How A lose Against The Steelers Became An Advantage To The Packers, Which Will Now See The….

admin | December 7, 2023 | NHL | No Comments

GREEN BAY — Matt LaFleur was aware that he was speechless. Not at that time. Not in a manner.

LaFleur wasn’t about to divulge his deepest emotions about what he’d just witnessed. The Green Bay Packers coach had just overseen yet another loss, this time a 23-19 setback at the hands of the Pittsburgh Steelers, dropping the team’s record to 3-6.

In light of this, he made sure to emphasize that “there are no moral victories” in a game that ended with first-year starting quarterback Jordan Love throwing back-to-back interceptions to end the team’s final two offensive possessions with the game on the line, even though he mentioned in passing that he thought “there was a lot of good that came out” of the game despite the outcome.

But in his heart, beneath that trendy charcoal Lululemon zip-up vest of his, LaFleur knew this was something more than just another disappointing result.

“It just felt different in that game,” LaFleur recalled in the aftermath of his team’s 27-19 victory over the defending Super Bowl LVII-champion Kansas City Chiefs, the Packers’ third straight triumph since that Steelers game, leveling their record at 6-6. “I know it didn’t come out the way you want it to come out, but it just felt a little bit different.

“This league is so competitive, right? You look at most of these games, and it’s a couple plays here and there that are the difference. However, I believe that some momentum was developing.

Undoubtedly, there was. It looked different, which was irritating, in addition to feeling odd.

Love, who was erratic and unproductive throughout the team’s four-game losing streak, had surprisingly effective stats (20-for-26, 228 yards, one touchdown, no interceptions, 115.5 passer rating) in the Packers’ thrilling 20-3 victory over the Los Angeles Rams on November 5. Stafford was not in the lineup. Although his sub-60% completion percentage increased as a result of the performance, very few of his throws crossed the line of scrimmage. After the game, LaFleur openly implored Love to “let it rip” rather than appear to be targeting or directing his tosses downfield.

Love’s stat line against the Steelers wasn’t as aesthetically pleasing (21 of 40 for 289 yards with two touchdowns and the two interceptions for a passer rating of 71.8), but he’d clearly taken LaFleur’s let-it-rip admonition to heart. He completed seven passes that gained 20 or more yards, including a gorgeous 35-yard touchdown strike to rookie wide receiver Jayden Reed, plus a pair of on-target down-the-field throws to rookie wideout Dontayvion Wicks and two more to rookie tight end Luke Musgrave.

“Everyone in the locker room, starting at the top, simply trusted it and remained united. Before the Packers focused on Monday night’s prime-time game at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey against the New York Giants, Love remarked, “No one’s wavered.” “It was obviously difficult at the start of the year. It didn’t go precisely how we had hoped or planned. However, we simply remained united, put our heads down, and continued working each week, arriving with the attitude that we simply needed to take things one week at a time and recognize that we were a good team. We work well together as a team. We simply can’t seem to get these games finished.

Said veteran left guard Elgton Jenkins: “I always felt we had the guys. It was just about us staying together and being able to play a complete game instead of one half or two halves. We even got things now we can get better at. And I feel like we come here every day trying to get better as a team, as an offense. So we’ve just got to stay hungry and keep on pushing.”

Incredibly, if the season ended today, the Packers would be the seventh and final NFC playoff team, by virtue of that largely unimpressive win over the Rams. And while that win over the Rams resulted in the desired outcome, LaFleur knows full well that it wasn’t the turning point that the loss to the Steelers has turned out to be.

Packers are in prime playoff position, but Matt LaFleur recognizes challenges ahead

“It’s hard not to get caught up in the results, but you really can’t. You have to stay committed to your core values, your beliefs, and what you believe it takes in order to win games,” LaFleur explained. “It’s a credit to the men in the locker room, just believing in one another, believing in what we’re doing, and staying together. Because there were some tough times

“I do believe that if you endure through difficult times, whether they be in life or football, you’re usually stronger for it.”

LaFleur is included in this as well. In addition to being more assertive and decisive, Love has also shown greater trust from LaFleur, who has given him more freedom to “can” plays at the line of scrimmage and abandoned his risk-averse game plans in favor of a more accurate implementation of his system. That’s a result of Love’s development as well as the fact that his potential pass-catchers are becoming more system-savvy and making less mistakes with their minds.

After entering the playoffs, the young Packers are prepared to demonstrate their ability to manage wealth.

“As a coaching staff, I believe we may have adopted a different mentality,” LaFleur said. It’s obviously worked well for us, but it also comes down to having faith in those individuals to carry out the plays that are called. They have to take action, and they are doing action. It is therefore considerably simpler to call those kinds of moves as a result.

“Matt and the coaching staff have been doing a great job,” Love said. Everything that applies to us also applies to them. They’re doing a tremendous job throughout the week placing us in these amazing positions to go out there and execute and get players open, and I think they’re getting a lot more comfortable with what exactly we need to accomplish and who we need to place in various positions. They’ve been performing fantastically.

Love, however, appears to be the player the Packers had hoped he would be when they parted ways with four-time NFL MVP and potential Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers in April. There was some uncertainty at the beginning of the season regarding whether Love was

Ideally, LaFleur added, “we’re far from a finished product.” It’s difficult to maintain your optimism while you’re having difficulties. However, you must. You must.

“I was aware of our youthful bunch. At the end of the day, nobody in this league gives a damn about the conditions that each individual in this league is facing. Everyone is only interested in the outcome. However, you must maintain your resilience since, in my opinion, you are better off if you can overcome adversity.