Former NFL QB: Packers Offense Will Be Better Than It Was With Adams

ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky loves the direction of the Green Bay Packers’ offense. Some numbers support his contention.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers might be a woeful 21st in the NFL in scoring, but former NFL quarterback and current ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky is bullish on the offense’s outlook.

“The only offense in the NFC that I have more faith in is Philadelphia,” Orlovsky said on ESPN’s Get Up.

With 28.8 points per game, the Eagles are scoring exactly 10 more points per game than the Packers. So, why is Orlovsky so optimistic about the state of a unit that hasn’t scored more than 27 points in a game – a typical output the past three seasons?

“We’re boxing this unit in to thinking that, one, their quarterback’s not a Hall of Famer,” Orlovsky said of Aaron Rodgers. “No Davante Adams or not, he can do whatever he wants with the football. He can place it anyplace that he needs to.”

Nothing matters beyond the scoreboard. The NFL is about scoring points. Period. Nonetheless, the Packers enter this week’s game against the New York Giants in London ranked sixth in total offense. They are 10th in yards per play, ninth in rushing yards per play and ninth on third down.

Looking beyond the raw numbers, the Packers are second in the NFL with 35 big plays, according to SportRadar, with a big play defined as a run of 10-plus yards or a pass of 20-plus yards.

Rather than 20-yard completions to Adams or bombs to Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Green Bay’s passing game revolves around short passes and run after the catch. According to the official league data, the average distance of a Rodgers completion is 4.10 yards. That’s the shortest in the NFL. However, Rodgers has benefited from 6.40 yards after the catch, fourth-best. In total, Green Bay is second in the league in YAC behind only the Chargers.

“Their explosive just looks different to us because their explosive is all these moving parts pre-snap and post-snap,” Orlovsky said.

With a dynamic one-two punch of Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon at running back, offensive linemen David Bakhtiari and Elgton Jenkins rounding into form after their torn ACLs, and the potential of rookie receivers Romeo Doubs and Christian Watson, the arrow is pointed up – straight up – for Green Bay’s offense.

“Mark these words,” Orlovsky said. “This offense is going to be better by the end of the season than what it was last year with Davante Adams.”

Here’s the full segment.

Packers-Giants: Five Things to Know

The Green Bay Packers will face the New York Giants in London on Sunday. Here are five things you might not have known.

- Led by NFL rushing leader Saquon Barkley, the Giants are No. 1 in the NFL with 192.5 rushing yards per game and No. 2 with 5.75 yards per carry. They have two of the three best rushing days of the season, with 262 yards in last week’s win over Chicago and 238 yards in the Week 1 win over Tennessee. Even in their lone loss, to Dallas in Week 3, they rushed for 167 yards.

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