GREEN BAY Zach Gentry Jersey , Wis. — Protect the football and it should fix everything.Packers CoveragePhotos of the Week: 7/21/19 – 7/27/19Packers rookie Gary’s biggest critic is himselfTop Tweets: Former Badger TJ Watt has impressive four-year transformationPHOTOS: 2019 Green Bay Packers training campPackers’ Rodgers, LaFleur ironing out offense, building chemistryPlayers to watch at Green Bay Packers 2019 training campLaFleur: Offense still a work in progress as Packers open campPackers release defensive tackle Mike DanielsGreen Bay Packers 2019 training camp primerPackers’ Rodgers not ranked as a top-5 quarterback in Madden 20That seems to be the viewpoint of Mike McCarthy, whose Green Bay Packers have a variety of issues that have led to a 2-2-1 start.“The big part of that game is focusing on the things we can control,” McCarthy said Monday, one day after his team lost at Detroit, 31-23 after digging itself a 24-0 hole. “We have to take care of the football.”The Packers turned over the ball three times Sunday. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers lost a pair of fumbles and the ball glanced off cornerback Kevin King while he was blocking on a first-quarter punt.Green Bay didn’t force any turnovers defensively, and through five games, the Packers are minus-2 in turnover differential, having lost it eight times (six fumbles, two interceptions) while taking away the ball six times (two fumbles, four interceptions).McCarthy said he believes turnovers contributed to his team losing the field position battle; he had the Packers at minus-300 in terms of hidden yardage.While he admitted that veteran kicker Mason Crosby’s five misses — four field-goal attempts and one extra point — also factored into Sunday’s loss, McCarthy said the Packers’ struggles went deeper than the 13 points those misses left on the field.“The common thread there is the turnovers, which obviously that rolls into the field position,” McCarthy said Nick Bosa Jersey , pointing out that Green Bay outgained Detroit 521 yards to 264. “Obviously we missed some field goals and so forth. (But) the fact of the matter is, I was very pleased with how we moved the football.”In three of their games this season, the Packers have trailed by double-digits: 20-0 early in the third quarter against Chicago, 28-10 at halftime at Washington, and 24-0 at halftime Sunday.Rodgers took much of the blame publicly after the game, acknowledging, “I’ve got to play better in the first half.”“It’s frustrating. We’ve been kind of a one-half team: one good half and one not-so-good half,” said Rodgers, who finished the game completing 32 of 52 passes for 442 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions (108.0 passer rating). “I was a little off. I missed a couple I usually hit. We missed some opportunities there.“(It was) definitely a disjointed game — not punting, putting up a lot of offense and not winning the game.”The offense hasn’t been the only side of the ball that’s been disjointed.Against Washington, for example, Green Bay gave up 323 yards in the first half, and only 63 in the second. Against the Lions, the defense allowed 160 of 264 yards and 24 of their 31 points in the first half.“We need to put a whole full game together,” safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix said Monday. “Making more plays L.J. Collier Jersey , finishing tackles, making this defense better. If we can critique ourselves and figure out what we can do better as individuals, I think we’ll be better as a whole.“As DBs, the one thing we want to do is catch interceptions, and capitalize on the opportunities we get. This is a long season. We’ve got to take advantage of our opportunities when we get them, and when they come, they come in bunches. We just have to make plays when the time comes.”The Packers also have struggled with penalties, committing 12 for 112 against Detroit. For the season, Green Bay has committed 43 penalties for 413 yards; the Packers’ opponents have been flagged only 30 times for 262 yards.“Whether it’s a slow start, fast finish, loose in the middle, it’s all irrelevant because if you don’t take care of the football, there’s going to be other negative statistics that come off of that,” McCarthy said. “This is not a getting-close-enough type of sport. We get that. We didn’t win the game.“It’s part of the challenge in the early season. We have to get a little more detailed. The penalties were another negative. But taking care of the football and the penalties was a huge part of our not reaching the goal we set out to accomplish.” Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane is keeping his options open and intends to take his time determining whether quarterback Tyrod Taylor will return for a fourth season.

”We’re going to make the best decision. I’m literally going to go back and watch how he played at the beginning of the year, how he played in the middle of the year and how he played in the end. We’ll see Marquise Blair Jersey ,” Beane said Tuesday after he and coach Sean McDermott held an end-of-season news conference.

”We’re going to take our time and make an informed decision,” Beane added. ”The easy thing to do is go off the last game. And that’s not fair.”

He was referring to Taylor overseeing a pedestrian offensive attack Sunday in a 10-3 loss at Jacksonville in an AFC wild-card playoff. Taylor went 17 of 37 for 134 yards and an interception before being forced out of the game after suffering a concussion on Buffalo’s final possession.

His production against Jacksonville reflected an inconsistent season for the third-year starter, who has a 23-21 record in Buffalo.

The low point came when Taylor was benched in favor of rookie fifth-round draft pick Nathan Peterman in a 54-24 loss at the Los Angeles Chargers on Nov. 19. McDermott called the decision a ”calculated risk,” which quickly backfired when Peterman threw five interceptions in the first half, leaving the Bills no choice but to return to Taylor.

Beane said Taylor doesn’t deserve all the blame for an offense that finished 29th in the NFL in yards gained, and scored just eight touchdowns over the final seven games, including the postseason.

But make no mistake, the first-year general manager said, it’s incumbent on him to get the Bills a franchise quarterback.

”I said that back when I got here,” Beane said. ”It’s a quarterback league. Where you get it, I really don’t care. If you give me one, whether he’s on the street now, whether he’s a free agent, whether I draft him, I’ll take him anywhere.”

That leaves Taylor’s future in question despite him being Buffalo’s first quarterback since Rob Johnson in 2000 to start a Bills playoff game.

The Bills were ready to move on from Taylor in March before he agreed to restructure his contact by reducing it from a five-year to two-year term.

Beane said Buffalo has enough assets – two picks in each of the first two rounds of the draft – to move up and address any position of need D.K. Metcalf Jersey , including quarterback.

On the other hand, he said, the Bills could comfortably afford retaining Taylor for the final year of his contract, which includes a $6 million bonus in mid-March and the $18 million hit his deal would count against the salary cap.

Whatever euphoria remained from the Bills exceeding expectations by finishing 9-7 and ending a 17-season playoff drought gave way Tuesday to the challenges Beane and McDermott face in continuing a rebuilding process that began a year ago.

”I thought we (grew) faster than I thought,” Beane said. ”But we have a long way to go, we really do.”

McDermott deflected questions on whether he’ll consider changes to his coaching staff, particularly offensive coordinator Rick Dennison. ”This is early in the process right now, and I’m not going to get into speculation,” he said.

Beane seemed open to re-signing defensive tackle Kyle Williams. The 12-year veteran completed the final year of his contract and hasn’t determined whether he’ll retire. Beane said he had a good conversation with Williams on Monday but wants to give him time to think before opening contract talks.

”Who doesn’t love Kyle Williams?” Beane said, referring to the team’s most respected leader. ”We’d definitely love to have Kyle back.”

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