Steven Helmer Publications

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 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...

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...

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...

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 ...

Just some thoughts from the Green Bay Packers 18-17 win against the New Orleans Saints today: Jordan Love is the real deal. Was he perfect today? No. But the way he took the team on his shoulders and practically willed them to a 18-0 scoring run in the fourth quarter shows why the Packers were ready to move on from Aaron Rodgers. It's worth noting Rodgers himself was often criticized, especially early in his career, for his inability to come from behind in games. You can't say we weren't warned. It was clear from the start there would be plenty of ups and downs this season. Love is exceeding expectations in his first three games as the Packers' full-time starter but there were plenty of times when the rest of the team didn't seem to be on the same page as him. On that note, penalties nearly killed the Packers today. There are youthful mistakes, and then there is sloppiness. Nobody is perfect but it is very hard for a team to get into a rhythm when it is going backwa...

  There was a time on Sunday when the Green Bay Packers seemed to finally be figuring things out on offense. Aaron Rodgers was completing tough passes and the team was moving the ball on the road against the Detroit Lions. Then, following two red zone interceptions, both the result of bad throws by the future hall of fame quarterback, the team showed the trainwreck it had become. If there is any defense in the league that could make the Packers' offense look functional, it would be the last-ranked Lions' D. Instead, the dysfunction that has shown all season reared its ugly head and fans were forced to accept the truth, this Packers team isn't very good and doesn't seem to have any idea about how to get better. Technically, the team isn't eliminated from post season contention just yet and, with 8 games left in the season, a lot could still happen. However, optimism aside, that doesn't seem likely. The Packers have two very big things working against them in addi...

I'll admit it, I was pretty darn angry following the Green Bay Packers loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers yesterday. This year really felt like the year the Packers would return to the Super Bowl and, instead, their season is done thanks, in part, to a controversial pass interference penalty and even more controversial coaching decision. I've calmed down now, and after some reflection, want to share some of my thoughts. 1. The pass interference penalty made Matt LaFleur's coaching decision seem worse than it was. I'm not saying it was a great decision. I mean, he had the league's top red zone offense and this year's (likely) league MVP on the Buccaneers' 8 yard line. But, without the pass interference, the Buccaneers would have punted with more than a minute on the clock and with Green Bay still having one time out. In that scenario, the field goal would have had Aaron Rodgers and company in a position to win the game with a quick score. Still, even with that ...

Now that the backup quarterback situation (at least on paper) has been settled with Brett Hundley being traded to the Seattle Seahawks, I am going to attempt to predict what the Green Bay Packers final roster will look like after they make their cuts following their final preseason game tomorrow night. Please note, I am just listing the players at random. I am making no attempt to predict the opening day depth chart. I am also not going to attempt to predict what this roster will look like after week 1. Quarterbacks - Aaron Rodgers Deshone Kizer Tim Boyle Running Backs - Aaron Jones Jamal Williams Ty Montgomery Bronson Hill Fullbacks Aaron Ripkowski Tight ends Jimmy Graham Marcedes Lewis Robert Tonyan Lance Kendricks Wide Receivers Randall Cobb Davante Adams Geronimo Allison Trevor Davis Jake Kumerow Marques Valdes-Scantling J'mon Moore Equanimeous St. Brown Offensive Line David Bakhtiari Lane Taylor Corey Linsley Justin McCray Bryan Bulaga K...