An Offseason Review

or, making content from other content

It has been a long offseason, filled with trials, tribulations, and, you were lucky, mischief and love.

I spent my offseason as I spent most offseasons. That is to say, I took a little time off at the beginning, did some writing to recap the season for a while, then took a break towards the end.

But that middle? Oh buddy, that middle. We got into some fun, and that’s what I wanted to talk about here. Just to have everything in one place, you know?

Before I get into my Packers specific stuff, I wanted to talk about a little series I did in this very space. Heading into the 2022 season, there was a lot of talk in Green Bay about their use of the Pony Package, as a way to get Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon on the field at the same time. It didn’t work too well, so I went around the league to find some Pony Package stuff that worked and build a few packages out of those plays.

In Part 1, we built out a series of plays from the Lead Flare series. This is the type of action you likely have in mind when thinking about the Pony Package, but it can be a versatile and powerful package.

In Part 2, we tackled the Orbit Series and the Vertical Release Series. I had a lot of fun digging through the use of Pony throughout the league, and even did a walkthrough of a fun two-play series from the Seahawks.

There are a lot of cut-ups and examples of every play in those series, so if you’re interested in digging into the Pony Package, I’d encourage you to check that out.

I had a big series over at Cheesehead TV. Every year I like to find a way to recap the season with what the Packers did from an offensive perspective. This year I opted to do that by building out a call sheet. It was a lot of work but I learned a ton.

This was all built from how the Packers fared in each of these situations in 2022. A couple of these feature some examples from around the league that I’d like to see the Packers work into their arsenal in 2023.

Part 1: The Introduction
Part 2: 1st & 10
Part 3: 2nd & long
Part 4: 2nd & medium
Part 5: 2nd & short
Part 6: 3rd & long
Part 7: 3rd & medium
Part 8: 3rd & short
Part 9: 4th & short
Part 10: Explosives
Part 11: High Red Zone
Part 12: Low Red Zone

If you’re curious about how the Packers did in each of those situations, give them a look. I’ve got play diagrams and cut-ups for each concept, so you can really dive in.

I also did a few entries in a series for Packer Report I called Fact or Fiction. The idea was to look at some common narratives around the Packers offense and see if there was any truth to them. I had grand plans for a big series, but the research took longer than I had anticipated so I only got around to writing 4. But oh, what fun I had.

Part 1: Does Aaron Rodgers avoid throwing to the middle of the field?
Part 2: Do the Packers tend to go “hero ball” on 3rd & short?
Part 3: Are the Packers more effective running the ball from under center?
Part 4: Do the Packers avoid using motion?

The offseason is simultaneously too long and too short. I had so many grand plans to tackle this year and barely scratched the surface. Maybe one day I’ll either find more time or get more realistic with my goals. Neither one of those seems likely, but a man can dream.

Thanks to anyone who has read even a single word of what I’ve done this offseason. I appreciate you a ton, and I can’t wait to dig into this 2023 season. Should be fun.