After rethinking about Sunday’s game against the Detroit Lions, here are three things worth discussing:
1) Perhaps clocks were set ahead two years instead of back an hour on Sunday morning because Green Bay’s loss to the Lions was what I thought the Packers would look like after Aaron Rodgers was gone and the front office gutted the roster of a plethora of highly-paid veterans. Instead, a team with a $150 million quarterback and seven other players making at least $10 million couldn’t beat a 1-6 team that had traded its best offensive player earlier in the week. I’ve watched the Packers for over four decades, and all things considered, this might be the worse stretch of football I’ve ever seen. As a fan, you expect ineptitude when Randy Wright or Jim Zorn is under center and when the defense is filled with George Cumbys and Estus Hoods, but dropping five straight games despite returning 20 of 22 preferred starters from a 13-4 team is hard to accept. And if things weren’t bad enough, Mike McCarthy will be bringing his 6-2 Cowboys to Lambeau in six days, looking to settle a score with the franchise that unceremoniously fired him during the middle of the 2018 season.
2) Rodgers hasn’t played well all season, but Sunday was the first time he was the No. 1 reason why Green Bay lost. The reigning MVP made four throws that would be inexcusable for a rookie promoted from the practice squad and forced to start on two days notice. The first of his three picks deflected off a linebacker’s helmet. The second was supposed to be a one-yard pass to tackle-eligible David Bakhtiari that somehow came up short. The third was thrown late and behind Robert Tonyan. And the worst toss of all might’ve been the one that couldn’t reach Samori Toure, who got behind the secondary and would’ve scored an easy TD. If Rodgers’ pathetic performance was due to the thumb he hurt in London a month ago; then he needs to sit until he’s able to throw the ball with more strength and better accuracy. And if the banged-up digit wasn’t the cause of him looking like a poor man’s Jay Cutler versus the Lions, that’s an even bigger issue.
3) We’ll learn a lot about coach Matt LaFleur in the next nine weeks. After facing very little adversity in his first three years on the job, he’ll be tasked with keeping the Packers together in the midst of a bad season that only figures to get worse. With Dallas (6-2), Tennessee (5-3), and Philadelphia (8-0) next up on the schedule, 3-6 figures to be 3-9 before the calendar turns to December. Will LaFleur be able to keep his team from quitting and/or pointing fingers at each other and the coaches? Does he have the cojones to sit Rodgers and let Jordan Love start the final handful of games? Because LaFleur was so successful in his first three seasons and just signed an extension, he’s in no danger of being fired. That said, he’s very much in danger of losing the respect of the men in the locker room, and once that happens, it’s almost impossible to regain. LaFleur needs to be a real leader now. How he does his job will determine whether 2022 is just a small blip on a long and successful career with the Packers or the beginning of the end of his time in Green Bay.
[yop_poll id=” 72″]
If Rodgers is now directing our offensive schemes does this mean that LaFleur is now switching to QB ?
Here’s a helpful hint Matt/Aaron. You could barely run a 4 or 5 wide spread offense effectively when you had Davante and MVS, what makes you think you can run it with Sammy Watkins and Amari Rodgers ?
The last four plays to try and win the game were beyond belief incompetence. I cannot believe a staff is this bad. The last toss to Watkins where he and Rodgers have no idea what each other are doing was the final master stroke of this Picasso. Rodgers couldn’t hit a Brahma bull in the backside with a handful of rice from two paces. He still has plenty of arm but his mechanics and footwork are awful.
Who runs the play clock to 0 when its’ the 4th qt and you’re two scores down ? Most teams run up tempo, hurry up, we run our Melatonin offense.
Gee, I wonder if McCarthy will be able to come up with a defensive scheme to stop the offense he implemented in GB that we’re still running ?
LaFleur needs to make a decision. You can run an offense that doesn’t score any points but satisfies your QB or you can run an offense with play action, run heavy, motion, that gives you a chance to win but may not satisfy your QB. Seems to me Tom Brady did ok playing within a system, maybe we should try it ?
I purchased milk today. Aaron Jones picture was on the carton.
Hey Matt, let me help you out. There’s only two situations where Dillon gets on the field. When Aaron Jones needs a rest and if you have a two score lead and are running clock in the 4th qt. Only one of these scenarios is possible reality.
Lions DB’s head hunted all day. Watson got concussed on a forearm shiver to the head. Ref looked right at it, no call.
It’s time to play the youngin’s like Jonathan Ford, Wyatt, etc. Gary is gone, the season is toast. Once we’re mathematically eliminated then play Love. Rodgers will get mad but not mad enough to pass up $59 million next year. Make up some BS about his thumb, has to sit, blah, blah, etc.
Really something last night watching the Titans defense {less talent than us} play aggressive, assignment sure football. Unreal what a well coached team looks like compared to ours. Must be nice to have a real DC. Our WR’s look like the Chiefs compared to theirs yet, they somehow manage to play KC to the wire.
We had the ball inside Detroit’s 5 yard line twice. Inside the 20 twice more. At the 23 once. We managed three points. Always nice to see LaFleur panic and leave points on the field in the 2nd qt.
Hey Gutekunst, the time to bring in a decent vet WR is BEFORE the season. See, after the rest of the league sees your WR corp is:
A. Garbage
B. Decimated by injury
The price goes up. Please hire John Dorsey and Elliot Wolf right now.
At least we have the draft to look forward to with a top 5 pick. I can hardly wait for Gutekunst to package up our 1st and 2nd to move up for Oren Burks.
Lafleur doesn’t have the stones to say anything to Rodgers. Let me ask a question. I played high-school football. If my QB was acting like Rodgers I would lose all respect for the coach if he didn’t do anything to stem the tide of disrespect.
This groveling at the lord and master Aaron Charles Rodgers is beyond my understanding. It’s a sickening site. I say F#@% Aaron Rodgers.
It’s clear that Lafleur has either lost the locker room or is damn close. This is a cluster and way past time to fire ? some people. Gutey out, Lafleur out, Gap-tooth out, Ball out. How can you have accountability when there’s no punishment for bad play, poor coaching? Lafleur says the same thing over and over yet nothing changes. I’d have tuned him out long ago. Grow some stones fire these SOB’s before they completely destroy the franchise.
Especially Gap-tooth… his ass needs to be shown the door today.
In the end, this is an abomination. Sad commentary… I guess it’s back to the 70’s and 80’s. Fun times….
Right now Rodgers is throwing the ball like John Hadl and acting like Jay Cutler. I think his thumb is impacting his throwing. He’s short passes always look like the nose of the ball is down and he’s getting a lot of deflections at the line.
A trip to IR would allow time for his thumb to heal and let Love get in a few games. It doesn’t help that the receivers are catching the ball like J’mon Moore.
After the 70’s and 80’s the last thirty years have been awesome and I don’t want a return to the dark times.
Whether or not Matt LaFleur can keep this team together might depend on who his QB is going forward. Aaron Rodgers was never universally loved by his teammates when he was younger. Now with the generational age gap and his resentment caused by throwing his teammates under the bus in recent weeks, might force MLF’s hand, like it or not. While the national media has no problem saying that Rodgers is obviously done. It’s cause his legion of fans and even Rodgers himself to arrive late to the party. How you fix the problem depends on how much you blame on Rodgers. If it’s Rodgers himself that’s the main problem, finding a QB is the answer. If it’s Gutekunst then you gut the roster and start over. Swapping out Rodgers seems the most likely to me. And at this point the easiest course of action. We need to know if Love can play or if we need to draft a QB with our top 5 pick. We’re way past worrying if benching Rodgers hurts his feelings. Rodgers likely ends his career like he started it. On the bench.
I’m not holding my breath waiting for LaFleur to tell Rodgers he’s being benched.
I can see a scenario where Rodgers does finish out the season as starter. Let’s suppose, with the season lost, management approaches Rodgers with the decision to take a look at Jordan Love the remaining 5 or 6 games. Rodgers could say, let me finish the season as starter and I’ll retire. No drama, no hassle. It would save Rodgers the added embarrassment of finishing his career on the bench. It would save the team money and give them a clean slate at QB going forward. If he walks away now his fans will always blame Gutekunst, Murphy, and Darnell Savage. The longer he plays the less his fans can defend him. It could be a win/win for everyone. The Packers will have a top 5 pick and would draft one of the premium QB prospects even if Jordan Love played lights out. Brian Gutekunst will ultimately be judged by who he replaces Rodgers with. It’s why he drafted Love and why he’ll use his top pick on a QB. More bites out of the apple the better chance of getting his man. Then he lets the best man win in camp next year between Love and his draft pick. It makes more sense to me than blaming everything on Darnell Savage.