Saving Season Starts With Packers’ Leadership
GREEN BAY, Wis. – Following three consecutive seasons of 13 wins, there aren’t many members of the 2022 Green Bay Packers who have been part of back-to-back losses or any sort of real in-season adversity.
That adversity is here, delivered like a wrecking ball. The New York Jets beat the Packers 27-10 on Sunday at Lambeau Field. They wrecked coach Matt LaFleur’s game plan, they wrecked LaFleur’s bounce-back invincibility, they wrecked the team’s home superiority, they wrecked the pass protection and they wrecked Aaron Rodgers with four sacks and nine quarterback hits.
The fate of the season will be determined by how the Packers react. Will they bounce back next week at Washington before embarking on the toughest part of their schedule? Or is the season spiraling down the drain?
The next six days will provide that answer.
“I think it’ll be interesting to look at the comments from all of our guys and coaches and, hopefully, we stick together,” Rodgers said. “That’s the important thing. But until I see us breaking ranks, I’m not going to say there’s any wobbliness going on.”
Only 10 members of the Packers were in Green Bay before LaFleur’s arrival. The 2019, 2020 and 2021 draft classes only know about winning. Now, at 3-3, a real turning point to the season has arrived.
“If you don’t correct yourself, it really doesn’t matter what you come up with,” LaFleur said. “So, we can sit here and study the opponent all we want. Or, if we don’t fix ourselves first, it doesn’t matter what we put in front of our players.”
As one of the team leaders, Rodgers knows the message and mindset and direction starts at the top. That’s LaFleur and Rodgers, first and foremost, and the team’s veteran leaders.
From that perspective, it was interesting to hear LaFleur bemoan the team’s trip to London as some sort of inconvenience. It also was interesting to hear LaFleur, a couple days before facing a Jets team featuring his close friend Robert Saleh as coach and brother Mike LaFleur as offensive coordinator, say how “you hate beating up on your buddy.”
Just about everyone on his roster was looking forward to playing in London. And just about everyone on his roster would happily knock over his brother to earn a victory and bragging rights.
Maybe LaFleur’s messaging had nothing to do with the Packers blowing a comfortable lead in London against the Giants and then laying a giant egg on Sunday against the Jets. Then again, in the locker room after the loss to the Giants, cornerback Jaire Alexander said he wouldn’t be worried unless they lost to the Jets. Rodgers’ response that day?
“I’m a firm believer in the power of words and manifestation. And we’ve got to check ourselves on that, because talking about that is not winning football. There was conversation about it in the locker room, and I don’t like it. Ja’s my guy but we don’t need to be talking like that.”
Rodgers reiterated that theme after getting knocked around by the Jets on Sunday. Once again, he used a version of the word “manifest” to note that the team must keep the negativity at bay.
“This is the NFL, so nobody’s going to feel sorry for you,” Rodgers said. “Listen, get back to business. If it’s good enough when we were 3-1, it’s got to be good enough when we’re 3-3. Can’t ride the rollercoaster wave of emotions. Like I said, it’s going to be interesting to see how we all respond to this tomorrow and this week. I feel like we had a great week of practice, so this performance today was surprising. We’ve got to watch our language and the kind of energy that we’re manifesting, but I’m going to be steady with the guys and I expect our leadership to do the same.
Rodgers said the Packers aren’t in “crisis mode.” Asked his belief that this team can be great, Rodgers said, is “Probably higher than yours.”
From first glimpse, there are no cracks in the ship. Outside linebacker Rashan Gary said he was “hungry” for the team to start playing to “our standard.” Receiver Allen Lazard said the team’s success the past three seasons and its work this offseason will pay off.
“Just because we’re having a little hiccup right now and we’re not playing our best ball, the reason why we’re so down right now, is because if you go off the last three years of being 13-3, 13-4, it’s just like, it doesn’t match up to it,” Lazard said. “So, nothing to be too crazily disappointed about. Frustrated. We know what the standard is. We know what the expectations are, and we just got to go back out and fix it. We start next week.”
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