Packers’ Success Will Depend on Year 2 Improvement on Offense

Fortunately for Green Bay, there is precedent.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Last season, the Green Bay Packers ranked 15th in the NFL in scoring. If the Packers are going to take the next step as a team, the offense must take a giant step forward, as well.

However, the personnel might not be any better than it was after getting overwhelmed twice last season by San Francisco. The Packers lost right tackle Bryan Bulaga in free agency and released tight end Jimmy Graham while adding right tackle Rick Wagner and receiver Devin Funchess. In the draft, while the top three picks were dedicated to the offense, there might not be much of an immediate return on investment from quarterback Jordan Love (behind Aaron Rodgers), running back. A.J. Dillon (behind Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams) and tight end Josiah Deguara (with Jace Sternberger, Marcedes Lewis and Robert Tonyan on the roster).

That means the Packers will be counting on Rodgers and the rest of the returning members of the offense to play better in Year 2 under coach Matt LaFleur than they did in Year 1.

“To be honest with you, when I was looking at our installs from when we first got here and before we ever had a practice with any of our players, it’s just drastically different,” LaFleur said in a conference call on Friday. “It is drastically different. I think when you go through a season with your guys, you kind of find out who’s good at doing what and you find out what you really are good at doing. And it’s our job as coaches to make sure that we’re putting our guys in a position to be successful and really showcase what it is that they do well.”

There is a growth-from-within precedent with the coaches most closely tied to LaFleur.

In Los Angeles, the Rams led the NFL in scoring in Year 1 under coach Sean McVay. In Year 2, the Rams finished second in scoring but scored 49 more points. Most importantly, they won two more regular-season games and reached the Super Bowl.

In San Francisco, the 49ers went from 20th in scoring in Year 1 under coach Kyle Shanahan to 21st in Year 2, even though quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo missed most of the season with a torn ACL. With Garoppolo back in action, the 49ers finished second in points in Year 3 under Shanahan and reached the Super Bowl.

In 2015 and 2016 in Atlanta, Shanahan was the offensive coordinator and LaFleur the quarterbacks coach. After finishing 21st in scoring in Year 1, the Falcons finished first in scoring, quarterback Matt Ryan won MVP and the Falcons reached the Super Bowl in Year 2.

The Packers need to get better to simply duplicate last year’s 13-win success. They went 8-1 in games decided by one score. That close-game dominance is hard to replicate. One solution is to play better on offense so there are not as many close games. For that to happen, it will be up to Rodgers, Sternberger, receiver Allen Lazard and others to elevate their games.

“The additions that we brought in and then having a first-year head coach with a new system, I liked our progression throughout the season,” Rodgers said on Friday. “Obviously, we had a lot of success, won a lot of close games. I like where we’re at and, as always, we’re going to be expecting those young players, whether they’re rookies or second- or third-year guys, to make that jump and we’re going to be calling on them to play an even bigger role for us.”