Two hundred and sixty-eight games less, one to finish …
Mark J. Rebilas / USA TODAY Sports (Wirfs); Mark Konezny / USA TODAY Sports (Beasley); Jeff Hanisch / USA TODAY Sports (Rodgers)
• Do I think the Packers will change Aaron Rodgers? I do not. I think there was a purpose behind your post-game comments that was very intentional? One million percent, yes. Look, Rodgers is smart and very self-aware. There are accidents in these areas. Therefore, when he says that “the future of many boys [are] uncertain, including myself ”, it is worth taking into account these last two words. Rodgers had an absurd year and will win the MVP by a wide margin. The shotgun marriage with Matt LaFleur and the Shanahan doctrine of offensive football have worked better than anyone could have imagined. But if he looked at the landscape on Sunday, he saw three teams that moved aggressively over the last calendar year to outdo each other (see: Stefon Diggs, Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, Le’Veon Bell, etc.), and a fourth this values continuity in trying to maximize the window they are in (for the Packers and Bucs, it’s what’s left for the legendary quarterback; for the Chiefs and Bills, it’s having young star quarterbacks at an affordable price). Now, Rodgers ’situation isn’t exactly where, say, Tom Brady was in New England a year ago. He has a receiver in the top ten (Davante Adams), a rising star in the narrow zone (Robert Tonyan) and a top back stable (Aaron Jones, Jamaal Williams, AJ Dillon). The line was also good, before David Bakhtiari went down. So, sure, it would be a bit excessive for Rodgers to complain too much about his situation. But it’s also understandable why he’ll feel frustrated if he doesn’t feel Lambeau’s team builders act with the same urgency to win that he needs in his old age. Which puts the Packers in a tricky but not unsustainable place.
• By the way, just like LaFleur will have to live with his fourth call-up: he sent the field team to reduce the deficit to 31-26 with less than three minutes left, and his offense never got the ball back, until he manages to escape it in a tie, Rodgers ’decision not to throw the ball in third place should linger. If Rodgers had put the ball in, he would probably have won the race to the pylon. At the very least, it would have put the Packers in a manageable lower quarter situation. Instead, he contributed to the fateful decision LaFleur made.
• An underestimated move in the Ships’ run to the Super Bowl: GM Jason Licht changed places in April to make sure he would land Tristan Wirfs, the Iowa attack that was the fourth of a group of four attacks at the top of the 2020 project.. The hope that came that Thursday night nine months ago was that the fourth attack would come off the board at 10 (Jets) or 11 (Cleveland), which would leave teams with an OL need to choose from then on looking potential customers. Instead, Tampa changed its fourth round to change places with San Francisco (the Niners used that fourth position to take care of Brandon Aiyuk later in the round), and finished with one of the best rookies in the league and long term responds to the right. It certainly made a difference on Sunday against the Packers ’fearsome trio of rushers.
• Replacing attendees is a challenge for a rising program. The Chiefs have had to replace offensive coordinators twice when Andy Reid was there (Doug Pederson and Matt Nagy) and while the Bills avoided that fate this year, Brian Daboll will probably stay in Buffalo, they will still be pending retired elsewhere. . Defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier is becoming the favorite for the work of the jeans and QB coach Ken Dorsey is sparking interest from outside coordinators, and the Seahawks asked permission to interview him on Monday. . The background of this head coach, Sean McDermott, is on defense and the fact that former Bears and DC Jaguars Bob Babich are at home could soften the blow if Frazier left. The loss of Dorsey would also hurt him, because he would be in the lineup for a promotion if Daboll had gotten a job, but the Bills have a pretty good depth in their offensive staff and their QB coaching job would certainly be attractive to external candidates.
• I’m sure there’s something more, but Cole Beasley playing a month with a broken fibula is pretty banana. And another example of “these guys are not like the rest of us.”
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• While we’re at it, Ravens assistant head coach David Culley gets a second interview in Houston and his name is interesting: he and Scott Cohen, on GM’s side, landed on the Texans’ search list before Nick Caserio was hired. I’m told that Korn Ferry, the company that ran the search in Houston before Caserio got on board, received solid recommendations from Ravens coach John Harbaugh, and included details on why Culley is considered internally appropriate. to be boss. coach. What would touch here would be age. Culley turned 65 in September. On the other hand, he has extensive experience working with quarterbacks and was coach of Allen’s position during the Bills star’s debut year.
• Dan Campbell’s staff meets in Detroit, and the landing of Aaron Glenn (who is on a fast track of head coaches) and Anthony Lynn (who had met with Urban Meyer about a job in Jacksonville) have given the starting point. . The arrival of Duce Staley puts another former player in the fight and further clarifies the group’s identity. Still, I think you’ll still be able to see a surprise or two, and that’s where Campbell went when I asked him about his staff the other night. “You’re making a lot of phone calls about guys, referring to guys, trying to do your due diligence,” Campbell said. “I said it all the time, I said it in my interview, I don’t want to hire guys just to be my friends. Now, if I find a guy I know who is a good coach and who is a friend, I will. But I’m not kidding when I say we’re looking everywhere. I’m using Chris Spielman as a resource and we’re looking everywhere. I’m looking for Canadian football, I’m looking for college football, we’re still looking for the league, right now I know a high school coach I’m thinking about how I can get it on this staff. Do you know why? Because he is a good coach. You just need to grow and learn, that’s all. That’s why I’m in the process. All the great coaches and all the great people for whom I have a lot of respect for this business, have said the same thing, it’s the same message, there are a lot of things coming out, but here’s the only constant you all say: Don’t rush your staff, don’t rush to hire your staff, don’t do it because this is the most important decision I will make. And we are not ”. I will say that the idea of a high school coach coming in aroused my interest. We’ll see if it materializes.
• With Matt Canada officially promoted to offensive coordinator in Pittsburgh, it will be interesting to see if the Steelers try to get Pep Hamilton or Hue Jackson as quarterbacks coach. I think the job is more appealing than it may seem on the surface, as it gives you the chance to put a productive year of an established veteran (Ben Roethlisberger) on your resume and a chance to show your ribs as a talented developer. , working with the Dwayne Haskins recovery project.
• Controversial owner Woody Johnson has been expected to return to the UK and the Jets for some time. In fact, it’s a significant reason why GM Joe Douglas received a six-year deal in early summer 2019: the team had to be committed and give Douglas some assurance that the course would not be reversed. when Woody returned from his ambassador. It will be interesting to see how different Woody is, if he is, after his four years out.
• Eric Fisher’s injury should be no be ignored. It opens up the possibility that the Chiefs will come down from their first two attacks against Tampa, as Andy Reid said Monday that Mitch Schwartz is unlikely to be ready for the Super Bowl. And we saw this kind of scenario played out for the Packers offense on Sunday. Sans David Bakhtiari, Green Bay was terrorized by Shaq Barrett, Jason Pierre-Paul and Ndamukong Suh in Lambeau.