Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images
Matt LaFleur may face a sleepless night or two following the Green Bay Packers’ embarrassing start to the preseason, but it leaves a near-impossible question he must answer in the days ahead.
What’s next? Does he take the injury risk again and give his starters extended playing time in next week’s exhibition contest against the Indianapolis Colts?
“The plan is to go down and have joint practices next week and potentially not have to play the starters in that game,” former Packers fullback John Kuhn said on the TV broadcast. “But I wonder if a poor performance like this could potentially make Matt LaFleur rethink how he goes about preseason game number two.”
Packers have a difficult decision to make after the team’s humiliation in preseason opener
LaFleur opted to play the Packers’ starters against the New York Jets on Saturday night, and injury risk aside, he was proved right a million times over. His team delivered that performance?! Penalties. Dropped passes. Fumbled punts. It couldn’t have gone much worse, highlighting the desperate need to get snaps. LaFleur’s next move is an important one.
It’s only the preseason, and it’s important not to overreact. But LaFleur needs his team to be ready to play when the Detroit Lions visit Lambeau Field in four weeks.
In the first half alone, the Packers had four drops, a fumble in the end zone that the Jets recovered for a touchdown, and a fumbled punt return. Jordan Love completed one of five passes for seven yards as the Packers’ embarrassing issues with drops rolled over from last season.
They were a mile off it in every facet against the Jets. The first-team offense couldn’t move the ball, while Jeff Hafley’s starting defense got shredded despite surprisingly showing off some of his exotic scheme.
The Packers have time to figure it out, but that may require the starters logging more preseason snaps. Not ideal.
LaFleur understands the injury risks, and it’s probably no surprise that he quickly pulled Love out of the game after taking a hit.
In a perfect world, the starters would’ve looked sharp and ready in the preseason opener. LaFleur could’ve felt far better about sitting them in the next two games. That might no longer be an option.
Injuries happen in the preseason, and that’s the risk. The Packers would ideally not require Love or any starter to play any more reps in August games, but this performance was so poor that LaFleur may have no choice.
