Training camp is almost here! 5 storylines to watch as the Packers season begins

The Green Bay Packers start the preseason Monday with the first practice of the training camp at 10:30 in the morning and then the annual meeting of shareholders at 3:00 in the afternoon.

This particular season is more anticipated than the previous one following Green Bay’s end of season form. With Jordan Love stellar gameplay in the second half, the Green Bay Packers then won seven of the last 10 games inclusively, a 48-32 away victory against the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Wild Card Round.

Read on for five storylines to watch as the team starts what is expected to be an even more exciting 2024 season.

The surprise of the year was given in March when Brian Gutekunst, the Packers’ general manager, signed former Raiders’ running back Josh Jacobs, only to cut another fan favorite Aaron Jones a few hours later.

He then joined the Minnesota Vikings a great rival of Green Bay’s Team, and in the seven years with the Packers, Jones recorded 8016 total yards and 63 total touchdowns.

5,940 of Jones’ yards were rushing, making him the-third leading rusher in franchise history only behind Ahman Green and Jim Taylor.

Speaking to the Green Bay media for the first time on March 15, Jacobs said: “ I don’t really consider myself coming in and replacing what he (Jones) has done.

Jacobs played and rush for 5,545 yards in five years with the Raiders at the start of the new millennium. 1,653 of those yards include this year when he was the NFL rushing leader.

Packers head coach Matt La Fleur said in the post game that he feels Jacobs is fully capable of carrying the rock as a high volume type of back. This season up to the end of December, he has accumulated a total of 340 carry NGOs, just below Derrick Henry with 349.

However, a Packers running back has carried the ball that often only once in the team's 105-year history: Ahman Green when he ran it 355 times for a franchise-record 1,883 yards in 2003.

Looking to LaFleur’s period, the maximum number of carries is 236 that has been accomplished by only a single running back. That came from Jones in 2019, LaFleurs first year on the job.

Whether it is two guys or three guys, typically, we like to platoon and I just think it helps throughout the season for the running backs to stay fresh," LaFleur said in the offseason about Jacobs’ usage. It is a very aggressive role they perform. "

He used to be looked upon as the primary back but shared time with A. J. Dillon and the rookie third-round pick Marshawn Lloyd.

Just for kicks

The kicking position is perhaps not so glamorous but perhaps the most important of all. Francine, however, the Green Bay Packers’ fans found that the hard way last season while seeking a replacement for Mason Crosby.

Anders Carlson, off a good pre-season, finished his rookie year with thirteen total kicking mishaps (seven field goals and six extra points) which included a 41-yard field goal attempt during the Packers’ bitterly-fought Divisional Round defeat to the 49ers.

Carlson would have attempted a kick to make the score 24-17 in Packers favor. That let the San Francisco offense march down the field for a touchdown and a successful two point conversion to take a 24-21 lead, though the charge was repulsed at the end.

“At some point you just have to shut the book on that and move to the present,” Carlson said of the miss following an OTA practice on May 21.

Carlson converted 24th in the league on 82% of his field goals and 25th in the league on 87% of his extra points last year.

In response the Packers have sought to introduce some form of competition to the holder of the position. They will enter training camp with three kickers on the roster: Carlson, Vikings’ former kicker Greg Joseph and James Turner a rookie came out of college this year from Michigan.

Who's number 1?

Can there possibly be such a thing as too many receiving options? Perhaps they will learn this season.

The Packers have options to burn when it comes to the wide receiver room between Romeo Doubs, Christian Watson, Dontayvion Wicks, and Jayden Reed.

“I personally don’t believe it does,” LaFleur said of his chances of grooming a No. 1 receiver. “All those guys had their times when they were the leading receiver in a game and I feel fine about the team. "

Reed was Packers leading receiver in the previous season with 793 yards. Cameron’s offense was certainly spread around with nine different receivers having a game with the most receiving yards in single game through the 19 game season.

Will a team rise to the occasion to declare Jordan Love its guy to go-to quarterback? But will the Packers being passing the ball to different players like they did throughout the entire last year?

The power of Love

Talking about Love, how the 25-year-old quarterback will continue his success that he demonstrated the end of 2023?

During the early November, a lot of people already wished for Love to be the franchise’s quarterback of the future. But in the last ten games of the season Love was a 70 percent passer and registered 23 touchdowns with 3 interception.

“Unemployment low, painfully few knew what I was up to,” Love said in an interview in May, looking back at his rookie season. An opportunity to go out there, record it and kind of prove to everyone what I am, and what this team is all about was great. ”

‘But there is no room to get complacent about,’ he added. ‘You just literally have to get ready and go out there and do it all over’.

Currently, the most interesting narrative that can be tied into training camp is Love’s contract issue.

Love will be out of contract in the next season and up until Wednesday he had not signed a new deal. In a football camp held in Milwaukee early this week, Love declined to discuss the process other than telling news to be anticipating.

An extension over the course of the seasons discussed would give him the title of the team’s long-term franchise quarterback.

After that, the only question remaining would be this: Was his explosive play at the end of the last season a fluke, or the sign Agala needed to take things up a notch?

Another new coordinator

Green Bay has been in a perpetual hunt for stability on their defensive front ever since their Super Bowl victory at the end of the 2010 campaign.

The Packers defensively last season was ranked 17 of 32 in yards, 10 of 32 in points and 23 of 32 in turnover percentages.

After another lackluster showing, Matt LaFleur opted to part ways with Joe Barry and now moves on to his third defensive coordinator in five years: The president main is Jeff Hafley.

Players and coaches will have to get used to new base defense in town shown by Hafley’s new 4-3 scheme which is quite different from the current 3-4 scheme that the franchise has used since Dom Capers joined the team in 2009.

About their defense, LaFleur said during one of the OTA practices in June: “I think everybody has been dialed in. ” "

”We have a long way to go, but you can’t ask for anything else,” Hafley added at the time. ‘‘I love the way these guys have attacked it. "

Early returns on the former Boston College head coach have been positive: scouts to have described them as loving his style of play as a more aggressive player while LaFleur has praised him for his team’s leadership and communication.

But make no mistake about it: so it will be expected for Hafley, his players and LaFleur to get out better defensive performances and propel the Packers further in the playoffs.