For LaFleur, Laughs Limited to Dark Humor

With Allen Lazard joining Randall Cobb and Christian Watson on the injured list, the Green Bay Packers have to find a way to compete with the Buffalo Bills.

Author:
Bill Huber
Publish date:
Oct 24, 2022 10:00 PM EDT

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Green Bay Packers

GREEN BAY, Wis. – A day after a 23-21 loss to the Washington Commanders, Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur managed one laugh over the course of a press conference that lasted about 22 1/2 minutes.

Unfortunately, the only humor in LaFleur’s football life is dark humor.

When The Green Bay Press-Gazette’s Kassidy Hill asked LaFleur about the state of a receiver corps in which Randall Cobb is on injured reserve, rookie Christian Watson has missed four of the last five games with a hamstring injury and top veteran Allen Lazard walked through the locker room with his left arm in a sling after suffering a shoulder injury during the second half, LaFleur laughed for a split-second.

What else is there to do?

The Packers have lost three consecutive games to fall to 3-4. During the skid, they rank 23rd in scoring, 30th in yards per game and 31st in yards per passing attempt.

And they’re supposed to get out of that funk – with a game at the powerhouse Buffalo Bills coming up on Sunday night, no less – without two of their top three veteran receivers and their rookie home-run threat?

“Yeah, you know, it’s definitely not where we want it to be in terms of that room, but injuries are a part of this game. You’ve got to adjust, you’ve got to adapt,” LaFleur said. “It’s not the first time. We’ve gone through this before here.”

That’s true. Last year, the Packers were without Davante Adams (COVID), Lazard (COVID) and Marquez Valdes-Scantling (hamstring; injured reserve) for their Thursday night game at the undefeated Arizona Cardinals. With Equanimeous St. Brown, Cobb and Amari Rodgers starting, Juwann Winfree coming off the bench and tight end Robert Tonyan suffering a torn ACL, the Packers stunned the Cardinals 24-21.

That game was supposed to be the blueprint in this post-Adams world. Instead:

- Against Arizona, Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon combined for 31 rushes for 137 yards. However, LaFleur too often has forgotten about the running game. The Packers have run the ball 29.4 percent of the time the last three games, the second-lowest rate in the NFL.

- Even with their depleted weaponry, the Packers were 6-of-14 on third down vs. the Cardinals. After going 0-for-6 vs. the Commanders, they’re a 30th-ranked 25.0 percent the last three weeks.

- Highlighted by Rasul Douglas’ game-saving interception, the Packers won the turnover battle 3-0 vs. Arizona. This season, the Packers are 26th in the NFL at minus-4 in turnovers. They haven’t won the turnover battle in any game this season.

LaFleur has so many problems on his hands, it must be like trying to fix the Titanic with a half-roll of scotch tape and a stick of that crunchy gum found in a pack of old-school football cards. The biggest and most immediate problem will be trying to cobble together a passing attack to keep pace with the dominant Bills. Even while playing one fewer game, Buffalo has 48 more points, six more touchdowns, 321 more yards, 10 more third-down conversions and seven more plays of 30-plus yards than the Packers.

The Bills are second with 29.3 points per game. The Packers are 23rd with 18.3 points per game. Even when Lazard and Cobb were healthy, the offense wasn’t good enough. Who’s going to make the plays to keep them competitive if the game turns into a track meet? Or, same as it’s been for months, who will get open on third down in a big moment in a big game?

Ready or not, it might be up to Romeo Doubs, Amari Rodgers and Samori Toure to be primetime players.

“We’ve got to get some guys ready to play. Bottom line,” LaFleur said. “And it doesn’t matter who it is. The expectation does not change. Ever. And there’s a high standard in terms of what the expectations are, of what our players and coaches and everybody in this building feel, as well as our fan base. And so, when those expectations aren’t being met, the bottom line (is) it’s not good enough. We’ve got to find some solutions.”