Matt LaFleur Faces a Different Kind Coaching Challenge This Year
By GilMartin
Matt LaFleur faces a very different challenge this year as head coach of the Green Bay Packers. While LaFleur has already proven he can thrive in challenging situations, the 2023 season will require him to take a different approach than he has in his first four seasons with the team.
When he first joined the team in 2019, LaFleur faced a unique challenge. The culture of the team had become toxic and that resulted in Mike McCarthy’s firing late in the 2018 season. Part of the problem was the relationship between McCarthy and quarterback Aaron Rodgers had gone sour.
LaFleur had to change the culture in the dressing room and quickly earn the respect of his quarterback. He managed to do both things. He helped integrate four new free agents into the dressing room in Za’Darius Smith, Preston Smith, Adrian Amos and Billy Turner and made the locker room a healthier place by establishing a leadership council of players and improving communication between himself and the team.
He also worked with Rodgers to create a hybrid offense that combined the Shanahan school offense LaFleur wanted to implement and some of the best things Rodgers liked to run from McCarthy’s more traditional West Coast based system.
The result was a team that surprised a lot of people by finishing 13-3 and reaching the NFC Championship Game.
For the three seasons that followed, LaFleur’s job was to take a veteran team with an experienced MVP quarterback and get them to a championship. Although LaFleur’s teams reached the NFC Championship Game twice and twice held the top seed in the NFC playoffs, they were unable to reach the Super Bowl.
After three straight years of 13 wins, the Packers fell to 8-9 last season. Injuries to the offensive line and to Rodgers and a disappointing season by a defense that featured seven former first-round picks were among the key causes of the regression.
But in 2023, the challenge for LaFleur will be different. Rodgers is now the quarterback of the New York Jets. Taking over for him is Jordan Love, the former first-round pick who has started exactly one NFL game until now. The Packers believe Love is ready to be a starter after sitting behind Rodgers for three seasons.
It is a very different challenge for a head coach who calls the plays to design an offense for Love as compared to Rodgers. While Rodgers had more than a decade of experience as a starter when LaFleur became coach, Love is relatively inexperienced. Rodgers was adept at recognizing defenses and calling audibles at the line of scrimmage. Love is still developing that skill.
Many veterans are also gone from the roster. The Packers will be without Robert Tonyan, Allen Lazard, Randall Cobb, Marcedes Lewis, Adrian Amos and Dean Lowry, veteran players who have seen it all in this league. They will be replaced by younger and less experienced players and there will be a change in leadership in the locker room.
The expectations around the Packers have changed and that will also alter the way LaFleur has to lead. You cannot coach a young team which lacks experience at the skill positions and has a new quarterback the same way you coach a veteran team with championship expectations.
LaFleur will need to be more of a teacher and demonstrate more patience with his younger players while still making sure they know what is expected of them. There will be a greater emphasis on teaching and development.
The 2023 team will also give LaFleur a bigger challenge. The McCarthy offense that Rodgers was used to running often relied on receivers winning one-on-one matchups with defensive players. The preferred LaFleur offense relies more on scheming receivers open by the routes being run and more on pre-snap motion. Having multiple plays that can be run from identical formations is also a feature of the offense that we can expect to see more of this season.
This will be a different kind of season for LaFleur. He’s proven he can succeed with a veteran team and that he can transform the culture of the locker room. Now the culture and the construction of the roster is very different and so are the expectations.
How he handles this new set of circumstances will go a long way towards determining his ultimate legacy with the Packers. If he is successful with this new, younger group, he will prove he is a winning head coach on his own merits.
If the team struggles and does not return to prominence in the next two years, LaFleur may be looked at as having won early in his tenure in Green Bay because he had a Hall of Fame quarterback who made him look good.
LaFleur and the Packers are at a crossroads. The next few years will tell us a lot about the direction of the coach and the team.
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Comments (65)
TKWorldWide
May 27, 2023 at 12:55 pm
The upcoming season definitely has more unknowns than we’re used to around here. Fans react in different ways. Reading many of the posts here, it seems to me that the majority of fans are cautiously optimistic, and very excited. Breaking new ground. Let’s go!
The_Baloney_Stops_Here
May 27, 2023 at 02:01 pm
Yeah he actually gets to do what he was hired to do instead of being relegated to Head Ego Stroker.
MainePackFan
May 27, 2023 at 07:49 pm
Let it go. Rodgers plays for the Jets. It should not be that difficult to give up the past and look to the future. I get that insulting Rodgers gets upvotes but can we please just have a conversation about the current team without shitting on the former QB.
barutanseijin
May 28, 2023 at 12:55 am
Sorry if it’s painful for you to be reminded what a shit Rodgers is, but Rodgers is relevant to this discussion about what to expect from Lafleur.
kagood
May 28, 2023 at 09:56 am
You are a sad excuse for a fan.
barutanseijin
May 28, 2023 at 06:04 pm
That’s all you have to say? An ad hominem red herring? Pathetic.
You’ve been around here long enough to know that the set of Packer fans and the set of Aaron Rodgers superfans aren’t identical.
I’d expect a Rodgers fan to make the case that Rodgers gave Lafleur more freedom in play calling or somehow made his job easier than it will be with a young qb. I’ve seen the argument that Lafleur and McCarthy didn’t really need to coach well because Rodgers’ golden touch would make everything in Packerland glitter. Only that really didn’t seem to work in the last few McCarthy years or last year — or the playoffs for that matter. At any rate, you could at least try to make an argument for your guy. Since you don’t, my assumption is that you’ve got nothing.
MainePackFan
May 29, 2023 at 05:35 pm
" An ad hominem red herring?"
ad ho·mi·nem
adjective
(of an argument or reaction) directed against a person rather than the position they are maintaining.
"vicious ad hominem attacks"
adverb
1.
in a way that is directed against a person rather than the position they are maintaining.
"these points come from some of our best information sources, who realize they'll be attacked ad hominem"
2.
in a way that relates to or is associated with a particular person.
"the office was created ad hominem for Fenton"
red herring:
a clue or piece of information that is, or is intended to be, misleading or distracting.
"the book is fast-paced, exciting, and full of red herrings"
You just nailed your own criticism. Deflection is a beautiful thing. Well done my friend :)
MainePackFan
May 29, 2023 at 02:37 pm
Nothing painful about it. 'Head Ego Stroker" is nothing but a pointless dig, that's why I replied. Rodgers is not currently relevant to the Green Bay Packers. I expect the same thing from Lafleur that I always have. That would be to communicate with his QB in an open dialogue to make the Green Bay Packers the best team they can be.
Your "reminded what a shit Rodgers is" comment is completely irrelevant to anyone's expectations of Lafleur. The nastiness is completely unnecessary, and brings nothing of analytical value to the conversation.
It's fair to say that Rodgers' influence on Lafleurs' offense may or may not have been a negative, but can't that be done without personal insults?
Coldworld
May 28, 2023 at 08:43 am
I don’t think it’s something that can be let go. The question of whether LaFleur is for real hangs on events showing what he is without Rodgers.
If he’s the same guy then the Rodgers impact on his coaching will have been proved to be fictitious or at least non material and LaFleur the lead weight that crushed those last dances.
If LaFleur’s offense is reinvigorated, imaginative, innovative now he’s unleashed, then that pretty much confirms that Murphy handed Rodgers the reins and he shaped what we’ve seen.
Whichever proves true, the question looms large and will be answered this year. Since Rodgers is now gone, for the Packers, the best outcome would be to find that LaFleur is a genius thus far thwarted. I have my doubts, but that’s the best outcome for the team without question.
MainePackFan
May 29, 2023 at 02:49 pm
Fair point, but that can be looked at and discussed without personal animosity brought into the conversation. It actually takes away from the conversation because the analysis is flawed by one's personal feelings about Aaron Rodgers. I welcome analysis that isn't steeped in Love Rodgers/Hate Rodgers overtures.
Your post suggests an either/or scenario, but in fact both things can be true.
WestCoastPackerBacker
May 27, 2023 at 10:20 pm
Dude had 3 seasons in a row with 13 wins. Anybody else do that during that period? And back to back MVPs. He knew way more about an NFL offense than LaFleur.
The_Baloney_Stops_Here
May 27, 2023 at 11:01 pm
You act like he did that alone. Oh how people forget where Rodgers' career was before Lafleur came to town. He was leading the league in throwaways and getting coaches fired. And it only took Rodgers 3 years to tune Lafleur out the same way he did to Mccarthy. Let it go? Not a chance. Rodgers disgraced the G and I'll never forgive him for it. He can take his MVP awards that he didnt win alone and shove them up his entitled ass.
ReaganRulz
May 28, 2023 at 07:00 am
While I do agree with part of your comments, I don’t think he “disgraced” the G. His passion was displayed in a more authoritative and at times in a more selfish manner. But he made some incredible plays throughout the years which made waking up on a Friday or Monday morning awesome!! Plus he dominated the Central and especially the Bears which is absolutely priceless!!
The_Baloney_Stops_Here
May 28, 2023 at 08:32 am
He disgraced the G with his chronically petulant, selfish, anti-team behavior. All the money, all the fame, all the adoration, it was never enough. He became the antithesis of everything Green Bay is supposed to represent. He used his status to as an all-time great to turn this team into his personal play toy. Management needs to take great care in ensuring that NEVER happens again. I will greatly enjoy watching his inevitable fall from grace in New York.
TxFred
May 29, 2023 at 08:28 am
Screw the "league mvp" means nothing to the team, just a self-serving thing. The real MVP is SB MVP!!! The only thing. That truly counts.
splitpea1
May 27, 2023 at 02:08 pm
I would assume MLF already has a good deal of patience after sometimes yielding to the style of Rodgers; and maybe too much patience with some of Barry's defensive schemes.
Just a gut feeling, but I think he'll prove to be an excellent teacher for the younger offensive players. In some ways his job may be easier.
Hopefully he'll emerge from the development process as a stronger leader and a HC that's fully in charge of the team. Early in his tenure he hinted that he favored a "player-led" team or something to that effect. With so many younger players, that philosophy isn't practical anymore--he's the man and the spotlight will be on his overall coaching ability.
LLCHESTY
May 28, 2023 at 09:55 am
Development of players and this coaching staff don't exactly go together like peanut butter and chocolate. Andy Herman pointed out in a podcast the other day how many 2nd year players actually took a step back from their rookie seasons. If that trend doesn't change there will be a lot of turnover in the next couple years, coaching and FO.
https://youtu.be/ou2OYPARSU0
jlc1
May 28, 2023 at 10:22 pm
Spot on. The O doesn't have the horses or at least experienced enough ones. So the D has to carry this team this year. Joe Barry is the DC so the D is not capable of that. So MLF will have to dump Barry to shift the heat off him but that he kept him is proof enough that MLF doesn't have the HC chops to win without a top 3cQB. He won't last more than a year, at most 2, after dumping JB.
Change in the FO? That won't happen. When was the last time management in general and at Lambeau specifically held itself accountable?
jlc1
May 28, 2023 at 10:22 pm
Spot on. The O doesn't have the horses or at least experienced enough ones. So the D has to carry this team this year. Joe Barry is the DC so the D is not capable of that. So MLF will have to dump Barry to shift the heat off him but that he kept him is proof enough that MLF doesn't have the HC chops to win without a top 3cQB. He won't last more than a year, at most 2, after dumping JB.
Change in the FO? That won't happen. When was the last time management in general and at Lambeau specifically held itself accountable?
SicSemperTyrannis
May 29, 2023 at 12:38 am
The coaching staff can be developing this into a dominant team for a decade. If they haven't already started doing that, we aren't going to do better than getting to 3 SB we got with Favre and Rogers. OTOH, if, via whatever combination, they're actually developing everyone on the 90 man roster + PS, creating honest competition at every position, and let merit determine the roster, then I think we have a very good chance of matching that and the possibility of redeeming whatever went wrong that AR12 only got to 1 SB.
I'll be looking for signs of this, but this season won't really tell the tale. We should be able to know about JB as DC either way, and get a feel for how they evaluate and develop individual players. As well as get a little preview of how the current talent compares to the league. Hopefully next year's draft begins the cycle of only needing to bolster a few week spots on the roster, and knowing any dead weight coaches are gone.
GPG!
stockholder
May 27, 2023 at 02:18 pm
Whatever MLF does, we should be behind 100 %.
He's only going to be good as his QB.
Just ask the Patriots .
PhantomII
May 27, 2023 at 06:00 pm
It's hard to see the field thru all the Championship trophies when your QB1 just..... moves the Chains and don't go for the money grab every contract extension and play sound defense on a regular basis. I was not a big TB fan...but he showed us the way. Mahomes it looks like is showing us a different path, but both did everything they had to do to get a set of fresh downs....AR did not, and that is the difference. Some like MVP...some like Super Bowl MVP.
SicSemperTyrannis
May 29, 2023 at 12:42 am
JL10 should not have to be specular, just competent. MLF should be able to scheme an effective offense. I'm hoping for over half runs, targets going over half to TE and RB for YAC on dink and dunk, then deep passes can be rare but also highly effective.
Should be a year full of surprises ...
Guam
May 27, 2023 at 02:48 pm
I still harbor significant concerns about LaFleur. He has made some highly questionable personnel decisions (Drayton, Barry) and still has not demonstrated the ability to manage in-game offensive adjustments. I hope we see more of his original offense this year, but I also hope to see him address some of these other concerns as well. This may be a make or break year for LaFleur despite his impressive regular season record.
dblbogey
May 27, 2023 at 03:48 pm
I also have concerns about their player personnel decisions. How could it take 6 weeks for them to figure out that Jake Hanson and Royce Newman were terrible while Zach Tom and Yosh sat on the bench?
SicSemperTyrannis
May 29, 2023 at 12:52 am
Did he make those two changes to the O line as early as week 7? That change needed to happen by halftime of week 1 at the latest. We knew in 2021 that Amari Rogers wasn't our returner. Dumped him and Sammy Watkins both, could've gotten some value for them if they'd have done that a few weeks earlier by the trade deadline.
Yes, highly suspect coaching, and not just JB. Before week 1, the coaching staff needs an entirely different skill set. I don't expect these players to do less than their best, they're all young and hungry. I see the coaches as all being on the hotseat, and I won't cry if Rich Bisaccia replaces both JB and MLF. Of course I'd rather see at least MLF be highly effective; this is his chance to prove that.
Coldworld
May 28, 2023 at 08:49 am
There are a lot of questions about LaFleur as a HC that can’t be plausibly placed at Rodgers’ door. His hope of proving his worth lies in at least showing his merit as a strategist and tactician before and during games.
That gets a HC a long way, especially if he’s clever enough to appoint a true deputy who can handle the other stuff. If LaFleur isn’t that caliber of football mind, this season will show it and his end is nigh.
LLCHESTY
May 28, 2023 at 10:03 am
The anti Rodgers bias on here is pretty humourous.
More than anything I think last year showed them to be a soft team. That starts at the top and I don't see a reason to be hopeful there's a change in sight. It was the main reason I wanted a fiery DC that could possibly get LaFleur to up the physicality a bit in TC. I expect short yardage situations to still be a nemesis to this team on both sides of the ball.
SicSemperTyrannis
May 29, 2023 at 12:54 am
MLF also needs to shine before week 1 in terms of developing all this talent, and evaluating it. That's an entirely different skill set. This is his chance ...
Lare
May 27, 2023 at 03:03 pm
"LaFleur and the Packers are at a crossroads. The next few years will tell us a lot about the direction of the coach and the team."
Nice article Gill, but frankly I think this upcoming season will tell us the direction of this coach and the team. I don't think it will take a few years.
SicSemperTyrannis
May 29, 2023 at 12:58 am
Late, I hope you're right. If JB steps up and proves he's a monster that's one thing. Nobody here expects to see that. If he doesn't, can it really be fairly evaluated to replace both him and MLF at the same time, with such a young team? That could be a very tough call.
I wouldn't cry if Rich Bisaccia is HC in 2024 with a new DC, as long as we're not just creating needless turnover. There were some great DC available this year :/
Handsback
May 27, 2023 at 04:02 pm
In the movie draft day there's a point where Kevin Costner points out if he doesn't get to draft his team that year he'll never get the chance to prove what he could do.
I think MLF feels the same way about coaching this year. It's his first chance to implement his offense his way and decent talent to implement it. I personally think MLF is really looking forward to this year and next. He wants to prove his offense can win a SB. All of us can get behind that.
Just MHO
SicSemperTyrannis
May 29, 2023 at 01:02 am
I'll drink to that!
Really, I'd be content with 6 wins this season, and getting to the SB in 2025. Tying AR12's start to his career would be stellar. I mainly want to see 100% effort from every player on every play, all season. That did NOT happen last season, for whatever reason ...
ArlenWilliams
May 27, 2023 at 04:06 pm
Good stuff. From the things said about Coach LaFleur as he was hired and from reading him since, this is exactly the kind of team he may be best at bringing along. (Not sure about postseasons.)
PhantomII
May 27, 2023 at 06:17 pm
We needed a QB1 who would throw to ANY open receiver ANY TIME...ANY PLACE. I believe we have just rectified our big hurdle we needed fixed in the post season ... there..... Love the future...Better WR's and TE'S group than we've had in years, though raw...someone will be open...Love will go thru progressions and hit the open target. Money to spend in FA next season for holes on a pretty good team, built for the playoffs. GPG
SicSemperTyrannis
May 29, 2023 at 01:06 am
We'll see how JL10 is about finding the best open man. Not taking deep shots but still moving the chains works. Not taking deep shots on 3rd and 3 REALLY works. Only going deep when Christian Watson is wide open and every catch is a TD also works ...
vin0770
May 27, 2023 at 04:11 pm
His challenge should be the same each year in Titletown…make the playoffs and then don’t peak at sucking! What a novel concept.
ricky
May 27, 2023 at 06:33 pm
LaFleur gets to show whether his system can win ball games with a team that is young, and hopefully, hungry. It is much more likely that Love will follow the coach's lead, and not improvise or changing the play on the field. That's the good news. It would seem obvious that LaFleur would want to help Love by leaning into the run game more, and having the running backs featured more prominently. This is something fans have been calling for, and it's likely we'll finally get our wish. However, other teams will also know this, and plan accordingly. The run/pass mixture will be crucial. Because if the team finds itself at third and five, or third and seven on a regular basis, the expectations of Love and the receivers are going to be intense. We saw that in the KC game, where Love was constantly under pressure. Football is sometimes called a chess game. We'll find out if LaFleur is a grand master, or if he was reliant on a HOF veteran QB to make him look better.
4thand10
May 28, 2023 at 08:08 pm
Special teams blunders and crossbar missing FG is way SF won that game. The D was put in crappy field position all game long. Now, with Bisccasia and a competent special teams… i could be a very different story.
SicSemperTyrannis
May 29, 2023 at 01:15 am
Ricky, it's possible this season won't really tell the tale on MLF as an in game coach. What he does to develop and evaluate the whole 90 man roster + PS by week 1 is an entirely different skill set, and he gets his chance to sink or swim.
Come the regular season, I'd love to see more than half the plays running the ball. Of passes, I want to see more than half targeting TE and RB, quick out and YAC. A dominant O line and that can work! Then, the deep ball can be rare, but highly effective.
MLF should be like a kid on Christmas morning drawing up plays with all these weapons, there's some serious speed :)
HarryHodag
May 27, 2023 at 07:42 pm
With most of the Rodgers cult gone, MLF can show what he really wants to do with a relatively young and eager team.
If MLF can light a match under under-performer Joe Barry, the Packers could be in the thick of things this year.
The key will be the defense. If they're bad against the run again this year it will put the offense against the 8-ball. He has to have a dominant defense who can give the ball back often enabling a young quarterback time to establish MLF's original offense.
Depending on how things play out the next two seasons, any regime change in Green Bay won't happen until July, 2025. That is when Mark Murphy retires. If the Packers have been sputtering in 2023 and 2024, the new CEO will have little choice but to bring in his own people at the top which likely will mean a GM/coaching change unless the Packers surprise many and advance deep into the playoffs.
EnemyTerritory
May 27, 2023 at 09:25 pm
Let’s hope that’s not the case because then (July) the HC/GM talent will be picked over. Could be an ugly three years. Fingers crossed. I’m not totally sold on MLF but if nothing else this year will answer some of the questions as to who actually ran the offense and just how short a leash JB is on…
UdderApocowlipse
May 28, 2023 at 09:27 am
Gute and LaFleur have a vision and they will pursue that vision. I imagine the new team President will be simpatico with that view. I'm also curious about the input Mark Murphy might have in finding the right individual to steward the organization into the future. Glimpses of the succession process might be way more interesting than game to game team performances. The board found Murphy which shows they know how to find the appropriate individual for the position. I wonder how much of the board that exists now had the same role at Murphy's inception in Green Bay?
Part of me still thinks Murphy's whole 'silo' thing was just to draw pressure away from Gute/Gutte and direct the ire of the most strident fans toward himself, allowing Gute to better establish himself during an upcoming QB turnover bound to be tumultuous. Maybe that's what a person in Murphy's role ought to have done, absorb all the wrath from the outsiders so that other members of the organization can perform their jobs as best as they can, as free of outside distractions as possible.
SicSemperTyrannis
May 29, 2023 at 01:19 am
I sure hope Gutey and MLF have a unified vision! Building a team around it might not become apparent until 2024, players need time to develop.
This season should be full of surprises ...
UdderApocowlipse
May 28, 2023 at 09:27 am
double post
Slim11
May 28, 2023 at 03:15 pm
I wonder if the match which lights that fire under Barry is named Bissacia!
I hope so. I hope Barry took it personally that Bissacia was named assistant HC instead of him. Barry might be more than a little annoyed that a ST coach who has only been in Green Bay one season became the assistant HC instead of him.
jlc1
May 28, 2023 at 10:27 pm
Why in the world would you wait to light a match under Barry? If he could he should have long ago. No, Barry is inept and MLF has to prove he isn't too soft for the job. So far his personnel decisions and big game planning say he is too soft.
jlc1
May 28, 2023 at 10:27 pm
Why in the world would you wait to light a match under Barry? If he could he should have long ago. No, Barry is inept and MLF has to prove he isn't too soft for the job. So far his personnel decisions and big game planning say he is too soft.
SicSemperTyrannis
May 29, 2023 at 01:24 am
Harry, with salary cap hell I see 2025 as the first season to really contend; would suck to switch GM / HC July of that year.
This year develop and evaluate every player, next year hopefully be able to focus on just a few weak spots on the roster, and by 2025 be able to load up and dominate. That's the best case I can see.
Any dead weight in coaches or FO are hopefully rooted out before 2025.
Leatherhead
May 27, 2023 at 07:53 pm
Every year is different for every person, even guys who've been here for a while. That's one of the great things about football is that you get to put a different (and hopefully better) team on the field.
IMO, I think we'd be better off early on if we didn't show the world how wonderfully innovative we are and stick to basics, like hanging onto the ball and getting some first downs.
Teams are going to have to make sure Watson doesn't get behind them, that's #1. They're also going to have to find a way to slow down Jones/Dillon, who got about 2500 yards last year. If our opponent can't solve #1 and #2, the rest isn't going to matter.
SicSemperTyrannis
May 29, 2023 at 01:31 am
:)
Exactly! People worried about everything happening all at once; even if they can that's not good strategy.
Let JL10 be Jimmy G competent and get comfortable. After that if he can flash some brilliance now and again, that's gravy.
SicSemperTyrannis
May 29, 2023 at 02:19 am
2113: total rushing yards last year. I think some of that had to be from someone other than #33 and Quadzilla
LLCHESTY
May 29, 2023 at 08:03 am
Not really. Rodgers was 3rd on the team with 94 rushing yards and Watson 4th with 80 yards on end arounds. Taylor was next with 31 yards so no other RBs had an impact to speak of. Love should have quite a bit more than Rodgers did last year so rushing totals should go up.
Leatherhead
May 29, 2023 at 05:59 pm
Jones and Dillon, run and pass, accounted for almost 2500 yards of offense last year. 399 carries and 115 targets. That's 50% of our plays. Dillon never turns it over. Jones is generally sure handed, but he has coughed it up.
This is how we roll in Green Bay. Give it to the backs, throw it to your best WR, and give everybody else a couple of chances during the game.
CoachJV
May 27, 2023 at 08:04 pm
Y'all don't forget how Matt LaFleur got the HC job in the first place... it's because he fielded a Titans team as play-calling OC with Mariota as QB (who got hurt) and Derrick Henry... and he took them to the wild card round.
I believe Love will be at least as good as Mariota, and we have Jones. No reason why LaF can't do it again.
GregC
May 27, 2023 at 09:50 pm
The Titans did NOT make the playoffs when LaFleur called the plays. They finished 25th in yards and 27th in points.
The_Baloney_Stops_Here
May 27, 2023 at 11:08 pm
And won 9 games while narrowly missing playoffs. Also worth noting, that was the year Henry finally broke out after 2 forgettable seasons prior to Lafleur's arrival. And the year before that, Lafleur was the OC for the Rams (albeit not the playcaller) for the highest scoring offense in football. And the year before that, he was the QB Coach for Matt Ryan's only MVP season. In 2019 he comes to green bay and resurrects Rodgers' career while also engineering a monster season for Aaron Jones and Davante Adams, both of whom had career years immediately. But dont pay any attention to any of it. He doesnt know what hes doing. Yawn.
LLCHESTY
May 29, 2023 at 08:06 am
I was recently reminded that Titans fans that visited Packers sites after LaFleur's hiring pointed out it wasn't until Dion Lewis was injured that Henry received a bulk of the carries. What you're describing is largely fiction. They did draft Dillon so maybe LaFleur learned from his mistakes.
cdoemel
May 27, 2023 at 08:16 pm
I like ML. For reasons that I can’t really articulate. Haha
SicSemperTyrannis
May 29, 2023 at 01:34 am
3 13 win seasons might have something to do with that ;)
SinceLombardi
May 28, 2023 at 07:30 am
We already know plenty about MLF… he can’t pick assistants, he is poor at making in game corrections, or even in season corrections as per his lousy assistants….he can’t field a physical, aggressive team, he has trouble winning playoff games at home.
The unknowns are really about the front office and how long they are willing to let the man that hired Mo Drayton and Joe Barry flounder.
egbertsouse
May 29, 2023 at 07:08 am
Hopefully, MLF will be too busy actually coaching this year to do the Arm Flap. When watching the playoffs, I was struck by the fact none of the coaches flapped their arms. I am hoping for a flap-free season.
Starrbrite
May 30, 2023 at 05:12 am
Me too Egbertsouse—me too.
TxFred
May 29, 2023 at 08:23 am
MLF's biggest coaching challenge will be in the OL. Crisp, detailed shoulder pads blocking on running plans. Coordination with hole opening &backs hitting the holes timely. Pass blocking really needs an coaching upgrade. All those young, skilled receivers won't mean squat, when Love is scrabbling or on his back. Season depends on the OL.IMO. GPG!
Leatherhead
May 29, 2023 at 09:04 pm
Tx Fred......I, too, think the season all depends on getting guys blocked.
We actually did a pretty good job of pass blocking last year, by pretty much any of the common measures. Top 10 good, and that's despite the time in the early part of the season when we didn't have all our best guys really healthy enough to play well.
We also do a pretty good job of getting guys blocked on runs, and finished around average in most run measures like yards/run or yards/game.
It's a foundational hope for me that we can keep all of our main hogs active, and that the new guys like Musgrave and Kraft can get their man blocked. If we can do this, I'm pretty comfortable with the top six we have, because I think they're pretty good and they have the ability to absorb 1 injury and still be pretty good.
As you said, the season depends on the Oline. If they do their job, Jones and Dillon will do theirs, and Love will do his, and we will win games and win the division. As it should be. So it is written. So it shall be done.