Packers continue youth movement

Packers trade Preston Smith to the Steelers

The Preston Smith trade makes all the sense in the world for the Packers. The team is moving on from an aging veteran who hasn't made much if any impact in their new defensive system. The most impactful play Smith made this year in a Green Bay uniform was taking away a sack for Rashan Gary by lining up offsides down in Nashville. Moving on from Smith not only allows younger players to get on the field, but it gives the team some immediate cap relief and a draft pick for a player they were most likely going to release this offseason.

The Packers will see increased playing time for young players like Kingsley Enegbare, Arron Mosby and possibly Brenton Cox Jr. and especially last year’s first round pick Lukas Van Ness, who the team desperately needs to start rounding into shape but who so far has looked pedestrian, and that’s probably being generous.

Get Aaron’s reaction to the trade and what it means going forward below:

Pressure on Young Pass Rushers After Smith Trade

With the trading of the second oldest player on the Green Bay Packers roster in Preston Smith, the pressure is now on the remaining front seven players to make an impact in both the pass rush and defending of the run.

Smith joined the Packers as a free agent signing in 2019 and he soon became one of the most reliable and productive players the team has had in the last five and a half seasons. He never missed a game, playing in all 98 games including playoffs, and he leaves the team with the most sacks since 2019 with 44. In the last several games, the transition from Smith as the other starting defensive end had already begun.

In the last three games he was under 30 snaps in both the Lions and Texans games. He had a season-low 21 snaps vs. the Lions. With Rashan Gary starting on one side and now without Smith on the other side, a slew of second and third players will now be counted on to provide more pass rush in the second half of the season.

5 Takeaways From Packers 14 - 24 Lions: Green Bay Beats Themselves, Again

Progress is not linear.

After their terrific performances down the stretch last season, taking them to the divisional round of the postseason, it would have been easy to assume the Packers, who are still the youngest team in the league, were a rocket ship, only set to soar higher in 2024.

That has not been the case. While there has definitely been progress overall, especially in the team’s ability to grind out wins in a way they were not able to do in the early stages of last campaign, Packers fans have been confronted with the sobering reality that progress is rarely linear.

The penalty problems which plagued them early have not noticeably improved, and players who seemed primed for a breakout season have stalled.

Dontayvion Wicks is the poster child for the latter. Arguably the best route runner on the team, the second-year receiver appears to have developed a case of the yips, struggling badly with drops, not unlike Davante Adams in his second year, if you want to spin it positively. This continued on Sunday, including one which would have been a touchdown. But it is not just Wicks, the quarterback is in a slump right now too.

Check out four more takeaways from the loss to the Lions right here.

Packer Transplants 287: So much to work on

CHTV co-founders Corey Behnke and Aaron Nagler discuss the loss to the Lions, the trade of Preston Smith and the work to be done over the Packers bye week.

2 key takeaways from the Packers first half of the season

In classic Green Bay Packers fashion, the first half of their season was riddled with stressful moments, but they managed to come out in strong position to push for a high playoff seed. Sitting at 6-3 heading into their week 10 bye, the Packers struck renewed success on the defensive side of the ball while also reminding the league just how dangerous they can be on offense. But the newfound success for the defense, after a decade of mostly disappointing seasons, has seemingly come at the cost of the offense unable to get out of its own way.

Generally speaking, it has not been the start to the season that most fans or the Packers expected. How could it be when the defense is no longer the problem in Green Bay? And while the offense has struggled to hit its stride, it's still been one of the more potent and explosive units in football.

Now, it's about cleaning up the self-inflicted mistakes and putting it all together in the back half of the season, as they did last year. Be sure to check out two major takeaways with half of the season behind the Pack.

Packers Fans Have Seen This Movie Before

Presnap penalties. Awful decisions by the quarterback and a lack of pressure on the opposing quarterback.

We’ve all seen this movie before and Sunday was another installment as the Lions beat the Packers 24-14 at a drenched Lambeau Field.

“I was disappointed with the number of penalties and just self-inflicted wounds that we had,” said Packers coach Matt LaFleur. “You can’t do that against a really good football team.”

The Packers committed 10 penalties for 67 yards on Sunday. They are getting penalized nearly eight times a game for 55 yards. That’s just a lack of discipline, plain and simple.

The Packers proved they could move the ball against one of the best defenses in the league, they just don’t have the discipline to finish drives. It was encouraging that Jordan Love accepted blame for not putting balls in perfect spots. But at the same time, the Packers had five drops including two by Dontayvion Wicks, with one being in the end zone. This team is nine games in and is still making September mistakes. The good thing is that the Packers are 6-3 there’s still time to go on a strong run. But in order for that to happen, we cannot keep seeing this same movie.

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Felipe's Positives - Week 9, 2024

Week 9 was tough for the Green Bay Packers. They fell 24-14 to the Detroit Lions and dropped to 6-3. While the defense held the Lions' offense to 17 points, the offense struggled with costly, self-inflicted mistakes that stifled any chance of a comeback.

Waking up on Monday after a Packers' loss is tough for any fan, but there are still some positives to take from the game and as he does every week, Felipe Reis highlights several bright spots.

Pack's What She Said: Bye Week Chat With Andrew Mertig

Maggie and Perri welcome in Andrew Mertig to take a look back at the first half of the season and analyze where the Packers are at so far on the latest episode of the Pack’s What She Said podcast.

Let's Talk Football: A much needed bye week

Aaron chats with Pack-A-Day Podcast creator Andy Herman about the Packers loss to the Detroit Lions.

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