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There were a lot of issues that derailed the offense last year, injuries, injuries and a few more injuries... poorer performance than expected from a few individuals, and lack of playmakers.
But there were some interesting items that came out of last season and this off season that make the offense interesting this year.
O-Line
2015 Issues: Injuries and lack of depth. Every single OL suffered an injury serious enough to miss time or degrade their performance while playing through it. Tretter replaced Linsley early in the season and there didn't seem to be an appreciable drop off. However, the same couldn't be said when Bakhtiari, Bulaga, and Lang missed time. Barclay and Walker were close to horrific... Sitton at LT wasn't much better. Finally, Tretter solidified the LT position late in the season, but many struggles prior to that.
2016 Hope: Well, no one suffered any serious injury. All players are still in their prime, so there shouldn't be any significant drop off in capability. Tretter showed that we have at least one good backup at C and T. Lane at G is passable also. If Barclay comes back, he will at least be another year removed from his ACL injury that should help him. I'm still expecting a high draft pick for a backup OL, preferably a #1 for an LT backup or replacement for Bak (probably moving him inside next year to replace Sitton or Lang at G if we lose one to FA).
WR/TE
2015 Issues: The injury to Jordy Nelson was the biggest blow of last year. Our #1 WR and a top 5 WR in the NFL otherwise. That was one main domino that triggered a bunch of defensive shifts against the Packers. His ability to get deep kept the defense honest. Losing him allowed teams to play closer to the LOS and take away a lot of WRs. Montgomery was also playing well when he was injured. Davante Adams actually took a step backwards when most people expected him to take most of Jordy's catches. The offense actually got better late in the year when they stopped throwing to him so often. Quarless' injury/suspension hurt our run game as he was our best blocker. Also it caused Rodgers to play far too many snaps at TE. Rodgers had a good year, but looked gassed at times. Cobb had a good year overall, but given the extra double teams and tighter coverage in general hurt his production. Just couldn't carry the team. He also had a few injuries with the most damaging one in the playoffs where he missed 3/4s of the game after falling on his mic.
2016 Hope: Nelson should be fully recovered for training camp. There might be some concern because of his knee and his age (30), but getting him back will help even at 90% of his old self. Montgomery is an interesting guy to watch in his second year. He was really coming on when he was hurt. Has the versatility of Cobb, but a touch faster. Davante Adams... well he can't be much worse. Its possible a nagging injury set him back last year. But if not, the expectations are lower this year. Both Abbrederis and Janis became contributors last year. Janis could very well be on his way to something special. Maybe not quite as good as Nelson at his peak, but another deep threat if nothing else. Signing Cook at TE is also a great addition to our TE depth. He might not catch a lot of balls, but defenses will need to respect him at least. And Rodgers should get a bit more rest next year and be fresher.
RB/FB
2015 Issues: Lacy came in overweight and clearly not ready for football. Lack of deep threat at WR/TE brought safeties and CBs closer to the line because they didn't fear being burnt deep. Starks suddenly couldn't hold onto the football late in the season. Kuhn was used heavily as the 3rd down back last year. A good blocker, but nothing dangerous in catching the ball.
2016 Hope: There is lots of press about Lacy losing weight this offseason. Hopefully he will be 75% of the man he used to be. [smile] It took 10 games into the season, but Lacy did start to look like his own self in terms of hitting holes. He still looked like he was dragging a plow, but that was better than the first 10 games where he missed the hole and ran into his lineman. Starks has a mild history of fumbles, but not as bad as last year. I would expect him to regress to the norm and thus improve. Possibly a lighter load (with Lacy coming back on) should help too. Unless there is a draft pick, doesn't look like any other reinforcements will come. Really need to have a good 3rd down back to help Rodgers out in tight situations.
QB
2015 Issues: Lack of time in pocket, lack of weapons to throw it to, lack of accuracy. A few times (even when Rodgers had time and someone open), his accuracy was wildly off. For someone that is known for highly accurate passing, at times he was 3-4 feet off the target. Leading to more 3 down punts, more interceptions, and more stalled drives last year.
2016 Hope: Most likely, the first two items will be resolved with the other three sections above. It was the lack of accuracy that was a bit troubling last year. Its possible that Rodgers developed the "yips" in the midst of the year. Getting hit too often, trying to get the ball out too quickly (to squeeze into a smaller window) or just succumbing to the problems around him might all have contributed to his struggles. Rodgers is still young for QBs, so I would anticipate that with more options this year and a bit more time in the pocket, his accuracy will return with it also.
Overall, if they can avoid being bitten by the health bug, they could have a VERY diverse and challenging offense this year. Having the flexibility to find a defense's weak spot (3rd CB, coverage LB, run defense, etc...) and use that weakness to their advantage. While having enough weapons to work against tight man (that plagued this last year) or zone (that they normally eat up.
But there were some interesting items that came out of last season and this off season that make the offense interesting this year.
O-Line
2015 Issues: Injuries and lack of depth. Every single OL suffered an injury serious enough to miss time or degrade their performance while playing through it. Tretter replaced Linsley early in the season and there didn't seem to be an appreciable drop off. However, the same couldn't be said when Bakhtiari, Bulaga, and Lang missed time. Barclay and Walker were close to horrific... Sitton at LT wasn't much better. Finally, Tretter solidified the LT position late in the season, but many struggles prior to that.
2016 Hope: Well, no one suffered any serious injury. All players are still in their prime, so there shouldn't be any significant drop off in capability. Tretter showed that we have at least one good backup at C and T. Lane at G is passable also. If Barclay comes back, he will at least be another year removed from his ACL injury that should help him. I'm still expecting a high draft pick for a backup OL, preferably a #1 for an LT backup or replacement for Bak (probably moving him inside next year to replace Sitton or Lang at G if we lose one to FA).
WR/TE
2015 Issues: The injury to Jordy Nelson was the biggest blow of last year. Our #1 WR and a top 5 WR in the NFL otherwise. That was one main domino that triggered a bunch of defensive shifts against the Packers. His ability to get deep kept the defense honest. Losing him allowed teams to play closer to the LOS and take away a lot of WRs. Montgomery was also playing well when he was injured. Davante Adams actually took a step backwards when most people expected him to take most of Jordy's catches. The offense actually got better late in the year when they stopped throwing to him so often. Quarless' injury/suspension hurt our run game as he was our best blocker. Also it caused Rodgers to play far too many snaps at TE. Rodgers had a good year, but looked gassed at times. Cobb had a good year overall, but given the extra double teams and tighter coverage in general hurt his production. Just couldn't carry the team. He also had a few injuries with the most damaging one in the playoffs where he missed 3/4s of the game after falling on his mic.
2016 Hope: Nelson should be fully recovered for training camp. There might be some concern because of his knee and his age (30), but getting him back will help even at 90% of his old self. Montgomery is an interesting guy to watch in his second year. He was really coming on when he was hurt. Has the versatility of Cobb, but a touch faster. Davante Adams... well he can't be much worse. Its possible a nagging injury set him back last year. But if not, the expectations are lower this year. Both Abbrederis and Janis became contributors last year. Janis could very well be on his way to something special. Maybe not quite as good as Nelson at his peak, but another deep threat if nothing else. Signing Cook at TE is also a great addition to our TE depth. He might not catch a lot of balls, but defenses will need to respect him at least. And Rodgers should get a bit more rest next year and be fresher.
RB/FB
2015 Issues: Lacy came in overweight and clearly not ready for football. Lack of deep threat at WR/TE brought safeties and CBs closer to the line because they didn't fear being burnt deep. Starks suddenly couldn't hold onto the football late in the season. Kuhn was used heavily as the 3rd down back last year. A good blocker, but nothing dangerous in catching the ball.
2016 Hope: There is lots of press about Lacy losing weight this offseason. Hopefully he will be 75% of the man he used to be. [smile] It took 10 games into the season, but Lacy did start to look like his own self in terms of hitting holes. He still looked like he was dragging a plow, but that was better than the first 10 games where he missed the hole and ran into his lineman. Starks has a mild history of fumbles, but not as bad as last year. I would expect him to regress to the norm and thus improve. Possibly a lighter load (with Lacy coming back on) should help too. Unless there is a draft pick, doesn't look like any other reinforcements will come. Really need to have a good 3rd down back to help Rodgers out in tight situations.
QB
2015 Issues: Lack of time in pocket, lack of weapons to throw it to, lack of accuracy. A few times (even when Rodgers had time and someone open), his accuracy was wildly off. For someone that is known for highly accurate passing, at times he was 3-4 feet off the target. Leading to more 3 down punts, more interceptions, and more stalled drives last year.
2016 Hope: Most likely, the first two items will be resolved with the other three sections above. It was the lack of accuracy that was a bit troubling last year. Its possible that Rodgers developed the "yips" in the midst of the year. Getting hit too often, trying to get the ball out too quickly (to squeeze into a smaller window) or just succumbing to the problems around him might all have contributed to his struggles. Rodgers is still young for QBs, so I would anticipate that with more options this year and a bit more time in the pocket, his accuracy will return with it also.
Overall, if they can avoid being bitten by the health bug, they could have a VERY diverse and challenging offense this year. Having the flexibility to find a defense's weak spot (3rd CB, coverage LB, run defense, etc...) and use that weakness to their advantage. While having enough weapons to work against tight man (that plagued this last year) or zone (that they normally eat up.
