

OLB Za’Darius Smith: Credit Smith for taking advantage of one of the Packers’ few favorable matchups. He gave backup left tackle Justin Skule a lot of trouble on the edge. The Packers defensive captain beat Skule clean for a sack in the first half, which eventually led to a rare punt. Twice, he helped the Packers get off the field with quick pressures and hits on Jimmy Garoppolo. He helped provide a second of hope in the second half when he beat a double team and wrestled Garoppolo down to force a stop to start the third quarter. There was no quit in No. 55.

Duds

C Corey Linsley: The Packers’ veteran center is one of the team’s most consistent players, but he had a really tough night in San Francisco. He was at least partially responsible for three of offense’s bad runs. D.J. Jones beat him clean for a run stuff on the second series. Later, on fourth down in 49ers territory, Linsley couldn’t get movement and Aaron Jones got stuffed for no gain. The interior of the 49ers defensive line just overpowered him at times. The struggles leaked into his distribution. On several shotgun snaps, Linsley forced Aaron Rodgers into making really tough catches at his shoetops. A few times, blitzing 49ers linebackers planted him on the ground in the passing game.

QB Aaron Rodgers: It feels cruel to put Rodgers in the “duds” category, given the constant pressure in the pocket and disappearing act from the secondary options in the passing game. But a quarterback can’t drop back to pass 41 times and deliver only 66 net passing yards without shouldering at least some of the blame. The pressure got to Rodgers early and it affected him the rest of the way. Remember when the Patriots made Sam Darnold see ghosts? The 49ers did the same to Rodgers. Even once the game was decided, the offense showed no urgency and Rodgers took no risks to create a big play. If there’s any tangible trust in a receiver not named Davante Adams, Rodgers didn’t show it Sunday night. When it’s all said and done, it’s possible this game will go down as the worst statistical performance of Rodgers’ Hall of Fame career.

LG Elgton Jenkins: The first few series were ugly for the rookie left guard. He’s been fantastic as a pass blocker this season, but he really struggled with the size and speed of DeForest Buckner and Arik Armstead. The first series was a nightmare. On the third play of the game, Buckner blew past him and was in position to light up Aaron Rodgers. On the very next play, Buckner beat him to the inside and stuffed Aaron Jones. On third down, Buckner beat him to the outside and forced Rodgers up into the pocket for the strip-sack. Armstead knocked him to the ground on a stunt on third down on the second series.

RT Alex Light: The second Bryan Bulaga went out of the game, Bosa moved to the left side of the defense and went to work on the inexperienced backup. A brutal matchup on paper played out exactly that way on the field. Bosa was too fast and too strong for Light. The Packers tried at times to give him help, mostly with chips from running backs and tight ends, but the 49ers did a good job of scheming up one-on-one matchups. Stunts gave Light and Billy Turner a lot of trouble, although the 49ers were doing a lot of holding. On one third down sack, Bosa held Light and allowed Armstead to stunt to the outside and make the play on Rodgers in the pocket.

P JK Scott: It’s tough to figure out what’s happened to Scott, the Packers’ streaky second-year punter. He hit six punts and didn’t have a single kick over 41 yards. This was a game where the Packers absolutely needed a big night from their punter, both to help a struggling offense and flip the field for the defense. Even in perfect conditions, Scott failed to get lift and distance in his kicks and often put the defense in bad spots.

WR Geronimo Allison: He has a lot of fans inside Lambeau Field but Allison is just about unplayable at this point. His third-down drop on the first drive helped set the tone for the nightmare on offense. His three catches gained all of nine yards, with a long of just four yards. Who knows why the Packers keep keeping him the ball at the line of scrimmage and asking him to get yards after the catch. He’s not fast or slippery. It was a tough call, but he got flagged for blocking in the back, short-circuiting another drive.

KR/PR Tremon Smith: He returned two punts for -3 yards and two kicks for 41 yards. On both punt returns, he went backwards and got caught from behind. His second return was a risky play after catching the ball on the bounce. In the second half, Smith let a kickoff bounce at the 2-yard line. He’s lucky it bounced through the end zone for a touchback. The best the Packers can hope for at this point is getting the football at the 25.

CB Kevin King: In-breaking routes continue to terrorize him. On back-to-back snaps in the first quarter, King got beat on a slant by Deebo Samuel and a deep in-breaker by Emmanuel Sanders. Later, George Kittle beat him clean for a big gain on another in-breaking route. The long touchdown to Kittle in the third quarter probably wasn’t on King. The Packers were in a three-deep zone, and when Adrian Amos vacated the middle of the field, King was in a no-win situation, especially when Jaire Alexander was late getting depth in his zone. Teams don’t even bother attacking Alexander anymore because King is the far easier prey.

Packers must get RB Aaron Jones more involved in passing game

For the second straight game, Aaron Jones did not have a catch for the Packers.

It was a night to forget for head coach Matt LaFleur and the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, as the team suffered a 37-8 beat down at the hands of the San Francisco 49ers in what was arguably the most important game for the team since the 2016 NFC Championship Game.

Seemingly nothing went right for the Packers offense – or the entire team, for that matter – but what stuck out most was LaFleur’s willingness, or lack thereof, to use running back Aaron Jones in the passing game.

Entering Week 12, quarterback Aaron Rodgers had a league-leading 132.4 passer rating when targeting running backs, according to PFF. Rodgers had a 123.5 passer rating when targeting Jones and 131.9 rating when targeting Williams. Jones had the fourth-highest receiving grade from PFF entering Week 12, while Williams had the third-highest.

But for the second-straight game, Jones didn’t have a catch, and he only has one reception for -1 yard on four targets over the past three games combined.

Despite the clear and obvious lack of production from the Packers receiver group on Sunday night, LaFleur failed to pivot from whatever the coaching staff saw on tape leading up to the game, and continued trying to force a square peg into a round hole.

On a night where receivers Geronimo Allison, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Allen Lazard and Jake Kumerow caught four passes for 23 yards on 10 combined targets, Jones only saw one target, an incomplete pass on third down in the first half.

Rodgers had just 104 passing yards on 20 completions and 33 attempts, his lowest total since 2015 against the Denver Broncos where he posted just 77 yards.

Simply put, the offensive game plan from the Packers on Sunday was inexcusable, and Jones must be more involved going forward.

Sunday night’s blunder becomes even more staggering when looking at how the season started. In the first eight games, Jones hauled in 34 receptions (42 targets) for 355 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns. In fact, after the first eight games, Jones was the team’s leader in receptions.

Also noteworthy is the fact that Williams and Jones had a nearly 50/50 split in terms of snap share. Against the 49ers, Jones was on the field for 41-of-80 offensive snaps, while Williams was on the field for 39-of-80 snaps. More importantly, Williams was the go-to guy in the passing game, hauling in seven receptions on eight targets.

For whatever reason, Jones has failed to be involved as a receiver over the past several weeks. LaFleur stated last week that the team used the bye week as an opportunity to “self-scout.” Going forward, he’ll need to recognize that Jones needs to be one of the main focal points on offense, particularly in the passing game.

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7 observations from the Packers’ deflating loss in San Francisco

A few more observations learned from re-watching the Packers’ 37-8 loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday night.

Here are seven more observations from the Green Bay Packers’ disheartening and deflating loss in San Francisco:

1. Interior OL struggles: Alex Light had major issues after taking over for Bryan Bulaga at right tackle, but the interior of the offensive line wasn’t good enough for the Packers to compete on a down-to-down basis. Center Corey Linsley struggled from start to finish and was even having a hard time delivering an accurate snap in the shotgun. He was responsible for several negative runs and pressures. And while Elgton Jenkins has been great as a rookie, the 49ers took him to the woodshed on Sunday night. He was no match for DeForest Buckner or Arik Armstead. A simple theme is emerging: In all three losses this season, the Packers offensive line played poorly.

2. Unafraid: The 49ers didn’t fear the Packers’ vertical passing game and wisely committed to defending the short passing game, knowing their pass rush would eliminate any long-developing plays down the field. At the short to intermediate level, no receiver could get open. The 49ers played mostly zone, kept all eyes on the quarterback and squatted on everything underneath. That allowed the linebackers and safeties to come crashing down against quick passes and make easy tackles after short gains. Jimmie Ward was especially effective reading the game in front of him. The Packers didn’t have a secondary receiving option capable of creating for himself in the middle of the field, or the pass protection to let guys wiggle free in scramble situations.

3. Warner dominates: The 49ers controlled the game with their pass rush, but inside linebacker Fred Warner might have been the best player on the field Sunday night. No. 54 was everywhere, playing downhill against the run and sideline to sideline in coverage. He gobbled up everything the Packers tried to dial up schematically, especially in the short passing game. Oh, and he had the strip-sack of Aaron Rodgers on the first series, setting up a touchdown. The Packers defense could sure use a difference-making inside linebacker like him.

4. Defense folds: The offense deserves the majority of the criticism for Sunday night’s outcome, but the defense’s performance to end the first half was simply unacceptable. With under two minutes to go, Mike Pettine put seven defensive backs on the field to prevent against a big play and the group still got gashed, first for 42 yards and a touchdown by Deebo Samuel and later for 22 yards by George Kittle, setting up a field goal. It didn’t make a difference in the final outcome, but those 10 points were huge. At 23-0, the game was effectively over.

5. More negative plays: The Packers have talked all season and again this past week about eliminating negative plays on offense. Well, they had 13 plays gaining zero yards (not including incompletions) or losing yards on Sunday night, including four completions that lost yards. As a result, 12 of the Packers’ 15 third downs needed to gain at least eight yards.

6. Big issues on long touchdown: After re-watching George Kittle’s 61-yard touchdown in the third quarter, it appears as if several cascading errors were to blame. For starters, the 49ers had the perfect call against the coverage. It probably would have really stressed the call even if everyone played it right. But a couple things went wrong right away. First, safety Darnell Savage bought the run fake and was immediately out of position in his coverage against the crossing tight end (No. 82). That led to Adrian Amos crashing down to help cover the crosser. However, that turned what looked like a three-deep zone on the backend into a two-deep zone, with the middle player completely vacated. It put Kevin King in a no-win spot. He appeared responsible for the deep third toward the sideline, so he backtracked into his zone, but that left Kittle to run free down the middle of the field when he turned his corner route into a post. A great call by the offense combined with bad execution by the defense equals a game-sealing touchdown.

7. San Francisco stunts: Pass-rushing stunts from the 49ers gave the Packers a lot of problems. Arik Armstead and DeForest Buckner are big interior rushers who can really move in confined areas, which really stresses an offensive line that’s already worried about getting beat around the edge. The 49ers also took advantage of a few uncalled defensive holding penalties on the stunts. Several times, the edge rusher crashed down and held the tackle in place so the stunting interior rusher could get around the corner and to the quarterback. The Packers must have pointed that out during halftime because officials eventually flagged the 49ers for holding in the second half.

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