From Studying to Teaching, Packers Must Improve Preparation

With a game at the Buffalo Bills on Sunday night, Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers and teammates addressed the offense’s mental mistakes on Wednesday.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – During his appearance on The Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday, Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers said players who continue to make too many mental mistakes “shouldn’t be playing.”

Rodgers didn’t backpedal from the statement on Wednesday. In fact, the coach and some veteran players had his back about the message, at least.

“Sometimes the truth hurts,” coach Matt LaFleur.

Added receiver Sammy Watkins: “This is a business. If you’re not performing or executing or doing the things that you’re supposed to be doing, then I’m with Aaron. If I’m not playing well and I’m freaking up and busting plays, get me out of the game because that’s not helping the team. I think that’s a wake-up call to everybody, wake-up call to myself. I’m with Aaron, man. I feel like everybody is on the hot seat right now, even myself.”

“Isn’t that how it works?” cornerback Rasul Douglas added. “This is a production-based business. People who make the most plays should play the most, right? I don’t disagree with nothing he said. At the end of the day, we all want the best players on the field.”

Was the forum to deliver that message – a national sports-talk show rather than in a Lambeau Field meeting room – the right one? Maybe, maybe not. But after seven games with too many mental errors playing a role in the Packers entering Sunday night’s game at powerhouse Buffalo ranked just 23rd in scoring, Rodgers decided to tell a national audience.

“I think people in this society have a hard time hearing the truth sometimes, so I’m going to hold guys accountable,” Rodgers said at his locker.

By holding “guys accountable,” Rodgers hopes criticism turns into improvement. He said there routinely have been “double-digits” mental errors on the offense this season compared to maybe a half-dozen in prior years. Those have been too much to overcome, especially without a singular talent like Davante Adams.

Only “time,” Rodgers said, can get the offense running at max efficiency. That word didn’t mean patience.

“We have a schedule,” Rodgers said. “We’re creatures of habit, but when we leave this place, we’ve got to be making sure we’re doing the right thing when we’re home. Some of that’s watching film. Some of that’s studying the plan. Some of that’s studying ourselves. But we’ve got to make sure we’re ready to go every single day we step in the building.”

It’s not just on the players. It’s on the position coaches, too, to teach the “finer intricacies,” to use LaFleur’s phrase.

The collective bargaining agreement limits teams to three practices a week and only so many hours on the field and in the meeting rooms. It’s not as if LaFleur can keep them after-hours. So, it’s up to the coaches to make better use of their time with the players. That means “dialing back” the volume a bit. In other words, simplification. It also means refining their teaching techniques.

“You’ve got to make sure that you’re giving them stuff that they can go out there and execute,” LaFleur said. “It’s a fine line with how much you give them, what you put on their plate and making sure they can regurgitate the details.

“I think one thing we all have to do as a staff is less telling and more asking questions, because that’s when you know the comprehension level of these guys. At the core of this thing, we’re teachers first and foremost. A tendency of a lot of coaches, myself included, you sit up there and you just talk, talk, talk, talk, talk. And there’s got to be a back and forth. You’ve got to make sure these guys are retaining whatever it is you’re telling them.”

From better coaching to better preparation, the Packers don’t have time to waste. The Packers have lost three straight. Even with De’Vondre Campbell’s pick-six at Washington, they’re averaging only 17.7 points per game during the losing streak. The Bills, meanwhile, rank No. 1 in the NFL in points allowed and total defense.

“I’ve tried a lot of different things from a leadership standpoint this year,” Rodgers said, “and I was just relating my personal feelings on the situation. I didn’t call anybody out by name. I think we all need to be on the details, and that includes me. If I need to have one-on-one extra conversations with those guys during the week, then I’m going to do that, and we have done that to an extent.

“But I’m not just putting one or two guys on blast. I’m alerting everybody that this hasn’t been good enough and we’ve all got to do a better job. If one of those guys has a problem with it, I’m right here, and I’d love to have a conversation.”

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