Tag: matt lafleur

Matt LaFleur would like to add veteran to complement Packers’ young WR room

Packers coach Matt LaFleur on his WR room: “I think some veteran leadership would be nice.”

There are a few positions where the Green Bay Packers could benefit from a veteran free-agent addition, but perhaps nowhere more than at wide receiver.

As of now, the Packers have only five receivers on the roster, and Romeo Doubs is the most experienced of the bunch, with 529 career snaps. Doubs, Christian Watson, Samori Toure, and Bo Melton were all rookies in 2022. Jeff Cotton, meanwhile, was a 2020 undrafted rookie with one offensive snap in his NFL career.

When meeting with reporters on Tuesday at the NFL Annual Meetings, coach Matt LaFleur discussed the need for not only more bodies in the receiver room but specifically adding a veteran presence.

“I think some veteran leadership would be nice,” said LaFleur. “Although I think guys like Allen (Lazard) and Randall (Cobb) did such a great job last year taking those guys (Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs) under their wing and showing them the ropes, and expectations, the practice habits that you need to have to go out there to play at a high level.

“But yeah, we’re going to have to add some bodies to that room certainly,” LaFleur added.

Watson looks like a true No. 1 target in the making, while Doubs had a promising first season. However, neither is immune to the ups and downs that second-year players can still have. The hope with signing a veteran is that they would provide some added reliability at the position for Jordan Love in his first season as a starter. There is something to be said for having that experience on the practice field and in the film and locker rooms as well.

Unfortunately, for the Packers, there are limitations in free agency because of their salary cap situation, as Brian Gutekunst said on Monday. Although the Packers have cap space on paper – over $22 million – they lack spending power, with that figure set to be cut almost in half due to the dead cap from trading Aaron Rodgers, not to mention needing space for other expenses, such as the draft class and final two roster spots, hitting the 2023 books.

Gutekunst has shown that he will continue to churn the roster well into the summer. So even though a veteran addition in free agency may be on the to-do list, that doesn’t mean a signing is imminent, either.

With the Packers being limited in what they can spend, expectations shouldn’t be that they are going to bring in a game-changer at the position. Rather, this will be a veteran who can complement Watson and Doubs as a third option and likely on a one-year deal with a minimal cap hit. There are only five receivers who remain unsigned from PFF’s top 200 free agents list that are projected to earn less than $5 million in 2023. Those players are Jarvis Landry, Julio Jones, Olamide Zaccheaus, Marvin Jones, and Randall Cobb.

Another option could be acquiring a receiver from the New York Jets in the Rodgers trade. Corey Davis is a popular name, but he comes with an inherited cap hit of $10.5 million. Green Bay would either have to extend him or Davis would have to be willing to take a pay cut for his contract to fit. Denzel Mims is another alternative, and he comes with a reasonable cap hit of $1.35 million since he’s in the last year of his rookie deal. Mims has been targeted just 43 times combined over the last two seasons.

Whether the Packers add a veteran or not at wide receiver really should have zero impact on how they go about the draft at this position. For one, this is a position group that could still use more playmaking, and the veteran addition would add some stability. Also, any free agent signing is likely going to be in Green Bay on a short-term deal, leaving long-term depth at the position still a big need to fill.

A few receivers in this year’s draft class who meet the Packers’ typical height, weight, and athleticism thresholds include Jaxon Smith-Njigba (Ohio State), Bryce Ford-Wheaton (West Virginia), Andrei Iosivas (Princeton), Matt Landers (Arkansas), Jonathan Mingo (Ole Miss), Rashee Rice (SMU), Cedric Tillman (Tennessee), and Michael Wilson (Stanford).

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbxb1xg7g19wqdc player_id=01eqbvhghtkmz2182d image=]

Packers’ Matt LaFleur one of most aggressive coaches on fourth downs in 2022

For the third straight season, Packers coach Matt LaFleur ranked as one of the NFL’s most aggressive coaches on fourth down.

The Green Bay Packers offense under Matt LaFleur in 2022 was one of the most aggressive when it came to going for it on fourth downs.

According to Football Outsiders Aggressive Index, LaFleur ranked as the fifth-most aggressive head coach on applicable fourth-down situations last season. How this Aggressive Index works is 1.0 is considered average, and it measures how much more likely, or less likely, a coach is willing to go for it compared to his peers when in a specific situation. This metric also excludes certain obvious go-for-it situations, such as when a team is trailing late in a game, in the final five minutes of a game, or just seconds before halftime.

LaFleur finished with an Aggressive Index of 1.40, meaning he was 40% more likely to go for it on fourth downs compared to an average coach facing the same situations. Out of 85 eligible fourth-down scenarios, LaFleur went for it 19 times, or at a rate of 22.4%, which was the third-highest in 2022. He also went for 11 of the 12 eligible fourth-and-one opportunities, tied for the most in the NFL.

By this metric, Philadelphia’s Nick Sirianni was the most aggressive, registering a 1.57 on the aggressive index scale, followed by Mike McDaniel, Arthur Smith, Kliff Kingsbury, then LaFleur, rounding out the top five.

LaFleur was fifth at 1.46 in 2021, fifth at 2.08 in 2020 and 19th at 1.29 in 2019.

While LaFleur’s propensity to go for it on fourth downs made sense a majority of the time, the Packers were very poor at converting those fourth-down opportunities. Their success rate of 38.7% ranked 28th in the NFL last season, ahead of only New England, New Orleans, Chicago, and Cincinnati.

As always, there is never any one answer behind a team’s successes or struggles, so when it came to Green Bay’s fourth down woes, it was a combination of both play calling and a lack of execution. Not only on fourth downs but in general last season, in those must-have-it situations, including in the red zone, defenses did a good job of taking away the Packers’ run game and forcing them to throw the ball. Even when the passing game was building some momentum in the second half of the season, it simply wasn’t good enough to produce consistent results when leaned upon heavily.

When the offense was at its best, it was due to the success on the ground, and that helped open up the passing game. However, when defenses were able to limit Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon, Green Bay didn’t have a steady passing game to fall back on or, at times, the patience to stick with the run game, and moving the ball became a massive chore.

Although frustrating (and I’m not suggesting it was always the right decision), but when Aaron Rodgers was heaving the ball downfield on third and fourth and short downs last season, it was often related to the look that the defense gave him with more defenders playing closer to the line of scrimmage in an effort to limit the run game, which then created a potential opportunity over the top for Rodgers to exploit. Perhaps on paper that decision-making made sense, but given the issues Green Bay had in the passing game all season long, picking up the two yards needed to keep the drive going would have been the more prudent play.

As a collective group, head coaches have been becoming more aggressive and less willing to punt or settle for field goals in recent years, and LaFleur continues to be one of the leaders in this charge, ranking in the top five of the Aggressive Index during each of the last two seasons.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=1361]

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbxb1xg7g19wqdc player_id=01eqbvhghtkmz2182d image=]

Packers coach Matt LaFleur acts like a teenager in new Bellin Health commercial

Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur went back in time in his latest commercial for Bellin Health.

Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur went back in time in his latest commercial for Bellin Health, a healthcare system in Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula.

LaFleur, the star of the commercial, wears a backward hat, plays video games, learns to drive, shoots the camera with silly string and hides away in his room as he advertises a new care team designed for teenagers.

The commercial reads: “Bellin Health asks: What if Matt LaFleur were your teenager?”

Based in Green Bay, Bellin Health has been the official healthcare sponsor of the Packers since 2007. Recently, the Packers and Bellin Health partnered on $100,000 worth of training and equipment aimed at AED and CPR training and awareness following the frightening on-field incident involving Bills safety Demar Hamlin.

Here’s the commercial featuring LaFleur, which aired during Sunday night’s Super Bowl in local Green Bay markets:

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1361]

 

Matt LaFleur, Aaron Rodgers among worst at wasting timeouts

Matt LaFleur is one of the worst head coaches at calling unnecessary timeouts.

The Green Bay Packers’ list of things to fix this offseason just got longer, except the latest issue to come to light has more to do with time management than anything else.  

According to a recent Twitter post from NFL Data Analyst Tom Bliss, Matt LaFleur is one of the worst head coaches at calling unnecessary timeouts.  

Bliss, the manager of football ops data science for the NFL, compiled the data on timeout usage between 2018-2022. Each timeout was put into one of five categories: time-saving defense, time-saving offense, missed challenges, unnecessary defense, and unnecessary offense.  

Here is a more thorough breakdown of each category.  

LaFleur ranked third in unnecessary timeouts called per game over the last four seasons, with a large portion of them occurring while the Packers were on offense. 

While this appears to be an indictment against LaFleur, it is more so against his quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Bliss confirmed that player timeouts were included in their findings, which makes Rodgers more of the culprit than his head coach since usually it is Rodgers calling the timeout while Green Bay is on offense to avoid a delay of game penalty.  

Since LaFleur was hired in 2019, there has been an issue with the Packers getting the play called in a timely manner. Two years ago, Rodgers said that running the play clock down could be traced back to long play calls, which forces them to spend more time in the huddle. 

“Most times, I know what’s going on. We have a lot of long play calls, so we don’t always break the huddle above 20. By the time we get to the line of scrimmage, and we go through a set of cadences, if it’s a long count, you might take a little bit of time,” said Rodgers on The Pat McAfee Show. 

Of course, there are other factors as well. 

In the past, Rodgers has defended his process of running the play clock down to gather as much information as possible from the defense. Based on whatever they show may require some offensive adjustments. If the look isn’t right, then a timeout is necessary.  

Speaking more to that, here is what Rodgers said earlier this season.  

“But there’s certain situations and scores and momentum where it is better to have a conversation on the sideline, make sure we got the perfect call and regroup instead of trying to force something. Sometimes, there’s a look that they give us on defense that we just can’t block up, or it’s going to be a negative play and there’s not anything really to get into based on the formation we’re in and you’ve got to burn one and get in a better formation and change it up. But it’s a feel. You take in all those factors.” 

Since the two started working together, LaFleur has had complete trust in Rodgers. As a 4x MVP, Rodgers is more than capable of getting the offense into a position to be successful. However, the times when he burns a timeout due to a lack of urgency aren’t less frustrating, especially when it could come back to haunt them.  

After all, timeouts are an important part of the game. 

Unfortunately, we don’t know the exact number of timeouts that stemmed from poor efficiency, but my guess would be a lot. Rodgers is at the root of the problem, but it doesn’t necessarily go away if he decides to retire or gets traded. Regardless of who is under center, LaFleur may have to consider shorter play calls and place more of an emphasis on tempo in and out of the huddle to avoid unnecessary timeouts.  

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbxb1xg7g19wqdc player_id=01eqbvhghtkmz2182d image=]

David Bakhtiari isn’t retiring, and Matt LaFleur wants him back with Packers in 2023

David Bakhtiari isn’t retiring, and his head coach wants him back as the Packers left tackle in 2023. Will Brian Gutekunst agree?

Strong mutual interest exists between coach and player in terms of David Bakhtiari returning to the Green Bay Packers as Matt LaFleur’s left tackle in 2023.

Retirement isn’t an option, and Bakhtiari wants to continue his career in Green Bay.

There are hurdles. Bakhtiari is under contract for next season, but the five-time All-Pro’s cap number balloons to over $29 million in 2023, and there’s a $9.5 million roster bonus due in March. He also turns 32 years old in September and has only recently returned to something resembling normal after three surgeries completed on his knee in the span of 18 months.

Regardless of the obstacles, LaFleur said he wants Bakhtiari back next year.

“I thought that once we got him back out there on a consistent basis, once we learned how to best practice him, once he learned how to do that for himself, I thought he played at a pretty high level,” LaFleur said Monday.

Bakhtiari said he doesn’t have surgery planned for the offseason and will have an opportunity to “train” and “build his armor” before the 2023 season.

After missing all but one game during the 2021 season, Bakhtiari finally returned in 2022 and once again looked like an elite player at a premium position. He played 597 snaps over 11 starts and gave up just 10 total pressures, including zero sacks. If nothing else, Bakhtiari proved he’s still one of the best pass-blocking offensive linemen in the game.

It’s possible some kind of contract restructuring will need to happen to keep Bakhtiari in Green Bay in 2023.

Regardless of who is playing quarterback for the Packers next season, having Bakhtiari protecting the left side of the offensive line would be valuable.

Of course, LaFleur and Bakhtiari don’t make final personnel decisions. That’s the job of general manager Brian Gutekunst, who will speak to the media on Friday. He may provide more detail on the team’s plans for Bakhtiari this offseason, but it’s hard to imagine Gutekunst feeling differently about the future of a top player at an important position.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbxb1xg7g19wqdc player_id=01eqbvhghtkmz2182d image=]

Matt LaFleur expecting Joe Barry to remain Packers defensive coordinator in 2023

Matt LaFleur on if Joe Barry will return as Packers defensive coordinator in 2023: “That’s what I anticipate, yes.”

Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur confirmed he is expecting Joe Barry to return as his defensive coordinator in 2023.

“That’s what I anticipate, yes,” LaFleur said Monday. “I don’t really anticipate a whole lot, if any, staff changes at all.”

LaFleur said he hasn’t sat down with any of his coaches individually to discuss the future, but that process will begin this week.

Barring something unforeseen, Barry will get a third season coaching the Packers defense in 2023.

The Packers defense finished 17th in the NFL in points allowed (21.8), 28th in yards allowed per play (5.8) and 23rd in scoring percentage (38.2) during the 2022 season. Green Bay gave up the same amount of points (371) as 2021 but regressed in terms of yards per game, yards per play, scoring percentage and takeaways in 2022.

LaFleur said the Packers defense started “to improve as the year went on” and the defense developed “more of an identity” down the stretch. He is also prioritizing continuity within the coaching staff as a pillar of success moving forward.

“I do believe in the people, not only in the locker room, but our the coaching staff,” LaFleur said. “It’s my intention to try and have everybody back. I think continuity is a big part of having success in this league. When you feel good about the people, then you gotta work to improve. We have to challenge each other.

LaFleur said the Packers will have more “projects” this offseason in terms of studying other teams and trends around the league.

“You have to try and stay in front of everything. We certainly didn’t do that this year,” LaFleur.

The Packers allowed 20 or fewer points in each of the final five games of 2022. Green Bay gave up 27 or more in six games and finished 1-5 in those games.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbxb1xg7g19wqdc player_id=01eqbvhghtkmz2182d image=]

Packers coach Matt LaFleur on failed fake punt attempt vs Dolphins: ‘That was all bad’

Matt LaFleur on the failed fake punt vs. Dolphins: “Yeah, that was all bad. It’s a turnover.”

The Green Bay Packers ran one of the worst fake punt attempts you will ever see against the Miami Dolphins. During the second quarter, the Packers were still in their own territory and facing a 4th-and-2 when safety Dallin Leavitt took a direct snap that was stuffed for no gain. The Dolphins were gifted with great field position and ended up kicking a field goal to go up 10 points.

Head coach Matt LaFleur wasn’t asked about the decision during Sunday’s postgame press conference, but he did address it on Monday.

“Yeah, that was all bad. It’s a turnover,” LaFleur said bluntly before switching to a more lighthearted tone. “The saving grace is that’s the first punt we’ve attempted to fake in four years, and we actually won the game. So now at least we put one on tape, although it was a bad one.”

At the time, LaFleur said the motive was to steal a possession on special teams. It was something he had spoken with the team about during the week, emphasizing that “it would be an important part of this game.”

Unfortunately, the plan backfired when Miami left their starting defensive line on the field for fourth down. Leavitt barreled into the teeth of the defense and wasn’t even remotely close to picking up the first down.

“They had bigger men in there than we would like them to have in that situation, said LaFleur.

Luckily, Green Bay’s defense was able to limit the damage by holding the Dolphins to a 34-yard field goal.

The botched trickeration notwithstanding, the Packers’ special teams still managed to have a productive day. Keisean Nixon started the game with a 93-yard kick return, and Mason Crosby made all three of his field goal attempts to help secure the win.

However, it’s probably safe to say Green Bay won’t be attempting any fake punts anytime soon, especially not without the chance to change the play if needed, according to LaFleur.

“We have to give our guys the ability to get out of that, no doubt.”

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbxb1xg7g19wqdc player_id=01eqbvhghtkmz2182d image=]

[listicle id=88604]

Head coach Matt LaFleur on the challenge of facing Tua Tagovailoa

LaFleur isn’t taking the challenge of playing Tua Tagovailoa on the road lightly

The Green Bay Packers have struggled to find enough traction to get their record above the .500 mark in 2022, and are facing a very challenging opponent in the Miami Dolphins this weekend. Led by quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who has come into his own this season, the Dolphins have become one of the AFC’s top teams, and are looking to put on a show in front of their home crowd on Christmas day.

Packers head coach Matt LaFleur reflected on some of the aspects of Tagovailoa’s game that makes him such a special quarterback. In comments to the media on Thursday, he broke down the signal-caller’s game and made it clear that coming out of Miami with a win on Sunday will be no easy task for Green Bay.

“Well certainly he’s playing at a really high level,” LaFleur explained to reporters. “I think he’s a guy that throws with such great anticipation, just watching him he can definitely throw the ball well before receivers are breaking. He makes good decisions. Isn’t he leading the league in… I don’t pay attention to this all the time with stats, but isn’t he leading the league in rating? So I think that says a lot right there.

“He does a great job at taking care of the football. It’s hard to… when quarterbacks throw the ball with anticipation, you know sometimes that can be hard to defend, and especially to the guys that he’s throwing to. So he’s got a lot of weapons, I think they do a great job offensively of scheming things against what you do defensively and really put their guys in a great position.”

It is safe to say that LaFleur isn’t taking the challenge of playing against Tagovailoa lightly and that he knows what he will be up against to get the Packers their seventh vitctory of the 2022 season. If he can get his defense to lock down the Dolphins’ passing attack and put pressure on Tagovailoa with consistency, Green Bay will have a far better chance of winning this challenging road game.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbxb1xg7g19wqdc player_id=01eqbvhghtkmz2182d image=]

Sean McVay appreciates having Matt LaFleur as a friend during rough season

Sean McVay and Matt LaFleur have helped each other through rough seasons in 2022, which McVay appreciates

Sean McVay and Matt LaFleur are good friends and up to this point, they’ve both enjoyed a ton of success as head coaches in the NFL. But this season has not gone according to plan for either coach as the Rams and Packers have both limped to sub-.500 records through 13 games.

On Monday night, McVay and LaFleur will square off on opposing sidelines once again and as badly as they want to beat each other, McVay appreciates having LaFleur as a friend during this difficult season. They’ve remained close since LaFleur was on McVay’s staff in 2017, but their friendship dates back even further.

“It’s cool to have because he’s one of my closest friends and sometimes the things that you go through, you can relate to one another, and we have similar values,” McVay said. “We’ve been both very fortunate that things have gone relatively well and I think it’s helpful to be able to lean on somebody. Sometimes they say what, misery loves company? You’ve got another great friend that whether it’s good for them or they’ve had some struggles or vice versa for us, just being able to have somebody that you can talk to that you’ve had a great relationship with for a long time. He’s handled it really well. I’ve said to him, I’ve been so impressed with just watching the consistency and the steadiness at which he’s handled things and I think it’s reflected with the way that they’ve responded and in a lot of good instances based on some of the things that they’ve gone through as well. Love Matt, he’s a good friend of mine.”

The Rams will be eliminated from playoff contention with a loss to the Packers on Monday night, while a win by Green Bay will keep their season alive as they push for a playoff spot. These teams met in the divisional round following the 2020 season, and as fun as it would be to see them in the playoffs again, it’s not in the cards this year.

In all likelihood, McVay and LaFleur’s season will end at the same time when the final whistle is blown in their Week 18 games.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqby8n025panb709 player_id=01eqbvhghtkmz2182d image=]

Aaron Rodgers was visibly upset at Matt LaFleur on the sidelines over a decision to not challenge a play

Here we go again.

Over the course of any NFL game, players and coaches are going to have disagreements. That’s just the nature of how the game is. But the dramatic shows of frustration have been increasingly common for Aaron Rodgers this season.

We saw that on display once again on Sunday.

Early in the second half of the Packers’ Week 13 game against the Bears, Rodgers was certain that A.J. Dillon had picked up a first down on a second-down run. Dillon was marked short on the play, and Rodgers looked to the sideline in disbelief as head coach Matt LaFleur elected against challenging the play.

The Fox broadcast showed the two gesturing at each other, and it wasn’t exactly friendly.

Still, the Packers did have a third-and-short attempt on the next play. And rather than going back to Dillon, Rodgers’ deep pass fell incomplete, forcing a Packers punt.

LaFleur probably didn’t think it was worth risking a challenge in that situation. But still, fans had plenty of thoughts on the whole exchange.