This team seems to have too many issues to overcome to make a deep playoff run, IMO. There are some fans comparing it to 2010 when the Packers got off to a 3-3 start and eventually won the Super Bowl.
The difference to me is that the 2010 team beat a quality Eagles team early and their losses were a close game to a very good Bears team along with a couple of overtime losses to The Redskins and Dolphins, a couple of "meh" teams. Those overtime losses weren't good, but were at least close games that could have been won. The three losses this season have been dominated by the opponent in 2 of the 3 losses.
What does this year's team do that it can point to as something to hang their hats on. They don't have a good passing game right now and that's on the WR's, OL and QB all playing sub-par. The running game is OK but the OL holds them back. Plus the coaches and AR simply can't commit to the run. Against the Jets they were in shotgun 59 times. How does that allow you to run the ball and also use play-action the way it's intended?
On defense, they have been mediocre against the run. They have OK numbers on pass defense, BUT they have only played one team that had a really high level QB and WRs and the Vikings shredded them. Brady had no receivers when they played the Packers, and the other games were all against teams with crappy QBs or back-up QBs in the game.
Until I see the o-line play competent football, this team is going nowhere. They have a lot of bodies on o-line but no real depth. If they had quality NFL-capable depth, Royce Newman would not be starting. Sure, eventually, maybe Newman, Tom and Rhyan become quality NFL players in the mold of a Lucas Patrick who eventually developed into a decent NFL lineman. The problem seems to be that they're not there yet. Not sure if Jenkins is just rusty or if he just can't play on the right side. Mike Wahle on his podcasts is fond of saying it's not just a given that a guy who's good on one side can seamlessly transition to the other. This might also apply to Nijman. IMO, Gute missed the boat by not adding a veteran RT in the off-season given the uncertainty with BakhT and Jenkins.
Am I completely writing off the season, no way. I'll keep watching and hoping they can turn it around. I'm just saying that at this point, there is nothing positive to point to as the base to build from to be a real contender.
