The state of the Green Bay Packers‘ offense is no laughing matter, but that didn’t stop Matt LaFleur from enjoying a chuckle when he shut down the notion that he’d give up playcalling duties during his Wednesday press conference.
LaFleur is regarded as one of the best offensive minds in the league, but the Packers are coming off back-to-back losses to the Carolina Panthers and Philadelphia Eagles, in which they scored a combined 20 points. For a variety of reasons, Green Bay has been unable to move the ball consistently through the run game or pass game. For long stretches, the offense has gone stagnant, and the playcalling has become too predictable.
The follow-up question was what LaFleur can do better at as someone whose personal mantra is, “It always starts with me,” when things aren’t going well.
“You have to look inward, especially when you go against teams that are good football teams,” said LaFleur. “The complexion of each game’s going to be a little bit different. Like I told the team today, I don’t care if we win 3-0 or 49-48. Bottom line is that we have to find a way to get it done. Otherwise, you get criticized, and that’s just how it is.
“So, especially as the play-caller, you’re trying to put people in the best position possible to go out there and have success. And when we’re not having collective success, then you have to challenge yourself to do better, to find something else in order to go out there and move the ball and score points.”
LaFleur also remarked that no one is more frustrated by the team’s offensive struggles than he is but not frustrated enough to hand over the play-calling duties to someone on his staff.
The Packers have three losses this season when allowing 16 or fewer points, the most in the NFL. In those three games, against Cleveland, Carolina and Philadelphia, the Packers scored 30 total points.
In the even LaFleur made a playcalling change, the most likely candidate to call the plays would be offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich, who was hired by LaFleur in 2019 as the offensive line coach before being promoted. Stenavich has called plays for the Packers’ offense during the preseason, but never in a real NFL game. Senior assistant Luke Getsy has experience calling plays in the NFL after coordinator stops in Chicago and Las Vegas.
Green Bay sits at 5-3-1 and is still in the playoff hunt as the seventh seed in the NFC. Rather than make any drastic changes to their approach, the Packers will rely on improved play and more consistency, particularly from the offensive line, to get the offense back on track.