Packers taking hard look at themselves over the bye

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“The focus will be on what we need to do better moving forward, because there’s a lot to improve upon. I think our guys know that as well.”


The Packers are 8-2 and in first place in the NFC North, but there’s no shortage of things to clean up.


The offense continues to lack urgency at times, leading to a delay of game or a timeout. The defense continues to have trouble with crossing routes, as receivers or tight ends are breaking wide open due to coverage failures. LaFleur attributed the struggles on both sides to communication, but in different forms.


Offensively, the play call needs to be sent in sooner, and the communication of substitutions needs to be cleaner so it doesn’t look “chaotic” or “disorganized” on the sideline.


Defensively, the pre- and post-snap communication needs to improve so players know when checks are being made in time to adjust and still defend effectively.


“We’ve just got to make sure our communication is on point,” LaFleur said. “We talk about it all the time and it starts with us coaches.”


On the positive side, LaFleur also wants to focus on what the Packers are doing well and keep those concepts in the forefront. The 1-2 punch at running back with Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams, along with the recent return of top receiver Davante Adams, are the obvious elements.


With other players, LaFleur and his coaches have spent all season continually learning what they do best, and the bye week should cement their handle on all of them.


“What's been cool about our offense is we've found different ways to do it, it seems like almost every week,” he said. “We’ve got to make sure that we continue doing that moving forward because it does present a little bit of a question I think for defenses going in in terms of how we're going to attack them.”