Matt Lafleur Has An Opportunity To Prove That His Success Wasn’t Solely A By-Product Of Aaron Rodgers
Packers Q&A! Let’s get into it
“Will any of this year’s Packers win an award? If so, who will win what?” Lightningbauer
That’s a great question.
Looking at the potential NFL Honor awards the one that stuck out to me most was “coach of the year”. Matt Lafleur has a chance this season to show that his years of leading the Packers with Aaron Rodgers at the helm had a large part due to him being the coach.
There has been debate over the years that questioned whether Matt Lafleur’s success was solely a by-product of having Aaron Rodgers at quarterback. It’s a fair question, but in my opinion you can’t be one of the winningest coaches in NFL history in your first four seasons and not be a very good coach, even if you are led by one of the best QBs of all time. Currently Lafluer has the 4th best winning percentage in NFL history.
Heading into 2023 Lafleur faces his toughest test yet. With the uncertainty of Jordan Love it’s up to Matt Lafleur to put this offense in the best position to succeed. If the Packers exceed expectations in 2023 and end up making a run in the playoffs, there’s a good chance Lafleur could be in the running for coach of the year.
In my book Matt Lafleur is already one of the better coaches in the NFL, but if he really wants to stake his claim as one of the best in the NFL then he needs to take this young and inexperienced team and make them great.
When it comes to the players awards I think it’ll be tough for any Packers player to win MVP. Odds are it’s a QB. It’s possible that an MVP is in Jordan Love’s future but that happening his first year is highly unlikely.
If Rashan Gary is able to return by week 1 and shake off the rust then defensive player of the year could be in the cards. He’d have to have his best season yet, and if he misses the first few games it’ll make it way less likely.
Lukas Van Ness could be in the running for defensive rookie of the year. It’ll come down to how much playing time he gets and how quickly he becomes comfortable on the defense.
“With the recent news that the wide receiver room is more open to Love, and Romeo Doubs saying that he can actually ask the qb questions now, what does that say about Aaron Rodgers role as a leader in GB, and if this might be more insight into where Rodgers might’ve been an issue in Gb?” I Mig I
I haven’t heard the Romeo quote that you are referring too but it’s possible that I missed it. I heard him state that he can ask Jordan questions but I didn’t hear that he couldn’t ask Rodgers questions. If you have a clip or article where it says that feel free to comment it down below and I’ll take a look.
I believe in the interview with Romeo Doubs you are referring to earlier this week Doubs mentioned that Rodgres taught him a lot, even though he didn’t talk to him very much. Doubs clearly didn’t say it to throw shade but instead was speaking matter of factly.
I remember seeing an interview from Romeo Doubs a few months back where he mentioned not hanging out much with Aaron off the field. I don’t think that’s anything against Rodgers' leadership. A 39 year old is at a much different stage in life than a 23 year old. It’s just natural for you to spend time with the guys who are most similar to you off the field.
There’s no doubt a massive difference in Rodgers presence in the Packers locker room vs Jordan Love. Most of the young players growing up watched Rodgers on TV as kids. It has to be wild to then be on a team with a guy you’ve watched growing up your whole life.
We typically never have the full idea of what really goes on in locker rooms. We get little tidbits from players and have to make judgements on those quotes. It’s not to say we can’t read into the information they share, but I try not to make too large of a judgement off of little comments here and there. I like to give people the benefit of the doubt unless something is crystal clear.
With Jordan Love being around the same age as most of the young guys on the team it could lead to a closer bond than Rodgers had with the receivers last year. When you hang out with someone more than just on the field and in the locker room there’s no doubt you’ll have a closer relationship.
“Why are the throwback t-shirts on the Pro Shop website 40 dang dollars?!? Geez.” Matt Hawkins
They must age like fine wine.
“Who is the front runner for RT?” Yooper87
Right now it’s looking like 2nd year player Zach Tom. In the OTA practice that was open to the media a few days ago Tom was taking first team reps over Yosh Nijman at right tackle.
It’s still too early to know who will come out on top but it’s interesting to note.
One thing I’m wondering is if the Packers line would be more solid overall with Zach Tom taking over at right guard for Jon Runyan and Yosh Nijman playing at right tackle. We’ll keep an eye on the competition and see if that even looks like a possibility.
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