Two hundred sixty-eight games down, one to go …
Mark J. Rebilas / SUA 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 his post-game comments that was very intentional? One million percent, yes. Look, Rodgers is smart for the whip and very self-aware. There are accidents in these areas. So when he says that “the future of many boys [are] uncertain, including me ”, it is worth taking into account these two final words. Rodgers had an absurd year and will win the MVP by a wide margin. Matt LaFleur’s rifle marriage and Shanahan’s doctrine of offensive football worked better than anyone could have guessed. But if he looked over the landscape on Sunday, he saw three teams that moved aggressively in the last calendar year to overlap (see: Stefon Diggs, Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, Le’Veon Bell, etc.) and a fourth who capitalized on the continuity of the attempt to maximize the window in which he is (for the Packers and Bucs, it is what is left for the legendary defender; for Chiefs and Bills, he has young star defenders at an affordable rate). Now, Rodgers’ situation is not exactly where, say, Tom Brady was in New England a year ago. It has a top 10 receiver (Davante Adams), a close-up emerging star (Robert Tonyan) and a top back stable (Aaron Jones, Jamaal Williams, AJ Dillon). And the line was good before David Bakhtiari came down. So, of course, it would be a little too dramatic for Rodgers to complain too much about his situation. But it’s also understandable why he’d be frustrated if he didn’t feel like Lambeau’s teammates were acting with the same urgency to win as he needed at his advanced age. Which puts the Packers in a difficult, but not unbearable, place.
• By the way, just like LaFleur will have to live with his fourth down call – he sent the team off the field to reduce the deficit to 31-26 with less than three minutes left, and his attack never got the ball back – until he gets a crack in atonement in a playoff frame, Rodgers’ decision not to run the ball down the third should persist. If Rodgers had put the ball in, he would probably have won the race to the pole. At the very least, he would have put the Packers in a more manageable fourth position. Instead, he contributed to LaFleur’s fateful decision.
• An underrated move in the Bucs’ Super Bowl race: GM Jason Licht is trading a spot in April to make sure he lands Tristan Wirfs, the Iowa striker who was fourth in a group of four approaches at the top of the 2020 project. The expectation that came in that Thursday night, nine months ago, was that the fourth attack would come off the board at either 10 (Jets) or 11 (Cleveland), leaving teams with an OL in need of a choice. subsequent to look for potentials. Instead, Tampa overturned its fourth round to change places with San Francisco (the Niners used the fourth to deal with Brandon Aiyuk later in the round) and finished with one of the best. League beginners and long-term responds to the right approach. It certainly made a difference on Sunday compared to the frightening triple of the junctions.
• A challenge for a growing program is replacing assistants. The Chiefs had to twice replace the offensive coordinators in Andy Reid’s time there (Doug Pederson and Matt Nagy), and while the Bills avoided this fate this year, with Brian Daboll likely remaining at Buffalo, they remain take it elsewhere. Defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier is training as a favorite for the Texans, and QB coach Ken Dorsey is supporting the coordinator’s interest outside of it, with the Seahawks asking permission to interview him on Monday. Head coach Sean McDermott is on the defensive and the fact that former Bears and Jaguars DC Bob Babich is inside could soften the blow if Frazier leaves. The loss of Dorsey would also be bad, because it would be in line for a promotion if Daboll got a job, but the bills have a pretty good depth in their offensive staff, and their QB coaching job would be with certainly an attractive one for external candidates.
• I’m sure there’s something else, but Cole Beasley playing a month on a broken platform is pretty banana. And another example of “these guys are not like all 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 an interesting one – he and GM, Scott Cohen, landed on the Texans’ search list before for Nick Caserio to be hired. I was told that Korn Ferry, the company that conducted the Houston search before Caserio boarded, received solid recommendations on both from Ravens coach John Harbaugh, and included details about why Culley is widely seen as being fit to be boss. trainer. The one who would beat here would be age. Culley turned 65 in September. On the other hand, he has extensive experience working with defenders and was Allen’s position coach in the debut year of the Bills star.
• Dan Campbell’s staff meets in Detroit – and the landing of Aaron Glenn (who is in a fast direction as head coach) and Anthony Lynn (who met with Urban Meyer about a job in Jacksonville) offered him a starting point. . The arrival of Duke Staley puts another former player in the fight and further clarifies the identity of the group. And yet, I think you might see a surprise or two, though, and that’s where Campbell went when I asked him about his staff last night. “You make a lot of phone calls about boys, referring to boys, trying to do your due diligence,” Campbell said. “I said all the time, I said it in the interview, I don’t want to hire boys just because they are my friends. Now, if I happen to find a guy I know who’s a good coach and is a friend, I’ll do it. But I’m not kidding when I say we look everywhere. I’m using Chris Spielman as a resource and we’re looking everywhere. I look at Canadian football, I look at college football, we still look at the league, I know about a high school coach now that I’m thinking about, how to bring him into this staff. You know why? Because he’s a good coach. He just has to grow up and learn, that’s all. So I’m in the process. All the wonderful coaches and all the wonderful people for whom I have a lot of respect for this business, they all said the same thing, it’s the same message, there are a lot of things that come up, but here’s the only constant you all say: Don’t rush your staff, do not rush to hire your staff, do not 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 to me aroused my interest. We’ll see if it materializes.
• With Matt Canada officially promoted as offensive coordinator in Pittsburgh, it will be interesting to see if the Steelers try to bring Pep Hamilton or Hue Jackson on board as the defenders’ coach. I think the job is more appealing so it could show on the surface, as it gives you both the chance to put a productive resume from a well-known veteran (Ben Roethlisberger) on your resume, and a photo to show you the chops as a talented developer , collaborating with the Dwayne Haskins recovery project.
• The return of control owner Woody Johnson from the UK and the Jets has been anticipated 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 show commitment and give Douglas a reassurance that the course would not be reversed then when Woody returned from his ambassador. It will be interesting to see how different Woody is, if at all, after four years of leaving.
• Eric Fisher’s injury should not to be ignored. The possibility is opening for the Chiefs to be down on the first two approaches against Tampa, as Andy Reid said Monday that Mitch Schwartz is unlikely to be ready for the Super Bowl. And we saw how this kind of scenario was played on Sunday for the Packers offense. Sans David Bakhtiari, Green Bay was terrorized by Shaq Barrett, Jason Pierre-Paul and Ndamukong Suh at Lambeau.