Blue 58 - A Packers Podcast

We’ve arrived at the Packers’ EDGE rushers and tight ends in our positional reviews. Both positions featured pretty big spending...but only one delivered big results.Packers hire an interesting QC coach (00:23)Matt LaFleur made a bit of a nontraditional hire for his offensive quality control coach. Learn more about Further reading: Long days, big dreams: The grind of a quality-control coachEDGE spending pays off in 2019 (3:36)EDGE rushers Za’Darius and Preston Smith led a reformed group in 2019.Point Three (16:06)The Packers tight ends were basically a nonfactor in 2019. How do they change that for 2020?SUPPORT BLUE 58Donate to our Patreon - $1 per month offsets our podcast hosting costs.Buy a T-Shirt or Sweatshirt - Look good while supporting The Power Sweep.Leave us a 5-Star Review on iTunes - It helps more people find the show! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Aaron Jones had a phenomenal 2019, but what about the rest of the Packers’ running backs. Then, Blake Martinez was pretty much Blake Martinez in 2019. Is there hope of replacing him in free agency?Packers top end RBs deliver in 2019 (3:40)Aaron Jones finally got a chance to really show what he could do in 2019, and he delivered big time. But how did the rest of the Packers’ running backs fare?Blake Martinez & Co. leave much to be desired (16:02)My feelings on Blake Martinez are pretty well known, but is he the exception or the rule in the Packers’ linebacker corps? And who, if anyone, could you turn to in free agency as a replacement?Further reading: Tackles Don’t Matter: Evaluating Run Defense Through StatisticsSUPPORT BLUE 58Donate to our Patreon - $1 per month offsets our podcast hosting costs.Buy a T-Shirt or Sweatshirt - Look good while supporting The Power Sweep.Leave us a 5-Star Review on iTunes - It helps more people find the show! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We start our position-by-position look back at the 2019 season, and where better to start than with the quarterbacks? So here we go: 45 minutes on Tim Boyle. Also Shawn Mennenga should be fired.Evaluating the Packers quarterbacks (1:59)Manny Wilkins was never active. Tim Boyle got mop-up duty. But Aaron Rodgers provided some big moments — and raised some even bigger questions.Evaluating the Packers’ special teamers (21:29)Three parts of the Packers’ special teams performance in 2019 really merit further consideration: the field goal kicking, the punting, and the punt returning. In two of those situations, Shawn Mennenga was a big factor — and not for the better.Further reading: Packers' JK Scott works to get his mojo back after tinkering leads to inconsistencySUPPORT BLUE 58Donate to our Patreon - $1 per month offsets our podcast hosting costs.Buy a T-Shirt or Sweatshirt - Look good while supporting The Power Sweep.Leave us a 5-Star Review on iTunes - It helps more people find the show! See acast.com/privacy

Brian Gutekunst has been on the job in Green Bay for two years and in 2019, we saw the culmination of a lot of his work so far. How’s he been doing? Let’s talk about that.No moves happen in a vacuum (00:57)As we evaluate Brian Gutekunst's moves, it's always good to remember that no move is an island; these things don't just happen. You need look no further than the complicated legacy of Ted Thompson for proof.Further reading: Ted Thompson's Legacy Still Looms Large in Green BayBrian Gutekunst's offseason moves (3:33)Gutekunst made a bunch of moves in the offseason, and in this section of the podcast, that's what we talk about. Not every description has to be profound.How did Brian Gutekunst allocate his draft resources? (10:29)The draft is the NFL's ultimate example of opportunity cost: if you take one player with a pick, you can't use that same pick on another player. As a result, we can evaluate every pick as a question of resource allocation. So how did Brian Gutekunst do?Further reading: Should We Be Conc

Let’s talk coaches! The Packers have a new one. Let’s meet Jerry Gray, then talk about the two most important coaches on the Packers: Matt LaFleur and Mike Pettine.Packers hire Jerry Gray (0:25)The Packers have added a new defensive backs coach, bringing in longtime NFL assistant Jerry Gray.Further reading: Packers hire former Vikings DB coach Jerry Gray to coach secondary in 2020, per reportsHow should we evaluate NFL coaches? (2:20)The entire NFL turns on the idea that we can correctly evaluate coaching performance. Is that true? And if so, how do we do it?Further reading:How much do coaches matter?Coaching Evaluation CriteriaWas Matt LaFleur's rookie season any good? (11:34)Matt LaFleur was hired to fix Mike McCarthy’s broken offense. Did it work?Was Mike Pettine's coaching better in 2019 or did they just have better players? (20:32)Mike Pettine’s defense was generally better in 2019. Was that due to Pettine or just having better players?SUPPORT BLUE 58Donate to our Patreon - $1 per month offsets our

The Packers won’t need to find a new defensive coordinator this offseason. Mike Pettine will return. Let’s talk about why it might be a good idea. Then, let’s talk a little bit about how I’m wrong a lot.Mike Pettine is coming back (0:22)Matt LaFleur put a quick end to any drama, announcing Mike Pettine would return after a brief period of evaluation. What do we make of this?My predictions were very bad (4:03)Blue 58 made a bunch of predictions in 2019. Were they good? No.Further reading: 19 Predictions for the 2019 PackersSUPPORT BLUE 58Donate to our Patreon - $1 per month offsets our podcast hosting costs.Buy a T-Shirt or Sweatshirt - Look good while supporting The Power Sweep.Leave us a 5-Star Review on iTunes - It helps more people find the show! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We’re officially in the offseason, folks. Let’s get the lay of the land before diving into the top priority: decisions on pending free agents. But first, some final thoughts on the NFC Championship. Two last thoughts from the NFC Championship (0:25)After a little reflection, let’s put the debacle in San Francisco behind us. But first, two final parting thoughts.The months ahead for Brian Gutekunst (8:20)After working behind the scenes for months, Brian Gutekunst comes into the spotlight. Here’s a look ahead at his calendar.What will the Packers do with their 13 unrestricted free agents? (14:37)Priority #1 for Gutekunst and the Packers front office is making decisions on their 13 unrestricted free agents.SUPPORT BLUE 58Donate to our Patreon - $1 per month offsets our podcast hosting costs.Buy a T-Shirt or Sweatshirt - Look good while supporting The Power Sweep.Leave us a 5-Star Review on iTunes - It helps more people find the show! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The 2019 season is over. A strong 49ers team steamrolled the Packers, leaving us to contemplate what happened and, more importantly, what happens next.Are you mad at the ending or mad that it’s over? (0:28)The Packers’ season came to an unfortunate end. How do you feel about that?How did this game go sideways? (5:53)How, exactly, did things go so poorly for the Packers? A few reasons.Should Mike Pettine be safe? (No) (7:43)To say Mike Pettine didn’t finish strongly is a bit of an understatement. Should this be his last game?How does this game affect Aaron Rodgers’ legacy? (12:02)Fair or not, legacies are made in championship games. How does this one affect Rodgers’ standing among the greats?SUPPORT BLUE 58Donate to our Patreon - $1 per month offsets our podcast hosting costs.Buy a T-Shirt or Sweatshirt - Look good while supporting The Power Sweep.Leave us a 5-Star Review on iTunes - It helps more people find the show! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

One game from the Super Bowl, the Packers face a familiar opponent in the San Francisco 49ers. How can they get to the biggest of the big shows? Here are eight ways.What’s changed since the last time the Packers and 49ers played? (3:17)Much has been made about the 49ers' dominating Week 12 win over the Packers, but those teams both barely exist any more. A lot has changed. Here's a quick summary.How can the Packers win? Here are eight ways (6:23)The Packers are decidedly not favored to win this game, but that doesn't matter. They can still win. Here are eight ways it could happen.SUPPORT BLUE 58Donate to our Patreon - $1 per month offsets our podcast hosting costs.Buy a T-Shirt or Sweatshirt - Look good while supporting The Power Sweep.Leave us a 5-Star Review on iTunes - It helps more people find the show! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The 49ers only lost three games this season. The Packers hope to make it four on Sunday. How? Let’s turn to the 49ers losses and see what we can find out.The nuts and bolts of the 49ers’ three losses (1:35)The 49ers’ three losses each had their own unique characteristics. Read more about them here.Further reading: NFL GamebooksWeek 10 - Seahawks @ 49ersWeek 13 - 49ers @ RavensWeek 15 - Falcons @ 49ersWhat do these three games have in common? (7:24)Drawing sweeping conclusions from only three games is dangerous, but they did have a few things in common.What should the Packers do with this knowledge? (15:15)Three things the Packers can implement after studying these losses.A brief word on analytics (22:17)A passive-aggressive war over analytics has Jon wondering how we should use them. A few thoughts.SUPPORT BLUE 58Donate to our Patreon - $1 per month offsets our podcast hosting costs.Buy a T-Shirt or Sweatshirt - Look good while supporting The Power Sweep.Leave us a 5-Star Review on iTunes - It helps more peop

Don’t look now, but your Green Bay Packers are one game away from the Super Bowl. Let’s talk about how Aaron Rodgers, Davante Adams, and a timely couple of plays helped stave off the Seahawks.The referendum on Rodgers (00:51)We said Aaron Rodgers was under pressure like never before. Did he deliver?How did Seattle come back? (4:14)For a while, it looked like the 2014 NFC Championship game all over again. Did the Packers' defense let them back in or is Russell Wilson just that good?The brilliance of Davante Adams (9:27)A bit of historical context for Adams's excellent night.Emptying the notebook (13:09)Odds and ends observations from the Packers' win.SUPPORT BLUE 58Donate to our Patreon - $1 per month offsets our podcast hosting costs.Buy a T-Shirt or Sweatshirt - Look good while supporting The Power Sweep.Leave us a 5-Star Review on iTunes - It helps more people find the show! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

For years, pundits have chided the Packers for not giving the Packers a defense. Now they have. What will Rodgers do with it?Russell Wilson leads a dangerous Seahawks offense (4:11)Wilson is having another stellar season, but there are more names to know here.Further reading: How the Seattle Seahawks used D.K. Metcalf against the EaglesNot the Legion of Boom (but who is?) (10:15)The Seahawks defense might be more than the sum of its parts, because a few of those parts are really, really good.Who's gonna win? (16:28)Jon makes his pick.SUPPORT BLUE 58Donate to our Patreon - $1 per month offsets our podcast hosting costs.Buy a T-Shirt or Sweatshirt - Look good while supporting The Power Sweep.Leave us a 5-Star Review on iTunes - It helps more people find the show! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Aaron Rodgers is still pretty good, but a new stat from a source we trust says he’s...the best player in the NFL? Does that make sense? Let’s figure out what to make of Total Points, a new stat from Sports Information Solutions.What's the deal with Total Points (0:45)Sports Information Solutions, a reputable source for advanced football analytics, introduced a new metric recently that says Aaron Rodgers is not only still good, but the best player in the league. Should you trust it?Further reading: Introducing Total PointsPunters are people too! (20:31)Punters can play a big role in field position, and this research paper shows exactly how they affect games. It's in depth, but you should give it a read.Further reading: A flight-based metric for evaluating NFL puntersThe fates of the Packers and Eagles after the 2014 NFC Championship (21:50)How have the Packers and Seahawks fared since they met in that fateful NFC Championship game? They're closer than you might think.SUPPORT BLUE 58Donate to our Patreon - $1 p

A week out from the Packers’ first playoff game since the 2016 season, we’ve got two great listener questions. Is the Packers’ offense too complex? And since the Packers have been bad at returning punts this year, what if they never did it? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Big news for two Packers safeties from very different eras. What does Raven Greene actually bring to this defense? And can LeRoy Butler finally get into the Hall of Fame? Then, we dive into a full season of polling data to find out what Packers fans really think. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The decisions Brian Gutekunst makes this offseason will have a huge impact on the team in 2020 and beyond. Here are four resolutions he should make to guide his process. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Your Green Bay Packers won’t be playing in the wildcard round thanks to a Week 17 win over the Lions. It sure wasn’t pretty, but they got it done when it mattered most. Let’s discuss. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Packers will wrap up their 2019 season this weekend with a Week 17 tilt against the Lions. Let’s dive into the history books and find the best Week 17 performances ever. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The best way to become a better football fan is to learn from smart football people. Here are three books that will help you do just that. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

 In a year highlighted by inconsistency and lackluster play, the Packers needed a big win to lock up the NFC North. That’s exactly what they got. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.