In LaFleur’s offense, everyone plays a role
GREEN BAY - One of the most remarkable aspects of the offensive success Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur has had in his short time with the organization is how effective he has been fitting together all the different-sized parts given to him.
If he were to gather skill-position players for a family picture, it would be easy to line them up for the shot.
Marcedes
Lewis (6-6, 267 pounds), Robert
Tonyan (6-5, 237), Equanimeous St. Brown (6-5, 214), Allen Lazard (6-5, 227), Marquez Valdes-Scantling (6-4, 206) and Jace Sternberger (6-4, 251) would be in the back.
Davante Adams (6-1, 215), Malik Taylor (6-1, 220) and Jamaal Williams (6-0, 213) would be in the middle.
Tyler Ervin (5-10, 192), Aaron Jones (5-9, 208) and Tavon Austin (5-8, 185) would be up front.
The No. 1-ranked scoring team in the NFL has its star players in Adams, Jones and quarterback Aaron Rodgers, but LaFleur’s offense is very much the sum of its parts.
Eagles at Packers
When: 3:25 p.m. Sunday.
TV: CBS. Radio: AM-620.
Gameday: Preview, rosters, etc.,
Everyone is different, and everyone has his role.
Despite his inconsistency, ValdesScantling, for example, accounts for 16.7% of the team's receiving yards, which is second to Adams' 29.3%, an indication of his special role running deep routes. On the other hand, Lewis, who blocks well, has played 36.1% of the snaps this year and accounted for just 1.8% of the receiving yards.
It's all about playing to an athlete's strengths.
“It's just communicating and then taking advantage of what they do good,” offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett said. “A lot of times you can explain, ‘Hey, you're going to do this' and then maybe you never do that in a game. That doesn't make a player feel good when their role isn't being utilized.
“I think it's just about communicating it and explaining it.”
Even Rodgers' role is different. This year, the offense is relying on him to throw the ball less (56.38%) than at any time in his career save the 2014 season (56.36%) and with four coldweather games still on the slate, it's almost a lock he will finish the season handing off the highest percentage of times in his career.
The diversity in athlete types has led to diversity in the offense, and it's starting to look like there isn't a player on the planet who couldn't fit into LaFleur's scheme. It's not exactly true because he needs players who are smart and willing to accept truncated roles, but it's not too far off the mark.
The latest addition is Austin, who was signed last week as an insurance policy in case Ervin (wrist, ribs) were to get hurt again. He has similar skills, but he's faster, more experienced and has natural receiving skills.
It's interesting that general manager Brian Gutekunst signed Austin just a month after dabbling in trade talks with the Houston Texans for receiver Will Fuller. Also possessing elite speed, Fuller is a different body type who wouldn't be able to contribute in the run game the way Austin might.
(Given Fuller was suspended for using performance-enhancing drugs after the trade deadline, it was the smartest deal Gutekunst never made).
The point is Gutekunst has an idea of what kind of player LaFleur likes, but he's able to make 90% of his evaluation based on pure talent.
Asked if there were players he couldn't find a role for in his offense, LaFleur didn't say no, but he made it seem like he and his offensive staff would find a way to make it work if they got a player the personnel department was higher
Packers head coach Matt LaFleur has developed a diverse offense that gives many players the chance to succeed.
Tom Silverstein of the Journal Sentinel staff picks the NFL winners for Week 13:
Game
Philadelphia at Green Bay Cincinnati at Miami Cleveland at Tennessee Detroit at Chicago Indianapolis at Houston Jacksonville at Minnesota Las Vegas at N.Y. Jets New Orleans at Atlanta L.A. Rams at Arizona
N.Y. Giants at Seattle New England at L.A. Chargers Denver at Kansas City Washington at Pittsburgh Buffalo at San Francisco Dallas at Baltimore
Last week
Overall
Point spread Packers by 9 Dolphins by 11 Titans by 5½ Bears by 3 Colts by 3½ Vikings by 10½ Raiders by 9½ Saints by 3 Rams by 2½ Seahawks by 10½ Patriots by 1 Chiefs by 13½ Steelers by 7 49ers by 1 Ravens by 7½ on than the coaches.
“It's like fielding a basketball team and you have to have complementary parts in order to get whatever it is that you're trying to get done,” LaFleur said. “Now it's our job to try to find out what people really excel at and then try to put them in position to do whatever it is you're asking them to do.
“But as a coach, you've got to be able to adapt your scheme and your system to players' strengths.”
It's not a knock on Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid, but his No. 1-ranked offense features mostly shorter, speed threats at receiver and running back. Three of its five leaders in receptions are 5-foot-8 and one of those three is the team's leading rusher.
Speed is at a premium and it helped Reid win a Super Bowl.
The Los Angeles Chargers' No. 3ranked
Straight up Packers Dolphins Titans Lions Texans Vikings Raiders Falcons Rams Seahawks Patriots Chiefs Steelers 49ers Ravens 13-3 115-60-1
vs. spread Packers Dolphins Titans Lions Texans Jaguars Jets Falcons Rams Giants Patriots Chiefs Steelers 49ers Ravens 8-7-1 80-90-6 offense is the opposite.
Coach Anthony Lynn's group features no receivers and just one running back under 6 feet. His three leading wide receivers are 6-4, 6-2 and 6-1.
LaFleur's group of skill players falls somewhere between the Chiefs and Chargers when it comes to athlete type. It's not that he doesn't have a preferred athlete type, but former GM Ted Thompson and Gutekunst were drafting for Mike McCarthy's offense before he got here.
The best example of LaFleur's ability to carve out a role is with Lazard, who some NFL scouts and coaches thought would be a better tight end than receiver.
If LaFleur were to line him up all over the field and let him compete one-onone with cornerbacks, he wouldn't be as effective. But line him up in the “flex” position (a step or two wide of the tackle) or behind the tight end and he is a threat to both block and receive.
And that makes it harder to cover him, as two short touchdown passes against Chicago last week showed. On one, Lazard replaced Lewis as a blocker so Lewis could leak out into the flat and in the other he snuck through traffic in the middle of the field and was an easy target for Rodgers.
“If you can use guys, whether it's a large role or whatever role that you have them in, they've got to own that,” LaFleur said. “And then I think just the more people are out there and kind of prove that they can get whatever it is that they're getting done, I think those roles tend to change and grow.
“I look at a guy like Allen Lazard, his role didn't start off big at first, but he kept proving it. And now he's a starter for us.”
Ervin is another example.
The Packers picked him up on Dec. 3 of last season to help their nonexistent return game. As they saw what he could do on returns, the coaches started wondering what he could do on offense.
In his third game, he played seven snaps from scrimmage. On his fourth, he lined up as a receiver and crossed in front of Rodgers in jet motion, something LaFleur had used sparingly to that point. Rodgers faked it to Ervin out of the shotgun formation, handed it to Jones and watched as he broke through for a 56-yard touchdown run that clinched a 23-10 victory at Minnesota and the NFC North for the Packers.
During the offseason, LaFleur and his staff expanded Ervin's role and he has averaged just under 20 snaps in the seven games he has played this year. At the same time, the staff also expanded Jones' role in the passing game and has lined him up as a receiver more than 40 times.
Now comes Austin, who isn't being asked to play No. 2 or No. 3 receiver or running back. He might not even play Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles, given he has practiced just three times with the offense.
But in individual drills each day, he was given reps with Rodgers and in the portion of practice the media doesn't get to see, he apparently showed off some of what he could offer in this offense.
“I'm excited for him going forward,” receivers coach Jason Vrable said. “I don't know where the direction for him is necessarily going to go. I just know he caught a ball in practice on a screen, and then he caught a seam route, and you see him with the ball in his hands and it kind of excites you.
“But the biggest thing I said to him, 'I don't want to put you out there in a position where you're not comfortable.'”
The way things work in LaFleur's world, there's very little chance that will happen.