Well…it didn't end the way any of us would have liked it to have ended.
We had our chances. We dropped 2 picks. We made some bad passes at the end of the game. At times we played too soft in coverage. We missed a lot of tackles. We got away from the run game. We got no movement on 3rd or 4th and 1. We missed a 40 yard field goal.
Young players make mistakes. but as Al Maguire used to say about young players “the best thing about freshmen is that they become sophomores.” As it applies to the Packers all of these first year and second year starters, this end of the year run and playoff run will be invaluable to their growing and learning.
We can’t let the late season run or the season’s end do either of the following:
• Discourage us from recognizing the strong growth and potential of our very young team., or
• Fail to recognize our deficiencies.
This has been a great year overall. Love has had a great first year starting season and he will learn from his mistakes, especially from this game. Our receivers show great promise. And it looks like we have stumbled into a right tackle.
But we have holes. Our defensive backs were cobbled into a decent bunch, but the talent and availability need to be upgraded. The ILBs need to play better. The DL needs to get a rush when it matters. And we have to tackle better.
Our offensive line still cannot seem to drive on short yardage situations, which was critical in this game. We need depth at running back.
But overall, a great year. I did not dream we would make the playoffs, much less win a game.
Let’s look at the glass half full.