No, the Packers' head coach isn't on the hot seat. But his win percentage and play designs can't paper over game-management mistakes like the ones he made against the Panthers.
He reminds me a bit of Philly era Andy Reid. Lots of winning, but no ring (so far). Repeated game management issues. Wanting to win with scheme instead of physically dominating the opponent.
I don't think this article exhausts the significant deficiencies of the coach. Besides the tactical play calling issues, there seems to be a culture problem. Players too often lack focus and mental toughness to execute well, which turns into a tailspin.
The easy counterpoint here is that just a week earlier, the Packers turned a two-possession deficit against a quality opponent on the road into a convincing two-possession victory. This is also the same Green Bay squad that showed requisite mettle to beat down the Lions, who are the "tough" and "focused" team by reputation.
All of which to say, I think a lot of these types of criticisms come out of emotion rather than unimpeachable fact. That doesn't mean the Packers didn't play poorly yesterday, but it's not a more telling data point than everything else combined.
The conservative play calling is very frustrating, but I also can't tell is that because of the injuries? The games where he completely seems to get conservative is when the Oline is getting injured. Last week vs the Steelers, RIPPING in the 2nd half. The idea of giving up playcalling to me is still insane. We did the same thing with MM, and then immediately people wanted him to call plays again. Its a lot of bad execution. Wilson screen, just catch the ball and go.
LaFleur's play-calling has been a plus over the course of his tenure, even if there are valid criticisms of it such as the ones I touched on in the article. But he can still have games where his play-calling hurts the Packers by a significant degree, and Week 9 was an example of that.
Yes agreed. I’ve said this multiple times to Peter on X/twitter. He seems to have this half time character that he pulls out of a closest sometimes. One half he’s petrified the 2nd half he’s cooking. It feels like he doesn’t trust himself sometimes
I think that's a reasonable description, and it applies to a lot of coaches. That probably doesn't make it any less frustrating for a fan, but I think that context is important to understand (general statement, not directed at you in particular).
The other thing that is concerning, I'm not sure what the percentage breakdown it is on fault, but how many "funky" games they've lost. This is not hit on @Peter (everyday listener here!). But how many games do they lose vs weird stat lines. Bryce Young yesterday, Jimmy G in the playoffs, Brady throwing 3 INTs in the 2nd half, Sam Darnold & Dark going wild. Tommy Devito? The Chicago Bears debacle. A lot of "funkiness" its like he needs a moment of "Who are you!?!?" and needs to yell or something.
Haha nope I get exactly what you mean. Coaching is tough. Keeping guys motivated. For 25? Weeks for multiple years. And you could even argue KS at one point looked like he should have been on the hot seat/if not fired but they go on runs.
He reminds me a bit of Philly era Andy Reid. Lots of winning, but no ring (so far). Repeated game management issues. Wanting to win with scheme instead of physically dominating the opponent.
I don't think this article exhausts the significant deficiencies of the coach. Besides the tactical play calling issues, there seems to be a culture problem. Players too often lack focus and mental toughness to execute well, which turns into a tailspin.
The easy counterpoint here is that just a week earlier, the Packers turned a two-possession deficit against a quality opponent on the road into a convincing two-possession victory. This is also the same Green Bay squad that showed requisite mettle to beat down the Lions, who are the "tough" and "focused" team by reputation.
All of which to say, I think a lot of these types of criticisms come out of emotion rather than unimpeachable fact. That doesn't mean the Packers didn't play poorly yesterday, but it's not a more telling data point than everything else combined.
The conservative play calling is very frustrating, but I also can't tell is that because of the injuries? The games where he completely seems to get conservative is when the Oline is getting injured. Last week vs the Steelers, RIPPING in the 2nd half. The idea of giving up playcalling to me is still insane. We did the same thing with MM, and then immediately people wanted him to call plays again. Its a lot of bad execution. Wilson screen, just catch the ball and go.
LaFleur's play-calling has been a plus over the course of his tenure, even if there are valid criticisms of it such as the ones I touched on in the article. But he can still have games where his play-calling hurts the Packers by a significant degree, and Week 9 was an example of that.
Yes agreed. I’ve said this multiple times to Peter on X/twitter. He seems to have this half time character that he pulls out of a closest sometimes. One half he’s petrified the 2nd half he’s cooking. It feels like he doesn’t trust himself sometimes
I think that's a reasonable description, and it applies to a lot of coaches. That probably doesn't make it any less frustrating for a fan, but I think that context is important to understand (general statement, not directed at you in particular).
The other thing that is concerning, I'm not sure what the percentage breakdown it is on fault, but how many "funky" games they've lost. This is not hit on @Peter (everyday listener here!). But how many games do they lose vs weird stat lines. Bryce Young yesterday, Jimmy G in the playoffs, Brady throwing 3 INTs in the 2nd half, Sam Darnold & Dark going wild. Tommy Devito? The Chicago Bears debacle. A lot of "funkiness" its like he needs a moment of "Who are you!?!?" and needs to yell or something.
Haha nope I get exactly what you mean. Coaching is tough. Keeping guys motivated. For 25? Weeks for multiple years. And you could even argue KS at one point looked like he should have been on the hot seat/if not fired but they go on runs.