Just saw this with our favorite third-string quarterback, Kurt Benkert.
He seems to think The Flower is far, far too rigid. Hmmm. Just a bitter guy who got cut, or are his criticisms legitimate?
https://www.acmepackingcompany.com/2...c-matt-lafleur
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Just saw this with our favorite third-string quarterback, Kurt Benkert.
He seems to think The Flower is far, far too rigid. Hmmm. Just a bitter guy who got cut, or are his criticisms legitimate?
https://www.acmepackingcompany.com/2...c-matt-lafleur
No one who ever walked the planet is immune to critique. Is this one in particular legit? Maybe. What I do know is that this offense needs to show improvement as we move forward. And although Love showed plenty of promise early and flashes he needs to add consistency. I've said many times this is a reset season. A lot of questions needed to be answered going in. The Bak question pretty much has been answered. Even though our D was stout against a really bad team I think the Joe Barry question has been answered. Neither of them for the good. A lot of season to go. A lot of questions to be answered.
Matt does seem a little stubborn sometimes, and maybe not the coolest of cucumbers, but I also think winning makes his strengths looks better and his weaknesses look trivial.
Just win a few games and it kinda goes away.
Meh. He's being criticized on twitter by a guy whose regular season experience consists of talking a knee twice in 2021, and is now out of the NFL.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fritz
I don't think anything Benkert said -- which was mostly related to having different personalities that didn't jive together -- was that bad. Being as public/outspoken about it is probably the thing, is all. He didn't say MLF was a bad coach, just that he liked Shanahan better and that Shanahan was more flexible and didn't act like he had all the answers.
MLF isn't a bad coach, but I don't think he's above criticism. All the times he's ignored Aaron Jones (we need to get him the ball more), or put Dillon in bad positions (run him north south, not outside), or had game plans where they are chucking the ball all over the place when just moving the chains on easy completions would do. And then there's the loyalty over competence thing with Barry, Drayton, and others.
As for the scheme, I don't know that it's outdated. I think he's adapted his scheme over time. I'm not sure he's adapted it to best accomodate his players this year. Scheme, game planning, and preparedness are parts of being a HC, and there have been times he's come up short.
JMHO
Rigid in what way? When Benkert was in Green Bay and all the Rodgers/La Fleur years, La Fleur subordinated his ego and ran a Rodgers oriented offense - for better or worse. That's the opposite of rigid in my book.
We're just now seeing La Fleur's scheme this season, and even now, it seems like he's doing what he does based on the personnel of the team as well as the kind of defense he's going against. Supposedly Jones not playing against the Raiders was a late scratch thing. Those mildly successful run plays with Dillon running would have looked absolutely great with Jones. Was that rigidity? Or just not enough time to change before game time?
The only rigidity I see is La Fleur retaining Joe Barry - the clear cause of virtually all the problems this team might have.
All this talk about MLF being too rigid vs too flaccid doesn't matter. What matters is if they win games.
My point is rigid coaches can be successful just the same as flaccid coaches. Back up QBs that never play may prefer flaccid coaches, but their opinion isn't relevant. It's all about the wins and losses.
And as is often the case, there's context missing. Read another article about how all that went down, that "interview," and it's all those "content creators" who spin clips from longer pieces, and the clips, minus the context, go viral. Basically, Benkert also admitted the Packers didn't like his focus on his social media development, which he felt was his "future." So there's another element as to why he got cut.Quote:
Originally Posted by sharpe1027
I don't know. Just wondering what MLF's like as a coach.
A gemQuote:
Originally Posted by bobblehead
Upfront - I'm going to "borrow and reuse" it and let others believe I thought it up myself
Wait about Jesus?Quote:
Originally Posted by QBME
Though I think he kind of set up Judas, and you could ding him for that.
Jesus should have taught a few others that trick about feeding 100 people with a loaf of bread. He kept it to himself. Therefore I am going to criticize him for that.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fritz
Wasn't just bread. Was also an all-you-can-eat fish fry. Must have been a Friday.Quote:
Originally Posted by bobblehead
So you're criticizing him because he didn't get his fishing license from the DNR?
Just another criminal I guess.Quote:
Originally Posted by run pMc
Mike Daniels in two minutes names the problem with the Packers defense for a long while. I would not say every year or post season. But most. Same for the offense, which is too finesse.
"We knew we were tougher than you guys."
They did bring it a few years and post seasons, but overall this has been the problem. Just need a new DC. LaFleur does not exude toughness, sorry to say.
https://x.com/gameonwi/status/1715011146715943241?s=20
As I've been saying, I want one of those asshole DCs that nobody likes. Schwartz, Williams or some other prick. They need some attitude.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jaire
I don't think it has to be a guy like Schultz or Greg Williams. I don't think Barry is a mediocrity because he doesn't have enough attitude. I think he's a mediocrity because he's a mediocre defensive mind. Were Fritz Shurmur and Dom Capers "attitude guys"?Quote:
Originally Posted by bobblehead
This. There's multiple ways to coach and motivate. We like to oversimplify things. TOO SOFT! If only we yelled at them more and made them eat more read meat!!!Quote:
Originally Posted by Joemailman
+1 to this. I always said we don’t need a rah rah guy. We need a cerebral guy. The trouble with Barry is he doesn’t seem to have much imagination or ability to adjust.Quote:
Originally Posted by Joemailman
Shurmer was a little bit of an attitude guy and Capers got worse each year. Give me Rex Ryan or someone with a proven record of building a dominant D. Fangio isn't an attitude guy, and I would have loved to have had him. My point is half tongue in cheek. We play soft. Half the guys don't attack ball carriers. The system is soft in and of itself. No, we don't need a prick, but we do need someone with an attack mindset. We've been playing on our heels for 2 decades because our HCs are terrified of the big play.
Give me a young creative thinker as there are so many of around the league.
Agree. Barry has had 3 shots at being a DC, and he has never coached an above average defense in... what, 7 or 8 seasons now? There's enough data at this point. Defense varies quite a bit year over year because of things like schedule and turnovers, but you are almost certain to at least luck into a top half defense at some point and I'm not sure Barry's defenses ever have.Quote:
Originally Posted by Joemailman
As for the next DC, I actually agree with Tex. I think you need someone new and creative. Capers fell asleep in the booth once teams figured out his defense (and players left), Fangio's defense has been copied and is run in a lot of places and offenses are starting to figure that out too. Denver actually has Vance Joseph running the Fangio defense (not his own) and he's not good at it. I think your best bet with a Coach X-style defense is to actually employ Coach X. They understand all the nuances, how it should be taught, coached, implemented, and used to counterpunch when an offense throws a curveball. All the copycats are unlikely to have that deep innate understanding of the scheme and why/how it was created.
I'm fine with a young innovative thinker as well. I would have loved Emero or Leonhard. I wonder if Leonhard even wants the gig at this point.
Say it with me TEX; it'll feel goodQuote:
Originally Posted by texaspackerbacker
JIMMY
JIMMY
JIMMY
JIMMY
JIMMY
I wasn’t real thrilled with Jimmy as Badger DC. His D actually reminded me a lot of Barry’s - pass rush that comes close but mostly doesn’t get home, weak against the run, and giving up big pass plays. And he didn’t seem too hot at adjusting either.
It just seems like most of our opponents do a helluva lot more with less talent.
As usual Tex doesn't remember what really happened.
The actual stats of WI D at the time.
2021 - 1st in Total Defense, 4th in PPG allowed, 2nd nationally in yards per play 4.17
2020 - 5th in Total Defense, 9th in PPG allowed
2019 - 8th in Total Defense, 10th in PPG allowed
2018 - 41st in Total Defense, 43rd in PPG allowed
2017 - 1st in Total Defense, 3rd in PPG allowed
Substitute Southern Kentucky Confederate State A&M for the Ohio State University, and ole Tex actually has an argument. Leonhard’s defense feasted on cupcakes while it got feasted on by all the hotshot semi-pro teams like OSU and Michigan.Quote:
Originally Posted by ThunderDan
No wonder you are flipping burgers and not a CPA. You don’t do any research to support your conclusions.Quote:
Originally Posted by Anti-Polar Bear
From 17-21
3-2 head to head against MI. O-3 head to head against OSU
MI - ignoring the 2018 year. Held MI offense to 11.5 less points and 114.25 yards less than MI ave for those years.
OSU - didn’t play in 18. Held OSU offense to 12 less PPG and 115 yards less PG than OSU ave for those years.
Considering the drop in talent level of recruiting for MI and OSU vs WI those numbers look even better.
What's more is against OSU, the defense often held up really well for about 3 quarters with very little offense to support them.Quote:
Originally Posted by ThunderDan
Yeah, good enough to make Brazzers Dot Com and Naughty America Bowls, and good enough to get the head coach and then himself canned.Quote:
Originally Posted by ThunderDan
Huh....this rang true last night even with a new DC.Quote:
Originally Posted by sharpe1027