Packers Morning Buzz: Rodgers, McCarthy looking for answers

Welcome to your game-day Morning Buzz, rounding up news and views regarding the Green Bay Packers from around the web and here at PackersNews.com.

The Packers (4-5-1) face a virtual must-win game at Minnesota (5-4-1) tonight.

We start with Tom Silverstein's column about how Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers must share equal blame with coach Mike McCarthy for the offense's struggles.

Tom writes:

An argument can also be made that McCarthy hasn’t brought his offense along as far as Payton or Kansas City’s Andy Reid or Philadelphia’s Doug Pederson. After all, his most formative years were spent under Chiefs coach Marty Schottenheimer, who stubbornly stuck to running the ball when the rules were changing to promote passing it.

All of that may true, but it doesn’t mean he has become an offensive idiot. Rodgers won two most valuable player awards playing in McCarthy's offense. Rodgers probably has more say in the way plays are called than any other quarterback in the NFL because McCarthy has increasingly given Rodgers more and more responsibility at the line of scrimmage.

Even Rodgers, who has griped behind the scenes that he’s not thrilled with the offense and hinted as much publicly once this season, has stated that he gets plenty of say each week in the game plan. No, the Packers aren’t running the same offense as the Chiefs or Los Angeles Rams, but they do give their quarterback options to change plays before the snap or improvise after it.

The elephant in the room is that Rodgers isn’t playing up to his previous level.

You can read Tom's entire column here:

Pete Dougherty writes about the mistake former Packers general manager Ted Thompson made in passing on outside linebacker T.J. Watt in the 2017 draft:

The Packers lost an edge rusher Saturday when Nick Perry (knee) was placed on the season-ending injured reserve list:

Silverstein identifies five things to watch in the Packers-Vikings game Sunday night, and our experts make their predictions:

Just how bad have the Packers been on third down? Jim Owczarski looks at the numbers and sees a possible solution to the problem:

Packers defensive tackle Mike Daniels says he's battling a serious injury for the first time in his career:

ESPN looks at where the Packers and Vikings have gone since their Week 2 tie;

ICYMI, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk and Peter King of NBC Sports talk about the Packers' search for a "galvanizing moment":

How the Vikings' defense needs to play against Rodgers:

ESPN's outstanding Matt Bowen shows how the Vikings used a zone blitz to sack Rodgers back in Week 2:

Spotlighting the matchup between the Packers' David Bakhtiari and Vikings edge rusher Everson Griffen:

Former NFL GM Charley Casserly looks at keys to success for the Vikings...

... and also looks at keys to a Packers upset:

Aaron Nagler of Cheesehead TV spells out the importance of the Titletown District to the Packers:

ICYMI, this look by The MMQB at leading candidates to become head coaches next season speculates that New England's Josh McDaniels might make sense for the Packers, should they find themselves with an opening:

And finally .... running back Aaron Jones looking stylish rocking a Packers poncho upon arriving Saturday in Minnesota: