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GREEN BAY, Wis. -- A day that should have been about the Green Bay Packers' defense -- which pitched its first shutout in nearly eight years -- turned into an examination of what's wrong with the offense. If you listened to Aaron Rodgers, that is. Perhaps it was just a case of a great player's never-satisfied attitude, but Rodgers' postgame comments about the offense -- most of which can be found here but included the words "terrible" and "not acceptable" -- carried a far more calamitous tone. Whatever he meant, his view of the offense became the story that was impossible to ignore. And the Packers must fix it before it ruins their season. Regardless of what Rodgers said publicly -- and he said plenty -- his unhappiness with the way the offense operated in Sunday's 22-0 victory over the Bills would have been largely a matter for self-scouting before Rodgers opened it up to all to examine. And it will be an issue that comes up time and again until the Packers take the field Sunday at Detroit. Sure, there would have been questions about dropped passes -- five of them, including three by otherwise productive receiver Geronimo Allison; one by Jimmy Graham, who also caught his first touchdown pass as a Packer; and one by Lance Kendricks, who also dropped one the week before. And yes, it would have to be pointed out that nine of their 22 points came off the foot of Mason Crosby, who made a pair of 52-yard field goals sandwiched around a 36-yarder.  But 423 yards is 423 yards, and the shortcomings would have been a footnote to this game.
Instead, Rodgers said the Packers should have put up "about 45 points and 600 yards" and added that receiver Davante Adams "should have had 20 targets" instead of 14 that turned into eight catches for 81 yards. Perhaps most telling was Rodgers' answer when asked how he can get Adams -- and other top targets like Graham -- the ball. "It's by the plan," Rodgers said. "Find ways to get him in No. 1 spots." By doing so, he created a host of questions for coach Mike McCarthy to answer going forward. If Rodgers' left knee injury, which improved to the point where he was able to practice last week on Thursday in full pads for the first time since it happened, isn't limiting the offense, then what is? "We still have a full menu [of playcalls] to play doubleheaders if we need to," McCarthy said during a postgame news conference that took place before Rodgers spoke. "I think he's moving along." McCarthy and Rodgers need to be able to say that for the offense, too. "I think a lot of people played really good," Rodgers said. "But there was no flow to the game. There was a little bit in the first half. After that ..." Perhaps the steady stream of various personnel groupings and the rotation of three running backs -- Jamaal Williams, Ty Montgomery and Aaron Jones -- are to blame for that. Maybe a steady stream of Jones plus the standard three receivers and one tight end in the no-huddle offense is the answer. When asked if that was an issue, Rodgers punted. "That's not a question for me," Rodgers said. For weeks, Rodgers has called the Packers a "work in progress." That's still the case at the quarter pole and with a 2-1-1 record. "We'll get in here [Monday] and figure it out and keep taking those steps forward," Graham said Sunday. "We have a lot left to give and we can play a lot better than that, I know that for sure." Each player, as Graham suggested, must look within. To that end, Graham noted that he can't drop passes in the red zone the way he did on second-and-10 from the Bills' 18 in the third quarter on a drive that ended with a field goal. "You've got to start catching slants; I can't let that one get away from me," Graham said. "It's something I'll have nightmares about tonight, but just for me, keep running and catching. I'm out there digging and hopefully trying to make plays and the ball will come. The football gods will favor me if I keep doing that." It's not the first time Rodgers has expressed -- or shown -- frustration, but if the Packers want to make something out of this season, then whatever issues they have need to be solved immediately if not sooner. And then perhaps everyone can talk about a defense that finally showed signs of improvement.
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