New plan, same result
LaFleur’s offense adapts to roll over division foe
GREEN BAY – Every week in the NFL you’re probably going to face exactly what you prepared for that week in practice.
But there are times you’ll see something different.
And there are times you’ll see exactly what you prepared for, but your plan just doesn’t work.
In all cases, the game is far from over if you’ve got the players the Green Bay Packers appear to have on offense this season.
In back-to-back weeks against two of the better defensive minds in the National Football League, coach Matt LaFleur’s offense had two different game plans and highlighted different players,
but the result was the same.
In a 42-21 victory over the Detroit Lions at Lambeau Field on Sunday, the Packers offense rolled up an impressive 488 yards, four touchdowns and a twopoint conversion. It comes on the heels of putting up 522 yards and five touchdowns in a 43-34 victory at Minnesota.
That's 1,010 yards and nine touchdowns in two games. Last year, it took the Packers offense all the way until Week 4 before it had gained 1,000 yards and scored nine touchdowns.
The difference is that LaFleur has the ability to attack defenses in so many different ways and he has quarterback Aaron Rodgers dictating how far a team will go in taking away one aspect of the offense so another can succeed.
In Week 1, Mike Zimmer, the Vikings head coach and defensive mastermind, didn't want Aaron Jones running wild and allowed his young secondary to try to cover Davante Adams and the multiple other receivers, tight ends and backs LaFleur can use in the passing game.
Adams went crazy, catching 14 passes for 156 yards and two touchdowns, while Rodgers still had more than enough opportunity to spread the ball to others to the tune of 364 yards and four touchdowns.
Witnessing that Zimmer mistake, Matt Patricia, the Lions head coach and Bill Belichick disciple, was not going to let Adams do that to him and his injuryriddled secondary. Missing starting corners Justin Coleman and Desmond Trufant, Patricia kept his safeties back and doubled Adams any time he could. So, what did LaFleur do?
He ran crossing routes through the zones and let Rodgers pick away at the Lions defense all the while building momentum with his run game, which started out with seven carries for 33 yards and finished with 35 carries for 259 yards and two touchdowns.
Two weeks, two different emphases. “I think every team personnel-wise has different strengths and things they want to cover up for,” Rodgers said after the game. “I'm sure we'll play teams that want to put their No. 1 corner on Davante and not get any help.
“I'm sure we'll also see teams that want to play a 2-shell and have a great pass rush and try and stop the run with a six- and seven-man box and try and get after you with their pass rush. I think it's going to be week-to-week, but we obviously have more than just Davante and Aaron Jones.”
They have gotten production out of a lot of other players, including receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling (seven catches, 160 yards and a touchdown in two games), receiver Allen Lazard (7108-1), running back Jamaal Williams (15 carries, 84 yards) and running back Tyler Ervin (48 total yards).
But Adams and Jones are their two special players and LaFleur's ability to play one off the other will be key to how this season ends. Rodgers has shown a much better appreciation for the way LaFleur wants to attack opposing defenses and he's running the show like a maestro.
“There's a lot we throw at these guys and a lot we put on their plate, in particular our quarterback,” LaFleur said. “We're just fortunate that we have those types of players that can process a lot of information in a short amount of time and try to get to premier plays.
“Again, we're two games into this thing, there's a lot of football left in front of us and you're only as good as your last performance.”
What was impressive about the performance against the Lions – beyond Jones running 18 times for 168 yards and two touchdowns – is that neither LaFleur nor Rodgers felt an obligation to force the ball to Adams. Even in the first half when the running game was average (seven carries for 33 yards to start), Rodgers was still moving the ball around.
Then, with 46 seconds left in the half, Rodgers either audibled into a run or just executed a great call out of the shotgun formation. The Lions were thinking pass with the Packers lined up with three receivers and a tight end spread out over the formation.
Rodgers handed the ball to Williams and he popped through the hole for a 13yard gain that helped set up a go-ahead touchdown with 19 seconds left in the half.
“We had a lot of different checks within the plan and whatever look presented itself, then that's what we were going to roll with,” LaFleur said. “In order to do that, you've got to have smart players that are able to process quickly and take one play, oh, shoot, it flips in a matter of seconds and then, boom, the ball's snapped.
“We're lucky we have those types of guys that can (inaudible) and can adjust on the fly.”
Maybe it was a coincidence or maybe it was Rodgers making a good check, but on the Packers' first play of the second half, Jones lined up next to Rodgers in the shotgun, found a hole as big as the one Williams had and dashed 75 yards for a touchdown, the longest in franchise history since Ahman Green went 90 yards in 2004.
The Packers were in a different formation with two tight ends in-line and receiver Allen Lazard positioned to block for that run, but the offensive line covered up everyone in the Lions' front seven and Jones split the safeties for the longest run of his career.
After that, the Packers pounded the Lions into submission, running 22 times for 106 yards the rest of the half. And a decent part of that came with Adams sidelined with a hamstring injury and the Lions aware the Packers wanted to burn some clock.
“Coming in, coach said we've got to marry the run and the pass and it all starts in the run game,” Jones said. “For us, it all starts up front. Those guys did a great job of coming out and just getting after it and opening up lanes.”
It won't be this easy every week. Eventually, the Packers will face a team whose secondary isn't a weakness, probably next week when they travel to New Orleans. But through two games, they've shown if you take away one part of their game, the other is going to get you.
That's a place they hope to be all season long.