Does Matt LaFleur rue the day that he said the Green Bay Packers’ mantra was “All gas, no brake” on a hot microphone? Because with the way the team has played so far this season, he has either forgotten about that approach or he has chosen to stop following it.
Yes, there have been some mistakes by the Packers that have led to them not expanding out leads more substantially early in games. But LaFleur’s decision making — not just on 4th downs, but also in how he calls plays — reflect a conservative
head coach who, for some reason, is not comfortable being aggressive with a lead.
In every game but one this season, the Packers took a double-digit lead before allowing the opposition to close back to within seven points or less. In two of those games, against Washington and Cincinnati, Green Bay’s offense immediately responded to get their lead back to two possessions, and in a third (Dallas), they responded with a score each and every time they had the football in the second half, with every one of those drives coming with the Cowboys leading. But in all three cases, a more aggressive team could have opened that lead up even more in the first half before it ever reached that point of criticality.
A killer instinct is something that most good NFL coaches have, and the LaFleur-era Packers have showed it before. With a defense that has been exceptional in the first half and questionable in the second, the Green Bay offense needs to get that big lead early. If LaFleur wants to run clock and salt away the game after halftime, then we suggest he do what he can to help his team put up bigger numbers in the first 30 minutes.
Time and again, Packers’ offense has come through in the clutch | Packers.com
That’s great! But the offense has also had plenty of opportunities to stretch out moderate leads into big ones in the first half and they haven’t really done that. Instead, they’re forced to come up with huge drives when the opposition gets the game close again.
Three Biggest Matchups, Players, Phases, Questions for Packers-Cardinals | SI.com
It’s no surprise that one of the keys to the game for the Packers, as identified here, is to put the Cardinals away early.
The Betrayal Index: The Cowboys have let Dak Prescott down at rare levels | The Athletic ($)
Among quarterbacks who have made at least 3 starts this season, Prescott has the biggest difference between his total EPA and that of his defense and special teams. But Jordan Love is fourth, as he ranks 4th in EPA but the Packers’ defense and special teams rank just 22nd – with most of those issues coming in the second half of games.
It’s early, but Packers appear to have fixed their dropped passes problem | Packers Wire
Yes, it’s early! Don’t jinx it! In all seriousness, this feels like a huge part of why the offense has been pretty consistent even despite all of the offensive line issues.
Bolton jazz band gets farm’s cows in the mood | BBC
More like “in the mooooooood,” am I right?
