Matt LaFleur gets real after Packers get run over by Lions
No NFL coach is going to be happy after experiencing a loss like the Green Bay Packers experienced on Thursday night. Hell, not even a peewee coach is going to happy. So, naturally, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur kept it very, very real after his team fell to 2-2 after a 34-20 loss to the […]
No NFL coach is going to be happy after experiencing a loss like the Green Bay Packers experienced on Thursday night. Hell, not even a peewee coach is going to happy.
So, naturally, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur kept it very, very real after his team fell to 2-2 after a 34-20 loss to the Detroit Lions.
"Give Detroit a lot of credit they came in and they worked pretty good… We knew they were a tough opponent. But they manhandled us, really in every phase," LaFleur said after the game. "… It was very humbling. And sometimes that happens, but you know, we just, we can't continue to go backwards. We keep going backwards."
But he got particularly spicy with one reporter after he was asked what happened in the first half to cause the offensive dismay on the field.
"I mean, you saw it Pete. We got our ass kicked. That's a BS question, man," said LaFleur.
"It wasn't good enough. They whipped us; they manhandled us. Again, If I knew the answer to that it wouldn't have happened," LaFleur said in response to the next question about the Lions getting home with four pass rushers on a regular basis.
The Packers offensive line was certainly a big reason why the team lost its fourth-straight game to the Lions. The unit is currently through injuries to the its three best players in David Bakhtiari, Elgton Jenkins, and Zach Tom. The former two didn't play and the latter was playing with a knee injury that cropped up during the 18-17 win over the New Orleans Saints. Still, every team in the NFL deals with injuries. It's all about finding ways to overcome them and the Packers clearly didn't have that answer in Week 4.
"I don't think anybody's feeling sorry for us. So we got to get better," said LaFleur. "We got to look at what we're asking our guys to do. Everything wasn't good enough. So the plan wasn't good enough. I mean, that was that was humiliating being down, 27-3."
He's right. But getting better ultimately falls on LaFleur and the coaching staff. If you're on an NFL roster, you're a good football player. But there are clear gaps in talent and ability between guys like Bak, Jenkins, and then Walker and Newman. In those instances, it's up to the coaches to figure out how to scheme around their weaknesses and highlight their strengths. And, of course, come up with a good game plan.
"I mean, there's plenty of blame to go around. I'm always going to look at myself first and foremost and see what kind of position we're putting the offense in," said LaFleur. "… I think that's something that we'll we'll take a good hard look at, you know, over the course of these next 10 days over the weekend, just trying to find different ways to win."
We'll see what happens on Monday Night Football against the Las Vegas Raiders. If the Packers can get Jenkins back, that'll be a huge help, but obviously, that's not a guarantee. Therefore the Packers need to keep their heads down and plugging away in order to find some kind of solution. Because, man, do they need to.
