Marquez Valdes-Scantling – Page 25

Packers QB Aaron Rodgers hasn’t lost confidence in WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling

Aaron Rodgers remains confident in third-year Packers WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling. “I look for him to make big strides,” Rodgers said.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers remains confident in third-year receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling despite an up and down and mostly disappointing second season in 2019.

Rodgers believes Valdes-Scantling, or “MVS,” is ready to take a big jump in 2020.

“MVS is a guy who I have a ton of confidence in,” Rodgers said during a conference call last month. “I really feel like, if he can continue to grow, he can really add to our football team. I look for him to make big strides.”

Valdes-Scantling followed up a productive rookie season with a strong start to the 2019 season, but knee and ankle injuries suffered in October sent his second year spiraling. He ended up catching only six passes over the Packers’ final 10 games, including the team’s two postseason games, as Allen Lazard emerged and opportunities dried up for the speedy vertical threat.

By season’s end, Valdes-Scantling had only 26 catches, 452 receiving yards and a catch rate of 46.4 percent, all lower numbers than he produced during his encouraging rookie season.

Only weeks after the Packers’ loss in San Francisco in the NFC title game, Valdes-Scantling – who caught 21 passes for 416 yards and two scores during the Packers’ first seven games – admitted his second season was nothing short of a rollercoaster ride.

“Year 2 was a roller coaster,” Valdes-Scantling wrote on his official Instagram page. “This game means everything to me. Battled through some tough times, adversity punched me in the face, and I had to take some long looks in the mirror. One thing I do know is that I’m built for this (expletive), and I’ll stand 10 toes every single time.”

The Packers mostly stood pat at receiver this offseason, swapping Geronimo Allison for Devin Funchess and adding former CFL star Reggie Begelton. Internal improvement at receiver is not only expected but necessary, especially from youngsters like Valdes-Scantling.

While still finding his way as an all-around receiver, his big-play potential remains undeniable. Despite limited opportunities in 2019, Valdes-Scantling still managed to create five catches over 40 yards, including two touchdowns and three others setting up scores. He added two other catches over 20 yards, both on third down.

GM Brian Gutekunst said the third year has been a sweet spot for young receivers in Green Bay in the past, noting the ascension of stars such as Jordy Nelson and Davante Adams.

Coach Matt LaFleur is ready to push Valdes-Scantling, one of the team’s only true deep threats, to take on the challenge and make a significant improvement in 2020.

“You look at MVS, the speed that he has – he has to take that next step, and that’s going to be a challenge for him, and we’re going to be all over him to do that,” LaFleur said following the draft.

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Packers to push WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling to take ‘next step’

Packers coach Matt LaFleur said he’s going to push WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling to take a big step in his development in 2020.

One of the biggest winners of the Green Bay Packers’ draft in 2020 was receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling, who – without a field-stretching addition at his position group – will get another golden opportunity to be a pivotal part of Matt LaFleur’s offense this season.

The Packers are preparing to push Valdes-Scantling to take a big – and necessary – developmental step during his third NFL season.

After an encouraging rookie season and a strong start to 2019, Valdes-Scantling mostly fell off the map, becoming an afterthought in the offense by the end of his second season. He caught just six passes for 44 yards over his final 10 games, including the postseason. By the playoffs, his snaps had all but evaporated.

Knee and ankle injuries suffered during a win over the Detroit Lions in October contributed to his steep dropoff. So did Valdes-Scantling’s lack of detail as a receiver, the emergence of breakout pass-catcher Allen Lazard and the offense’s slow-but-steady shift to a run-centered offense reliant on receivers blocking in the run game.

During the first seven games of 2019, Valdes-Scantling caught 21 passes for 416 yards, including two scores over 40 yards. His impressive long speed has made him a valuable vertical threat, especially in the run action passing game. He has nine career catches over 40 yards. But his struggles as an intermediate route runner and inconsistency as a blocker limited his production ceiling and reduced opportunities in LaFleur’s offense.

By the end of the 2019 season, Valdes-Scantling was buried on the depth chart and watching the majority of games from the sideline.

Now, the Packers need him to shake off the finish to last year, take a big step forward as a receiver this offseason and regain his confidence entering 2020. Valdes-Scantling is the offense’s best deep threat, but he’ll struggle to get on the field if he can’t improve in a meaningful way to start his third season.

GM Brian Gutekunst, who didn’t draft a receiver, believes Valdes-Scantling is about to enter the sweet spot for receiver development in the NFL, especially in Green Bay.

“I really like our group of young receivers and where they’re headed,” Gutekunst told Larry McCarren of Packers.com. “I’ve always talked how, I think it’s very true if you look back, that most receivers in this league really start to come into their own in Year 3. Look back at our history here, with guys like Davante (Adams) and Jordy (Nelson), that’s really where they’ve started to come into their own. So I’m excited for those guys.”

The Packers need Valdes-Scantling, a big winner of the offseason, to come into his own in 2020.

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Packers WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling: ‘Year 2 was a roller coaster’

The young Packers receiver was candid about his disappointing 2019 season in a social media post on Tuesday.

Green Bay Packers receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling admitted in a candid post on social media Tuesday that his second NFL season was a “roller coaster” forcing him to take “long looks in the mirror.”

A breakout player as a rookie, Valdes-Scantling began the 2019 season as a starter for the Packers offense but battled through a midseason knee injury and was eventually demoted to a backup role. He finished with just 26 catches, 12 fewer than his rookie season.

After catching 21 passes during the first seven games, Valdes-Scantling managed just five catches for 36 yards over the final nine games of the regular season, and he was on the field for just six offensive snaps over two playoff games.

Knee and ankle injuries suffered in Week 6 created a setback from which he never really recovered.

Green Bay Packers’ Marquez Valdes-Scantling can’t catch a pass in front of Chicago Bears’ Prince Amukamara during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 15, 2019, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Standing 6-4 and gifted with 4.4 speed, Valdes-Scantling emerged as an unexpected rookie contributor during the Packers’ rocky 2018 season. He caught 38 passes for 581 yards, averaged 15.3 yards per catch and 8.0 yards per target and showed flashes of becoming a legitimate vertical threat for Aaron Rodgers.

The connection between young receiver and experienced quarterback never got dialed in during the 2019 season. Valdes-Scantling caught just 46.4 percent of his targets and was rarely on the same page as Rodgers, a perfectionist who doesn’t put up with repeated mistakes. As Allen Lazard emerged as a favorite target of Rodgers, Valdes-Scantling faded from the offense.

His season hit a low point when Valdes-Scantling dropped what could have been a 70-yard touchdown on the Packers’ first play from scrimmage in Week 15 against the Chicago Bears.

The Packers must now hope for a bounceback third season from Valdes-Scantling, who is certain to face stiff competition from newcomers at receiver this summer. Although the fabled second-year jump is preferred, young players can recover from disappointing sophomore seasons, especially if injury is involved. Davante Adams bounced back from a disastrous 2015 season and eventually emerged as a Pro Bowl receiver, although he was a second-round pick with a far more well-rounded skill set.

The offense being run in Green Bay is still set up for a player like Valdes-Scantling to succeed. He has the speed and downfield ability to be a useful player for Rodgers and Matt LaFleur, but getting healthy and rebuilding confidence will be required this offseason.

The roller coaster plummeted on Valdes-Scantling in 2019. It’ll be on him to rebuild the tracks and get himself going in the right direction in 2020.

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Bye week comes at a good time for Packers WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling

The week off should give MVS a chance to get healthy before the Packers embark on a playoff push over the final 6 games of 2019.

The bye week came at an ideal time for Green Bay Packers receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling, who battled through injury to catch just one pass for four yards over the team’s last three games.

Both coach Matt LaFleur and receivers coach Alvis Whitted recently explained how injuries suffered during the Packers’ win over the Detroit Lions have affected Valdes-Scantling over the last month.

The Packers’ second-year receiver hurt both his knee and ankle in the first half against the Lions on Oct. 14. He eventually returned to that game, and he’s played through the injuries each of the last four games.

LaFleur said Monday the issues have “definitely slowed him down,” while Whitted admitted Valdes-Scantling is still learning how to play through an injury.

“Quite honestly, he’s been battling through some injuries,” Whitted said, via Matt Schneidman of The Athletic. “It’s the first time he’s had to go through some adversity like that as a player. I think it’s good for him to understand that this is the National Football League and you’re going to go through adversity as far as playing through stuff.”

Valdes-Scantling played a season-low 11 snaps during Sunday’s win over the Carolina Panthers. He’s been on the field for roughly 50 percent of offensive snaps the last four games, compared to over 80 percent the first six games.

Although the Packers haven’t listed Valdes-Scantling on the final injury report the last two weeks, a chance to rest up during the bye week could give the young receiver a real chance to get closer to 100 percent for the final stretch run of the 2019 season.

Over 10 games, Valdes-Scantling has 22 catches on 42 targets for 420 yards and two touchdowns. The offense could use more of his deep speed and big-play ability during the final six games.

LaFleur said the Packers will take a closer look at how they’re using Valdes-Scantling during the self-scout portion of the bye week.

“We also have to look critically at ourselves and what we’re asking him to do and making sure we’re putting him in position to get some of those balls,” LaFleur said. “He does have a great talent. He’s a guy that, when he rolls off the ball, he is tough to defend because he runs so well. We have to put him in position where he can use that to his advantage. You can’t coach or teach that speed.”

Two healthy legs and a better plan for maximizing his abilities could help Valdes-Scantling re-write the narrative on his second NFL season over the last month and a half of 2019.

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Packers notes: Matt LaFleur regrets playcall on final play of first half vs. Panthers

Packers coach Matt LaFleur regrets the play he called at the end of the first half against the Panthers.

Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur said if given another opportunity, he’d still go for a touchdown in an end-of-the-half scenario, but he’d want to call a different play.

The Packers got stuffed by Carolina Panthers defensive lineman Gerald McCoy on the final play of the second quarter when McCoy blew into the backfield and stopped Jamaal Williams for a loss.

The missed opportunity didn’t end up costing the Packers, but LaFleur still regrets calling that play in that situation.

“Just going back to that, I don’t like the playcall,” LaFleur said Monday. “We didn’t practice it for that situation. I put that on my shoulders. I have to do a better job of making sure that we’re well prepared for whatever they may show, and I don’t think I did a good enough job in that regard. Still would go for it again, if that opportunity presented itself.”

The Packers got a penalty to get to the 2-yard line with two seconds left, decided to forego the easy field goal and used a timeout to help provide time to find the right play.

McCoy said after Sunday’s game that he picked up on a few pre-snap keys and knew when to jump the snap. That advantage allowed him to blow past left tackle David Bakhtiari and stuff Williams just as he was getting the football on an inside run.

LaFleur said the Packers had been getting significant push up the middle in the first half, and he was confident the offensive line could open up enough room for Williams to get three feet.

“I thought we could cram it up for a yard and it didn’t work,” LaFleur said Sunday.

Aaron Jones, who scored three touchdowns on Sunday against the Panthers, wasn’t on the field.

Packers want to specialize role for MVS: Second-year receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling has just one catch for 4 yards over the last three games, and he was on the field for just 11 snaps during Sunday’s win over the Panthers.

LaFleur said Valdes-Scantling is still recovering from an injury suffered in a win over the Oakland Raiders on Oct. 20. But he also wants to refocus on finding specialized ways of best using his unique skill set.

“Number one, he has battled through a little bit of an injury, which definitely has slowed him down,” LaFleur said. “But we also have to look critically at ourselves and what we’re asking him to do and making sure we’re putting him in position to get some of those balls. He does have a great talent. He’s a guy that, when he rolls off the ball, he is tough to defend because he runs so well. We have to put him in position where he can use that to his advantage. You can’t coach or teach that speed.”

Valdes-Scantling’s one target against the Panthers was a deep shot from Aaron Rodgers on third down. It was thrown into double coverage, and Valdes-Scantling was unable to go up and make a play on the ball in the air.

Although there’s risk of tipping their hand with personnel, it’s possible the Packers will use Allen Lazard, Jake Kumerow and Geronimo Allison as intermediate receivers and Valdes-Scantling as the designated vertical threat over the final six games.

Sternberger earns trust: Rookie tight end Jace Sternberger might have earned himself a bigger role on offense after impressing coaches during a 15-play cameo against the Panthers on Sunday.

The Packers’ third-round pick didn’t have a catch or a target, but he handled his business as a blocker. At least twice, he cut off the backside on a split zone run. He also got to the second level and blocked Shaq Thompson on one explosive run from Jamaal Williams.

“We definitely had the intent to put him in the game. We had a couple of plays that were specifically for him. Some of the cross sifts and inserts. He did a nice job. He earned our trust. I’m excited about him for the future,” LaFleur said.

Sternberger could give LaFleur and the Packers offense an athletic move tight end to use over the final six weeks of the season.

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