Cory's Corner: Always Know What You Have
Keisean Nixon is giving the coaches and front office a hard lesson.
Where has that been all season?
Do the Packers need another way of evaluating talent? Another way to self-scout?
Keisean Nixon is just different and what really blew me away wasn’t his blazing speed, it was that he used his hands to catch kicks and punts.
“We’re probably going to get criticized for not playing him early and that’s fair,” said Packers coach Matt LaFleur after the Packers 24-12 over the Rams on Monday night. “We should have had him in there earlier and we didn’t. I don’t think we knew what we had. He’s proven what he brings to the table.”
Nixon, an undrafted fourth year player, had three kickoff returns for 95 yards and two punt returns for 36 yards.
But this isn’t just about Nixon replacing Amari Rodgers and the Packers finding a jolt on special teams. Just how stuck in neutral have the Packers special teams been? Green Bay’s last kickoff return for a touchdown was in 2011 and the last punt return for a score was in 2014.
Now I’m not saying that Nixon is going to break both streaks next week. But it is a little concerning that for a unit that has been so dreadful, that they wouldn’t consider a change to at least see what they had.
I mean, they had to notice Nixon’s speed, awareness and hands in practice right? Or maybe Nixon wasn’t even given a chance in practice either.
“You hate to do the what ifs and the look backs but, there’s definitely the way certain players are playing for us, you wonder how it would have been had things been different to start the season,” said Aaron Rodgers.
Rodgers noted that in his 18 years he had never seen a kicker kick away from one of Green Bay’s returners on purpose. That happened on Monday night.
Let this be a lesson to the front office and the coaching staff. Just because a player isn’t drafted doesn’t mean he cannot play. Just because a player has “pedigree” doesn’t mean that his spot is guaranteed.
Nixon was a hidden gem because the Packers didn’t fully understand what they had. He was sitting on the bench waiting for his opportunity. That opportunity should have been there when Amari Rodgers fumbled for the second time in five games when the Packers played the Giants in London.
The worst thing you can do in this league is hang on to a guy too long. I’m not saying that Amari Rodgers should’ve been released, but his job as returner didn’t make any sense the more games the Packers played.
The play that really stood out to me was late in the first half. The Rams just kicked a field goal with 46 seconds left. With the Packers sitting on a 10-6 lead, most teams would opt to just go to halftime and move on. But then Nixon returned it 49 yards. I know that play was negated by a questionable holding penalty, but it showed that the Packers can and should always swing for the fences with a weapon like that.
Nixon doesn’t just flip the field, he changes the game and he has turned the Packers into a completely different team.
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Cory Jennerjohn is a graduate from UW-Oshkosh and has been in sports media for over 15 years. He was a co-host on "Clubhouse Live" and has also done various radio and TV work as well. He has written for newspapers, magazines and websites. He currently is a columnist for CHTV and also does various podcasts. He recently earned his Masters degree from the University of Iowa. He can be found on Twitter: @Coryjennerjohn
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Comments (31)
Leatherhead
December 20, 2022 at 12:16 pm
We had back to back 13 win seasons with Amari Rodgers, and now we're sub .500 with Nixon. I guess returns really are a lot more important than I thought. At least until we turn it over, which will inevitably happen. Or he'll get hurt.
How many points have Nixon's best returns helped us put on the board this year? Serious question? I'm thinking the answer is 0. How many games did Amari Rodgers cost us? Again, I'm pretty sure the answer is 0.
wildbill
December 20, 2022 at 12:26 pm
What is your mental capacity? I’m pretty sure it’s 0
Leatherhead
December 20, 2022 at 12:34 pm
My mental capacity allows me to see facts, and when they don't support the narrative. Everything I said was a fact, and you respond with a petty insult . If that's your idea of a reasoned argument, I feel sorry for you.
T7Steve
December 20, 2022 at 01:05 pm
With the field position he gave us last night it should have been two more TDs. That spark he gave the whole team helped, and it helped with STs on coverage too. I only remember one past the 25.
You're right with your position on a normal Packer team. I never minded starting on the 5 or worse. It just meant a longer drive for a score that kept the D off the field. They at least turn over the field position. Now it's like they're a JV team that needs a spark and go 3 and out when they're backed up.
jannesbjornson
December 20, 2022 at 02:14 pm
Not buying the cornball deflection from LaFleur, or Gutedkunst et.al. Bisaccia specifically requested Nixon be a part of this team due to his track record playing with the Raiders. They could see it every day in practice. Gutedkunst blew the three pick on Amari. Most knew it on draft day with Amon-Ra St.Brown still there and even Nico Collins, a WCO type receiver. Three Phases of Football. It never changes, shorten the field. Play to Win.
Coldworld
December 20, 2022 at 01:30 pm
A correlation that preposterous is not a fact but an anomaly, a wholly counter intuitive one at that.
Alberta_Packer
December 20, 2022 at 03:02 pm
OK, but facts have to be relevant and support the subject. Your inference that the team is worse because Nixon is the KR ignores all other factors for wins/losses - which is intellectual myopia.
EnemyTerritory
December 20, 2022 at 12:54 pm
While I disagree with leatherhead in his assessment I agree with his defense. As to the assessment, punt and kick returns have resulted imho in far fewer TDS than in the not so distant past. Yet having a competent return guy that will shorten the field goes a long way to helping a subpar offense and removes the fear that the fumbles aren’t always recovered by the good guys. While it ultimately did not cost the game the Dallas fumble by Amari certainly changed the complexion of the game. A team that is as fair to middling as the 22 green and gold cannot afford the incompetence of an Amari Rodgers return game.
Starrbrite
December 20, 2022 at 07:22 pm
LH - you and I have debated this for a year or two…and will continue to do so.
Special Teams are a critical component to a team’s success.
You spun your argument nicely, but it’s certainly not the fault of the kick returner when the offense doesn’t take advantage.
And You failed to mention the field is flipped; the percentages of offensive and defensive success increases when your special teams contribute.
Packers0808
December 20, 2022 at 01:00 pm
My question is how about the teams that cut Nixon before he became a Packer, was there talent measures also lacking or was this just a Packer thing?
T7Steve
December 20, 2022 at 01:07 pm
He was a free agent signing from the Raiders.
Packers0808
December 20, 2022 at 01:25 pm
delete
Packers0808
December 20, 2022 at 01:25 pm
I know so why did the Raiders not see it?
T7Steve
December 20, 2022 at 01:29 pm
We were led to believe he chose to follow his STs coach over here among some others. He didn't get waived he was free.
Coldworld
December 20, 2022 at 01:42 pm
You have to go back to junior college for any real return success. His couple of returns in the pros and later in college weren’t spectacular. Perhaps they always had better options and valued him in other ST roles, at which he excelled? Certainly he was given very few tries in camp by Bisaccia, whom he’d played for before. He just seems to have needed someone to give him that opportunity not simply have him as a gunner automatically.
Given the above, it’s not so much the delay in realization but the delay after he showed he offered more than Rodgers that concerns me. It’s a bit like the seeming issues with Wyatt, Tom, Ford, Toure etc. players showing up when given a chance but glacially slow response in terms of getting snaps from the vets they show up.
LaFleur seemed gutted in his comments about having to have to let go of Watkins. Clearly not his call. Left to him, Sammy would still be getting snaps it seems. Therein is the true problem. Get a real head coach who can make tough decisions and distinguish the interests of the team from personal feelings.
T7Steve
December 20, 2022 at 02:10 pm
Yeah, he's acting more like the union rep than the coach. Trying to be the most popular in school. Started with the O-line and goes through every phase.
jannesbjornson
December 20, 2022 at 02:21 pm
Does LaFleur not see the Big Picture? I concur, he carries little edge.
Thegreatreynoldo
December 21, 2022 at 01:48 am
This should have more upvotes.
LEFT TO HIM [LaFleur], SAMMY WOULD STILL BE GETTING SNAPS IT SEEMS. THEREIN IS THE TRUE PROBLEM.
Well said. And it isn't just on STs. It is on defense and offense. Draft status has always mattered too much in GB.
Charvid
December 20, 2022 at 02:14 pm
It could have been that they already had a competent returner. We haven’t had that for years.
TarynsEyes
December 20, 2022 at 01:12 pm
Nixon is quick, he's fast, he's allusive. I hope the rest of the SPT unit can refrain from negating him.
T7Steve
December 20, 2022 at 01:33 pm
We had one penalty that negated a return last night. It used to be a given that if it was a return there was a penalty or turn over. A little progress.
jannesbjornson
December 20, 2022 at 02:40 pm
It was a poor call against Garvin. The refs are influencing outcomes. Bisaccia has very good Design in his return schematic.
HarryHodag
December 20, 2022 at 02:10 pm
Nixon's success is a function that the special teams overall are doing better. Because there's blocking there's holes to run through. Nixon does have the speed necessary to make it work.
I hope some reporter takes time to analyze the Amari Rodgers fiasco in Green Bay. When they needed a receiver to step up they kept him inactive. When they needed a returner he fumbled. The story behind the story is usually the correct one.
Starrbrite
December 20, 2022 at 07:34 pm
You said it Harry—there was something ongoing behind the curtain we weren’t privy to.
It begged so many questions when they continued to march out Rogers as a PR, but never gave him opportunities as a WR, (especially in light of Watkins’s poor performances).
Something else was percolating.
Coldworld
December 21, 2022 at 10:15 am
It may be the case, but Rodgers was consistently and clearly outplayed at WR through preseason and camp by both Toure and Winfree, neither of whom has had much opportunity in season. Less than Rodgers with us. Perhaps that speaks more to LaFleur’s poor personnel usage that Rodgers talent now that he has a TD and 86 yards for Houston. If we were going to give opportunities it should have gone to those two on merit.
I have little doubt Toure and perhaps Winfree could have done as much with the snap numbers and usage/routes/targets similar to those Rodgers has received in Houston. That’s the issue, Rodgers was probably third in line to get a chance as a WR here. Makes you wonder what we wasted not giving a true opportunity to the two ahead of him.
Alberta_Packer
December 20, 2022 at 02:49 pm
Players can only improve if given the opportunity. Nixon's emergence as a KR (despite MLF) should be the impetus to start Love - who remains without opportunity because of a coaching decision.
ArlenWilliams
December 20, 2022 at 03:49 pm
Keisean is what scouts mean by "loose hips" as well as speed.
He may not be up there with Gayle Sayers, Travis Williams, Darrell Green, Ron Brown, Desmond Howard, and Devin Hester, but he's about the best around right now.
Kudos to the Packers for bringing him out, rather than what the Raiders did with him.
BAMABADGER
December 20, 2022 at 03:50 pm
"Nixon was a hidden gem because the Packers didn’t fully understand what they had. He was sitting on the bench waiting for his opportunity."
Substitute Nixon with Love. Sadly we may never know what we do or don't have with our first round draft choice.
jvole
December 20, 2022 at 04:04 pm
I generally think people who are professionals know more about what they are doing than I do, and hell, they won 13 games for multiple years. But Amari Rodgers and Royce Newman made me seriously wonder about the coaching staff. Amari offered nothing as a returner--Heck, take away the fumbles and he still sucked. Royce Newman better than Yosh, WTF? I mean it was weird. Yes I know Yosh did not have a great game but Newman stunk every week.
ricky
December 20, 2022 at 08:15 pm
It seems the Packers are holding onto to players too long, rather than moving on from players who either are getting older, or players who simply can't justify their place on the team, other than being drafted. Rodgers was a third round pick. Then he couldn't crack the starting lineup, or even be a part of the rotation on offense. Aaron Rodgers even threw him under the bus, saying that since Amari was returning kicks, that was certainly something. When it became apparent he wasn't able to handle those duties with any consistency, he was finally cut. Who has the final say over these moves? Is it the HC, the GM or Murphy? And if there is a disagreement between any of these three, who finally wins? Remember where there was talk about "silos" of hierarchy in Green Bay? Here's an article explaining the new structure. Replace MM with LaFleur, and it is updated.
https://www.packersnews.com/story/sports/nfl/packers/2018/01/08/packers-...
marpag1
December 21, 2022 at 06:09 am
Everybody loves to blame the coaches or the GM for not recognizing what they have. Sometimes, the blame is fully deserved.
But sometimes, players get better. Sometimes players grow much more confident.
Just saying.
People always say, "Oh, for the love of God, how could the entire NFL pass on Tom Brady until the 6th round?!?!?!"
Easy. In college, Tom Brady didn't look very good. A skinny, slow dude without a cannon arm who wasn't even a full time starter at Michigan.
He got better, see.