Three 13-win seasons. Two NFC championship games. Securing the number one seed twice in three years. No one would have suspected that Matt LaFleur’s job as head coach of the Green Bay Packers would be in question.
Nevertheless, after an unbelievable implosion, the Packers have now lost five straight, each loss seemingly worse than the last, with their season unraveling in a way that no one saw coming.
There have been issues; losing key players and coaches in the offseason, a pile of injuries occurring throughout the season, and unexpected performances from unexpected players have led to this team’s capitulation.
But the coaching and play calling from LaFleur have been questionable, to say the least, something that Cheeseheads have not seen as the former Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator heads into his fourth year as head coach.
Pitiful play calling
When Matt LaFleur was hired in 2019, Packers fans were excited about the potential he could bring to the frozen tundra.
Coming from the Sean McVey and Kyle Shanahan schemed offenses, it was a gigantic shift from the stale and outdated Mike McCarthy offense, leading to his firing in 2018.
The first three years at the helm for LaFleur and his brand of offense worked brilliantly, scoring 23.5, 31.8 and 26.5 points per game in 2019, 2020 and 2021, respectively.
2020 was a special year for LaFleur’s offense, in particular, scoring 20 more touchdowns, 66, than they punted the ball, 46, such was their quality, leading to Aaron Rodgers’ third NFL MVP award in his career.
The run game was also utilized perfectly, with Aaron Jones rushing for 1,104 yards on the season, punching the ball into the endzone nine times and showing how balanced the offense was.
However, fast-forward to the present day, and the offense is nothing like its 2020 version.
Through nine games, Matt LaFleur’s Packers are only averaging 17.1 points per game, far lower than his first three years as head coach, with only 18 touchdowns scored in those run of games.
Along with a stagnating offense, the calls from the sideline have been dubious.
With the ball taken out of the running back’s hands much more than in previous years, the Packers are much more predictable, and their production has gone down.
The games versus the Washington Commanders and the Detroit Lions highlighted how Matt LaFleur has seemingly abandoned the running game, with Jones only totalling seven touches in the game versus the Commanders.
And in yesterday’s loss against the Lions, LaFleur chose to run the ball 21 times, compared to Rodgers’ 43 passing attempts, which led to the Packers scoring a shambolic nine points on the day.
Conservative coaching
Another item that Packers fans have been displeased about is something that has occurred many times over LaFleur’s tenure as Packers head coach.
The Packers under LaFleur, time and again, have seemed poorly coached and underprepared in some instances throughout these four seasons.
After the 2020 season, the Packers were outscored 75-18 by their opponents after coming off a bye week, with their preparation coming into question after having a week’s rest.
And this season, the coaching from the Green Bay head coach has come into question again, with second-half collapses from the Packers being the hallmarks of a poorly coached team.
The London game versus the Giants was a prime example of a second-half implosion.
Leading the game 20-10 at halftime, LaFleur’s team only managed to produce two points in the second half, allowing the Giants to rally and take the game away from Green Bay and complete the comeback.
Along with these implosions, the Packers third down efficiency has decreased since 2020, dropping from around 50% to just 39% in two years.
The decline in fourth down efficiency is even more damning for LaFleur, with 62% of fourth downs completed in 2020 dropping to just 20% in 2022.
Three 13-win seasons. Two NFC championship games. Finishing as the number one seed twice in three years. No one would have suspected that Matt LaFleur’s job as head coach of the Green Bay Packers would be in question.
Nevertheless, after an unbelievable implosion, the Packers have now lost five straight, each loss seemingly worse than the last, with their season unraveling in a way that no one saw coming.
There have been issues; losing key players and coaches in the offseason, a pile of injuries occurring throughout the season, and performances from players that were totally unexpected have led to this team’s capitulation.
But the coaching and play calling from LaFleur has been questionable, to say the least, something the Cheeseheads have not seen as the former Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator heads into his fourth year as head coach
