Guest Post: What changes might help Packers pull out of funk?

After scoring 20 combined points in back-to-back losses, the Packers offense requires some meaningful adjustments to get on track.

Photo by Todd Rosenberg/Getty Images

Author’s Note: The below post originally appeared on Jason B. Hirschhorn’s original newsletter, The Leap. This is a collaboration between Wide Left and The Leap, where some posts will occasionally appear on the others’ newsletters.

For those unfamiliar, The Leap is a newsletter covering the NFL, college football, and the Minnesota Vikings’ division rival, the Green Bay Packers. Hirschhorn has covered the NFL for over a decade, writing for Sports Illustrated, NFL.com, SB Nation, and other outlets.

Matt LaFleur wants the results to change.

The Green Bay Packers have dropped two straight winnable games, scoring a combined 20 points in those contests. The offense that hummed for most of LaFleur’s tenure suddenly cannot reach the end zone more than once a week. That would look troubling for any team, let alone one that fancies itself a Super Bowl contender.

With the Packers hurting badly for a victory and questions about job security surfacing in a real way, LaFleur knows that the entire operation requires a reexamination.

“I think you’re always doing that,” LaFleur said Wednesday. “That’s a constant evaluation, just making sure you’re maximizing your time, where you devote your resources. That’ll be constantly evaluated.”

That doesn’t mean every plausible change is under consideration. LaFleur confirmed that he has no intention of relinquishing the play sheet on game days. That might not appease those carrying pitchforks to 1265 Lombardi Ave., but that doesn’t make it unreasonable. While his play-calling in recent weeks has rightly drawn criticism, LaFleur also had the controls when Green Bay scored 27 or more points in all but one of their first seven outings this season.

But even if LaFleur plans to remain the play-caller, the offense will require some meaningful adjustments to get back on track. Even on a short week like this one following Monday Night Football, the Packers could implement the following changes.

Put Josh Jacobs in the best position to succeed

To no one’s surprise, the Packers lean on Josh Jacobs more than any of his teammates. Entering Week 11, he has nearly four times as many touches as the next most-heavily used player on the roster and more than five times as many as Green Bay’s leading receiver. Jacobs has paid this off with 11 touchdowns and a success rate north of 50%.

That doesn’t mean the Packers have put Jacobs in the best position to thrive, however.

Jacobs currently averages a lackluster 3.8 yards per carry, the second lowest mark of his career and more than a half yard below last year’s clip. His offensive line hasn’t offered much help, as just 16.3% of his rushing yardage has come before contact, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. Even running backs far greater than Jacobs would have trouble with so few open running lanes.

Still, not all of Jacobs’ touches present the same degree of difficulty.