With the Green Bay Packers’ regular season finished and the team enjoying a much-needed bye, it’s time to hand out some grades on what went right and wrong this season.
The 2014 Packers made significant progress as a team, addressing some long-standing issues. Some areas still need to be addressed.
Offense: A
The Packers finished as the No. 1 offense with 6,178 yards. They had the No. 1 scoring offense with 484 points on the season, including 38 passing touchdowns and 14 rushing touchdowns. The Packers had a 4,000-yard passer, 1,000-yard rusher and a pair of 1,000-yard receivers. The Packers hummed on offense.
Best Moment: Scoring six first-half touchdowns against the Chicago Bears in Week 10.
Quarterback: A
Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers capped another MVP-like season with perhaps his most gutty performance as a pro. When he returned from the locker room in the third quarter of the finale against the Detroit Lions, the stage was set for a him to save the Packers and pull out a victory. Rodgers has been pinpoint accurate, passing for 4,381 yards and 38 touchdowns. He had only five interceptions, none at Lambeau Field.
Best Moment: The third quarter return against the Lions in Week 17. Storybook ending.
Running Backs: B+
After a slow start, Eddie Lacy’s sophomore year proved he was one of the best in the league. Lacy finished the season with 1,139 yards rushing and nine touchdowns. His growth as a receiver this season was also a good sign. He added 427 yards receiving and four more touchdowns. Backup James Starks played well splitting time with Lacy. Starks had 333 yards rushing. John Kuhn turned in another solid performance and made the Pro Bowl.
Best Moment: Lacy’s 125-yard performance in Week 12 against the Minnesota Vikings.
Receivers: A
Receivers Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb were historically good for the Packers. Cobb was tied for fourth in the league with 12 touchdowns. Nelson was tied for second with 13. Nelson was fourth in the league with 1,519 receiving yards. That was the best by a Packers receiver ever, topping Robert Brooks’ 1,497 yards in 1995. Jarrett Boykin took a step back this year. Rookie Davante Adams was inconsistent.
Best Moment: Making clutch plays against a solid New England Patriots secondary.
Tight Ends: C
The tight end position has been missing the big-play ability of a Jermichael Finley. Andrew Quarless had his moments, as did rookie tight end Richard Rodgers. Rodgers had perhaps his best game Sunday, catching all five of the passes thrown his way for 40 yards. Rodgers will need to become more of an end zone threat. He caught only two touchdowns in an offense that could make a tight end a touchdown receiving machine.
Best Moment: Quarless’ 4-yard touchdown catch after Aaron Rodgers’ fake spike to win the game against the Miami Dolphins.
Offensive Line: B+
This is perhaps the Packers’ best offensive line in years. A lot of that has to do with the group, despite playing through injuries, remaining healthy enough to stay on the field. Josh Sitton had a Pro Bowl year. Second-year tackle David Bakhtiari solidified himself on the left side. Bryan Bulaga played a full season after injury problems the last few years. T.J. Lang was a solid guard. The surprise of the season, though, was rookie center Corey Linsley, who took the job ordained for J.C. Tretter in training camp after Tretter was injured. Linsley was a natural at the spot and kept rookie mistakes to a minimum.
Best Moment: Pounding the Lions’ top-ranked rushing defense for 152 yards.
Defense: B
The Packers were able to deal with their biggest weakness this season, a porous rushing defense, midway through the season. Coming out of the bye the retooled inside linebacker position made a huge difference for this team. Since then the Packers improved from 32nd against the run to 22nd. The much-improved defense gives the Packers hope as they turn toward the playoffs, where defensive miscues have handed the Packers early exists since 2011.
Best Moment: Holding New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady to 236 yards passing in Week 11.
Defensive Line: B
The loss of B.J. Raji could have been disastrous for the Packers had defensive tackle Letroy Guion not stepped up. The free-agent acquisition from Minnesota was signed as an insurance policy for the Packers. It paid off. Mike Daniels was a disruptive force most of the season. Josh Boyd was inconsistent but played well for the most part. Datone Jones did not make the impact he flashed as a rookie.
Best Moment: Mike Daniels’ sack of Tom Brady on third-and-9 with 2:40 remaining.
Linebackers: B+
This is where all of the experimenting took place for the Packers this season. Brad Jones, Sam Barrington, A.J. Hawk all took turns as the focus on the inside, until the bye week when Clay Matthews moved to the position in some of the Packers’ packages. The move both exposed how poor the position was being played by the Packers and solidified it for the remaining weeks. On the outside, the play of Julius Peppers, Nick Perry and Mike Neal made Matthews’ move inside an option.
Best Moment: Julius Peppers’ 49-yard interception return for a touchdown against the Vikings in Week 5.
Defensive Backs: B
Packers defensive backs Tramon Williams and Sam Shields turned in consistent veteran performances. Rookie safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix solidified the Packers’ worst position from a year ago. Safety Morgan Burnett enjoyed his best season as a pro. Micah Hyde was a boost both at safety and, once Clinton-Dix took over the spot full time, as the nickel corner. Davon House and Casey Hayward provided plenty of depth. Aside from a few bad games, the Packers secondary has done its job.
Best Moment: Micah Hyde and Casey Hayward snagging interceptions of Chicago quarterback Jay Cutler, Hayward returning his 82 yards for a touchdown.
Special Teams: D
The Packers’ special teams units have been bad this season. The unit has allowed seven blocked kicks. Coverage units have given up key touchdowns. Special teams coordinator Shawn Slocum has shown little ability to right the ship during his tenure. The lone bright spot might be Micah Hyde, who has developed into an solid punt returner.
Best Moment: Hyde’s 55-yard touchdown return against the Lions.
Coaches: B
Mike McCarthy and the Packers’ coaching staff have turned in their best performance since the 2010 season. That year, the coaching staff had to deal with multiple injuries to key players. By the time the playoffs rolled around, the staff had the Packers primed for their Super Bowl run. This year, the staff first had to deal with an under-performing offense after a 1-2 start, then had to fix an NFL-worst rushing defense on the fly. McCarthy and crew got it done and guided the Packers to a 12-4 season and secured a No. 2 seed and first-round bye in the playoffs.
Best Moment: Coming up with an excellent game plan and making perfect adjustments to beat the New England Patriots in Week 13.
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