Cory's Corner: Creativity Is Missing Ingredient
The Packers kept singing the same song by looking lethargic on offense.
It happened again.
The Packers showed up to a game not ready to play and once again lost.
This time it meant more as the 22-10 loss to the Eagles in the NFC Wild Card Playoff ended the season.
“Obviously we’ll comb through everything,” said Packers coach Matt LaFleur, who is now 3-5 in the playoffs. “I’m not making excuses or anything like that. We have a young football team, unfortunately, this is a tough lesson along the way.”
I don’t care about how old this team was this year. The fact that they were the youngest team in the NFL according to the 33rd Team with an average age of 25.11 years old doesn’t mean anything after a training camp, preseason, regular season and a playoff game.
The Packers looked lethargic in the regular season finale vs. a bad Chicago team and the Bears celebrated at Lambeau Field like they won the Super Bowl.
Green Bay’s defense played very well and it was wasted. That side of the ball held Philadelphia to 2-for-11 on third down. Jalen Hurts was 6-for-13 for 39 yards at halftime.
The offense looked timid once again. Instead of the presnap motion and play-action that we saw the Packers win with at the end of last year, Love was mainly in shotgun and he was under pressure on 15 of 36 dropbacks. This season, Love only completed 49 percent of his throws when under pressure — which includes seven touchdowns and six picks.
And maybe Love was never truly right this season after suffering a knee injury on the slippery turf in Brazil in the season opener. But that’s another reason why more needed to be done to open things up in an effort to get the ball out quicker.
Love was 20 of 33 for 212 yards with three interceptions, he was sacked twice and his passer rating was an abysmal 41.5. Some of Love’s decisions were not just head scratching, they were atrocious. But I’ve said this a few times, and in order for Love to prove why he earned that $55 million contract, he needs to keep defenses honest with his legs. He doesn’t need to run for 100 yards a game, but he needs to prove that he can pick up six yards on third down.
Most importantly, this team needs a vertical threat it can trust. Christian Watson has started only 24 games the last two seasons. Even though his catch percentage hasn’t eclipsed 60 since his rookie season in 2022, the Packers really missed having him there. The Packers also need to ask some serious questions about Romeo Doub’s health, because he has suffered plenty of hits to the head.
The most frustrating thing about this year’s Packers are the mental mistakes. Green Bay committed eight penalties for 85 yards — five of which were offensive holding. There’s nothing quite like a drive killer than going 10 yards backwards, especially after a fruitful gain.
The accountability for continued mistakes never showed up this year. The same silly problems kept rearing their ugly head. Against the Vikings in Week 4, the Packers had third-and-3 from their own 23. Love heaved it deep to Doubs, which fell incomplete as Minnesota won 31-29. And in Week 17, Love had his second-straight sub-200 yard passing game and Sam Darnold had a career-high 377 yards as the Vikings won 27-25.
I think the reason why this is so frustrating is because the Packers went 2-5 vs. playoff teams this year. The wins came against a banged-up Rams team and a banged-up Texans team. So, nobody really knows the true litmus test of this team.
What I do know is that Green Bay needs more creativity and it has to run through Josh Jacobs as often as possible. The more that happens, the play-action will sell itself.
The Packers didn’t lose because their roster was significantly worse. They lost because the creativity for some reason left the canvas. It became easy to defend Love and Co., and that’s what LaFleur needs to prevent if he wants to win in the postseason.
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Cory Jennerjohn is a graduate from UW-Oshkosh and has been in sports media for over 15 years. He was a co-host on "Clubhouse Live" and has also done various radio and TV work as well. He has written for newspapers, magazines and websites. He currently is a columnist for CHTV and also does various podcasts. He recently earned his Masters degree from the University of Iowa. He can be found on Twitter: @Coryjennerjohn
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Comments (56)
T7Steve
January 14, 2025 at 06:37 am
Thanks, Cory. Makes sense and sounds easy. All we have to do is fix the coach and the QB.
Super Bowl here we come!
Packerpasty
January 14, 2025 at 10:25 am
yup!! Easy peasy....boy , Richard Sherman on his podcast wasn't very nice about Love...thinks the Packers got fleeced with that big contract...perhap so but he's here for at least two more years so is the young genius MLF.
stockholder
January 14, 2025 at 07:16 am
Your not being Realistic Cory.
Brainstorming requires a deeper underlying issue,
that is related to execution.
You have to practice Out of the box thinking,
And this game involved too many replacing parts.
The creativity went out the window
with Love's audibles and Bombs away.
And my belief is a scamper here or there
would have been a better substitute.
Love has to make plays. He didn't.
Turnovers were the downfall!
jannesbjornson
January 14, 2025 at 08:28 am
Love has to have Plays to make. When your top WRs all hit the gurney, it is time for adjustments and use some power ball sets with 2-3 Tight ends and your All-Pro running back. It may not be what they drew up on Tuesday morning, but the reality of the moment dictates Plan B should be enacted. Entitlement town for some of these dudes. The Rams rebuilt their defensive line through the last two drafts. No need for a high-priced free agent, get Players who showed on the Film. Byron Young dominated the SEC, not the Georgia guys, or a guy like Van Ness. Kobie Turner was the under the radar guy for many of the Mockers'23.
stockholder
January 14, 2025 at 10:15 am
The TEs had to block.
You can't have everything you want
when players go down.
The Rams were in a rebuild and still bought
into the back 7.
Wolf brought in experience for his DL.
It beats the 3 normal yrs of waiting.
The rams won't beat the Lions.
But if I'm going to replace Clark/Wyatt/Slayton.
I'll take the big guy from Michigan.
Or D. Walker from Kentucky.
jannesbjornson
January 14, 2025 at 11:15 am
Ben Sims can catch as well as Musgrave. Block and release is fundamental TE play and Move The Chains. The Eagles can be beaten off the edge. Wyatt is fine and so is Karl. Get guys who have burst. The Rams just shredded the viqueens blocking schemes. They had a chance for T.Sweat, so it goes. Too many holes for this guy to fill after the misses from rds one & two in the 2023-24 drafts. Have to Hit on playmakers.
jannesbjornson
January 14, 2025 at 11:26 am
Forget Wolf and his redundant, legacy story...Reset the Direction to Titletown.
stockholder
January 14, 2025 at 12:38 pm
And end up in the cellar.
Doesn't work for me, ever.
The Black and Blue is just that now.
And so are the playoffs.
We need football players.
Not athletes who nurse on $.
rstain99
January 14, 2025 at 08:11 am
Was hoping Love really would have continued with his progress, it didn't happen injury yes but not sold on his toughness yet. Talented no question but the turn and heave is getting a little old at this point. There is no mid range game the 10yarder over the middle to TE of RB slipping out of backfield is not there. Blame MLF? Play calling for most part was terrible, Stenovich is OC is he calling the plays or MLF. Jacobs was certainly a bright spot, Kraft is a stud, Christian Watson still waiting on him to be a No 1 fast yes do teams have to key on him ? No. Honeymoon is over for MLF, grit needs to be added to lineup more Krafts and less Alexanders. Favre and Rodgers made their receivers better, none were No 1 picks, Adams? 2nd or 3rd rounder. Driver 7th? Jordy Nelson second rounder. Jennings was again 2nd or 3rd rounder. Love needs to help these guys more than he has. Eagles pounded the snot out of the Packers with physical football. Long offseason no question
crayzpackfan
January 14, 2025 at 08:17 am
If we're gonna be a run first team going forward, we better draft or sign a couple mean ass maulers for row one. Most of the yards our RB's are getting is either running away from the middle or just pure effort. We certainly aren't moving dudes out of the way on the regular. This coming draft though doesn't look that inspiring unless you need a RB.
jvole
January 14, 2025 at 10:05 am
Moving on from Myers will be a good start.
dobber
January 14, 2025 at 08:35 am
"Most importantly, this team needs a vertical threat it can trust. "
If the offensive scheme is one where they try to pound and draw the safeties in and then go up top, they need to not rely on 4.6 Dontayvion Wicks to be their up-top guy.
jannesbjornson
January 14, 2025 at 08:51 am
Cookie Time...
RCPackerFan
January 14, 2025 at 10:35 am
Well, they had Watson who averaged 21.4 yards per catch. Only ha 29 catches on the season. Maybe just target him more.
Now obviously he is going to be missing a lot of the season and that changes things. So they need to go and find a threat. They need to add more deep speed this offseason.
Coldworld
January 14, 2025 at 10:44 am
They need to find a field stretcher. That is as important for what it does to defenses as for the yards/catches. Neither Reed nor Melton are tall enough to be ideal, they are both slots despite speed, particularly from the X position where they are having to beat press more. I’m not sure we find a good size/speed option in this draft who is ready to play though.
RCPackerFan
January 14, 2025 at 11:09 am
Definitely.
I honestly haven't really looked into the draft that much yet, so I'm not sure where they are projecting guys right now.
Coldworld
January 14, 2025 at 11:49 am
No, nor have I, but those threats are rare and go early if they are ready. Earlier than we pick and I think we need all of our draft capital. We also need a premium position at speed/quick twitch pass rusher. Those too are at a premium if you want immediate impact. Can we do enough in free agency to free up draft picks? Is there even real talent that will actually become available?
Watson went where he did on pure athleticism because he was a very raw route runner and had technical growth needed from a small school. Those types generally don’t offer much in year one and I think we need a solution for next year, though I’d take a developmental flyer too, happily. Honestly, MVS at a decent price and a developmental deep threat through the draft might mot be the worst outcome.
Johnson on the PS is a developmental guy, but I’ve not seem much film on him and what I have suggests he’s not a true burner (4.4 timed 40 seems about right) and needed refinement. He is an X and good deep in college. I’ve overlooked him here, but obviously there’s an outside chance he could be in their plans.
dobber
January 14, 2025 at 07:27 pm
" Is there even real talent that will actually become available?"
This will be the first time that I post my, "the NFL has it backwards with FA happening long before the draft" comment this offseason.
Things change dramatically in cap and roster management--and I'd argue it changes for the better--if the draft is in March and FA opens shortly after.
crayzpackfan
January 14, 2025 at 11:29 am
How fast is that Higgins kid from Iowa State? He is tall with a good frame. Low drop rate and high contested catch rate. I just don't know his speed.
jannesbjornson
January 14, 2025 at 11:41 am
He's around 4.55. Good catcher like Lazard, gets open.
jannesbjornson
January 14, 2025 at 11:38 am
Jalen Royals, Isaiah Bond, Restrepo, Egbuka from OSU. It's a passing game now. A reason Veach snagged Worthy and Hollywood Brown. When Rice was out for the year, he went after Hopkins--proactive.
Coldworld
January 14, 2025 at 12:00 pm
Bond is essentially Reed or Melton in terms of height but weighs only 180 pounds. He’s a blazing fast but thin body type I’d worry about in the NFL. He’s certainly not an X and I don’t see him as a deep threat in the Watson mold in any way though he might prove one from the slot getting behind coverages at times. His real threat is YAC. LaFleur has not been very good using Reed or Melton to their potential like that. I’d be worried how long he might last jet sweeping.
jannesbjornson
January 14, 2025 at 12:09 pm
See: Xavier Worthy, Brown, Devonta Smith...speed and tracking ability. The WCO is laid to rest. The LaFleur intractability as far as delivering the pedal to the metal has been proved. Change the paradigm.
stockholder
January 14, 2025 at 12:48 pm
Agree with CW- Forget Bonds.
Cost is to high compared to Noel.
And Noel returns punts and is a better Route runner.
Coldworld
January 14, 2025 at 04:27 pm
With respect, speed and tracking ability are not going to replace Watson very effectively without the ability to play press and win at the line. Reed and Melton prove that, as have myriad of smaller speedsters who haven’t succeeded on a regular basis. That doesn’t mean that they can’t win deep, just that they would be doing so instead of Reed and not Watson primarily.
LeotisHarris
January 14, 2025 at 08:44 am
I watched Bucs vs Commies, Packers vs Eagles, and Vikings vs Rams. The Packers O and Vikings on both sides of the ball looked sluggish and overwhelmed. The Rams, Bucs, and Commies all got after it and had playoff intensity from the get-go and throughout the games. Was the missing ingredient creativity in any of those games? I'd say nope.
The ability to get to the QB matters. Sam Darnold, even with all those weapons around him didn't have a chance often enough to be the difference maker he was against us. The slo-mo of the 8th sack on him, the TE stunt, where he stepped to his left only to be greeted by a very large man was a beautiful thing, talk about wide-eyed! KOC was a QB Whisperer and play calling genius, until he wasn't.
I don't expect major changes in Green Bay. Finishing 1-5 in the North and "combing through" our lackluster O in most games this season should facilitate recognition of a need for improvement. The NFL cycles through coaches in predictable fashion, often with similar outcomes. Who knows?
Bitternotsour
January 14, 2025 at 09:06 am
I expect very little change. The normal churn, perhaps a FA signing or two predicated on injury. A full season with Cooper and Walker makes the defense a step faster and more fear inducing. Draft picks and an eye on the future, the Packer way. Same as it ever was.
Wail and moan, cry in your beer, the die is cast and the plan doesn't change, it's still the plan.
Coldworld
January 14, 2025 at 09:59 am
If that is true, the outcome will be the same. If that happens then I doubt Gute or LaFleur will survive. I wouldn’t put it past a Murphy led Packers, but it’s not sustainable.
dobber
January 14, 2025 at 10:30 am
"The Packers O and Vikings on both sides of the ball looked sluggish and overwhelmed."
IMO if the Packers don't hand the Eagles a 7-0 lead early, we'd be talking about the dog game they played, too. That was two really good defensive performances. I'm not one to go lurk on other teams' boards, but my guess is that there's plenty of concern over their offensive performance over there. I think they'll beat the Rams at home this week, but my thinking that they could slug it out with the Lions and win is in doubt.
LeotisHarris
January 14, 2025 at 04:50 pm
You're likely correct in that assessment, dobber. I'd sort of lost the will to care while posting. I wouldn't count the Rams out, hot hand and all, even though I made fun of their shitty division earlier this season.
Commies and Lions might be interesting. If only a fella could place a wager on these football contests. That would make it more exciting for me. Ingesting ethyl alcohol, too, if I could somehow place a bet and ingest ethyl alcohol, sweet baby Jesus, that would be the best! And, wave an American Flag. Bet while waving and American flag and ingesting ethyl alcohol. Damn! A guy can dream, right?
Coldworld
January 14, 2025 at 09:55 am
LaFleur is seldom defended for any aspect of head coaching except for being a brilliant offensive mind. In fact he’s never shown that at all. He comes up with odd innovative play, but I’d argue no more than most good offenses. Certainly not more than this year in Minnesota and Detroit.
If LaFleur isn’t an imaginative or creative play caller, he’s no tactical genius either. He is in fact nothing. That is the problem at the root of this team. What I find baffling is people are seeing this but not reaching the inescapable conclusion. LaFleur isn’t the myth he’s been made of. He wasn’t before we hired him and he hasn’t been since.
pantz_bURp
January 14, 2025 at 10:01 am
F it, letz go bowling dude...
Pantz "baby face" Burp
Packerpasty
January 14, 2025 at 10:25 am
you can have three all pro's at WR and an all pro TE but if your QB cant throw a catchable ball then what's the point??
Coldworld
January 14, 2025 at 04:31 pm
Fortunately we don’t have that problem. Fix the IOL being collapsed back so often and we may find Love’s issues remarkably improve with clean pockets. We also need to run more accurate routes. That helps either accuracy, timing and bring in the right place and body position to make catches. Doubs aside, we are very poor at route accuracy and consistency.
Leatherhead
January 14, 2025 at 10:28 am
If you could add five guys to this team in the offseason, either via the draft or FA, who would you add?
We added Jacobs, McKinney, Cooper, Bullard, and Morgan last year.
Bitternotsour
January 14, 2025 at 10:40 am
two starters on the O Line and a corner. That would be a win.
RCPackerFan
January 14, 2025 at 10:46 am
Position wise, we need to add...
WR, OL, DL/DE, CB.
I'm intrigued with some of the players that really didn't get used much this year due to injury and whatever, to see if they can make an impact next year.
Morgan - Got hurt but did flash starting ability. Could he be LT or LG?
Lloyd - He showed he has some serious speed and ability to add juice to the backfield. He had hamstring issues so hopefully UW can figure that out. He could be a guy that really balances out the backfield with Jacobs.
Hopper - He didn't get many opportunities this year. Whether he was ready for it or not, but in the preseason he can really hit. He could take his redshirt year and rise up next year and be one of the main LB's.
Oladapo - He got hurt and buried in the depth chart. He played against the Bears for the first time and really played well. I wonder if they would come up with a scheme defensively to get him on the field in different packages.
Musgrave - He got hurt and missed most of the season. While Kraft has emerged as TE1. Musgraves speed will get him on the field a lot.
Cox - While he got more playing time after trading Smith, I feel like he was just getting his feet wet. He played in 7 games I believe? Could he propel what he did this year into the offseason and take a big step next year?
jannesbjornson
January 14, 2025 at 11:46 am
The Lloyd pick had to go to Bucky Irving and as they say, "read 'em and weep."
stockholder
January 14, 2025 at 10:57 am
To early- I think they resign Slayton.
If Not I'll take Grant /Walker for DTs. Both?
Favorite LB is Campbell, Which pushes
Cooper/Walker Outside as most predicted.
CB - Morrison Gute's #1 ? and Igbinosun Rd.3
De.- Sign Crosby.
WR- J. Royals and Jaylon Noel to back-up Reed.
(The Top 4 should be gone.)
C- Jake Rogers Mid rd.
jannesbjornson
January 14, 2025 at 11:55 am
Jack Sawyer from OSU knows how to play football and create havoc. You have to move up for the Heavy weights. Nick Scourton, from A&M, the other top Edge guy.
Campbell was from the 2023 draft. He took Van Ness. The other Iowa guy. Slaton gave great effort down the home stretch. A fair contract,or one-year prove it deal with Incentives. I would let Clark go.
stockholder
January 14, 2025 at 12:26 pm
This team needs more at DE.
Either you put veterans in the trench.
Or you keep rebuilding.
J. Campbell is the ILB for Alabama.
Clark still gets double teamed.
He doesn't get concussions.
jannesbjornson
January 14, 2025 at 05:57 pm
Out bid Philly for Zach Baun. Get a Veteran, not a 20 year old.
LambeauPlain
January 14, 2025 at 11:20 am
Williams wants to have a word....;-))
Coldworld
January 14, 2025 at 04:42 pm
Names I can’t give at this point (FA or draft). Positions: DL speed/agility option, IOL, Size/speed threat WR, CB, DT, ILB in that order of priority (not likelihood of the draft falling that way). The first 3 need to be ready to contribute early and consistently next year ideally.
That’s not counting resigning anyone, any trades (Jaire or DL) or any unproven guy being seen as a real contender (such as Donovan Jennings perhaps or Cornelius Johnson, for example).
Personally, I’d sign the kicker first, then Slaton and Eric Wilson. That’s gives us a year of depth at least to develop a DT and buys time at ILB as well. I think we have to look to FA to help us at at least one, possibly two positions if we want to have a chance of immediate improvement.
RCPackerFan
January 14, 2025 at 10:32 am
"The Packers showed up to a game not ready to play and once again lost."
I see this being said a lot. Just because players don't play well or there are mistakes made doesn't mean they didn't show up to play. I see coaches getting blamed a lot too.
The first play of the game is a fumble. Was it that Nixon didn't come to play? No, he didn't do that. He fumbled the ball because the guy put the crown of his helmet into his chest.
Reality is Love started out slow, and never recovered against one of the best defenses in the league. He threw 3 interceptions (the last one shouldn't have counted). That's not on the coaches.
Reality is that after Jenkins got hurt early in this game (1st play of their 2nd drive), they didn't have anyone they could bring in and perform well. Glover was not good and he got benched. Injuries aren't on the coaches.
NFLfan
January 14, 2025 at 11:15 am
@RCP-The 'reality' is that coaching matters in terms of discipline, culture expectations.
Love's play does not exist in a vaccuum. Yes, he has regressed, but why?
In todays NFL, GB has a very average o-line. He is not getting the elite protection Rodgers got from Bakhtiari.
MLF has not called good games in the last several. His poor play-calling will affect QB play.
If GB cannot immediately add 2-3 larger, stronger OL-men, is Butkus the right person to get the most out of more average players? Since Stenavich left as OL coach, there has been a regression.
Hafley is a great example of creating something out of very little.
When a team lacks play-makers, coaching has to be creative/elite.
Leatherhead
January 14, 2025 at 12:11 pm
I think you're howling at the moon here, RC. People don't want to believe this. They want to believe that we lost because our GM is no good, our coaches are no good, and our players are no good.
Just today, a guy said that LaFleur is an unimaginative play caller. He's also said we have a weak offensive line. I'm still trying to figure out how we score all those points with poor blocking and an unimaginative play caller.
The Nixon fumble. You know I don't like to see us return punts or kicks that we don't have to, and this is why. The officials boned us on the hit, then gave us a double boning on the fumble recovery. Philadelphia gets a quick TD. What chaps my hide is that we still had 10 possessions left and we only got to the endzone once. I mean, I think you have to show some resilience.
All season long we've watched this offense sputter before it catches fire. It sputtered again, with 0 points at the half.
If we had a guy that we could have brought in to replace Jenkins who could have actually been ready to play, it might have helped. Those holding penalties cost us points. We started the season with 6 starting caliber OL. One got injured. Then Jenkins. Now we have to put in a guy who can't play.
Last year, we had a similar situation. Tom was injured and on the sideline when we started our final drive of the season. Nijman got beat by Bosa and hurried Love into a season-ending pick.
Remember 2020, and 2021, when we were missing guys like Bakhtiari and Jenkins at the end of the season? This is a persistent problem. That 8th or 9th OL has to be somebody who can play, not some project that might be ready someday.
Bitternotsour
January 14, 2025 at 01:00 pm
8th and 9th guys who are ready to play is a pretty big ask in todays NFL or it would have been done. Sometimes you get snake bit. We got snake bitten in Philly. From play 1 thru the end of the game.
Plenty of what-ifs, but also a pretty stark illustration of what can happen if the breaks don't go your way. Winning super bowls takes some luck as well as talent.
LeotisHarris
January 14, 2025 at 05:00 pm
LH, I think it's pretty judgmental of you to assume Travis Glover was not ready to play just because he chose to fine tune his headlock technique on Sunday. The second holding call looked to my untrained eye to be an attempt to apply Vern Gagne's old sleeper hold. You cannot teach that level of instinct.
NFLfan
January 14, 2025 at 10:42 am
-Love doesn't have Bakhtiari-level protection. Rodgers wasn't himself when his coverage broke down. Love needs to improve his foot work, mechanics, accuracy as well.
-OL needs to be strengthened.
-MLF clings to play-calling but doesn't bring in another authentic offensive mind to turn to when he inevitably loses poise, his mind, his confidence. He is just not on the level of seasoned, elite play-callers. Stenavich is basically an administrator and calls runs plays.
Are those two collaborating seamlessly?? Has the addition of a Jacobs-centric offense caused some lack of focus on the pass game? Is Stenavich qualified to call run plays? He was a good O-line coach but now in charge of run plays?
There are so many questions about coaching in general, IMO.
ricky
January 14, 2025 at 11:34 am
It is beginning to look like LaFleur has become a clone of McCarthy. It seems the creativity and pre-snap movement are absent from the game. Same with play/action. It seems the creativity and misdirection have become afterthoughts. Now, it's either have Jacobs run the ball, or have Love throw long. There used to be WR's who were open all over the field, and Love could make some safe throws. They used to utilize Kraft a lot more in the offense, but stopped doing that for some reason.
Meanwhile, Dontayvion Wicks, still has the same problem he had last year: dropped passes. This year, he had nine drops, tying him with several others for fourth place in number of drops. The Packers knew this was a problem. Yet, he got worse instead of improving. Did the team try to address the problem, but Wicks just "doesn't get it"?
LaFleur needs to take a hard look at himself and his coaching staff and make some tough decisions. And if he can't or won't do this, it could be time for the team to move in a new direction.
NFLfan
January 14, 2025 at 12:26 pm
@Coldworld-I agree with your sentiments.
My more unsettling concern is the lack of accountability.
Who sits down with Matt and critiques him? Murphy is on his way out and is more interested in Titletown, IMO.
Gute? He has also made tremendous mistakes with his many first round failures which has deprived the team of those who could have been leaders, play-makers, stars.
These are my concerns:
I get the strong feeling that all of them scratch each other's backs.
Who gives MLF and Gute authentic feed-back with firm consequences?
Most teams would have had strong issues with both of them by now. Yet, they are allowed to carry on as though
nothing is amiss. My strong guess is there will be some tinkering around the edges with draft/FA choices but MLF will continue to make mistakes with play-calling, clock management, in game adjustments, weak position coaches will remain, Gute will be given carte blanche to choose in the Draft. Yes, he has been somewhat better with Cooper, Williams, Bullard but he relapsed with Hopper, Morgan. Yes, he has done well in FA recently.
Overall, I get very tired when I do not sense integrity and competence at the top.
It is clear that the Lions and Vikings are in alignment-top to bottom.
Packers: Who is in charge? Who issues consequences? I think this is why fans may get over-involved with attempts to 'fix' things. This happens when they sense a vacancy in Leadership.
Ed Policy? He has already said he is not a football guy
dobber
January 14, 2025 at 01:23 pm
Tom Clements retires. Given the timing, I wonder if he was encouraged to retire.
I suspect it will only be a few days before Luke Getsy is named QB coach.
NFLfan
January 14, 2025 at 01:30 pm
@Dobber-
He may have given up. Love's footwork and back-foot throwing could not have made Tom happy.
Why can't GB look beyond their previous coaches? Getsy? I fervently wish GB could look farther afield to see who is showing signs of being the best QB coach. Love is an expensive entity and the very best and innovative coach would be a worthwhile investment. Someone please research other teams, other coaches. (Won't happen)
Same for the under-performing position coaches (won't happen)
MLF is very clannish--small circle; same people.
Coldworld
January 14, 2025 at 04:53 pm
I was surprised he came back last year. He’s financially extremely well set as I understand it (other than his contribution). He didn’t have to return at all. I’m glad he did, but I am hardly surprised he’s chosen to re-retire.
TheBigCat
January 14, 2025 at 01:33 pm
Cory, agree w/ analysis. For whatever reason(s), Love did not play to the potential he displayed the second of last year. We are not privy to everything that goes on behind the scenes, but the Packers sure seem to lack accountability for poor performance and discipline. And this is a function of leadership. MLF strikes me as a "rah-rah" HC more suited to the college game, than the NFL (which seems to require a coach to be a benevolent dictator at best).