Matt LaFleur Has Company When It Comes To Green Bay Packers Strug
Green BHeading into Week 8, the Green Bay Packers are in dire need of answers. The Packers enter their matchup against the Minnesota Vikings on the heels of a three-game losing streak. Last week, they fell to the lowly Denver Broncos 19-17. It’s not just the fact they lost, it’s how they have played in the past three games. It has many Packers fans wondering who is to blame for the team’s struggles. While head coach Matt LaFleur is at the forefront to blame, he isn’t alone.ay Packers Head Coach Matt LaFleur Is Just One Of Many Problems With The 2023 Iteration Of The Team.
Matt LaFleur One of Many Issues With Green Bay Packers
For some, it appears the expectations they set for the Packers going into 2023 were overblown. Many believed that the Packers might vie for a 2023 playoff spot, just because they play in what they thought was a weak division. Unfortunately, those who expected a playoff franchise overestimated the talent and coaching on this team.
Take the quarterback position for example. Former starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers was only able to guide the Packers to a 6-10 record during his first season under center. Included in that, the weapons that Rodgers had around him were better than what the Packers currently have on their roster. So to expect Jordan Love, who isn’t nearly as talented as Rodgers, to carry the franchise as Rodgers did to the playoffs was downright foolish.
The 2023 Packers entered the season with a new quarterback, a young and inexperienced roster, and the return of a defensive coordinator who seems to be over his head. Why should that lead you to believe this is a playoff-caliber franchise? But what Packers fans should be upset about is the current lack of effort and lack of identity. That is why Matt LaFleur has earned criticism.
Matt LaFleur’s Failures as an Offensive Playcaller
As we previously wrote, the Green Bay Packers offense lacks an identity. Many will point to the young offensive roster, but in reality, that’s no excuse. For an offensive mind like Matt LaFleur, who has been given a lot of credit as a playcaller, he needs to get the best out of what he has, which is something he hasn’t achieved in 2023.
LaFleur has preached the importance of establishing the ground game. But for as much as he has preached it, he just hasn’t done it. Even when starting running back Aaron Jones is available and healthy, LaFleur hasn’t called his number nearly as much as he should. The one game he did try to establish the run, against the Las Vegas Raiders, he did it with backup running back A.J. Dillon. One of the things that makes a great playcaller is the ability to adapt a game plan. It’s one of the biggest things that LaFleur hasn’t done.
The passing game is just as bad. It was understandable that Matt LaFleur wanted to take things slow with the inexperienced Love. But eventually, you need to take the training wheels off, something LaFleur has refused to do. In the last three games, the scheme that LaFleur has run is something you would see out of an NFL team in preseason action
For a roster that claimed to be “fast and athletic“, you wouldn’t know it with what LaFleur is doing on offense. LaFleur’s offense has become “dink and dunk”, rarely looking for the big plays downfield. With fast pass catchers like Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, and Luke Musgrave at his disposal, you would think he would dial up more passes downfield. But yet, LaFleur has failed to do so.
Getting His Players Ready to Play
It isn’t just the fact that the Packers have lost three straight. But it’s the way that they have lost them that should scare and puzzle Packers fans.
While the score from their loss to the Detroit Lions, 34-20, makes it appear it was close, it wasn’t. In front of their home crowd, the Packers were dominated in all facets of the game. The Lions punched the Packers right in the mouth and the Packers folded. The Lions were tougher and appeared to be better prepared. That falls on Matt LaFleur, the head coach, for not having his team ready to play.
That lack of preparedness continued the following weeks against the Raiders and the Broncos. On paper, the Packers were the more talented team. But you wouldn’t have known it by the way the Packers played. It appeared that Green Bay was just going through the motions of playing the game. Yes, the players need to take some responsibility for that. But it’s up to the head coach to have his team prepared and ready to go. LaFleur failed to do so.
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