Steven Helmer Publications

Here are my thoughts from the Green Bay Packers' 27-19 win over the Carolina Panthers: That was a great defensive effort. I'll forgive the late Carolina touchdown that made it a one-score game because it was a short week and fatigue was likely a factor. The defense is missing key players, but you wouldn't know it, getting six sacks and an interception against Bryce Young and holding the Panthers to just a field goal after three turnovers by the offense and special teams. The best part is they are only going to get better when Micah Parsons returns. That offensive line though. To be fair, I thought they did an OK job on pass plays, giving Jordan Love time to find receivers downfield and not allowing a sack. That makes their inability to block on run plays even more maddening. Josh Jacobs was giving it everything he had and only averaged 1.9 yards per carry. Injuries are obviously an issue there, but I'm not convinced that is the only problem. That Savion Williams run is ...

 Here are my thoughts from today's 31-7 Green Bay Packers win over the Chicago Bears: That was a great defensive effort. Obviously, Bears' Caleb Williams wasn't playing and there isn't a quarterback controversy in Chicago. However, Chicago was 2-0 without him and the Packers' defense only allowed 7 points and took the ball away five times so my opinion stands, especially since they managed it without their two best players, Micah Parsons and Edgerrin Cooper. Jordan Love proved why he is the franchise quarterback. In the long history of a rivalry that had both Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers playing for Green Bay, Love now has the most single game pass yards against Chicago at Lambeau, much of it coming from some big throws downfield.  Christian Watson and Matthew Golden are becoming a top receiving duo. A healthy Watson is a playmaker, and Golden continues to make some great clutch catches.  With tight end Tucker Kraft getting back into form and an offensive line tha...

Here are my thoughts from today's 17-14 Green Bay Packers win at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers: The offensive line showed noticeable improvement.   It took bringing in multiple veteran players this past week, but something was clearly different. Jordan Love had time in the pocket rather than running for his life almost every snap. It was good to see the team finally commit to the run game too. Losing Chris Brooks early was unfortunate, as was the Kaleb Johnson fumble, but the team managed to have some big runs which opened up the passing game by forcing the Buccaneers' defense to respect it.  A lot of the same issues still persist though. Green Bay had double-digit penalties again as well as some key drops by the receivers. There were two more late-game fumbles, including the one lost by Johnson and another Love interception, all of which kept the Buccaneers in the game until the end. They aren't going to win many games against better teams if those don't get cleaned up. Tuc...

 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...

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. ...

 My thoughts from today's 20-19 Green Bay Packers ' win at the Chicago Bears : The Packers' special teams won a game! After seeing so many games over the past few years lost as the result of a missed field goal, missed extra point or blocked punt, seeing what looked to be a Bears' victory ended with a blocked field goal was big. I'm still catching my breath from that. Eleven victories in a row against Chicago for the Packers. Jordan Love's interceptions are becoming a real problem. The ugly throw in the first half changed the tone of this game. In addition to taking at least three points off the board, it was the last time they possessed the ball in the first half, not counting the kneel down at the end. You just can't waste opportunities like that. It was, however, great seeing Love healthy enough to use his legs. I don't think Green Bay will ever let him be a rushing quarterback (for good reason) but the man can make some plays on scrambles when nee...

Some thoughts from today's 24-14 Green Bay Packers ' loss to the Detroit Lions at Lambeau Field: Not to take anything away from the Detroit Lions, who were near perfect, this game was as much about the Packers underperforming as the Lions overperforming. Lots of frustrating penalties and almost as many dropped passes. Love's bad throw on the pick-6 late in the first half certainly didn't help much. I would take a healthy Jordan Love over most quarterbacks in the NFL but I'm not so certain the Packers wouldn't have been better off starting Malik Willis in this game. The groin injury was clearly impacting Love's mobility and likely was a factor on some of his off-target throws. Green Bay is also lucky he didn't aggravate it more. A Willis-led offense also would have put more emphasis on the run, which would have been more suitable for that weather. I'm going to give the defense a thumbs up though. Not counting the seven points from Love's intercep...

My thoughts from today's  Green Bay Packers ' 24-22 win over the Houston Texans at Lambeau Field. Welcome to Green Bay, Brandon McManus! I won't get into the controversy surrounding the Packers' new kicker because I'm smart enough to recognize I don't know everything there is to know about it and, in this country, someone is innocent until proven guilty. However, General Manager Brian Gutekunst's decision to try to fix the team's kicking inconsistency with a veteran who hadn't kicked in nearly a year could have backfired badly. So far, so good though. That game winning kick was huge. Hopefully it'll be one of many. Green Bay got the win but there's still a lot for the team to work on. There's no doubt the Packers have talented albeit young, players but you don't normally beat good teams when you turn the ball over three times and make numerous other game-changing mistakes. This game still had me comparing Jordan Love to Brett Favr...

My thoughts from today's Green Bay Packers ' 34-13 win over the Arizona Cardinals . Jordan Love seems to be finding his rhythm. He wasn't 100 percent when the Packers played the Minnesota Vikings and there was still some rust last week, I think. Today, a healthy Love did his damage both with his arm and his legs. The only black mark was the interception, which only happened because Bo Melton slipped while the ball was in the air. He also found a total of nine receivers. Xavier McKinney didn't end up with his sixth 2024 interception , but the defense continued to take the ball away. So far, Jeff Hafley seems to be a great addition at defensive coordinator. If the edge rushers can start getting more pressure on the quarterbacks, it could be the best defense the team has had in a long time. It was great seeing Romeo Doubs have an impact. Green Bay handled last week's drama as best as it could and both parties seem willing to move forward. That second touchdown ca...

My thoughts from today's 29-22 Green Bay Packers' win at the Detroit Lions. This felt like David defeating Goliath. Or maybe a better description would be it was like watching a sports movie, the kind where a team gets their asses handed to them early on then faces the same team later and wins. At minimum, this was a completely different game than the Packers 34-20 loss earlier in the season and brought and brought an end to a recent losing streak against the Lions. Another great thing about this win was there wasn't a "but." The Packers beat the Los Angeles Rams, "but" Matt Stafford wasn't playing. The Packers beat the New Orleans Saints, "but" they lost David Carr. This time they beat one of the best teams in the league with no excuses. Jordan Love just might be the real deal. Not that I had much doubt about that. Two not perfect but solid games in a row and he seems to be feeling comfortable in the pocket. Just as important, the Packer...