When in Rome, right? Honestly, any one of us internet assholes w/ half an ounce of football knowledge can spew out a theory, but the odds of us being right are ridiculously low. Then again, that's how the game is played, so I'll chuck in my own half-baked thoughts.
I think the issues on offense are three-fold, maybe 3.5:
1. OL - injuries and inconsistent play. Obviously, the issues on the interior have been re-hashed here constantly -- but how about the holding calls and whiffs from Tausch and Cliffy? Anyone see that coming? I didn't. Rodgers has been running for his life more times than not, and the holes for the backs aren't there as much as they should be. It all starts on the line, and always has.
2. Speaking of the RBs, Grant needs to get himself right, and I mean pronto. He's not running like he did last year, and a lost fumble per game is totally unacceptable. BJ's just plain looked better than he has to this point. Not good, especially since we just paid Grant like he's an elite back -- he's looked like anything but, to this point.
3. Receivers -- first, two of them have been hurt, and one could argue that they're the two receivers with whom Rodgers has had the best chemistry. Additionally, it's damn hard to run our 4 and 5 receiver sets (which really were our bread and butter last year, and served to set up a lot of the offense) when we've only got three receivers. As for the tight ends, well, they've been kept back in an effort to give Rodgers some time, since the O-line's been doing its best seive impression so far. So who's out there to catch balls?
So that's what I think has been wrong -- here's what I think needs to be done in an effort to fix things:
1. OL -- If I were McCarthy, I'd make it damn crystal clear that jobs are on the line, here. They man up and they protect, or they'll be on the bench, simple as that. "But wait! If we bench them, aren't we giving up on the season?" Do you really think there's a season to give up on if those fools don't start doing their jobs? Really? Nope -- from Colledge to Cliffy, get your shit straight, or you won't be playing.
2. RBs -- Ryan Grant, your message is the same as above, to the OL. You play better or you don't play. Jackson can play, and once he's healthy so can Lumpy. I don't care if we just handed him the equivalent of the GNP, if he's going to miss holes and put the ball on the ground, he's no help at all.
3. Receivers -- this one's tougher, because it's an injury issue more than anything. It's on McCarthy to gameplan around this until JJ and Ruvel get right, somehow -- I would hope he's able to do this, and I do think he can, assuming the other phases of the offense get fixed, or at least better.
So that's my uninformed opinion, as pertains to the offense. For the record, I think it's all do-able, and I'm still optimistic it'll happen. I'm always interested to hear other opinions, so rip it to shreds.
Oh -- forgot number 3.5. Aaron -- he's in a tough spot, what with the issues I've laid out above, but that's no excuse. It's the NFL, and he's being paid plenty well to do his job. With the exception of the Bucs game, he's done very well, IMO, but that Bucs game didn't look good. I don't like that he lost his poise, and I expect him to shake it off and get back to playing smart, efficient football. Every QB has a bad game, and I'm going to give him the same benefit of the doubt I gave his predecessor, until such time as he proves he doesn't deserve it. So far I've seen 3 games played well and one bad game -- I'd like to see another well-played game this Sunday against the Falcons.