“Bottom line, whoever’s on him,” LaFleur said, “we’ve got to perform better.”
“Situationally, I think it’s much easier to do,” he continued, referring to matching up a specific defender, like Alexander, on Jefferson. “I think it’s hard to do that throughout the course of the game unless you are committed to playing man coverage every snap.”
And locking into man coverage for every play makes the defense easier to read and rhythms easier to find for veteran quarterbacks like Kirk Cousins.
Obviously, what the Packers tried didn’t work, so it’s natural to be second-guessed. Scheme choices aside, most upsetting was that an experienced Green Bay secondary had so many bad breakdowns on the coverage calls that were made.
“It’s just disappointing when you have a veteran group at certain spots and you do have those miscommunications or just guys not playing their responsibilities,” LaFleur said. “So that’s going to be a point of emphasis and we’ll make sure we get that corrected, and we’ll have to get it corrected in an urgent manner.”
Injury-wise, the defense got some good news in that inside linebacker Krys Barnes, who was carted off with an air cast on his lower leg, appears to have avoided a significant injury, though LaFleur gave no timeline for his recovery.
Barnes was playing a larger share of defensive snaps than expected because rookie first-round draft pick Quay Walker left with a shoulder injury, but LaFleur is “hopeful” Walker can return to action this week. No update was available on cornerback Keisean Nixon (shoulder) and offensive lineman Jon Runyan (concussion).
On special teams, new coordinator Rich Bisaccia’s units put together a solid debut. The only major concern was punt protection that looked “definitely way too leaky,” LaFleur said, as a few of Pat O’Donnell‘s punts were nearly blocked. He added some players on that unit weren’t using the blocking techniques they’ve been taught, and they need to trust the way they’ve been trained.
“We’ve got a lot of work in front of us,” LaFleur said. “A lot of our veterans, this isn’t their first rodeo and not the first time they’ve suffered a defeat. But it’s always interesting to see how young guys respond to a defeat or not playing your best. … You’ve got to be resilient.
“That’s just life in the National Football League. If you live on what you did yesterday, whether you win or you lose, you’re not going to get better.”
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at News…