Snap Judgments: Week 13

After rethinking about Sunday’s game against the Bears, here are three things worth discussing:

1) It’s still too soon to get overly excited about Christian Watson, but his recent four-game stretch has been nothing short of phenomenal. The rapidly ascending rookie has scored eight TDs – seven through the air and one on the ground – and flashed a combination of speed and explosiveness not seen in Green Bay since James Lofton in the late 70s and early 80s. If the former North Dakota State star can stay healthy, improve his concentration, and get better at tracking deep balls, he has a chance to be a high-end No. 1 receiver in the next few years. As for the more immediate future, general manager Brian Gutekunst needs to keep adding speed at the skill positions. Aside from Watson, and to a lesser extent Aaron Jones, there’s not another offensive player with the ability to really scare a defense. That’s especially true at tight end, where every throw down the field to tight end Robert Tonyan is pretty much an act of futility. Opposing defensive coordinators are going to spend the offseason figuring out ways to slow down Watson, and since the vast majority of them are a lot brighter than Joe Barry, they’ll probably be successful unless they have more to worry about than just No. 9.




2) We know how much Aaron Rodgers likes to have his buddies around him, but it’s time for Gutekunst to cut the cord with kicker Mason Crosby, wide receiver Randall Cobb, and tight end Marcedes Lewis. If their friendship with the star quarterback and leadership in the locker room is so important, make them assistant coaches in 2023, but get them off the field. While the trio hasn’t been bad this season, keeping them around isn’t going to make the Packers better come next September, which, of course, has to be the goal. Crosby is still pretty reliable on PATs and field goals inside of 50 yards, but his kickoffs are among the shortest in the league. In fact, he ranks 36th among all specialists in touchbacks with 11. Cobb had a productive game before a month-long stay on injured reserve and one after his return, but he’s totaled only 13 catches for 177 yards in the other seven contests. The former Pro Bowler can no longer create consistent separation over the middle. Lewis is still an above-average blocker for both the run and the pass, but he offers nothing as a receiver. These three vets, whose combined age is 108, need to be replaced by younger and much less expensive players.




3) Aside from the continued stellar play of Watson and the coaches and players being able to enjoy their bye week a bit more, it’s difficult to find many positives in the Packers’ come-from-behind win on Sunday. They barely – pardon the pun – beat a bad and banged-up opponent, and Rodgers went yet another week looking alarmingly pedestrian. While his thumb and ribs didn’t appear to be problematic, he still managed to complete only 58 percent of his passes for less than 200 yards against a defense comprised mostly of players off the practice squad and the street. The reigning MVP continues to look more like a typical quarterback in his late 30s than another Tom Brady. Speaking of which, this less-than-impressive win also means Rodgers will stave off Jordan Love for at least another game or two since the playoffs are still a (very remote) possibility. And finally, by outscoring the Bears 18-0 in the fourth quarter, the Packers dropped from fifth to 11th in the first round of next April’s draft (Four teams right below them are 5-7 with a game in hand). And while every pick is a crap shoot, the odds of selecting a future All-Pro are 20 percent higher in the top 10 than from 11 to 20.


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