Steven Helmer Publications

 Here are my thoughts from today's 39-22 Green Bay Packers loss at the Minnesota Vikings: That first Christian Watson catch was a thing of beauty. After Jordan Love had his career-long touchdown pass, Packers' fans should be salivating about the potential that pairing offers if Watson can stay healthy. Based solely on this game, I think Love finally has a number one receiver in Watson as well. They haven't had a true go-to guy since Davante Adams was traded Watson's rookie year.  At minimum, I like Love's weapons. Less was more this season, reducing the number of receivers on the roster but giving him players who can make plays. Even Matthew Golden, who unfairly was criticized for not being a big enough part of the offense last year, was earning his draft status. The PAT miss by Trey Smack brought back some bad memories of Green Bay's recent history of kicking problems.  He's young so I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt though, especially aft...

The cuts are in and the Packers are down to their initial 53. There's a good chance more changes will be made prior to the start of the regular season, but here are my thoughts in the meantime: The NFL made the Packers' Josh Jacobs decision for them. The legal process needs to play itself out, so I won't make any comment about the criminal charges he is facing but the decision to put him on the commissioner's exempt list means he won't be part of the team's plans in the near future.  Green Bay made a quick move to replace him. I was little surprised to see the Packers trade for Kaleb Johnson and waive Pierre Strong Jr. but they must see potential in him. The Packers made the only choice they could make with Kyle McCord. In a perfect world, they would have kept him on the roster as the third-string quarterback and give him an opportunity to win the backup role from veteran Tyrod Taylor. There were just too many other needs though, and they got a draft pick for hi...

 Here are my thoughts from the Green Bay Packers 33-13 win at the Denver Broncos last night: There was quite a bit of improvement versus last week. The offense was finding the endzone all night and the defense was making things difficult for the Broncos. Considering Denver was one game away from the Super Bowl last season, that was an impressive task. Jordan Love may finally have his weapons. Obviously, health remains a concern, especially with receiver Christian Watson, but he seems to have receivers he has full confidence in. I think the less-is-more approach Green Bay took this season, allowing Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks to leave, gave him more of an opportunity to build a rapport with the ones who stayed, especially second-year player Matthew Golden. I liked the aggressiveness on defense. It's something that could be high risk but also has the potential to keep opposing offenses off rhythm, something that becomes important when your secondary is still a work in progress a...

Here are my thoughts from the Green Bay Packers 28-9 preseason loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers last night: I am cautiously optimistic about kicker Trey Smack. I think you can forgive me for having a healthy dose of skepticism after they traded up to draft him in April, especially after the high turnover at that position since letting Mason Crosby walk following the 2022 season. However, so far, so good. Yes, it was just one game, and a preseason contest at that, but Smack was on the road in Pittsburgh and went 4-for-4 (with one being negated because of a penalty), including two from 58 yards. That's something he can hopefully build upon. It was hard to get a good read on the starting offense. Jordan Love and the rest of the starters have a history of getting off to a slow start and their lone drive in the game, which ended with a field goal, was restarted because of a penalty, and then ended with a field goal again, didn't do anything to change that narrative. However, since it...

Look, I'm not going to pretend it is even remotely likely to happen. However, with quarterback Aaron Rodgers still considering another season of football at the age of 42 there are reasons why a return to the Green Bay Packers would make sense for the former MVP passer. Timing is everything and, when the Packers decided to part ways with Rodgers following the 2022 season, the time was right. Rodgers was still playing at a high level, but Jordan Love was ready to take the reins and there was clear disconnect between the quarterback and the front office. Now, the timing is again right, with Love firmly entrenched as the starter but the team in need of a reliable backup quarterback after losing Malik Willis to free agency. It would be an arrangement that would benefit both sides. For the Packers, they would be getting a quarterback who, while no longer in his prime, has shown he can still play at a high enough level to win games. He is also familiar with Coach Matt LaFleur's offen...

Reports out of Green Bay today indicate veteran coach Luke Getsy, who served as a senior assistant last season, will be serving as the Packers' quarterbacks coach next year. While I've seen some criticize this decision, I think it is a sound choice by Head Coach Matt LaFleur. Yes, there is an argument for bringing in a new and hopefully innovative voice to help Jordan Love's progression from good to great while also developing a backup quarterback to replace sure-to-be-gone Malik Willis. However, in this case, I do think familiarity isn't necessarily a bad thing. My support for Getsy as QB coach has already been documented, when Tom Clements retired last January and I advocated for Getsy as his replacement.  Getsy's time as an offensive coordinator in Chicago and Las Vegas was a failure. However, his three years prior to that, when he was serving as quarterbacks coach in Green Bay arguably couldn't have been better. To recap, in the seasons with Getsy as his coa...

There was a time when the Pro Bowl meant something. Selected players, barring an injury, would willingly participate in it, both for the additional paycheck and the free trip to Hawaii. The fact it was held after the Super Bowl also increased the chances of players from the best two teams being involved. Then things changed. Player salaries increased to the point the Pro Bowl check didn't mean as much while the risk of injury watered the product down further by the league taking every precaution to avoid a scandal if a star got hurt playing in a meaningless contest. Fan voting also arguably plays too much of a role, with players being selected because of name recognition rather than anything they did on the field. This is why the NFL should replace it with the Practice Squad Bowl. Here's how I would do it: Each team selects four players that finished the regular season on the practice squad. Those players are divided into the traditional AFC/NFC categories, with each team getti...

Multiple reports state the Green Bay Packers have agreed to a multi-year extension with Head Coach Matt LaFleur, as well as General Manager Brian Gutekunst, choosing to make a renewed commitment to both despite the former losing to the division rival Chicago Bears in the wild card round of the NFL playoffs last week. Assuming the reports are true, speculation (and hope from some fans) about Matt LaFleur being fired or traded proved to be just that. Ultimately though, it was ultimately the most logical outcome for both the team and LaFleur himself. So logical in fact, we probably should never have doubted it. The idea of Green Bay parting with LaFleur because of a playoff loss always seemed knee jerk and out of character for a franchise that has had just 15 head coaches (not counting interim coaches) in its nearly 107-year history. It is a team that knows the value of patience and stability when it comes to coaches. At least in hindsight, it was kind of ridiculous to think they would be...

OK. I've had a few days to let Saturday's playoff loss to the Chicago Bears sink in, gotten my anger and frustration out of the way via social media and am ready to move on to the offseason. And yes, I know the NFL will keep playing on even though the Green Bay Packers are now eliminated but I honestly don't really care enough about any of the other teams to stay interested. So, before I move on to other things until August (or at least the NFL draft), here are my final thoughts about the season: This is a new NFC North, and the Packers need to adjust. Head Coach Matt LaFleur was 39-10 his first three seasons with the Packers but the 2019 Minnesota Vikings were the only other team with a winning season during that three-year span (the Bears went 8-8 when they made the playoffs in 2020). The Detroit Lions have had a winning season in each of the years since and each division rival has won the NFC North at least once in the past four years. This year, all four teams had a win...

Let me start out by saying the Green Bay Packers' playoff collapse against the Chicago Bears wasn't completely Matt LaFleur's fault. The Packers were up 21-3 at one point and held the lead late in the fourth quarter. They even would have likely won had it not been for two missed field goals and a missed extra point by kicker Brandon McManus Still, after watching Green Bay once again lose a game against the Bears they should have won and seeing a glaring trend that popped up in many of the team's 7 regular season losses, I am no longer as confident he is the right guy to lead the team as I was when I defended him a couple days ago , especially with quarterback Jordan Love entering his prime years. To be clear, I'm not saying the Packers should definitely move on from a coach that has taken the team to the playoffs in 6 of his 7 seasons. I'm just saying it wouldn't hurt to pause for a moment and look around before signing him to an extension. The Packers this ...

The Green Bay Packers' season isn't over yet, with the Chicago Bears on the schedule tomorrow night for the Wildcard round of the NFL playoffs. However, based on the speculation surrounding Head Coach Matt LaFleur's future, I think it would be possible to think that wasn't the case. At minimum, there seem to be a lot of talking heads out there who think his tenure in Green Bay will be done if the Packers lose to their division rivals, giving the team an opportunity to hire recently fired John Harbaugh as their new coach. While I won't pretend to know enough about the team's inner thoughts and discussions, I think that would be a mistake. Look, I'm not going to lie and say I haven't had my doubts about LaFleur too but, while there have been plenty of times when I've disagreed with a play call or the decision to use (or not use) a challenge flag, it is hard to overlook the fact he is a winning football coach. His first three years, paired with quarterb...

Earlier this week, Green Bay Packers Head Coach Matt LaFleur announced long-time assistant coach Tom Clements is retiring after serving as quarterbacks coach for Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers and Jordan Love. Clements' history of success developing passers will leave a void on the roster. Fortunately for Green Bay, they may already have his replacement. After first being brought to Green Bay in 2006 under former coach Mike McCarthy, Clements only spent 3 years away from the team, from 2017 through 2021, which included time with the Arizona Cardinals and some years when he didn't coach at all The guy who filled three years of that gap was Getsy and he built a resume that justifies bringing him back. Currently a Packers' consultant after recently being fired by the Las Vegas Raiders, Getsy's attempts at being an offensive coordinator/play caller both with the Raiders and Chicago Bears were arguably a disappointment. However, it was his time as Packers' quarterback coach...

 Here are my thoughts from today's 22-10 Green Bay Packers ' playoff loss at the Philadelphia Eagles . This game felt like a broken record. Slow start on offense, game changing errors and a lack of discipline at key moments put the Packers behind early and derailed any opportunity to mount a comeback. It's the same formula that led to their six losses during the regular season and, in this case, made their postseason run short and sweet. The defense put in a valiant effort. As was mentioned in commentary, it felt as though the Packers should have been much further behind at the half than they were, but the defense held the Eagles to just 10 points despite everything going wrong on offense. They even finally found their pass rush, though it was too little, too late. One of the biggest game changers was losing Elgton Jenkins early. Green Bay had a lot of injuries in this game, but the loss of Jenkins arguably had the biggest impact as the backups struggled against the leag...

Here are my thoughts from today's 24-22 Green Bay Packers ' loss against the Chicago Bears at Lambeau Field: I usually am one of those fans who tries to remain positive but Green Bay does not look like a playoff team right now. Losing Jordan Love in the first half didn't help but the Packers just can't seem to stop beating themselves, whether it's nobody picking up a blitzer, not paying attention to where the ball is in punt coverage (how does the coverage team not know where the ball is being kicked?) or the defense letting the Bears get into field goal range at the last second. This game makes one-and-done against the Philadelphia Eagles next weekend seem very likely. As a fan I'm also a bit concerned about Green Bay being 1-5 against the NFC North. I hope that doesn't become a trend. Part of the solution, at least in my opinio n, might be to defer whenever they win the coin toss. I understand Matt LaFleur's reasons for wanting the ball first, espec...

A couple weeks ago, it looked as though the Green Bay Packers would easily secure at least the sixth and possibly the fifth seed in the NFL playoffs.  Now, with a week to go in the regular season, Green Bay has a shot at the 6th seed but since they would need help, most likely will enter the postseason as the 7th seed. This means a guaranteed game on the road against the 13-3 Philadelphia Eagles (who will be resting their players the final week of the season) followed by a road game against either the 14-2 Minnesota Vikings or the 14-2 Detroit Lions (whichever they face will also be rested because, as the top seed, they would get a bye week). On paper, this seems insurmountable for a team that has a combined five losses this season, all of them coming from the three teams mentioned above, and a growing list of injuries on the defensive side of the ball. However, while I'll be first to admit this may not be the year they go all the way, I don't think they should be written off j...

Here are some of my thoughts from today's 27-25 Green Bay Packers ' loss at the Minnesota Vikings : If Green Bay wants to have a chance in the playoffs, they need to stop beating themselves. Some mistakes, like the first-half Josh Jacobs' fumble and the pass interference against Keisan Nixon are unfortunate but forgivable. Others, like giving your opponent a second chance on a missed field goal by being offsides or not lining up properly when trying to convert on third and one, aren't. I am going to include Head Coach Matt LaFleur in the above comment as well. Yes, hindsight is 20/20 and I would have a different opinion if they picked up the 1st down. However, had Green Bay kicked the field goal rather than going for it on fourth early in the game, the game's outcome might have been different. All things considered; the defense played pretty well tonight. The secondary is beaten up and other key players, like Quay Walker, were out while facing a loaded offense. T...

Here are some of my thoughts from the Green Bay Packers ' 34-0 victory over the New Orleans Saints at Lambeau Field last night: Green Bay Packers fans received an early Christmas gift. The Packers are in the playoffs with two games to go. While the division title is off the table, they still have an opportunity to improve their seeding spot or, depending on the outcome of their upcoming game against the Minnesota Vikings, may be able to rest players in the final week of the regular season. This was as dominating of a performance as you could ask for. Yes, the Saints have been plagued by injuries and are a shell of the team they were at the start of the season. However, pitching the NFL's first shutout of the season isn't something that should be overlooked, especially against a team that took the Washington Commanders down to the wire just a week ago. Green Bay's defense, after all, was missing key personnel too. And the best part of that (for Packers fans at least)...

My thoughts from last night's 30-13 Green Bay Packers ' win at the Seattle Seahawks : The Packers exorcised some of their Seattle demons. Green Bay has had some infamous defeats against Seattle, whether it was the Fail Mary game or the fake punt disaster that cost them a trip to the Super Bowl. Most of the current roster wasn't around the last time they lost in Seattle and the reboot seems to be working. This game was mostly about Green Bay's defense. Despite injuries in the secondary and losing linebacker Quay Walker, the defense ended the game with seven sacks and two interceptions. Just as important, that unit kept Seattle from ever getting into the game, even when the offense fizzled out a bit in the second half. Once key pieces, like cornerback Jaire Alexander, return, it theoretically could even be better. Jordan Love is growing as a passer. It's sometimes easy to forget he only has 30 career starts and probably hasn't peaked yet. However, the growth is...

Here are some of my thoughts from last night's 34-31 Green Bay Packers ' loss at the Detroit Lions :  The loss was disappointing but also encouraging. The Packers have the youngest team in the league and theoretically still haven't reached their full potential. This game, against arguably the best team in the NFC, came down to who had the ball last. Had Lions' coach Dan Campbell chosen to kick the field goal with nearly a minute remaining rather than be aggressive and let his team pick up another first down to run the clock down, there's no reason to believe Jordan Love couldn't have orchestrated a game-tying or even game-winning drive. If they meet in the playoffs (which is likely), it'll likely be a similar game with potentially a different outcome. The injuries in the secondary are becoming a concern . The Packers were already down Jaire Alexander and Corey Ballentine and lost safeties Evan Williams and Javon Bullard during the game with Keisan Nixon ap...

Here are my thoughts from last night's 30-17 Green Bay Packers ' win at home over the Miami Dolphins . That was arguably the most complete game the Packers have played this year. There were a few mistakes, but Green Bay's offense moved the ball while the defense kept the Dolphins' explosive offense in check for the most part. Miami tried to make it a game at times but were always a minimum of two scores behind. Green Bay is finally becoming a physical team. For quite a few years, it felt as though the Packers struggled to impose their will. That's no longer the case, especially when Josh Jacobs is carrying the ball and moving defenders backwards. Speaking of running backs, this is easily the most depth the team has had at the position in years. Jacobs, Emanuel Wilson and Chris Brooks can all pick up yards out of the backfield. Plus, they still have promising rookie Marshawn Lloyd once he's healthy enough to play. I love watching tight end Tucker Kraft play. ...