Loss of Lazard a Major Blow to Packers’ Offense

Even though Atlanta is winless, will the high-scoring Packers have enough firepower to beat the Falcons?

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Allen Lazard, the player deemed totally replaceable when he failed to make the roster coming out of training camp last summer, has turned himself into one of the more irreplaceable players on the Green Bay Packers’ roster.

Now, the Packers will have to replace him. Lazard underwent core-muscle surgery and will be sidelined indefinitely, as first reported by ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter. It’s a potentially serious blow to the high-flying team’s offense.

With Davante Adams sidelined by a hamstring injury last week, Lazard caught six passes for 146 yards and one touchdown in a breakout game on Sunday night against the New Orleans Saints. He caught short passes, he caught deep passes, he blocked.

“We can count on Allen giving his best effort each and every week, that he’s going to do a lot of the dirty week that doesn’t always show up on a stat sheet,” coach Matt LaFleur said on Monday. “Shoot, we had a third-and-1 that we ran with Jamaal (Williams) earlier in the game, and he’s blocking a linebacker off the edge. So, it’s just that grit, tenacity, the trust we have in Allen to come through no matter what the task may be, and he’s delivered. And it’s fun to see somebody work so hard that maybe people don’t always know about and that they’re able to come through. I’m super happy for him. He’s definitely a guy who’s earned everything he’s gotten in this game.”

How good has Lazard been? Among all receivers targeted at least 15 times, Lazard is the only receiver in the NFL to have rewarded his quarterback with a perfect 158.3 passer rating, according to Pro Football Focus. Despite being a big guy without blazing speed, he’s tied for fourth in the NFL with three receptions on passes thrown 20-plus yards downfield.

In the short term, the Packers’ offense could be in for a rough night on Monday against Atlanta. While the Falcons rank 32nd in the NFL in points allowed, 30th in yards allowed to receivers and 28th in opponent passer rating, will the Packers have enough firepower available to take advantage?

Lazard, obviously, won’t play. Adams might not, either. That he felt good enough to at least test the hamstring pregame would seem to be a good sign. On the other hand, the Packers are 3-0, the Falcons are 0-3 and there’s a bye week coming up.

“When I feel good, I make it happen. So, that’s not to say what will happen this week, just because we simply have a lot of time left,” Adams said on Thursday. “In the Detroit game, it just kind of happened as a random play. I was on the right side, I don’t exactly remember where I was, wasn’t even running full speed when it happened. I mean, I was running pretty fast, but it just kind of happened to feel uncomfortable so I wanted to just go test it out, figured out on the next play that it probably was not going to happen based off of how it felt. Couldn’t throw my weight to the ground when I wanted to, that’s when we decided not to do it. But we’ll see as we finish out this week. Lot of time left, but feeling a lot better this week than last week.”

Green Bay’s offense is No. 1 in the NFL in scoring, practically making a mockery of the cry for the team to draft receivers early and often in April. However, the lack of depth stemming from the lack of noteworthy additions to the receiver group could be a major issue on Monday. If Adams and Lazard are out, Green Bay would be left with only Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Malik Taylor, Darrius Shepherd and Tyler Ervin.

In his third season, Valdes-Scantling has 72 receptions, his 49.3 percent catch rate is the second-lowest among all active NFL receivers with at least 140 career targets. In his fifth season, Ervin has 20 receptions. In his second season, Shepherd has one catch for 1 yard. Taylor, a first-year player, has zero catches. In his third season, tight end Robert Tonyan has 21 receptions.

Somehow, Aaron Rodgers and Co. must find a way to cobble together a passing attack without anything resembling a premier receiver or tight end. Given the potency of Atlanta’s offense, does Green Bay have enough firepower to keep up with the winless Falcons?

Adams says yes.

“It’s just the mentality of the room and really the mentality of the building,” he said. “Really, just the next man up and, if I’m rolling this week, you better believe that’s my mentality every time I step out there. It’s going to be my turn to have a big influence on how the game goes, so I’m going to try to come in and make it happen. But it could be Shep, it could be whoever. Like I said, everybody’s mentality is right to make sure they take care of their business.”