I really don’t know where I land on the “fire Matt LaFleur” issue. Should the Packers pull the trigger or not? Can LaFleur fix this? If so, what will it take? If not, what should happen? I don’t know the answer
to any of these questions.
But I get why people are asking. It all seems to come back to something pretty simple: LaFleur’s offense keeps messing up. Or melting down. Whichever direction you like.
LaFleur was hired for his offensive acumen, plucked as the next promising option from the Shanahan coaching tree. He was the Packers’ answer to the “do you know Sean McVay?” meme from nearly a decade ago. He was supposed to fix the unit that had stagnated in the latter days of Mike McCarthy.
And he did! The Packers were largely the same from a production standpoint in 2019 as they had been in McCarthy’s final season, but from there things took off. Aaron Rodgers won MVPs in 2020 and 2021. Davante Adams went supernova. Aaron Jones enjoyed the best seasons of his career. You know the story.
But since then, things have been scattershot. Some of that can be attributed to talent decay, and that may have been a real issue for a couple of seasons, but it shouldn’t be now. Various wide receiver injuries notwithstanding, LaFleur has had essentially a full complement of weaponry for most of this season.
And in aggregate, some of the numbers look good. Jordan Love has been wonderfully efficient this year. Romeo Doubs is on pace for a career year, as was Tucker Kraft before his untimely injury. But scoring is down to 15th, thanks in large part to brutal outputs the past couple of weeks, and the Packers have struggled mightily in opposing territory.
It all leads to uncomfortable questions for and about Matt LaFleur. If you’re supposed to be an offensive mind, and your offense looks pathetic, what does that say about you?
Packers’ D can’t do it all if they’re going to make playoffs | ESPN
The Packers’ defense has been holding up its end of the bargain, by and large.
Packers offense keeps imploding in enemy territory | Packers Wire
Last year, we wrung our hands over the Packers’ red zone performance, but this year things seem to go south as soon as the offense crosses midfield.
Packers offensive line is not in run-blocking zone in Matt LaFleur’s scheme | Packers News
Personally, I think this is less an issue of scheme fit and more the fact that the players are generally just not very good.
NFL Fact or Fiction: Packers Coach Matt LaFleur’s Job Security Is Getting Shaky | Sports Illustrated
Even national writers are starting to opine about LaFleur’s job prospects.
Patriots NT Khyiris Tonga ‘impressive’ as a three-way player | NFL.com
Not Packers related, but still cool.
Bagpipers claim world record with AC/DC’s ‘It’s a Long Way to the Top’ | Associated Press
This is very cool for AC/DC fans and probably torture for a good number of other people.
