Packers Midseason Awards: Rashan Gary Earns MVP Honors
The Green Bay Packers knew this season would be a work in progress when they broke training camp.
Did they think there would be as many bumps along the way as there have been? Probably not.
"A little bit up and down, like our entire offense. It's been a work in progress for the entire offense," Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said after the trade deadline.
"I think that unit as a whole has a lot of work to do but, at the same time, I think they're committed to the process. I expect better results coming."
Those results started to come in the Packers' 20-3 win over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday. It wasn't the cleanest game, but a team that was starved for a win will take anything it can get at this point.
The Packers are 3-5 heading into a bit of a swing game on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers. A win and they'll have a chance to climb back to .500 at home against the Los Angeles Chargers.
With a loss, they’ll be 3-6 and facing an uphill battle to make the postseason.
Here are some of the bright spots and disappointments through the first half of the season.
Offensive MVP: Zach Tom
The offense hasn't had much to smile about through the first half of the season, but at least it appears they've found a core piece for their future.
Maybe Zach Tom's future is at center. Maybe he's David Bakhtiari's replacement at left tackle. Maybe he just stays at right tackle.
Either way, he's been excellent through eight games.
Tom won the right tackle job in a runaway this offseason, and has held firm while the rest of the group around him has floundered.
According to Pro Football Focus, Tom is the Packers’ only offensive lineman who has played more than one game with an above-average grade in both run and pass blocking.
If this season is about finding players that will be part of the next championship window, the Packers have at least found one on offense.
Defensive MVP: Rashan Gary
Rashan Gary has 4.5 sacks in eight games for the Packers.
Photo by Dan Powers/USA Today Sports Images
One year ago yesterday, Rashan Gary left the game against the Detroit Lions with a torn ACL.
His future looked murky at that point.
Not only did Gary return to start the season, he thrived.
Gary was on a pitch count to start the year, but helped fuel a big comeback win in the home opener at Lambeau Field with three sacks against the New Orleans Saints.
For a large portion of the season, Gary was an army of one when getting after the quarterback. He has a modest 4.5 sacks but ranks second among edge defenders in PFF’s pass-rushing productivity, which measures sacks, hits and hurries per pass-rushing opportunity.
Gary was recently rewarded with a contract extension. He's the face of Green Bay's defense.
Rookie of the Year: Luke Musgrave
With the Packers as reliant on young players as they have been in 2023, this list of candidates should be loaded.
Instead, it really came down to the two pass-catchers taken in the second around and two late-round defenders.
We'll go with Musgrave off the momentum of his first career touchdown. It's clear the team has wanted to involve him in the offense as much as they can.
He scored his first career touchdown against the Rams, and had another splash play on a deep crossing route.
Currently, Musgrave has 27 catches for 249 yards on the season. Among all NFL rookie tight ends, he is third in receptions and second in catch percentage.
Perhaps as the team finds its identity in the second half of the season, Musgrave will have bigger numbers.
Biggest Surprise: Safety Play
Rudy Ford was the winner of the other safety spot across from Darnell Savage in training camp.
Coming into the season, the thought was the weakest part of the roster would be the safeties. Darnell Savage was coming off a couple disappointing seasons. Rudy Ford, who had started 12 games in his first six seasons, won the battle to replace Adrian Amos as the other starter.
The hope was the safeties would not be a liability; anything above that would be a bonus.
Instead, it's been better than that, and Ford has been one of the team's better defenders.
With Savage and Ford out with injuries on Sunday, Jonathan Owens and Anthony Johnson created turnovers against the Rams.
Nobody's going to confuse these guys for Ronnie Lott or Ed Reed, but their play has been much better than expected.
Biggest Disappointment: Offensive Line/Run Game
These two get coupled together because they work hand in hand.
The run game and offensive line were supposed to be the strong suits of an offense that was going to be a work in progress given the transition at quarterback and the youth at receiver and tight end.
Instead, the run game has struggled immensely. Sunday's win over the Rams marked the first time it found its footing for an entire game.
Aaron Jones has been limited for most of the season with a hamstring injury. AJ Dillon has played better the past few weeks after a slow start in which he looked nothing like the player who barreled through tacklers his first two seasons.
The offensive line has been in flux since David Bakhtiari was lost for the season after one game due to a recurring knee issue.
Taking over for Bakhtiari at left tackle, Rasheed Walker's strong play in the preseason has not carried over. He was benched on Sunday but returned after Yosh Njiman was injured.
The interior group of Elgton Jenkins, Josh Myers and Jon Runyan has been a bit of a disappointment, as well.
As a result, the Packers offense has struggled.
Play of the Year: Quay Walker's Pick-Six
The season opener against Chicago had to give the entire organization hope for the future. After a tumultuous offseason, the Packers led 31-14 and their 2022 first-round pick gave them an exclamation point.
Quay Walker picked off Justin Fields and returned the pass 37 yards for a touchdown.
It was an emphatic sign that while Aaron Rodgers might be gone, the Packers still own the Bears until further notice.
Best Performance: Gary's 3 Sacks vs. Saints
This game will be best known for Jordan Love and the offense erasing a 17-point fourth-quarter deficit.
That's fair. The NFL is all about quarterback play.
That does not happen, however, without Rashan Gary playing like a wrecking ball.
Gary's game against the Saints was his first 3-sack performance of his career.
He did all that while playing on a pitch count. Now, he's fully unleashed and looking to add more performances like that one to his season.
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