Matt LaFleur shares blunt assessment of what it’s really like for the Packers to face Aaron Rodgers for the first time
Head coach spent his first four seasons in Green Bay with Rodgers at quarterback, and now the veteran player will face his old team for the first time.
It’s hard to contain feelings with such an impactful storyline as the Green Bay Packers prepare to face Aaron Rodgers for the first time ever. However, head coach Matt LaFleur doesn’t want to transform the “Sunday Night Football” game into something bigger than what it is. Inside the locker room, the message is about the Pittsburgh Steelers, not about Rodgers.
“We’re playing the Pittsburgh Steelers, who happen to have Aaron Rodgers,” LaFleur said on Monday. “It’s as simple as that. That’s for you guys [media] to talk about. We’ve got a lot of respect and love for Aaron. What he’s done here, he’s a Hall of Famer. Our past together included a lot of great moments, but this game is not about that. It’s about going to Pittsburgh, Sunday Night Football. Our guys will be jacked up, their guys will be jacked up. It’s about the Green Bay Packers versus the Pittsburgh Steelers, and all those other storylines are for you guys to talk about.”
Connections with Rodgers
The Packers have an obvious connection with Aaron Rodgers, and that includes LaFleur himself. But looking at the roster, the turnover is so big that it’s not that deep. Only 13 players of the current team were already with the franchise back in 2022, when Rodgers played his final season in Green Bay: Quarterback Jordan Love, offensive linemen Zach Tom, Elgton Jenkins, Sean Rhyan, and Rasheed Walker, wide receivers Romeo Doubs and Christian Watson, edge defenders Rashan Gary and Kingsley Enagbare, linebackers Quay Walker and Isaiah McDuffie, defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt, and cornerback Keisean Nixon.
“A lot of these guys didn’t even play with him,” LaFleur added. “There’s a few, but that’s for you guys. I’m going to talk about how we, just like every week, focus on our blueprint and our keys in order to go to Pittsburgh, which is a damn good football team in a really tough, hostile environment, and try to play our best. We haven’t put our best out there yet, so we’ve got a lot of work to do.”
LaFleur has already watched some plays and games from Rodgers in Pittsburgh, but not on a deep level, which is starting to happen ahead of the matchup this week.
“It might be on while you’re working or whatever, but it sounds like you’re paying a lot of attention to it,” LaFleur explained. “That’s kind of what we’re diving into right now.”
It’s impossible to fully get away from the big narratives around Aaron Rodgers facing the Packers. But Matt LaFleur will try his best to make sure his players are focused on the Steelers, and not about what the external perception of the game will be.
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