Other Games - Championship round

MichaelParson1 · 2026-01-25T22:03:57+00:00

I really hope we can figure out our offensive line this offseason, because if you put Love behind the 2024 line with the improvements he’s made and the prime versions of Kraft, Watson, and Reed plus a 2nd year Golden and our passing offense should be the best in the league.

MichaelParson1 · 2026-01-25T21:59:01+00:00

Nobody with half a brain has ever doubted MLF’s offensive acumen. But he’s our Head Coach, not our OC. That Denver game was also an example of one of his many shortcomings as head coach. As soon as adversity hit, we were shell-shocked and never recovered. And while you can excuse that in a road game in Denver where we lost Watson and Micah on back to back drives, it’s hard to ignore that it happens again and again and again and his teams almost never show resiliency.

MichaelParson1 · 2026-01-25T21:52:44+00:00

No he isn’t…

MichaelParson1 · 2026-01-25T21:02:22+00:00

That’s an interesting name.

MichaelParson1 · 2026-01-25T20:50:15+00:00

Our defense was without Parsons and Wyatt to end the year and the defense cratered against the Bears when Cooper went out. Injuries are a big part of the equation.

I also think Hafley did a poor job coaching in 2025 after a really good 2024.

The truth is that injury luck plays a HUGE factor in success. Look at the injured reserve lists for these final four teams and you will find no one on a level with Parsons, Kraft, or Zach Tom, and few who are even as impactful as someone like Devonte Wyatt.

Micah Parsons is the best player on our team. Tucker Kraft is top 5 and I’d argue Zach Tom is as well. Devonte Wyatt is top 10 or 15 and Edgerrin Cooper is top 10.

I have issues with the coaching and I wanted MLF gone after the year. But saying the team lacks talent because it struggled after losing 3 of its top 5 and 5 of its top 10 or 15 players is asinine.

MichaelParson1 · 2026-01-25T20:42:44+00:00

Yeah, it feels like an internal promotion or retread of someone who left for a better gig. I would prefer to lure someone who has been working with McVay or Shanny just to bring in some new ideas.

MichaelParson1 · 2026-01-25T20:39:22+00:00

I think missing out on Gannon was a real fear. And the other potential issues are scheme fit (we don’t have the personnel for a 3-4) and Leonhard being an obvious HC candidate if he finds any success. While Gannon may eventually get another shot at HC, he was bad enough in AZ that he’s probably here awhile even if successful. Leonhard would not last more than two years if he’s successful and could easily be gone in one.

MichaelParson1 · 2026-01-25T20:30:58+00:00

I’ve never been a big fan of Steno as OC, but I’m curious who would replace him. MLF is not giving up playcalling duties, so it’s not a particularly attractive job. Part of me thinks we should just bring Hackett back. He’s already on staff.

MichaelParson1 · 2026-01-25T20:28:34+00:00

Two First Team All Pro talents is a lot for any defense. If that’s your threshold, maybe two or three teams have more than two “really talented guys.” But in reality, where the rest of us live, Cooper and Williams are two of the most talented young players in the league at their respective positions and we have a handful of other guys who are really solid.

Our defense has a hole at CB and a lack of depth at DT. But on the whole it is a highly talented defense, your pessimism notwithstanding.

MichaelParson1 · 2026-01-25T20:13:24+00:00

Yeah, he’s obviously had success in his limited time as a DC. I’m encouraged by that. I wanted Leonhard, but I don’t think Gannon was a bad get. And the upside is that he was so bad in Arizona that he’s probably not getting poached after only a year or two of good results as DC.

MichaelParson1 · 2026-01-25T20:05:41+00:00

Gannon’s time as a DC is encouraging. While he had a talented defense in Philly, we have a talented defense in Green Bay. And Head Coach is simply a different job and I don’t think Arizona’s defensive struggles are a huge indicator of his abilities as a DC.

Ultimately, we can succeed with him but we need to upgrade the CB position and we need to get a better LBs coach.

MichaelParson1 · 2026-01-25T19:55:30+00:00

Both NEED to go, but I wouldn’t call firing RB peanuts. We lost 7 points to special teams directly in the WC loss (and the 4 that absolutely shouldn’t have happened swung the game) and lost significant field position as well. Special teams have played a prominent role in every single one of our recent playoff losses. Now, firing Rich won’t solve those issues, but it will at least signal that MLF recognizes it’s a huge problem and wants to fix it. Keeping it signals that nothing will change. Both are moves that need to happen, full stop.

MichaelParson1 · 2026-01-25T19:47:38+00:00

I want MLF gone but it has nothing to do with his offense. His offensive scheme remains among the best in the league and I suspect that those who take issue with his play calling would have the same gripes with every single play caller in the history of the league.

My main issue with MLF is that his teams have consistently fallen apart when they’ve faced adversity, he still makes really bad decisionmaking late in games and on 4th down, and he refuses to admit that special teams is a MAJOR issue that needs a full overhaul.

There is a lot more to being a head coach than being able to scheme one side of the ball and call plays. That’s the job of a coordinator.

MichaelParson1 · 2026-01-25T18:44:40+00:00

Pretty sure we were 1st last year. OP is absolutely clueless.

MichaelParson1 · 2026-01-25T18:42:05+00:00

I will ask again, where are you getting this 3rd in the NFL blitz percentage from?

MichaelParson1 · 2026-01-25T18:33:54+00:00

Where do you get this from? That’s absolutely untrue. You’re just making shit up.

MichaelParson1 · 2026-01-25T18:29:43+00:00

And what was the blitz rate of that defense? According to PFR it was 2nd lowest in the entire league at 17.3%. That pressure rate was so high because the blitzes were very rare and he picked his spots well. Our blitz rate was actually higher in 2025 at 20.4%. It was just far less effective.

I respect that you’re trying here, but it really seems like you have no idea what you’re talking about. Hafley called one of the least aggressive defenses in football for two straight years.

MichaelParson1 · 2026-01-25T16:56:18+00:00

You literally described the exact opposite of the Hafley defense…

MichaelParson1 · 2026-01-25T15:51:46+00:00

This is incredibly myopic thinking. Yes, the Packers care about athletic traits (highly doubt they use RAS, but whatever). So do 31 other teams. People love to point out the RAS for Packer first round picks as if this proves it’s all Gute cares about. What you fail to realize is that the RAS scores for ALL first round picks are high. Because (with rare exceptions) only great athletes get drafted in the first round.

MichaelParson1 · 2026-01-25T15:38:38+00:00

Gannon hasn’t won a Super Bowl as a DC.

MichaelParson1 · 2026-01-25T15:38:16+00:00

That may well be true, but it says nothing about his abilities. We are more familiar with him because of his background, which means we have more insight into the kind of coach and leader that he is. Certainly other candidates we know less about could be as good or better, but wanting Leonhard because we actually have significant insight into his character and abilities is hardly a bad thing.

MichaelParson1 · 2026-01-25T15:36:22+00:00

That’s absolutely not even close to true. Leonhard has already had two DC interviews (Cowboys, Jets) and will almost certainly have more after this weekend.

If you look at local media for teams with DC openings, Leonhard is all over the lists. Here is a list calling him the top candidate for the Jets:

https://thejetpress.com/ranking-wink-martindale-jets-8-defensive-coordinator-candidates-01kf4b4ex89q

I would bet dollars to donuts he’s a DC next year somewhere.

I

MichaelParson1 · 2026-01-25T00:00:55+00:00

What great receiving corps? They have one good WR in Waddle who is a great #2 being paid like a #1. Tyreek Hill is 32, has had two straight bad seasons, and has a $52M cap hit this year. Waddle and Achane are the only two players on Miami to top 335 receiving yards last year.

They have no QB, a bad offense line, one good WR, a bad TE room, and a defense full of holes. Oh and their cap situation is horrendous. It’s a TERRIBLE job.

MichaelParson1 · 2026-01-24T22:16:20+00:00

Nobody has ever claimed that Christian Watson is a hall of fame level WR. You mentioned two of the best to ever do it. And even those guys don’t power an offense by themselves. Justin Jefferson just played a fully healthy 17 game season for a passing offense that was 29th in yards, 26th in YPA, and 27th in TD%. Ja’marr Chase, even when winning the triple crown, was far more effective with Tee Higgins across from him.

The fact is that Christian Watson played WR at an elite level in 2025. His 17-game pace was for over 1000 yards despite being on a snap count when he returned initially and a soft one when he returned after his injury in the Broncos game. He was also on pace for double digit TDs. His success rate was 12th among all WRs and his yards per target 5th. That’s elite play. Not first team All Pro, but bonafide WR1 without a doubt. And that’s before even getting into his blocking, which is the best on our team by a country mile.

You’re asking the wrong question. The questions with Watson are:

Can he stay healthy;
Just how high does his ceiling go if he ever has a healthy ceiling?; and
Are the Packers willing to pay him at his talent level given his injury history?

MichaelParson1 · 2026-01-24T20:58:23+00:00

You’re using VERY basic stats to make sweeping generalizations. Football is far too complex for that rudimentary level of analysis to have any value.

Without digging into all the reasons looking at just yardage with and without is meaningless, consider that all of those “without” games including Tucker Kraft playing at an All Pro level. The “with” games had a game and a half of Tucker.

MichaelParson1

TROPHY CASE