The Green Bay Packers have made an unfortunate habit of letting their fans down in the playoffs in recent years. Why could they disappoint again in 2022?
Unfortunately, the Green Bay Packers have made a habit of disappointing fans at the end of the season in recent years.
Although the Packers have been one of the league’s most successful regular season teams over the last decade, the fact that this team has had Aaron Rodgers for so long and only has the one Super Bowl title is a little staggering.
Winning it all is hard, no doubt, but with a quarterback like Rodgers?
It’s not difficult for fans of the Green Bay Packers to end a season in disappointment. Their expectations, understandably so, are winning it all.
Here are four reasons they might disappoint the faithful fan base yet again in 2022.
Reason no. 4 Green Bay Packers will disappoint: Major coaching changes
This may not seem like the biggest issue for a team like the Green Bay Packers, because on a successful team like this, it’s not uncommon for coaches to come and go.
However, there’s really no question about the fact that Aaron Rodgers absolutely loved working with offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, who is now the head coach of the Denver Broncos.
Losing Hackett in the meeting room and on the practice field every day might not seem like a big deal to some, but just look at the things Aaron Rodgers has said about the guy through the years…
https://twitter.com/PFF/status/1487244117109350400
There were plenty of rumors linking Rodgers to the Denver Broncos over the last year-plus, and while nothing materialized, I think when Hackett became the head coach in Denver, those rumors undoubtedly intensified.
Of course, as things have worked out, Hackett will now be working with Russell Wilson and Rodgers will get some continuity and familiarity in the offensive and quarterback meeting rooms with Adam Stenavich getting a promotion to offensive coordinator and Tom Clements coming back to Green Bay as the QBs coach at Rodgers’ request.
Coaching changes happen all the time in the NFL and it doesn’t always have a major effect on star players like Rodgers, but this particular change could have more of an impact than meets the eye.
Reason no. 3 the Green Bay Packers will disappoint in 2022: Failure to upgrade at tight end
I’ll give Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst credit for one thing — he’s built himself a good-looking defense.
The Packers have invested so much in the defense in recent years, and it’s paying dividends for them.
Their defense looks like one of the best in the league going into the 2022 season. With that being said, their investments defensively have left other position groups on the roster leaving something to be desired, the tight end position among them.
This year’s free agent crop of tight ends was outstanding. The Packers had a chance to upgrade in a significant way at this position and they decided not to.
Robert Tonyan had an awesome 2020 season with 11 touchdowns, but his productivity took a massive step back in 2021 as he only played in eight games due to injury.
Regardless of his health, Tonyan’s effectiveness when on the field was vastly diminished compared to the previous year, and that is evidenced by the fact that the Packers were able to bring him back for just $3.75 million.
I don’t think this was the best move or the highest-upside move the Packers could have made at this position.
It certainly shouldn’t have been the only move.
I can’t, for the life of me, figure out why it was the Buffalo Bills — with a blossoming star in Dawson Knox — were the team to pull the trigger on signing former first-round pick OJ Howard to a modest one-year deal.
Why did the Packers not go after Austin Hooper, who has experience in this kind of offense?
Why not steal a younger player like Tyler Conklin away from the Vikings after a breakout season?
The Green Bay Packers also passed on players in the NFL Draft like Trey McBride and Greg Dulcich who could end up being studs at the position.
I don’t think Gutekunst did enough to upgrade at this position at all and it could come back to bite the Packers at some point.
Reason no. 2 the Green Bay Packers will disappoint: Disappointment has, unfortunately, become the norm
Unfortunately, one of the reasons Green Bay Packers fans may be able to count on some disappointment this season?
Disappointment has become the norm.
It’s the unfortunate way of things.
The Packers have been among the best teams in the NFL only to pull the carpet from underneath fans’ feet in the playoffs every year for the longest time.
How does a team this good only score 10 points in a home playoff game against a team like the 49ers?
Why can’t Rodgers and the Packers win a shootout against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers?
Why is a team this good getting blown out by the 49ers in 2020 or the Falcons in 2017?
You can’t pin all of these issues on just Aaron Rodgers, but he’s certainly the one most people are looking to when it comes to answering the question why?
The Packers have simply been a disappointing team outside of the regular season and that can come down to any number of factors:
- Offensive line play
- Execution in the red zone
- Untimely mistakes
- Coaching/game management issues
- Breakdowns defensively
It comes down to overall execution and just being the better team in the postseason. The Packers are able to dominate for the majority of the regular season but they simply can’t get it done in the playoffs.
Why should we expect 2022 to be any different?
Reason no. 1 the Green Bay Packers will disappoint in 2022: Highly questionable moves at wide receiver
Admittedly, this one was not completely in the Green Bay Packers’ control.
Davante Adams obviously had plenty of say in his fate for the 2022 season, and he wound up asking for a trade to the Las Vegas Raiders.
The Packers granted his request.
In the time since that trade unfolded, Green Bay has had numerous opportunities to significantly upgrade the wide receiver position in the post-Davante Adams era.
They have not.
Signing Sammy Watkins is not going to cut it.
Moving up to draft Christian Watson? That would be a much better move if Watson weren’t being so heavily counted on in his rookie season coming from the FCS powerhouse North Dakota State.
Randall Cobb, Allen Lazard, and the rest of the cast of characters the Packers have at receiver?
It all makes for an embarrassing group when you consider the team has a $50 million/year quarterback who has won back-to-back MVP awards.
I think we’re going to see in 2022 exactly how valuable Rodgers really is with this group.
Adams has been one of the best receivers in the game for years, and losing him is no small issue.
The Packers could have made the same trade the Eagles made to acquire AJ Brown from the Titans.
They could have made any number of trades for guys that have been made available and they simply haven’t done it.
Instead, they’re allocating all their resources to players like Rasul Douglas and De’Vondre Campbell.
I just don’t understand Brian Gutekunst’s strategy when it comes to upgrading the offensive weaponry around Aaron Rodgers. It’s a hilariously bad group considering who this team has at quarterback.
The Packers have arguably the worst receiver room in their own division, though the Bears are competing hard for that distinction, and they certainly have one of the worst receiver rooms in the NFC.
That could drastically impact how well they do in the playoffs this season.