Underrated LaFleur Continues to Work Magic
The beats go on for Matt LaFleur.
The numbers are silly. In his first 40 games as the Green Bay Packers’ coach, he’s 33-7. First-year Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell could on a 33-game winning streak and only tie what LaFleur has done.
In NFL history, only Hall of Famer Guy Chamberlin, who went 34-6 in the 1920s, had a better 40-game record. The immortal Vince Lombardi went 15-9 in his first two seasons. Mike Holmgren lost seven games in each of his first three seasons. Mike McCarthy had seven losses before seeing his first December.
If LaFleur had a self-promoting bone in his body, he’d be hailed as one of the top coaches in the NFL. Instead, he’s continually flown under the radar.
Of course, that’s the blessing and curse of Aaron Rodgers. With Rodgers, the team always has a chance to win. Thus, the perception is the Packers are winning because of Rodgers – never mind the fact Rodgers was 10-12-1 in 2017 and 2018. Also, never mind the fact Rodgers has had a career resurgence under LaFleur.
Maybe LaFleur’s reputation is scarred by the outcomes of the last two NFC Championship Games, including how last year’s ended with LaFleur infamously kicking a field goal in the final minutes against Tampa Bay.
It also doesn’t help that he’s not the most charismatic of public speakers. He doesn’t utter witty soundbites or make brash proclamations or speak just to hear the sound of his own voice. He’s a football coach, first and foremost.
Maybe the national perception of LaFleur will change now that the Packers beat the Arizona Cardinals 24-21 on Thursday night. Green Bay took a skeleton crew to the desert and knocked off the NFL’s last undefeated team.
Out of the lineup were All-Pro receiver Davante Adams (COVID), All-Pro left tackle David Bakhtiari (knee; PUP), All-Pro cornerback Jaire Alexander (shoulder; injured reserve) and Pro Bowl outside linebacker Za’Darius Smith (back; injured reserve). Great players win games; those four players were voted among the top-51 stars in the league in NFL Network’s annual Top 100 Players series.
Moreover, receivers Marquez Valdes-Scantling (hamstring; injured reserve) and Allen Lazard (COVID list), rookie center Josh Myers (knee; injured reserve) and veteran cornerback Kevin King (shoulder; inactive) didn’t play. That’s eight starters who didn’t suit up. Plus, standout tight end Robert Tonyan exited with a knee injury in the third quarter.
And, in a matchup against one of the best offenses in the NFL, defensive coordinator Joe Barry was at home because of COVID-19.
The Packers won, anyway. They did it without a big game from Rodgers. Instead, they won with a balanced offense, hard-charging performances by the running backs and a defense that showed that its recent run of success wasn’t just the byproduct of facing a bunch of terrible offenses led by mediocre quarterbacks. During the seven-game winning streak, Green Bay has allowed just 18.4 points per game. On Thursday, it held Arizona 11 points below its season average and Murray to almost 50 points below his season passer rating.
LaFleur could have taken a well-earned victory lap after the game. Of course, he did not. For the things that went wrong, such as the red-zone offense, he blamed himself, as usual. For things that went right, he passed along the credit, as usual.
“We’re fortunate to have him part of our organization,” LaFleur said of Jerry Gray, who called the defensive plays in place of Barry. “I thought he did a great job all week. I thought Joe Barry did a hell of a job. He was involved in every meeting and all the planning. It’s such a great credit to our entire defensive staff. I said it earlier this week that it was going to be a collective effort, and it truly was. The communication was all there. I can’t give those two guys enough credit, or our entire defensive staff. That’s how we roll around here.
“It’s not just on that side of the ball. It’s offensively, everybody contributes. That’s how Mo operates our special teams. That’s just how we’re going to operate. I’ve got a firm belief that the collective is better than any individual, but you’ve got to have the right people in order to get that done. And we do.”
That starts with the leader of the Pack, the brilliant coach but terrible self-promoter.
