Tag: matt lafleur

Bear Necessities: Matt LaFleur says Luke Getsy has done ‘unbelievable job’ in Chicago

Packers HC Matt LaFleur believes Bears OC Luke Getsy is going to be a head coach “sooner rather than later.”

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While the Bears are sitting at 3-9, it’s hard not to be optimistic about the future of this team moving forward. That starts with the development of second-year quarterback Justin Fields, who has flourished under first-year offensive coordinator Luke Getsy.

Getsy has been a big reason for Chicago’s offensive emergence, which hasn’t gone unnoticed by his former mentor, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur.

“I think Luke Getsy has done an unbelievable job,” LaFleur said, via Matt Schneidman, ahead of Sunday’s Bears-Packers matchup.

Getsy served as the quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator in Green Bay from 2019-2021 before joining the Bears as offensive coordinator. He hasn’t even served as offensive coordinator for an entire season, but there’s already talk about Getsy being a head coach candidate this cycle, which speaks volumes about how this Chicago offense has turned things around.

After averaging 15.5 points through the first six weeks, the Bears offense rebounded in a big way. In the four games that followed, they averaged 31 points per game.

Getsy was instrumental in the turnaround, aiming to include more designed quarterback runs in the offense to highlight Fields’ athleticism. What followed was a historical run by Fields, where he set an NFL record with 178 rushing yards in a game and recorded a combined 325 rushing yards in back-to-back outings.

LaFleur believes Getsy is going to be a head coach “sooner rather than later.” And it’s hard to disagree.

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Matt LaFleur did not consider firing Joe Barry after losing to Eagles

LaFleur: “If I thought there was an issue there, then I would make the change, but we work as a staff, and collectively, we’re in this sucker together.”

Following Sunday night’s 40-33 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, in which the defense allowed an unprecedented 363 rushing yards, Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur did not consider firing defensive coordinator Joe Barry.

According to LaFleur, the Packers missed over 20 tackles. However, he doesn’t think the scheme is to blame for most of those.

“It was by far our worst tackling performance that I’ve seen here,” said LaFleur.

Green Bay’s head coach then went on to say that there was a long conversation on Monday related to the scheme, including different structures they are presenting to the offense and implementing different run mechanisms to try to make it more challenging to run the football. The Packers have to do something different, with their next opponent being the number one rushing offense in the Chicago Bears.

When asked if he would consider changing from Barry as the defensive play caller, LaFleur immediately shut down the notion.

“We’re not going to go down that road,” he said. “Again, if I thought there was an issue there, then I would make the change, but we work as a staff, and collectively, we’re in this sucker together.”

LaFleur hired Barry in 2021 to replace Mike Pettine, who was a carryover from the previous regime. In his first season, Barry’s defense finished ninth overall in total defense and 14th scoring defense. This season, Green Bay has fallen to 16th in total defense and 22nd in scoring defense.

These numbers look even worse when compared to the talent Barry has to work with. On paper, the Packers would appear to have the personnel of a top-10 defense. However, the combination of poor execution from the players and a scheme failing to put players in the best position to succeed has resulted in a disastrous defensive unit.

LaFleur did not rule out the possibility of firing a coach midseason, stating that you are always going to do what is in the best interest of the team. However, despite their 4-8 record, LaFleur is not ready to make any drastic changes to his staff.

“It’s never just one person. It starts with myself, and then it goes to our assistant coaches and then our players. We’re all in this together. If I felt confident it was one person, then I’d pinpoint it.”

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Why Lincoln Riley and USC need to pay very close attention to the Green Bay Packers

Why should Lincoln Riley care about what the #Packers do? What kind of question is that? It’s not nearly as weird as you think. #USC #Badgers

First things first: When we say that Lincoln Riley needs to pay close attention to the Green Bay Packers, we’re not referring to this week. Riley has a 13th game to coach this season, the Pac-12 Championship Game against Utah.

Once that Utah game ends, however, USC will need to focus on recruiting, its bowl preparations, the transfer portal, and the composition of its 2023 coaching staff.

How do the Green Bay Packers fit into this larger picture? If you follow the football coaching industry, and if you know why the Packers are a central figure in a new coaching drama created by breaking news over the weekend, you will immediately understand.

Let’s explain why Lincoln Riley needs to pay attention to the Packers — and be ready to potentially make a move — after the Utah game ends:

Packers’ faith in rookie WR Christian Watson could save their offense… and their season

The Green Bay Packers stayed positive with rookie WR Christian Watson through a rough start. That investment paid off over and over against the Cowboys.

In the history of the Dallas Cowboys, which goes back to 1960, only two rookie receivers have ever dominated Dallas’ defense with three touchdowns. On Thanksgiving Day, 1998, a young Minnesota Vikings receiver who was VERY unhappy that the Cowboys didn’t draft him, and wanted revenge, went off for three catches on eight targets, 153 yards, and those three scores.

That young receiver was Randy Moss, whose name you may know.

The second rookie receiver to do that against the Cowboys did it last Sunday. That was second-round pick Christian Watson, the toolsy receiver from North Dakota State whose inaugural NFL campaign had been the personification of boom-or-bust before Week 10.

Watson also became the fourth Packers rookie with three receiving touchdowns in a game, joining Billy Howton in 1952, unlikely Super Bowl I hero Max McGee in 1954, and James Lofton in 1978.

Both Moss and Lofton are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and while we’re a couple (hundred) good games from projecting Watson to that level, Watson’s game might have saved the Packers’ season, and the combination of traits and awareness he showed in the win might be the thing that projects the Packers forward to an unlikely postseason appearance.

It’s not impossible for the Packers, who stand at 4-6 after that 31-28 win over Dallas, to trend decidedly in the right direction. The 2016 Packers were 4-6 following a 42-24 Week 11 loss to Washington. They then rolled off eight straight wins before losing to the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC Championship game. One reason for that late hot streak was third-year receiver Davante Adams, who started to become a target monster as that season progressed. Yes, another second-round guy from a smaller school (Fresno State) paid off when he was most needed.

Again, we’re not saying that Watson is ready to take the mantle of two Hall of Famers in Moss and Lofton, and the Packers’ most gifted receiver of this era in Adams, but what Watson showed in the Cowboys game after inconsistencies and injuries surely does bode well for the future.

Packers coach Matt LaFleur explains decisions to cut Amari Rodgers, Kylin Hill

The Packers coach discussed the process behind cutting Amari Rodgers and Kylin Hill. One was production-based. The other was a failure of expectations within a role.

The individual decisions to release wide receiver Amari Rodgers and running back Kylin Hill were made because of two separate factors: on-field performance and buying in off the field.

Coach Matt LaFleur explained why the Packers released Rodgers and Hill on Tuesday.

The decision on Rodgers was production-based; the process behind Hill was not meeting in-house expectations within a role.

LaFleur on Rodgers: “Amari, that one hurts a lot. I know how much this meant to him. He did everything we asked him to. He was a great teammate. He worked his tail off. You could see him really growing in terms of overall knowledge. But we are in a production-based business, and it’s unfortunate. It truly is. I feel for him. He’s a guy I have a lot of respect for and care for deeply. I’m confident he’s going to get another shot. Sometimes that’s the best thing for guys in this league. You go through a little bit of adversity and get a fresh start somewhere else. I wish him nothing but the best.”

Rodgers, a third-round pick in 2021, had just eight catches in 26 career games and also fumbled five times this season, including a lost fumble against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.

LaFleur on Hill: “It’s a tough deal. I would say this: being a member of the Green Bay Packers is a privilege. And there are standards and expectations that are placed on every member of this team that we expect guys to live up to. I appreciate what Kylin’s been through, and I know it hasn’t been easy coming back from that knee injury that he suffered a year ago, that was a pretty devastating hit. He was a guy we had some high expectations for. I realize he is in loaded room. But regardless of your role, no matter how big or how small, we expect guys to come to work and just be supportive and own that role to the best of their ability. When you don’t do that, this is what happens.”

It’s unclear if a specific incident happened within the building or during Sunday’s win over the Cowboys that directly led to Hill’s release on Tuesday.

Hill, a seventh-round pick in 2021, tore his ACL in Week 8 last season and missed the last nine games of his rookie season and the first seven games of this season. After returning, Hill played just one snap on offense and eight snaps on special teams over the last two games. He was the No. 3 running back behind Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon, a job that will now go to Patrick Taylor, who was signed to the roster after Hill’s release.

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Packers HC Matt LaFleur primed for reunion with former boss, Cowboys DC Dan Quinn

LaFleur credits Quinn with leading him to a head coaching job, but still wants to “kick his [expletive]” Sunday. | From @ToddBrock24f7

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The lead-up to Week 10’s Cowboys-Packers clash has been largely dominated by the obvious storyline of Mike McCarthy making his return to Green Bay, the city where he roamed the sidelines for nearly 13 years, a city he brought a Super Bowl championship to, a city where his wife is from and his daughters were born, a city where a street named for him leads to the stadium where on Sunday he’ll be- for the first time- a visitor.

That’s far from the only coaching connection happening at Lambeau Field in this hotly-anticipated matchup.

Granted, most of those ties come from McCarthy’s staff in Dallas. You need both hands to count the number of current Cowboys assistants who either coached with or played under McCarthy in Green Bay. It’ll be an emotional homecoming of sorts for them all.

But Sunday’s tilt will also have the Packers head coach feeling a little something extra, especially during pregame handshakes.

Matt LaFleur was a key member of Dan Quinn’s staff while the two were in Atlanta. While he credits Quinn for helping him climb the ladder to a head coaching gig of his own, LaFleur admits he’d love nothing more than to beat his old boss by getting his Packers offense to break out of an uncharacteristic slump against the Cowboys’ current defensive coordinator.

“I can tell you, honestly, I wouldn’t be in this position if it wasn’t for Dan Quinn,” he told ESPN’s Ed Werder. “I learned so much from that man and hold him in the highest regard. I want to kick his [expletive], but I just have a lot of love for him.”

LaFleur served as the Falcons’ quarterbacks coach in Quinn’s first year with Atlanta. In his second season there, he helped Matt Ryan achieve league-leading numbers in passer rating and yards per attempt while coming within a whisper of 5,000 yards and earning a berth in Super Bowl LI.

Three days after the Falcons lost that title game in infamous fashion, LaFleur was named offensive coordinator of the Los Angeles Rams. His offense was the top-ranked unit in the league that season; LaFleur moved to Tennessee the next season as OC and play-caller.

Less than a year later, he was hired as head coach in Green Bay, replacing Joe Philbin, the interim man who had been installed when McCarthy was fired a month prior.

And now it all comes full circle for McCarthy, Philbin, Quinn, and LaFleur when the Cowboys and Packers finally kick it off on the frozen tundra.

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Packers coach Matt LaFleur left to answer questions after Tuesday’s trade deadline

The Packers didn’t make a trade, meaning GM Brian Gutekunst didn’t speak to the media. Matt LaFleur answered all the questions about the deadline on Wednesday.

To no one’s surprise, the Green Bay Packers failed to make a single move ahead of Tuesday’s trade deadline. General manager Brian Gutekunst wasn’t made available to the media, leaving head coach Matt LaFleur to answer for the team’s lack of involvement on Wednesday.

“I’ll be honest, when I’m up there, it’s what are we doing to put our team in the best position possible to go gameplan and put our guys in a spot to go execute and go beat a team that we know is going to give us everything they can,” LaFleur said.

As the head coach, it is not LaFleur’s responsibility to sign and trade players. His focus is to work with what he has to prepare for the next opponent. Of course, it’s tough to blame the media for pressing LaFleur on the team’s failure to strike a deal before the deadline, especially when LaFleur is in direct contact with the general manager. But those discussions didn’t even take place, according to LaFleur.

“We didn’t even get into that,” he said. “Our focus was on Detroit.”

So, the only one who has answers for what transpired on Tuesday won’t be heard from until the end of the season. That is when Gutekunst will hold his final press conference before heading into the offseason, which will most likely be sooner rather than later unless the Packers can turn around their disappointing season.

Obviously, coaching and player performance has played a role in Green Bay’s recent downfall, but the general manager could have done something to spark a team in need of juice.

The Packers were reportedly close to trading for Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Chase Claypool before the Chicago Bears swooped in and nabbed him for a second-round pick. But outside of Claypool, Green Bay wasn’t in the mix for anyone else, meaning a second-year receiver is the only one who maybe could have helped this 3-5 roster.

For now, Gutekunst will remain in the shadows while other general managers around the league are willing to talk about the moves they made. On Wednesday, Buffalo Bills GM Brandon Beane said the team had inquired about running back Christian McCaffrey before he was traded to San Francisco. Even though the Bills missed on their first choice, they still added a talented running back in Nyheim Hines to their 6-1 roster.

Meanwhile, the Packers are in the midst of a four-game losing streak after falling to a Bills team that is still getting better. Gutekunst will have to provide answers eventually, but it is unfair to have LaFleur take the punches in the meantime.

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Sputtering Packers offense faces toughest test yet against Bills

A sputtering Packers offense is about to run smack dab into the Bills, who have the NFL’s top defense by DVOA, points per game and yards per game.

This Green Bay Packers offense has mustered just 24 total points in the last two games and now faces its greatest challenge of the season up to this point as they take on a stingy Buffalo Bills defense.

While the last two games may have been the low points for the Packers offensively, moving the ball and putting points on the board has been a struggle all season long. Green Bay enters Week 8 ranked 23rd in points per game and 20th in total yards.

The Bills, meanwhile, boast arguably the best defense in the NFL. Overall, they rank first by DVOA and have allowed a measly 13.5 points per game and just 281.5 yards per game – which again ranks first.

From the front to the back of this unit, there doesn’t seem to be a weakness on this Bills defense. As Matt LaFleur would tell reporters on Wednesday, they play hard, physical, and really well together.

“This defense plays so well together,” said LaFleur. “Very fast, very physical. I think they do really a great job in all three levels at disguising. I don’t think it’s overly complicated, and I mean that in a complementary way, they just play their schemes at an incredibly high level, and they’re one of the better, if not the best team in the league at reacting and running to the ball, and maintaining leverage and gang tackling. Very few missed tackles, that’s the one thing that jumps out on tape. And they just play extremely hard, and I always think that’s the starting point for a great defense, and they do all of that.”

As of now, we do not know what the Green Bay offensive line configuration will look like, given the unknown surrounding David Bakhtiari’s status. But with the starting five they used against Washington, this Packers’ offense felt a bit limited with their play calling as they relied heavily on the quick passing game, tight end chips, and a lack of play-action as a way to provide the offensive line with some assistance. If we see this group again, I would anticipate a similar approach.

If Bakhtiari is available, however, the most likely combination up front would be the Packers keeping Elgton Jenkins at left guard and Jon Runyan at right guard, with Yosh Nijman moving to right tackle. Jenkins and Bakhtiari could form a formidable left side, but Runyan and Nijman have very little experience on the right.

Having this grouping along the offensive line will hopefully force Buffalo to not be so comfortable rushing just four as Washington did. Last week we saw the Commanders primarily rush only four defenders, which allowed them to drop seven into coverage regularly, muddying things up in the passing game for Green Bay.

Any sort of potential success for this offense begins with the play up front, along with LaFleur and Aaron Rodgers having trust in them.

Led by Von Miller, the Buffalo defensive front has recorded the sixth most pressures this season, and they do so with little blitzing. Individually, Miller ranks tied for 12th in pressures among edge rushers, with Gregory Rousseau coming in at 25th, according to PFF. The Bills also have two interior defenders in Da’Quan Jones and Jordan Phillips, who rank in the top-30 in individual pressures.

Against the run, you guessed it, the Bills have been the best, allowing just 3.5 yards per carry. When this Green Bay offense becomes one-dimensional, things get ugly quickly as the pass rush is able to pin their ears back.

The Packers have also been quick to give up on the run game when yards are hard to come by. It may not be pretty at times, but being consistent with running the ball will be a must for the Packers, even if the results aren’t all that great at times. This can help control the clock, allow the offensive line to be the aggressor, and open up the playbook a bit.

Lastly, the Bills have generated 13 takeaways this season, the second-most in the NFL, with 10 coming via an interception. On the other hand, Green Bay has yet to win the turnover battle in a game and has a differential of minus-four, which is near the bottom of the rankings.

For an offense that is sputtering, winning the turnover battle feels like a must if Green Bay is going to have any chance of winning, as it provides the offense with additional opportunities to score and potentially shorter fields to work with º not to mention that it would keep Josh Allen and the explosive Bills’ offense off the field.

The Packers enter Sunday’s contest as 10.5-point underdogs, and it’s hard to argue against that figure. One team is at home and has arguably the best defense in football, while the other has an offense that has had issues even picking up a first down. Any sort of turnaround by Green Bay will require them to clean up and do the little things correctly, something that has given them big issues this season.

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Matt LaFleur addresses Aaron Rodgers’ comments on mental mistakes, cutting reps

Packers coach Matt LaFleur addressed some of what Aaron Rodgers said Tuesday about mental mistakes and cutting player reps.

On Tuesday, Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers told “The Pat McAfee Show” that players making too many mental mistakes may need to see their snaps reduced. Today, head coach Matt LaFleur commented on the remarks made by his starting quarterback.

“I think what he was trying to get across is, everyone needs to be on top of their game, and it starts with us as coaches, first and foremost, making sure we’re on the details,” LaFleur said Wednesday.

Rodgers, for one, hasn’t been on top of his game. He is well aware that he isn’t playing at an MVP level, which prompted him to say he may need to raise his game a tick after losing to the New York Jets and then saying he may need to break the pocket more after a third-straight loss to the Washington Commanders on Sunday.

During that 23-21 loss to the Commanders, the Packers dropped at least five passes and committed multiple penalties, making it hard to sustain drives and score points. These simple mistakes have been a common occurrence all season, which is why Green Bay is off to its worst start under LaFleur. Obviously, not meeting expectations may lead to some tough decisions.

“I think that we have to be truthful with one another, and sometimes the truth hurts,” said LaFleur. “It’s no different than when your kids make a mistake (and) you tell them about it. I don’t think he publicly called out individuals.”

Many are wondering why Rodgers isn’t taking more of the blame for the team’s struggles. Rodgers told McAfee that he has never been on a team prone to making so many mistakes. This season, the average number of miscues per game has doubled and, in some cases, tripled compared to previous years, according to Rodgers.

LaFleur knows as well as anyone that when mistakes are a dime a dozen, executing the offense grows increasingly difficult. That is why he is of the mindset that better play around Rodgers will, in turn, elevate his game.

“Ultimately, for him to be at his best, we need the 10 other guys to be at their best.”

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Packers coach Matt LaFleur is asked if he’d prefer to face Heinicke or Wentz

LaFleur didn’t even entertain the question.

For the first time in four years, Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur is going through some adversity. At 3-3 and coming off back-to-back losses, the Packers desperately need a win over the Washington Commanders in Week 7.

After Green Bay’s ugly loss to the New York Jets in Week 6 at Lambeau Field, frustrated quarterback Aaron Rodgers said the Packers needed to simplify their offense.

When asked about Rodgers’ comments, LaFleur responded: “I don’t know what that means.”

Rodgers later clarified his remarks.

On Wednesday, LaFleur met with the media, and the talk turned to Washington’s new quarterback, Taylor Heinicke. LaFleur praised Heinicke, noting that when he was an assistant with the Falcons back in 2016, he worked out Heinicke and really liked him.

LaFleur also praised Heinicke’s performance against the Packers last season.

Then, a reporter asked LaFleur if he would rather face Heinicke or Carson Wentz. Wentz, of course, is Washington’s starting quarterback but fractured the ring finger in his throwing hand in Week 6.

LaFleur was not impressed with the question.

“I would never answer that question,” he said. “I’m not even going to entertain that.”

Not quite sure why someone would even answer that question.

The Packers are favored over the Commanders on Sunday.

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