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• There’s been a lot of hand-wringing over the state of the Packers through three weeks. And, really, it can be instructive to look at last year for guidance on where all this is going. In 2021, Green Bay opened with a weird blowout loss to the Saints in Jacksonville (New Orleans had been displaced by Hurricane Ida), then rolled over the Lions before squeaking past the 49ers in Week 3. This year, the Packers opened with a convincing loss to the Vikings, rolled over the Bears in Week 2 and squeaked past the Buccaneers on Sunday.
So what gives? I think it’s at the point now where the Packers can, quietly, use the early parts of the season to work out the kinks, and build depth. I wrote in The MMQB this morning how the 14–12 win in Tampa, in many ways, should be good for the team, in that it had to find a way to get that win a different way. And so it was that De’Vondre Campbell made the big play on the two-pointer to close out the Buccaneers.
Meanwhile, the Packers gave tackles David Bakhtiari, who returned this week, and Elgton Jenkins, who returned last week, time to come all the way back from serious knee injuries, and have gotten rookie receivers Romeo Doubs and Christian Watson (before Watson got hurt in Week 2, anyway) a ton of reps. And maybe being careful with the linemen or living through the mistakes of the receivers won’t help the team now.
The idea, though, is that it will eventually.
“Yeah, I don't disagree with that,” coach Matt LaFleur said, when I asked him about it Sunday night. “First of all, obviously, those two tackles are … they’re pretty damn good players, man. Just to get them back is a big shot in the arm. But, also, the young guys, the more we can get them snaps the better, because ultimately, you learn from repetition. There’s not a greater teacher than that.
“And so to get those guys in there? I hate that Sammy [Watkins] is out. Certainly, he’s a big part of our team and our offense. In short order, he’s come in and done a great job. But losing him for at least the short-term is gonna give Romeo, for sure, and Christian, once he comes back, even more opportunity to learn and grow at a faster rate.”
And, ultimately, it should make the Packers a better team when it really counts.
