There was more than a handful of people last October that were ready to ship MLF out of town. Love and his crew erased that narrative Nov-Jan.
Interesting to see these stats on 11 personnel usage ( 3 WRs)
McVay at the top, Shanahan at the bottom and MLF sitting halfway in between
Usage of 3+ WR sets in 2023
95% - LAR
89% - CAR
81% - CIN
77% - IND
75% - WAS
73% - PHI
73% - CLE
72% - NYG
72% - LAC
71% - PIT
71% - TB
69% - DAL
68% - BUF
67% - ARI
66% - NYJ
65% - SEA
65% - MIN
64% - LV
64% - JAX
63% - KC
63% - GB
62% - HOU
62% - DET
59% - DEN
59% - NO
59% - CHI
57% - TEN
57% - BAL
52% - NE
47% - MIA
39% - SF
18% - ATL
I think this % will go down this year...way too much talent with Musgrave and Kraft to have one ride pine...plus, thinking might see Jacobs and Lynch on the field at the same time too. All this said, the Pack will likely be cutting/trading a WR or two that played meaningful minutes last year.
@Koopla Krash posted:I think this % will go down this year...way too much talent with Musgrave and Kraft to have one ride pine...plus, thinking might see Jacobs and Lynch on the field at the same time too. All this said, the Pack will likely be cutting/trading a WR or two that played meaningful minutes last year.
Admittedly, I'm late to the party, but who would you cut? Watson, Doubs, Wicks, Heath, Melton, Reed... all saw meaningful minutes. Toure, DuBose did not see meaningful minutes and/or were PS players. Guys added this year are McGough, Stanley, and Hicks. Those last three will probably not see the end of camp, and Toure probably will be one of the last cuts. I could see them signing McGough to the PS just to have a gadget guy around. We didn't get to see DuBose on the field in season, but he seems to have some upside; that said, I could see them stashing him on the PS to have around just in case.
I really don't want to see any of the six first named cut or traded.
Locks (3) - Watson, Wicks, and Reed
Near lock (1) - Doubs (would not be cut, only move if a significant trade offer happens)
Depends on the four above (3) - DuBose (backfills Doubs role), Heath (stud blocking WR/special teams coverage), and Melton (backfills Watson role); out of the three, DuBose is at most risk and only sticks on roster if Doubs is traded; Melton may go to practice squad if Watson is healthy. The new kickoff coverage rules will play more to those that are good special teams players - both as blockers and tacklers (which I think favors Heath).
Practice squad/cut (4) - Toure, Stanley, Hicks, and McGough
IMO, Musgrave/Kraft on the field at the same time needs to happen a fair amount to really put the defenses in a high-stress mode - do they cover with DBs or LBs? This also plays into Jacobs/Lloyd being dynamic in the running game if the defenses play with more DBs. LaFleur has to be salivating.
Of course, any injuries to these players (or others on the roster) could alter my very-mediocre analysis.
Edit: I believe the Pack will keep 5 WR on the 53-man roster, with 2-3 on the practice squad.
The best part was when they recalled how everyone said to MLF, "yeah, let's see you do it without Rodgers." It may be only one year, but so far it's fair to say that MLF was probably more responsible for a lot of those 13-win seasons and a 56-27 regular-season record than we think. It's also fair to ask, "How good would the team's record have been if Rodgers had carried out the plays MLF called?"
Now, if he can sustain it for a good decade... or two... or three... 
@Fandame posted:The best part was when they recalled how everyone said to MLF, "yeah, let's see you do it without Rodgers."
It may be only one year, but so far it's fair to say that MLF was probably more responsible for a lot of those 13-win seasons and a 56-27 regular-season record than we think. It's also fair to ask, "How good would the team's record have been if Rodgers had carried out the plays MLF called?"
Now, if he can sustain it for a good decade... or two... or three...
It's early, but so far he's doing much better than a Brady-less Belichek.
@michiganjoe posted:
Dead last until you win a Super Bowl 🤭😈
Yes, I'll need to see more from MLF in the postseason before I put him in the top five, but as far as leading offensive minds in the league, he's already there.
Here's an article from The Ringer, talking about Top Offenses for 2024
See if you can guess who ranked # 1 ?
https://www.theringer.com/nfl/...s-kansas-city-chiefs
MLF has been successful with 2 different QBs and is now fully krausened for a Super Bowl run in 2024
Go Packers
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Lafluer is a fantastic fantastic coach
— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) September 22, 2024
The #REVENGEGAME everybody forgot pic.twitter.com/8DTq76Uy1x
— Jason B. Hirschhorn (@by_JBH) September 22, 2024
He needed 'revenge' on a place that gave him an OC job for a year that he used as a stepping stone to getting the Packers head coaching gig?
@Fandame posted:The best part was when they recalled how everyone said to MLF, "yeah, let's see you do it without Rodgers."
Now, if he can sustain it for a good decade... or two... or three...
I honestly believed last October that MLF hadn't forgotten how to coach. The situation he was in was breaking in basically a rookie at QB and trying to mold the youngest team in the league. What we are seeing now is really how good he is when his system is actually followed and the QB doing whatever the hell he wants to do.
Don't forget no longer being saddled with Joe Barry.
Yes, where at the end of last year MLF was basically doing three jobs as HC, playcaller, and DC. You knew it was a different feel when he got more involved in the D last year. This year, he doesn't have to and as a result, MLF is looking better at his other jobs.
@Fedya posted:Don't forget no longer being saddled with Joe Barry.
While I get your over-arching point, he was only "saddled" with Barry because he first hired him, and then was too stubborn/loyal to fire him before the end of last season.
@4 Favre posted:He needed 'revenge' on a place that gave him an OC job for a year that he used as a stepping stone to getting the Packers head coaching gig?
He interviewed for the job when they gave it to Mike Vrabel (you're really taking this stuff a bit too seriously).
You all are so focused on Joe Berry, that you forget that MLF had Mike Pettine as his DC for the first two years (2019 & 2020), and still got 13 wins. Berry showed up in 2021, and nothing changed in GB which got 13 wins in MLF's 3rd year.
Here are all the DCs in Packer history.
MLF is a fantastic offensive play caller and is clearly very good at working with QBs. Those are critical because if you aren't good at QB and don't have a good offensive scheme it's almost impossible to win.
The things MLF has struggled with have been the coordinator hires. Part of the reason may have been that MLF was a bit worried that if he brought in too strong a coordinator and if things got into rough stretch, the DC could replace him (based on the argument that his head coaching success before 2023 was only because he had Aaron Rodgers). Pettine wasn't his choice, but when it came time to find a new guy he went out and found a guy in Barry who was never a threat to MLF's job security. The special teams coordinator hires were among the worst in the league.
The hope is that now that MLF has shown he can develop his own QB (assuming Love doesn't regress) and been successful in the playoffs without Rodgers that he'll be more comfortable bringing in stronger coordinators and assistants. That wasn't the case before. I know Hackett got a head job in Denver, but that was only because they thought they were getting Rodgers. If the defense holds up during the year and keeps this level up, Hafley is a head coaching candidate in another year or so.
One grain of salt on Hafley is that other than Matt Stafford (and maybe Hurts and Stroud), the Packers don't face a superstar veteran QB all year. It's Jared Goff (2), Caleb Williams (2), Darnold (2), etc. I would want to see how Hafley would scheme against Mahomes, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Aaron Rodgers, or Herbert before getting too over the top about him.
@MichiganPacker2 posted:One grain of salt on Hafley is that other than Matt Stafford (and maybe Hurts and Stroud), the Packers don't face a superstar veteran QB all year. It's Jared Goff (2), Caleb Williams (2), Darnold (2), etc. I would want to see how Hafley would scheme against Mahomes, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Aaron Rodgers, or Herbert before getting too over the top about him.
You can only play who is in front of you. We'll definitely find out once in the playoffs.
1 step at a time.... They'll have ample opportunity to face the best QBs in the NFL
Anthony Richardson is supposed to be really good and they shut him down. They contained Hurts from rushing for 200 yards. They had the Eagles dead to rights and couldn't finish it. The other guys get paid too.
And this is still a young team that's learning and growing. When they get to those elite quarterbacks, they'll be ready.
His play calls over the last two games have been good, if not great.
The designs of them is what has really impressed me.
How he used motion and misdirection, often on the same play, has been extraordinary!
Hafley will do just fine against one of those QBs in the Super Bowl.
COTY material here https://t.co/AeWQrS9hlV
— Rich Eisen (@richeisen) October 28, 2024
The best laid plans are often not planned at all.