By Chris Havel
Special to Event USA
Offensive line, defensive front seven must be Gutekunst’s top priorities
GREEN BAY, Wis. – Now that first-year head coach Matt LaFleur has assembled his staff, the Packers can begin revamping the roster in free agency and the draft.

Are you ready for some football?
Tickets and packages available in mid April!
 Event USA >>

The March 11 “legal tampering” date is fast-approaching with the signing date to follow March 13.
Between now and then, the Packers must finalize their determinations of players currently on the roster.
Based on salary and/or lack of production, the Packers should move on from Clay Matthews, Nick Perry and Randall Cobb.
To do so, the Packers need to sign at least one pass rusher in free agency and select another in the draft. They also would be wise to replace Cobb with an impact free agent such as Golden Tate, and to add a veteran safety such as Earl Thomas.
This is do-able under the Packers’ salary cap.
Top pass rushers such as the Texans’ Jadeveon Clowney and the Seahawks’ Frank Clark won’t be allowed to test free agency. That doesn’t mean significant upgrades aren’t available.
Za’Darius Smith is one name to remember.
The Ravens’ outside linebacker is attractive as a replacement to Matthews. The 6-foot-4, 272-pound edge rusher had a modest 10 sacks in his first three seasons.
However, he came up big in his contract year with 8 ½ sacks in 2018. He also had 25 quarterback hits and 60 pressures on a strong Ravens’ defense.
Smith, 26, has more sacks than Vikings outside linebacker Anthony Barr (13 ½) since 2015.
Landing a pass rusher is critical in free agency for two reasons.
First, there is the glaring need on defense.
Second, acquiring a veteran pass rusher in free agency affords GM Brian Gutekunst a measure of flexibility in the draft. The same can be said of the safety position.
Thomas, the former Seahawks’ star, turns 30 in May. While he has been sidelined by injuries the past two seasons, it would be premature to describe him as “injury prone.” Breaking a leg qualifies as, well, a bad break.
If Thomas can run, he can play at a Pro Bowl level.
It’s that simple.
On the offensive line, the Packers should bring back right tackle Bryan Bulaga and left guard Lane Taylor for another season. Then, they should use two of their first six picks in the top 112 on offensive linemen.
Interestingly, Mel Kiper, Jr.’s most recent mock draft has the Packers selecting neither a pass rusher nor an offensive lineman in the first round. ESPN’s resident draft expert has the Packers selecting a receiver with the 12th pick and an inside linebacker with the 30th pick.
If that happens I’ll be shocked.
It’s more likely that Gutekunst will trade into the Top Ten to acquire one of a handful of high-end pass rushers. Sitting tight at No. 12 and hoping for your player of choice to fall is risky. If the Packers are going to draft a top college pass rusher there isn’t going to be a better time than now.
The 2019 draft is top-heavy with pass rushers. I doubt the Packers plan to be picking as high as 12th again any time soon.
ESPN’s Kiper has the Packers taking Oklahoma receiver Marquise Brown at No. 12. If it were Antonio Brown, rather than Marquise, I’d do it in a heartbeat. Otherwise, it’s no way.
Kiper also has the Packers selecting Michigan inside linebacker Devin Bush with the 30th pick. Bush is considered a strong tackler who can run sideline-to-sideline and make plays.
With other, much greater needs, executing the 30th pick on an inside linebacker makes little sense.
OTHER PACKERS-RELATED TOPICS
** The American Alliance of Football has been greeted by positive reviews through two weeks.
On Sunday, three former Packers made contributions for their respective AAF teams.
San Antonio’s Jayrone Elliott registered a sack and forced fumble in the third quarter of the Commanders’ 37-29 loss to Orlando Sunday. Elliott’s strip sack was recovered by another former Packers’ defender, Joey Mbu, who returned it 8 yards for a touchdown.
In the same game, Orlando’s Charles Johnson caught seven passes for 192 yards and a touchdown. Johnson was a 2013 seventh-round pick of the Packers.
** The NFL’s Super Bowl LIII commercial “The 100-Year Game” has been widely praised since its airing.
Frankly, I wasn’t impressed.
The two-minute commercial featured more than 50 current and former NFL players, as well as the league’s first female official and a highly talented teenage girl who dreams of being the first woman to play in the NFL.
For inclusiveness, I’d give the NFL an A-plus, except for one glaring omission: Where was the Packers’ presence?
How can the NFL talk about its “100-Year Game” and not mention the Packers, the Lombardi Trophy or Lambeau Field?
Packers’ fans had to stomach watching not one, not two, but THREE ex-Bears linebackers (Dick Butkus, Brian Urlacher and Mike Singletary) in the commercial’s first 27 seconds.
They also had to watch Marshawn Lynch dive into a cake to kick off the scramble for possession of a golden football.
Here’s a thought: How about LeRoy Butler doing a Lambeau Leap into the cake instead? He could’ve lateraled to any of a number of former Packers’ greats, including Charles Woodson.
Perhaps the NFL asked ex-Packers to be in the commercial – Brett Favre would’ve been nice – but they couldn’t make it. At any rate it was a ridiculous oversight by a league that owes much of its success to the little old Green Bay Packers.
 

By Chris Havel
Special to Event USA
Green Bay’s General Manager needs to be better in free agency this offseason
GREEN BAY, Wis. – The NFL moves at a brisk pace – this year’s Super Bowl halftime show notwithstanding – and the Packers need to be quick and correct to win the NFC North.

Only two months until 2019 Green Bay tickets and packages available!
 Event USA >>

NFL experts put the Packers approximately $50 million beneath this year’s salary cap. That’s enough room in free agency to acquire two impact-ready veterans before the NFL draft.
That’s significant ammo, especially factoring in the Packers’ six selections among the draft’s first 112 picks.
The Packers have the means to forge a winner, perhaps a champion, between now and the regular season. That task begins in earnest with free agency on Wednesday, March 13.
Big name talents such as the Texans’ Jadeveon Clowney figure to be tagged/re-signed before they hit the open market.
However, there are several quality veterans who should be within Green Bay’s grasp in free agency. Here’s my wish list:
** No. 1 choice – The offense’s rebirth will be twofold. The first step is free agency, where I would love the Packers to add an adept slot receiver. The ideal free agent would be adroit at getting open, a legit threat after the catch, and most of a gifted ball catcher.
My top choice at receiver would be Golden Tate, III, whom I’ve admired from afar for years.
Tate, 30, played in a disappointing 10 games at Philadelphia this past season. He was hampered by nagging injuries, a factor the Packers must consider in finding Randall Cobb’s replacement. However, when Tate was healthy he was mega-productive.
Tate, 5-10, 197, has been among the NFL’s best the past few seasons in forcing missed tackles and YAC (yards after the catch), both qualities that suggest big success in Green Bay.
The other free agent addition would be a blast from the past, tight end Jared Cook.
The speedy veteran had a nice rapport with Aaron Rodgers. They combined on some of Rodgers’ all-time greatest connections despite Cook’s lingering injury issues.
A Tate-Cook infusion on offense would be dynamic to team with Davante Adams, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Jimmy Graham (presuming he returns), Geronimo Allison, Equanimeous St. Brown, Ja’Mon Moore and the rest.
GM Brian Gutekunst should consider acquiring Cook regardless of the team’s interest in keeping Graham. Frankly, I believe there’s enough room for both tight ends in new head coach Matt LaFleur’s offense. Together, Cook and Graham could stretch the field and do enough blocking in the run game to be effective.
Meantime, Tate would be an immediate upgrade over Cobb, and he would be in the same ballpark salary-wise.
Here’s an added bonus: The Packers still would have room to add a quality veteran free agent in addition to Tate and Cook.
If the Packers somehow signed Tate, Cook AND a safety such as Earl Thomas or Lamarcus Joyner it would be incredible.
** No. 2 choice – A big-time pass rusher such as ex-Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr, who would eat up cap space and opposing quarterbacks with equal enthusiasm.
Ask Rodgers.
Barr, just 26, is an imposing 6-5, 255 edge rusher. Interestingly, the Vikings didn’t ask Barr to rush the passer nearly as much as they should have, which does more to explain his 13 ½ career sacks since 2014 than any perceived lack of ability.
Barr is a beast.
He would immediately upgrade the Packers’ defense.
A Tate-Barr one-two free agency punch would be terrific.
In defensive coordinator Mike Pettine’s scheme, Barr could flourish opposite Nick Perry – if he can manage to stay healthy – with Kyler Fackrell and a high draft pick backing them up.
Meantime, Tate would give the offense an instant boost.
** No. 3 choice – The downside of choices #1 and #2 is that neither addresses the glaring need at safety.
Perhaps the Packers could add Barr, Tate and a safety. In that scenario, a veteran such as Earl Thomas is intriguing. If Green Bay believes Josh Jones warrants more snaps, it could bring in a veteran such as Thomas to be a steadying influence.
Another option at safety might be the ex-Giants’ Landon Collins, who is more suited to playing near the line than on the back end of a defense. Although aligned anywhere he represents an upgrade at safety for Green Bay.
The Bears’ Adrian Amos could be an option in part due to the double-whammy effect. In this case Chicago’s loss would be Green Bay’s gain because Amos is an above-average player.
In other words, he’s an upgrade over Green Bay’s current crew.
Offensively, my curiosity is piqued by the Cowboys’ Cole Beasley, who would be an adequate second-choice to Tate. Beasley is reliable, gets open in the slot, and doesn’t wilt in the game’s biggest moments. In fact, the more I think about it, the more I like the idea of shedding Cobb and adding Tate and Beasley. Give Rodgers reliable, proven weapons sprinkled amongst game-breaking youngsters (see Valdes-Scantling).
Packers’ fans should be emboldened by Gutekunst’s record in free agency. He didn’t hesitate to bring in Mo Wilkerson, Jimmy Graham or Tramon Williams.
I like that Gutekunst said he’d be vigilante in free agency and then went out and signed players. Further, I doubt he’ll be the type of GM who counts re-signings the same as new signings.
They’re not.
The Packers need to make key upgrades at numerous positions. That’s not easily done in two or three seasons, let alone one offseason. Then again, few teams have a quarterback like Rodgers, and few teams came within a whisker of beating the eventual Super Bowl champion Patriots in New England (tied 17-17 entering the fourth quarter in a 31-17 loss) and at Los Angeles (a 29-27 loss that was close throughout).
The Packers aren’t that far away, especially if they add a pass rusher and a couple of offensive linemen in the draft.
With that in mind, the refurbishing begins March 13.

By Chris Havel
Special to Event USA
Brady wins record sixth Super Bowl with a lot of help from N.E. defense
GREEN BAY, Wis. – The payoff at the end of the NFL’s highest-scoring season was a down-and-dirty Super Bowl LIII that was duller than a Bill Belichick news conference.

It’s a whole new year!
Packers tickets & packages available in April!
 Event USA >>

New England fans cared not a whit.
All that mattered was their wicked good Patriots outlasted the Rams, 13-3, Sunday night to win Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium. It was the Patriots’ sixth Super Bowl title in nine appearances over the past 17 seasons. In that span, New England’s coach-quarterback duo of Belichick and Tom Brady have become the greatest such combo in league annals.
Brady’s hit-and-miss play Sunday night reminded me of the Toby Keith song. To paraphrase, “Brady ain’t as good as he once was, but he’s as good once as he ever was,” that ONCE being the game-winning touchdown drive in the fourth quarter.
Brady, 41, became the oldest-winning quarterback in Super Bowl history. After a frustrating, substandard game, Brady pulled it together for one classic drive that was the difference.
The game was a 3-3 tug-of-war through three quarters.
That’s when Brady and the Patriots finally got the offense clicking. Starting at its own 31 with 9:43 to play, New England drove 69 yards on five plays for the go-ahead touchdown. It began with a Brady-to-Rob Gronkowski wheel route that netted 17 yards. After a 13-yard completion to Julian Edelman and Rex Burkhead’s 7-yard carry, Brady hit Gronk for a 29-yard gain that gave the Patriots first-and-goal at the 2.
Gronkowski made a terrific catch on the play. He knifed between two defenders and made a fully extended diving catch. It was at once tremendous and just another pitch-and-catch for Brady and Gronk.
“He knows to trust in me and throw the ball,” he said of Brady. “And I’m going to grab it.”
Sony Michel slammed it in from 2 yards out for the touchdown to put New England up 10-3 with 7 minutes to play. Michel’s touchdown run was his sixth of the postseason and capped a strong performance in which he rushed 18 times for 94 yards.
“Finally got a touchdown and the defense played its best game of the year,” Brady said afterward.
The Patriots outrushed the Rams 154-62 as Los Angeles’ quarterback Jared Goff struggled to generate any offense. Goff completed just 19 of 38 passes for 229 yards and a 57.9 quarterback rating. He was sacked four times and never really looked comfortable.
The Rams’ best chance to tie the game came midway through the fourth quarter, but a promising drive was stymied when Goff was picked off by Stephon Gilmore at the Patriots’ 4-yard line.
After that, the Patriots sewed it up. Brady led them on a 9-play, 72-yard drive that was capped by Stephen Gostkowski’s 41-yard field goal with 1:12 to play to make it 13-3.
The game’s oddities included the sarcastic cheers of fans after the Rams’ Johnny Hekker hammered a third quarter punt 65 yards – the longest punt in Super Bowl history.
For a while Hekker’s punt was in the conversation for the game’s most exciting moment.
The Rams’ offense looked impotent from the outset.
Goff was off and Todd Gurley II was a non-factor. Gurley rushed 10 times for an inconsequential 35 yards. C.J. Anderson banged away seven times for 22 yards.
New England’s defense – led by Belichick and coordinator Brian Flores (Miami’s next head coach) – was sensational. The Patriots’ three points allowed ties the ‘72 Dolphins’ “No Name Defense” for the fewest allowed in a Super Bowl.
At 66, Belichick is the oldest coach to win a Super Bowl. He’s exactly twice as old as the Rams’ Sean McVay, who shared Goff’s “deer in the headlights” look much of the game.
It’s no wonder. McVay was schooled by the master.
Edelman, who caught 10 passes for 141 yards, was named the Super Bowl LIII MVP and for good reason. At times, Edelman was the Patriots’ entire offense, but he didn’t care.
Like New England’s fans only one thing mattered.
“It just matters that we won,” Edelman said. “It was a crazy year. We had a resilient bunch of guys.”
Indeed, the Patriots rebounded after a rocky start to finish 11-5. Then they coolly dispatched the highly-touted Chargers, the high-scoring Chiefs and the high-flying Rams.
So what conclusions can be drawn by the Packers and their fans following Super Bowl LIII?
Here are a couple takeaways:
** Aaron Rodgers gives the Packers an excellent chance to retool this offseason and make a serious run in 2019. Consider the Rams’ plight. They assemble the best defense money can buy to go with their smart-as-a-whip head coach. That was good enough to get the Rams to the big game, but their quarterback proved he couldn’t handle the game’s grandest stage.
Frankly, I’d rather be in Matt LaFleur’s shoes than McVay’s going into next season. When there is doubt at quarterback it’s difficult to overcome.
** Defense and special teams can’t be ignored. The Patriots don’t win without either. Brady’s effort was all-world in the fourth quarter, but pretty much all-awful up to that point.
The Pats don’t beat themselves. There weren’t foolish roughing-the-punter penalties or any such nonsense. The Packers need to adopt that same penalty-free aggression that LaFleur talks of and the Patriots play with.
** Don’t question LaFleur’s ability as an offensive coach because McVay (one of his mentors) went down in flames. It happens to young coaches, especially those with young QBs.
LaFleur will be judged on what he does, not where he worked or whom he worked for before he arrived.
I suspect McVay’s humiliating defeat will only serve to push him even harder. He’s not finished. He’s just getting started. Obviously, the same can be said of LaFleur.
Be patient and be glad that the Packers have Rodgers. Building a team around him won’t be easy. Then again, it’s better than building a Super Bowl-caliber team like the Rams, only to doubt the trigger man.
 

By Chris Havel
Special to Event USA
Packers’ Adams excited by change; New coach LaFleur filling out staff
 
GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Super Bowl’s safest bet in recent years is that New England will be playing in it.
The next-safest bet is that Tom Brady will be the MVP.
The Patriots’ quarterback is the NFL’s greatest player of all time. That notion is neither novel nor likely to spark any heated debate from its dwindling number of detractors.
What can you say? Brady owns all the records and all the wins – in games both big and small – that a fan could ever hope for. A victory over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday would add another chapter to one of the NFL’s greatest stories ever told.
It also would further the view that head coach Bill Belichick is the NFL’s greatest coach of all time.
In Green Bay, Packers’ fans would be quick to counter with the Vince Lombardi-Bart Starr coach-QB tandem as the greatest.
Certainly, Lombardi-Starr was the most dominant combination of its era. The same could be said of the Steelers’ Chuck Knoll and Terry Bradshaw in the ‘70s and the 49ers’ Bill Walsh and Joe Montana of the ‘80s and the ‘90s.
Arguments aside, the Patriots’ Belichick and Brady do the NFL a great service each season. They remind fans that their team can be a perennial Super Bowl contender if it has three elements: An exceptional coach and an ultra-talented QB surrounded by a seemingly endless parade of competent, talented teammates.
Whether the Rams’ Sean McVay and Jared Goff ever approach Belichick-Brady status remains to be seen. That duo begins to carve out its legacy on Sunday in Atlanta. A victory over the Patriots, especially as 2 ½ point underdogs, would be a terrific first step down the path of greatness.
So what does this mean for the Packers?
In a word, it means hope.
If the Rams can go from 4-12 to a Super Bowl berth in three seasons, the Packers definitely can go from 6-9-1 to an appearance in next year’s big game.
Why? Well, it starts with Aaron Rodgers, who along with the Saints’ Drew Brees joins Brady as the NFL’s top three veteran quarterbacks. That’s a tremendous advantage in Green Bay where the Packers already have the great QB. If LaFleur proves to be the right coach for the job – and that remains a big if – the Packers should be back in the playoffs in 2019.
Obviously, the perception that the Packers were a perennial upper-echelon team was shattered last season.
So how does Green Bay go from being a 6-9-1 also-ran under Mike McCarthy to a legit playoff team under LaFleur?
Part of LaFleur’s plan, according to Packers’ Pro Bowl receiver Davante Adams, is to create the illusion of complexity.
It seems preferable to the illusion of exceptionalism that had been in play in Green Bay far too long. So how does it work?
Adams, who met with LaFleur in Green Bay last week before leaving for the Pro Bowl, explained it in an ESPN interview. He began by saying LaFleur made “a great first impression.”
“Great guy, young cat, which is great … You can be personable with him,” Adams said. “He’s a good guy. I like his philosophy. He wants to bring in a new kind of innovative style – an illusion of complexity. I like the idea of that. He kind of explained that to me. A great first impression so we’ll see how it goes.”
The illusion of complexity is an interesting concept. It sure sounds a lot cooler than the old phrase, “KISS – Keep It Simple Stupid.”
It suggests that, in fact, there’s nothing incredibly complex about LaFleur’s offense. It’s more about the presentation, and the execution, than it is simply winning one-on-one battles.
In LaFleur’s perfect world, a run play looks like a pass play – and vice-versa – until the last possible second before the snap. A defense will be confronted with multiple formations, plenty of motion and a lot of pre-snap hocus pocus.
All the while, the offense knows where it’s going to attack.
In addition to the illusion of complexity, LaFleur also plans to incorporate a heavy dose of balance between the run and pass.
If a team is too pass heavy, or too predictable in any way, for that matter, it’s easier to defend. Why should a defense bite on all the pre-snap trickery when it knows there’s a 75-percent chance it’ll be a pass anyway?
Belichick discussed McVay’s offensive attack during an interview as part of the Super Bowl LIII run-up. It is interesting in that LaFleur is a McVay disciple.
Belichick said, “(The Rams) switch things up a lot, they just do it with the same players. That’s what makes them so good – everybody can do everything.”
It’s called balance. It’s also called not having to substitute heavily – and perhaps risk tipping your play-calling hand – if running backs can catch the football out of the backfield and receivers can be shifty in the slot or effective as a runner on jet sweeps and such.
Throughout Super Bowl LIII, I will be watching to see how Brady relies on his experience as well as his talent to KO the Rams. I’ll also be curious to see how McVay’s offense goes about trying to attack Belichick’s defense.
At New Orleans, the Rams’ Goff had an awful start. If he was nervous in the NFC Championship Game, I’ve got to believe it will be even more pronounced in the Super Bowl.
I’m predicting the Patriots will succeed where New Orleans failed by making Goff’s early mistakes quite costly. I see the Patriots building an early lead and fending off a late Rams’ rally.
Super Bowl LIII final: Patriots 31, Rams 27.
** Back in Green Bay, LaFleur is assembling his staff. Here is the latest:
* Offensive coordinator: Nathaniel Hackett in; Joe Philbin out.
* Quarterbacks coach: Luke Getsy in; Frank Cignetti, Jr., and Jim Hostler, out.
* Running backs coach: Ben Sirmans returns.
* Offensive line: Adam Stenavich, in; James Campen, Jeff Blasko, out.
* Wide receivers: Vacant; David Raih, out.
* Tight ends: Justin Outten, in; Brian Angelichio, out.
* Defensive coordinator: Mike Pettine returns.
* Defensive line: Jerry Montgomery returns.
* Linebackers: Kirk Olivadotti, inside linebackers; Mike Smith, outside linebackers, in; Scott McCurley, Patrick Graham, out.
* Defensive Backs: Jason Simmons, in; Joe Whitt, Jr., out.
* Special teams coordinator: Vacant; Ron Zook, out.
 

By Chris Havel
Special to Event USA
NFC, AFC Championships marred by 2 of NFL’s greatest recurring problem
 
GREEN BAY, Wis. – The NFC Championship Game was decided by a blown call. The AFC title game turned on a dime, or whatever the officials used to conduct the overtime coin toss.
What next?
How about a phantom roughing-the-quarterback penalty on the game’s decisive drive? Or a “no call” when a badly beaten defensive back blatantly blows up the intended receiver on a drive that would’ve sealed the victory?
Whatever the specifics, I suspect Super Bowl LIII’s outcome Feb. 3 will be determined in some like manner. If the NFL’s all-too-often farcical officiating doesn’t bury either the Rams or the Patriots, perhaps its arcane overtime rules will.
On a day when the NFC and AFC Championship Games should have been epic overtime battles, they disintegrated into one big question mark surrounding the refs and the rules.
CBS’s Tony Romo punctuated the point upon the Patriots’ overtime-winning touchdown drive when he blurted out, “What a critical coin toss that was.”
No kidding, Tony.
The Rams’ 26-23 victory in overtime Sunday at New Orleans left the Saints and their fans stunned, if not outraged. An obvious and game-sealing pass interference call was ignored, giving Los Angeles the opening it needed to KO the Saints.
The league has since offered a public apology. Isn’t that a bit like administering the morphine after losing the patient on the operating table? It does nothing to make the pain subside, or the outcome any less disastrous.
The Patriots’ 37-31 victory in overtime at Kansas City left the Chiefs and their fans with the question, “What if Kansas City had won the toss, and Patrick Mahomes had the football first instead of New England’s Tom Brady?”
Nobody will ever know because of an ineffective, unfair and outdated overtime rule.
So what are Packers’ fans to think?
Here are a few Packers-pertinent thoughts while watching the Rams and Patriots advance to Super Bowl LIII:
** In today’s NFL offense wins games. Defense can only lose them.
The Packers’ focus must be fairly distributed on both sides of the football. However, GM Brian Gutekunst and head coach Matt LaFleur need to take an “offense first” approach.
If Aaron Rodgers and the offense don’t regain their place among the NFL’s most potent attacks the rest won’t matter.
Let’s be real. The Chiefs’ defense did as well as might be expected against Brady and Co. It still wasn’t enough. It came down to a coin toss, and whether Mahomes and the Chiefs’ offense would get one final chance to KO the Patriots.
It didn’t happen.
Overtime rules aside, the Packers need to rebuild the right side of their offensive line, add a tight end, and draft a third-down running back and a slot receiver.
Then, LaFleur and his staff need to coach them up fast.
The expectation here is simple: LaFleur and Rodgers need to have the offense clicking at a dynamic rate early and often.
The Rams were 4-12 two years ago. There is no reason to think the Packers (6-9-1) can’t reach double-digit wins in 2019.
** The Rams’ defense does many things well. Perhaps its finest attribute is its tackling. Even though Drew Brees and the Saints’ offense moved the football between the 20s it bogged down mightily in the red zone.
The Saints had a chance to demoralize the Rams early, but lost the opportunity when touchdowns turned to field goals. One reason is because the Rams’ defense tackled so well in the red zone. Another reason it tackled so well it didn’t allow any big plays. The Saints had to earn everything they got.
LaFleur’s description of his preferred defense included something to this effect: “I don’t want to give up the big play.” Translation: Tackle so well they have to earn it.”
The Rams did exactly that.
** With the Saints’ loss, the Packers’ first-round draft picks will be the 12th and the 30th overall.
Packers’ GM Brian Gutekunst owns six of the top 112 selections, in addition to an expected $50 million-plus in space beneath the salary cap.
That should be plenty of ammo to restock/rebuild the roster.
** Special teams’ play can’t be underestimated.
The Rams’ fake punt – something Packers’ fans could relate to – totally hoodwinked the Saints’ punt coverage unit. That shouldn’t happen, and especially not on fourth-and-5 near midfield when the opposing offense is struggling mightily.
It’s that type of play that has killed the Packers all too often.
** The Rams’ Corey Littleton and the Rams’ Demario Davis are the type of linebackers the Packers need to find between now and training camp. There is nobody on the roster like either of those two impact players. Clearly, Blake Martinez is a tackling machine, but this isn’t meant to criticize him. It’s more about raising the question, “How good could Martinez be with a Littleton or a Davis on the field next to him?”
I’m just saying. …
** Finally, I will make my Super Bowl LIII prediction next week. Today, I’m making a Packers-related prediction: If Green Bay follows the Rams’ blueprint, which includes running the football and playing in free agency, there is no reason to believe they won’t be in this year’s NFC Championship Game.
Then, if it comes down to a coin toss or a blown call so be it.
 

By Chris Havel
Special to Event USA
New coach turns attention to building staff, assessing current roster’s talent
 
GREEN BAY, Wis. – Mark Murphy’s handpicked trio is set.

The Packers’ president has placed his trust and the team’s future in the hands of GM Brian Gutekunst, Director of Football Operations Russ Ball, and head coach Matt LaFleur.
The Packers’ talent scout, money man and X’s-and-O’s guy aren’t responsible for much … I mean, other than returning Green Bay to its lofty place among the NFC’s elite teams.
It’s a tall order, to be sure, and it’s especially so when a team has a winning tradition and one of the NFL’s top quarterbacks.
The Packers have both.
What they don’t have is an abundance of time or patience.
Packers’ fans want a winner now.
I don’t blame them because winning is expected in Green Bay, and because Aaron Rodgers, at 35, isn’t getting any younger.
The clock’s ticking.
This isn’t “rebuild and wait.” It’s “reload and win.”
Green Bay’s 6-9-1 season proved to be an extension of the 2017 disaster, the major difference being this time Rodgers started each game and the Packers still struggled mightily.
Back-to-back losing seasons don’t always guarantee that the head coach is going to be fired, but in Green Bay it was time. Ultimately, Murphy made the right call by firing longtime head coach Mike McCarthy four games shy of a 13th season here.
The timing was right for two reasons:
** No. 1 – There’s never a “good time” to fire a coach, but once Murphy’s decision was made he needed to move forward, and did so with proper haste.
** No. 2 – The Packers’ hiring of LaFleur was the first of eight NFL coaching dominos to fall. Essentially, Green Bay had its pick of the litter, so to speak, and chose LaFleur.
That LaFleur, 39, was my top choice speaks to his ability to stand out as a candidate both up-close and at a distance.
LaFleur’s first task is putting together his staff.
He announced that Mike Pettine will return as the team’s defensive coordinator. It is a significant move in terms of retaining a strong coordinator and maintaining continuity.
“I think we share a common vision, and I am really excited to see this defense take off in Year Two of his system,” LaFleur told Sirius XM radio last week.
“I think that continuity just for the players to be able to perform, usually in Year Two, it definitely is going to improve, and also the thing that was so attractive about Mike to me was, ‘Here’s a guy that’s been a head coach in the National Football League, and it’s going to be somebody that I can lean on because there’s going to be certain circumstances that come up that, hey, maybe I haven’t been through,’ so (I’m) excited to have Mike a part of our staff.”
It seems likely defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery also will return. Defensive passing game coordinator Joe Whitt won’t be retained, according to reports.
Neither will James Campen, who spent the past 14 years as the offensive line coach in Green Bay. Campen will join Cleveland as the Browns’ associate head coach/offensive line coach.
Ex-Bucs offensive coordinator Todd Monken, who was reportedly interviewed by LaFleur for that job in Green Bay, has accepted the OC position in Cleveland.
It means Nathaniel Hackett, the former Jacksonville OC who also interviewed for that position here, is the odds-on favorite.
Once all of LaFleur’s pieces are in place the Packers’ 15th head coach intends to critically assess the current roster.
That’s when Green Bay’s new staff will form its vision of what they intend the 2019 Packers to be. Then, LaFleur will share that vision with the GM, whose scouts will proceed accordingly.
In Gutekunst, the Packers have a second-year GM who has already shown a desire to play in free agency and a willingness to manipulate the NFL draft.
Gutekunst positioned the Packers nicely with six picks among the first 112 selections, including two picks in the first round (the 12th pick and the Saints’ pick).
In Ball, the Packers have upwards of $50 million in salary cap space to work with. That should account for several free-agent signings, including perhaps two mid-to-top tier free agents.
In LaFleur, the Packers have hope.
LaFleur’s ability to click with Rodgers is going to be essential to the team’s success and he knows it. The two spoke before the Packers announced LaFleur’s hiring.
“The conversation went great,” LaFleur said. “I can tell he’s a passionate guy, and he wants to win. And I think that holds true for me as well. So I think we’re in alignment there because, like I said before, this game is about winning. I know that he wants to add to his legacy, and the only way we’re going to accomplish that is to win a world championship.”
Murphy said he was impressed by LaFleur’s preparation and performance during their interview. LaFleur, the Titans’ offensive coordinator and play caller for one season, was the 10th and final candidate to be interviewed.
Clearly, LaFleur’s experience working for Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay was a factor. So was his work with quarterbacks such as Robert Griffin III, Kirk Cousins, Matt Ryan and Jared Goff, all of whom played well under his direction.
The possibilities of a Packers’ offense that relies on balance, throwing to the running backs and tight ends, and a heavy dose of play-action is the cure for what ailed Rodgers.
And the reality is that Rodgers wasn’t all that bad in 2018.
“Any time you’re the play caller, you want that collaboration with your quarterback,” LaFleur said. “Certainly we’re going to have a foundation in place of how we run our system. I think it’s a system that’s really predicated on building the run game with the pass game. We like to have plays … we like to say plays that start off looking the same but are different, plays that play off of plays. It lessens the predictability of what you’re trying to do, and it keeps a defense more off-balance.
“And if there’s one thing I can say in regards to a guy like Aaron, if you give Aaron time and you are unpredictable, he’s going to excel because we all know the talent he has. That’s how we’re going to build this thing.”
Offensively, everyone’s excited at the prospects under LaFleur.
The greater question is this: Can he handle a locker room? Can he coach up the entire team? Can he inspire a collection of the world’s most talented athletes to accomplish great things?
Murphy believes so or he wouldn’t have made the hire.
“In talking to (players) I think they wanted somebody that would hold players accountable,” Murphy said. “And the other thing that, and Brian can speak to this as well, he was there … (the players) talked a little bit about how they felt a complacency had set in among some players and coaches. So in my mind, that was something that as we went through the process, was kind of in the back of my mind. Is there something that we can do that can kind of shake people up so we don’t have the complacency?”
Consider things “shaken up” at 1265 Lombardi Avenue.
It’s time to reload and start winning championships again.
 

By Chris Havel
Special to Event USA
Green Bay’s search enters home stretch; Bears say good-bye to the postseason
 
GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Packers can do something they haven’t done in what feels like forever. They can claim a ‘W’ on the same Sunday that the Bears lost a heartbreaker.

See McCartney at Lambeau – We have your tickets!
  BUY NOW >>

The thought occurred while Chicago kicker Cody Parkey took aim at a 43-yard field goal attempt with 10 seconds to play to win the game. An Eagles’ player grazed the football, causing it to clank off the left upright, carom downward into the crossbar and bounce harmlessly back into the field of play at Soldier Field.
The miss sealed the Bears’ 16-15 loss to the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles in their NFC wild-card round game.
It also elicited smiles in Green Bay, no doubt, as the Packers’ coaching search inched closer to its conclusion.
So how can the Packers claim victory Sunday? That’s easy.
They can hire either of the candidates they interviewed that day: Adam Gase, the former Dolphins head coach, or Titans offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur.
I prefer LaFleur to Gase, but I’ll take either over the rest of a field that includes several retreads and rejects
The other half of the Patriots’ contingent – defensive coordinator Brian Flores – is mostly an unknown. What I do know is that the Patriots’ last defensive coordinator, Matt Patricia, is going to flame out with the Lions mostly because he thinks he’s New England coach Bill Belichick, but he isn’t.
Perhaps Flores is his own man, and he should be praised for working with Belichick. But until a Belichick disciple can prove there’s life after the hoodie I wouldn’t go there.
Chuck Pagano and Jim Caldwell are first-rate men, but it’s like buying a “new” suit off the used-clothes rack. They’re comfy and the price is right, but they lack that “wow” factor.
So why choose Gase?
I’m intrigued by Gase’s background, experience and success. He’s been around winners. He’s also been through difficult times and managed to keep it together.
When Ryan Tannehill was healthy, Gase found a way to get the most out of his quarterback and his offense. That was true even when the Dolphins’ offensive talent was sorely lacking.
Gase, 40, is an offensive whiz by all accounts.
The handful of times I’ve watched Miami it appears the offense somehow figured out a way to get more with less. I’d be curious to see what Gase can do with Aaron Rodgers at quarterback, especially when he went 7-9 with a beat-up Tannehill and a journeyman named Brock Osweiler.
He also coached Jay Cutler to his best season in 2015 with the Bears, and he’s been with Kyle Shanahan and then Sean McVay – two of the hottest names in coaching right now.
Gase has a low-key personality.
The question is whether it’s too subdued to be an effective head coach. Frankly, I don’t subscribe to the theory that a good coach needs to own a fiery disposition.
Look at the impassive Belichick.
While Gase would be a strong hire, I’m even more intrigued by the Titans’ LaFleur.
The 39-year-old LaFleur spent eight years with Shanahan and one with McVay and the Rams in Los Angeles.
His first full-time play-calling gig didn’t produce great numbers – the Titans’ offense ranked 25th in yards and 27th in points – but Tennessee was beset by massive injuries on offense.
Still, he managed to squeeze a lot out of running back Derrick Henry despite the limitations.
LaFleur is a disciple of the West Coast offense, which integrates the zone blocking scheme used by Mike McCarthy. The transition from McCarthy to LaFleur would be simplest for Rodgers and the offense. That’s not a reason to hire LaFleur, but it certainly doesn’t work to his disadvantage.
LaFleur was a Division II quarterback at Saginaw Valley State. He comes by his status in the NFL honestly. He wasn’t the son of a great player, or the nephew of a legendary coach or GM, or any of that.
Packers president Mark Murphy and GM Brian Gutekunst have their work cut out for them. This is a critical hire at what appears to be something of a crossroad for the Packers.
They have been slowly, steadily in decline the past two seasons. Hiring Gutekunst was the first step toward changing the trend. Getting the right coach is the next step, followed by free agency and the draft.
It’s a tall task.
It’s time to hire LaFleur, or Gase if you must, and get after it.
 
 

By Chris Havel
Special to Event USA
Lions sweep Green Bay
 
GREEN BAY, Wis. – Insomnia, like the home team, never had a chance.

See you in 2019!
The Pack will be back!
 Happy New Year >>

The Packers’ final loss in a lost season was an underwhelming event.  OK, a loss helps more than a win, right?  Higher draft pick, yes?  But still….to the Lions?  Ugh.
The game was a real yawner …… a fitting conclusion to a blah year.
The last-place Lions’ victory over the Packers Sunday at Lambeau Field was at once a wake-up call and last call: “You don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here. The party’s over at Lambeau Field … until next season, at least.”
This most recent less-than-stellar performance may have been entertaining to Lions fans and masochists, often one and the same, but to Packers fans it was a mind-numbing atrocity.    Please let 2018 be over, let the good times of 2019 roll.
Fans used to fall asleep counting Aaron Rodgers touchdown passes. Sunday, they could do so counting punts and missed tackles.
The Lions blanked the Packers for the first time since 1973. It was Green Bay’s first home shutout in 22 years. It was ugly.
“Yeah, it was hard,” Packers’ interim head coach Joe Philbin said afterward. “We just didn’t have any rhythm.” 
A lack of rhythm is one way to put it.
A lack of rhyme and reason is another. That’s a polite way of saying that, once again, Green Bay had no balance on offense.
The Packers’ running backs managed just nine attempts.   I was hoping for that per drive.  And the run game was not very effective.   Less than a yard per try.  For the life of me, I can’t recall the last time the Packers’ running backs averaged 24 inches per attempt.
The passing attack wasn’t exactly slick, either. Rodgers was 3 of 5 for 26 yards and a sack before exiting after the Packers’ third possession. The medical staff ruled Rodgers out with a concussion caused by a helmet-wrenching hit on Green Bay’s second play from scrimmage.
Sadly, Philbin needed not one, not two, but three post-series chats with his Hall of Fame quarterback before Rodgers informed Philbin he was going to be evaluated for a concussion.
Shouldn’t it be the doctors telling the coach to sit the player? Then again it’s not surprising in this upside-down season.
When Rodgers isn’t calling the shots, he’s absorbing them.  Heck, Rodgers’ terrific play used to give defenses a headache. This season it’s the defense’s chance to return the favor.
It was painful watching kicker Matt Prater fleece the Packers with a wobbly, windblown, 8-yard touchdown pass off a fake. It was even more painful watching the Packers without Rodgers.
DeShone Kizer showed once again why he is the back-up quarterback. Kizer was 16 of 35 for 132 yards, two sacks and an interception. In his defense, he had precious little time to throw behind a patchwork offensive line.
It was ready, set, huh?
When Rodgers exited in the second quarter, a game but gimpy David Bakhtiari also decided to sit it out at left tackle. Even before the game, Davante Adams was ruled out with a knee injury, and other key starters were sidelined by (wink, wink) significant injuries.
Nevertheless, Rodgers started and played too long to no effect.
In dealing with the question, “To play or not to play?” if the Packers are going to err on the side of caution, why wouldn’t that philosophy begin with Rodgers?
Packers center Corey Linsley acknowledged that Rodgers badly wanted to play against the Lions. He added that Rodgers became emotional when he was forced to leave.
It’s interesting that Linsley defended his quarterback when no defense was needed. It speaks to the team’s unity, but it also illustrates how dysfunctional that dependency has become.
Believe it or not, other teams actually win with their backup QB. In Green Bay, Rodgers’ absence makes victory seem impossible.
“When arguably the greatest player in the game leaves it’s not going to affect you positively,” Linsley said. “First of all, I want to say that Aaron was very emotional. I’m not speaking about other QBs, but I know that for him to get emotional leaving a game that everybody, quote-unquote, says is meaningless, shows us how hard he wanted to play out there and how much he wanted to be with his boys. That was special.”
No, what’s special is that Rodgers’ health may have been saved by a concussion. While any head injury is especially serious, Rodgers won’t be sidelined by a concussion going into next season, whereas a knee injury would’ve been disastrous.
Clay Matthews said he spoke with Rodgers before the game regarding playing time.
“I said, ‘How long are you playing?’ He said, ‘I’m going the distance,’ ” Matthews told reporters. “I said, ‘All right, I’ll be out there with you in the fourth.’ ”
“But it didn’t play out like that.”
What’s new?  Not much of anything went according to plan this season.
 
 

By Chris Havel
Special to Event USA
Green Bay’s 44-38 overtime victory against New York Jets paves way for 1st win streak
 
GREEN BAY, Wis. – Aaron Rodgers is a terrific leader, a tremendous competitor and a Hall of Fame talent

Lions@Pack This Sunday!
Tickets, Parties, Packages!!
On Sale NOW! >>

Oh, by the way, the Packers played at the Jets Sunday.
Rodgers’ performance in Green Bay’s 44-38 overtime victory in East Rutherford, N.J., reaffirmed everything and proved nothing. It reaffirmed that …
** No. 1 – The Packers are slightly above average with Rodgers and awful without him. When an All-Pro quarterback has to play nearly his best to defeat one of the NFL’s worst teams it says more about the Packers than their quarterback;
** No. 2 – The Packers’ offensive line, defensive line, edge rusher and safety positions all need help. In the first three rounds (four picks) they need to find an eventual replacement for Bryan Bulaga at right tackle, Clay Matthews and Nick Perry at edge rusher and Mike Daniels/Mo Wilkerson at defensive end.
So what did the Packers’ overtime win accomplish?
Aside from dropping the Packers from 11th to 13th in the first round of the 2019 draft, it may have provided a wonderful teaching point for the young players, the point being it’s not only essential but fun to win on the road.
Many NFL observers focus on the importance of home-field advantage: Building it, relying on it, maintaining it.
While it’s true Green Bay’s championship teams in 1996 and 2010 dominated at Lambeau Field, they will swear to a man that the road wins were a galvanizing force. There was nothing better than going to the Silverdome in Pontiac, Mich., being crammed into a small, stale-smelling visitor’s locker room, and emerging with a resounding victory in front of thousands of haters wearing a scowl along with their Honolulu blue and silver jerseys.
Rodgers expressed precisely these thoughts after the game.
“It’s good for the young guys to see what the locker room on the road feels like with a win, what the plane flight feels like,” Rodgers told reporters. “How special that plane ride is after a road victory.”
The Packers’ first road win of the season was definitely special, aside from the special teams’ play, that is.
Rodgers completed 37 of 55 passes for 442 yards, two touchdowns and a 103.7 passer rating. He also ran five times for another 32 yards and two touchdowns.
Most impressive, perhaps, was Rodgers’ attitude.
There weren’t any gestures or histrionics after a teammate – often a young receiver – made a mistake. Rodgers just clapped, shouted encouragement and got ready for the next snap.
Who knows? Maybe a certain 35-year-old Pro Bowl quarterback is growing up with his young receivers.
Equanimeous St. Brown caught five passes (on five targets) for 94 yards, while Marquez Valdes-Scantling added another five catches (on nine targets) for 75 yards.
Jake Kumerow, the preseason sensation, caught three passes for 68 yards and his first NFL touchdown. Kumerow took advantage of a Jets’ defensive breakdown and sprinted 49 yards for the touchdown to cut the Jets’ lead to 14-7.
Davante Adams, the leader of the receivers, caught 11 passes for 71 yards and the game-winning touchdown in overtime. Adams sounded relieved the Packers finally got their first road win in nine games, dating back to last season.
“It would have been pretty pathetic if we had gone the entire season without one,” Adams admitted.
Jamaal Williams also had a big day.
Williams rushed 15 times for 95 yards, a 6.3-yards-per-carry average, and scored a touchdown after giving great effort near the sideline and end zone.
The Packers trailed by 14 points twice in the first half and again by 15 points in the fourth quarter. Each time they rallied.
“I think it speaks a lot about the character of the guys,” Philbin said. “They never stopped believing that they could get the job done.”
The Jets’ special teams nearly scored a victory for the home team. Andre Roberts answered Kumerow’s touchdown catch with a 99-yard kick return for a touchdown to make it 21-7. The Jets’ Rontez Miles took a direct snap on a fourth-and-1 punt from the Jets’ 31 to gain four yards and the first down. Anthony Wint also forced J’Mon Moore to fumble on a kick return.
In other games, those would’ve been game killers. On Sunday, they proved to be challenges waiting to be overcome.
The Packers (6-8-1) got a gutty defensive performance after an awful start. The Jets’ offense carved up the Packers’ defense on its way to a quick 14-0 lead.
Injuries to Jaire Alexander and Lane Taylor in the first half complicated things, but the Packers kept playing on. Rookies Tyler Lancaster, James Crawford and Tony Brown all battled. In fact, Lancaster – a 313-pound defensive tackle from Northwestern – has 17 tackles in December. That’s more than Montravius Adams has in two years.
At any rate, Rodgers was pleased with the outcome. He definitely wasn’t second-guessing his decision to play despite a sore left knee and an ailing groin muscle.
He had something to prove.
“That it matters, even when the record isn’t great and you’re not going to the playoffs,” Rodgers said. “That I have a lot of pride. I love competing in anything. I don’t want to look back in 20 years and wonder, ‘What if I had played that game? Could something special have happened? What would it look like to my teammates if they knew I kind of quit on them?’ I hope my teammates know I’m never going to quit on them.
“I’m going to battle through anything I’ve got, and they did the same.”
If Rodgers’ teammates didn’t know it before Sunday’s win, they know it now. It’s just unfortunate that it came to that.