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The Green Bay Packers are in something of an ideal position as they are set to begin the 2024 season. They found their game and their quarterback last season, and a surge in the final three games of the regular season along with an excellent showing in the playoffs means that the team has a boatload of confidence as they prepare to kick off the season in Brazil against the Philadelphia Eagles.
While head coach Matt LaFleur's team has quite a bit going for it, the Packers are not the favorites in the NFC North. The Detroit Lions won the division title a year ago and they are favorites to win the crown once again. The Lions also have legitimate aspirations of going to the Super Bowl for the first time in the team's history.
That means the pressure is on the Lions, and it is far greater than the amount of heat on Green Bay. That should leave the Packers with a positive state of mind. They are a known commodity so it's not like they will be sneaking up on the Lions and the rest of the league, but they don't have the heavy weight of expectations on their collective shoulders.
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The Packers have a slew of excellent weapons on offense, including quarterback Jordan Love, running back Josh Jacobs, wide receivers Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs along with tight end Luke Musgrave.
Jordan Love will emerge as one of the top candidates for the MVP Award
A year ago, the Packers were going into the season with an unproven quarterback. Love had certainly put his time in as a backup to Aaron Rodgers, and the organization had confidence that he would perform well. However, they really did not know because he did not have significant game experience.
Love had been drafted in 2020 and didn't play that season. He had gotten into 10 games over the following two years, but he started just one of them. He had completed 50 of 83 passes for 606 yards with 3 touchdown passes and 3 interceptions.
That was not a lot of tangible evidence for LaFleur and his coaching staff to base their confidence on, but they had seen Love interact with his teammates and grow in the process.
He ended up having an excellent year that may have been even better than the numbers he produced. He completed 372 of 579 passes for 4,159 yards with 32 touchdown passes and 11 interceptions.
The Packers had a 3-game winning streak that allowed them to make the playoffs and they were overachievers in the postseason. They dominated the Dallas Cowboys in the Wild Card round of the playoffs in a 48-32 triumph and nearly beat the San Francisco 49ers the following week before dropping a 24-21 decision.
QB demonstrated growth for Packers in specific areas
Much of their end-of-year success was due to Love's accuracy throwing the football, poise in the pocket and overall leadership.
Former Packers wideout Davante Adams left Green Bay after the 2021 season to join the Las Vegas Raiders. While he has not been with the Packers for either of the last two years, he told CBS Sports that he had seen tremendous growth fromLove.
“He is starting to come into his own. You can see the way he is talking in front of media and everything,” Adams said. “It's like a whole different person than what I saw when I was there. That comes with experience.”
Love will continue to grow in 2024 and he will become a legitimate MVP candidate
Packers will rise to elite status on both sides of the ball
The Packers have some talented performers on defense, including linebacker Quay Walker, cornerback Jaire Alexander, defensive tackler Kenny Clark and defensive end Rashan Gary, but the key may be how they are deployed by new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley.
LaFleur has already fired previous defensive coordinators Mike Pettine and Joe Barry, so the pressure is on Hafley to build cohesiveness in a defense that ranked tied for 17th in yards allowed last season.
LaFleur has made it clear that he was not satisfied with the way his team played on defense throughout much of the 2023 season. His decision to fire Barry at the conclusion of the season was met with approval by the majority of Packers supporters. They had seen too much inconsistency from the Green Bay defense.
The team can't afford another disappointing season on the defensive side of the ball. Love and the offense appear to have a chance to rank with the most productive units in the league, and they must get support from the defense.
Gary could be game-changing weapon
They certainly have the weapons to win the battle most weeks, if not dominate. Gary had 9.0 sacks last season and he is in the prime of his career. He should be able to add to that total and have a chance to become a game-changing player.
Clark had a career-best 7.5 sacks last season and is capable of tearing apart the interior of any offense. Walker is sharp, athletic and instinctive as an inside linebacker. He had 118 tackles last season to lead the team and the former Georgia Bulldog can get even better in 2024.
The presence of Hafley could help Alexander bounce back from a season in which he was limited to seven games. Alexander struggled when he was on the field, but he is a very talented player.
Look for that defense to do a much better job overall, and improve significantly against the run. The Packers ranked 28th in that category a year ago, and they should be able to reach the middle of the pack in 2024.
If Hafley can reach his players and get a consistency of effort that was not apparent under the previous defensive coordinators, the Packers will have an opportunity to become one of the dominant teams in the NFL.
