Cory's Corner: Matt LaFleur Has A Big Job In 2020
Matt LaFleur surprised many in his rookie season, but how does he follow that up in the midst of a pandemic?
We've been talking about football for quite some time.
There's been plenty of Zoom press conferences and we've dissected how COVID-19 will affect the play on the field.
Today, we finally get to see some football. We get to see Aaron Rodgers zipping tight spirals to Davante Adams. We get to see how much faster Aaron Jones has gotten. We get to see if Christian Kirksey can potentially be an answer at inside linebacker. We get to see if Allen Lazard is a legit No. 2 NFL receiver.
We get to see how well Jordan Love can transition to the NFL game.
Mainly, we get football.
The Packers have plenty of questions and lots of position battles to hash out this camp, but I think what's most important this camp falls on head coach Matt LaFleur.
LaFleur not only had the best season for a rookie coach, he had one of the best seasons a rookie coach has ever had. There are only two coaches in NFL history that have bested LaFleur's 13-3 record with a 14-2 mark. But what really sticks out to me isn't that the Packers won 13 regular season games, but that they won six games by seven points or less. It's not easy to galvanize a team in your first season, but he did that in crunch time and he did it multiple times.
But instead of rallying his guys with two minutes to go, he needs to keep them motivated to play a game that may not finish the season. He will likely get inundated with a host of questions from players and staff as to how he feels about the virus, and by Labor Day, he will be looking forward to the season opener.
This season will be unlike any other at 1216 Lombardi Ave. Information continues to change rapidly, yet it seems like there are still not as many answers to all of the questions.
Through all of that noise, LaFleur must rise above and continue the culture he has built — in a season that looks to be about as reliable as tech stocks.
PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO OUR CHEESEHEAD NATION WEEKLY NEWSLETTER HERE.
__________________________
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
__________________________
Comments (5)
murf7777
August 15, 2020 at 07:49 am
With Bucky’s season being postponed I’m starved for some football. Many challenges lie ahead and I hope and pray for safety of the players, coaches and admin staff during these trying times. I agree this season will be like no other. Will the season begin and end on time? nobody knows, but I’m excited to see some football. GPG.
Archie
August 15, 2020 at 09:21 am
>>We get to see how much faster Aaron Jones has gotten.
Apparently I missed something. Did AJ get a new pair of legs?
Roadrunner23
August 15, 2020 at 09:54 am
MLF has been very impressive how he has handled this strange off-season. With a young veteran team coming back I think they have appreciated the safety measures the Packers have taken. They have taken the time also to do a lot of virtual learning which I believe will pay off in the long run. If they play a full NFL season my prediction for the Packers is 11 wins five losses and another NFC North championship. If things fall right and they stay healthy maybe even a Super Bowl!
13TimeChamps
August 15, 2020 at 03:54 pm
"LaFleur not only had the best season for a rookie coach, he had one of the best seasons a rookie coach has ever had."
Huh?
gvtspook
August 15, 2020 at 09:50 pm
I think "Packers" got left out. "LaFleur not only had the best season for a Packers rookie coach, he had one of the best seasons a rookie coach has ever had."