GREEN BAY \u2014 The Green Bay Packers want their offensive linemen to be versatile.<\/p>\n
But either 2024 first-round draft pick Jordan Morgan isn\u2019t cut out for playing multiple positions, or Packers head coach Matt LaFleur and the offensive coaching staff are asking him to play more spots than they should be.<\/p>\n
Whatever the case may be, Morgan has told anyone who would listen since being drafted that he would prefer to play left tackle \u2014 the position he played throughout high school and his college career at Arizona \u2014 and yet he hasn\u2019t been able to unseat incumbent Rasheed Walker the past two training camps.<\/p>\n
And, after playing right tackle and left guard during Sunday\u2019s 13-10 loss to the Cleveland Browns, it\u2019s reasonable to wonder whether the Packers are spreading him too thin.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think there\u2019s some merit to that, for sure,\u201d LaFleur said during his usual Monday Q&A session with reporters. \u201cEspecially when you look at just [how he was] playing multiple spots in one game. I don\u2019t think that\u2019s easy on anybody, especially a guy who\u2019s still a relatively young player. That\u2019s something we\u2019ve got to certainly look at.\u201d<\/p>\n
Morgan worked at left tackle and left guard during training camp and preseason games, then rotated with starter Sean Rhyan at right guard in the Sept. 7 opener against the Detroit Lions until starting left guard Aaron Banks left that game with groin and ankle injuries.<\/p>\n
Morgan started at left guard in the Packers\u2019 Sept. 11 win over the Washington Commanders with Banks inactive for that game, then took over at right tackle against the Browns after starter Zach Tom lasted only one snap in his return from an oblique injury.<\/p>\n
And when Banks left the game with a groin injury shortly thereafter, Morgan moved to left guard and Belton came in at right tackle. When Walker then missed a few snaps, Belton moved to left tackle and Darian Kinnard filled in at right tackle.<\/p>\n
All the shuffling was less than ideal against a Browns defensive front that is among the NFL\u2019s best, and it likely factored into the Packers giving up five sacks \u2014 tying for the most sacks quarterback Jordan Love has ever taken in a single game.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re a really good defense, I\u2019ll say that,\u201d Love said. \u201cThey do a lot of really good things. But I think the tough part for us is, I feel like we were hurting ourselves more than anything with some of the penalties and the little things.\u201d<\/p>\n
Added Belton: \u201cYou\u2019ve just got to learn from the mental errors, the penalties, and come next week ready to play.\u201d<\/p>\n
LaFleur confessed Monday that his offensive game plan may have been too focused on neutralizing perennial All-Pro defensive end Myles Garrett, who had only a 0.5 sack while his teammates accounted for 4.5. FOX Sports mentioned on the telecast that LaFleur had a separate section on his play-call sheet for when Garrett wasn\u2019t on the field.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously going into the game, there was a huge emphasis on not allowing Myles Garrett to wreck the game, in terms of just trying to chip him,\u201d LaFleur explained. \u201cI knew that D-line was pretty good; [I] probably underestimated them to some level, the other guys. Obviously Myles, we all know and he\u2019s well-respected across the league. But all those other guys, those interior guys were a problem.\u201d<\/p>\n
Special needs | While the Packers weren\u2019t the only team to suffer a blocked field-goal attempt on Sunday, having Brandon McManus\u2019 43-yard attempt blocked with 27 seconds to go \u2014 a kick that, had McManus made it, would have broken a 10-10 tie and likely won the game \u2014 was a brutal blow.<\/p>\n
Morgan was responsible for blocking Cleveland\u2019s Shelby Harris, who got his hand on the ball. LaFleur said the coaches also thought cornerback Denzel Ward, who beat tight end Tucker Kraft off the edge in protection, also might\u2019ve gotten a piece of it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe unfortunate thing about special teams in general is when there is a mistake, a lot of times they\u2019re catastrophic mistakes,\u201d LaFleur said Monday. \u201cObviously the end of the game, that\u2019s a bad one to have happen.<\/p>\n
\u201cBottom line, with us I think it comes down to just being disciplined and trusting your technique and what you\u2019re coached to do on a daily basis. Unfortunately we got lifted, and we played with poor pad level, we didn\u2019t take the correct steps and just didn\u2019t perform the right technique.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you don\u2019t do that against a really good team that\u2019s going to rush hard, you\u2019re susceptible to having a catastrophic event occur.\u201d<\/p>\n
Penalty problems | The Packers\u2019 14 penalties against the Browns were their most by a LaFleur-coached team and the most the team has had a game since 2010.<\/p>\n
The Packers\u2019 28 penalties are tied for fourth-most in the NFL through three games, and the 192 penalty yards are 12th-most.<\/p>\n
Seven of the Packers\u2019 28 penalties have been for false starts on offense, with five of the seven coming against the Browns. And that didn\u2019t surprise LaFleur because they\u2019d been an issue in practice, too.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou see it in practice, it\u2019s hard not to expect it in a game,\u201d LaFleur said. \u201cWe have got to dial in better. We have to have better focus and concentration. Some of those are brutal.\u201d<\/p>\n
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