Two hundred sixty-eight games behind us, one more to go …
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 trade Aaron Rodgers? I do not do. Do I think there was some purpose behind his post-game comments that was very deliberate? A million percent, yes. See, Rodgers is super smart and very self-aware. Accidents happen in these areas. So when he says that “the future of a lot of guys [are] uncertain, including myself, ‘it’s worth listening to those last two words. Rodgers had an absurd year and will win the MVP by a wide margin. The shotgun marriage to Matt LaFleur and the Shanahan doctrine of attacking football has turned out better than anyone could have imagined. But looking across the landscape on Sunday, he saw three teams aggressively moving over the past calendar year to outdo each other (see: Stefon Diggs, Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, Le’Veon Bell, etc.), and a fourth that prized continuity above 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). Rodgers’ situation isn’t exactly true, say, Tom Brady’s was in New England a year ago. He has a top-10 recipient (Davante Adams), a rising star at the tight end (Robert Tonyan), and a top-shelf stable backbone (Aaron Jones, Jamaal Williams, AJ Dillon). The line was good too, before David Bakhtiari went down. So it would be a bit overdramatic for Rodgers to complain too much about his situation. But it is also understandable why he would be frustrated not feeling that the team builders at Lambeau are acting with the same urgency to win as they were at his advanced age. That places the Packers in a difficult, but not untenable place.
By the way, just as LaFleur will have to live with his fourth down call – he sent the field goal team to reduce the deficit to 31-26 with less than three minutes to go, and his attack never got the ball back – until he fined in a playoff setting would be Rodgers’ decision not to let the ball hang down in third place. If Rodgers had tucked the ball away, he probably would have won the race to the pylon. At the very least, he would have put the Packers in a more manageable situation. Instead, he contributed to the fateful decision that LaFleur made.
• An underrated move in the Bucs’ flight to the Super Bowl: GM Jason Licht traded a spot in April to ensure he landed Tristan Wirfs, the Iowa tackle that was the fourth of a cluster of four tackles atop the 2020 draft. The expectation that started on Thursday night nine months ago was that the fourth tackle would come off the board at 10 (Jets) or 11 (Cleveland), forcing teams with OLs to be picked and then reaching for prospects. Instead, Tampa turned their fourth rounder around to switch spots with San Francisco (the Niners used that fourth to play for Brandon Aiyuk later in the round), finishing with one of the best rookies in the league, and a long term answer with correct tackle. It certainly made a difference on Sunday against the Packers’ terrifying trio of edge rushers.
• A challenge for an increasing program is the replacement of assistants. The Chiefs have had to replace offensive coordinators twice during Andy Reid’s time there (Doug Pederson and Matt Nagy), and while the Bills sidestepped that fate this year, with Brian Daboll likely staying in Buffalo, they’re still standing there to be picked up elsewhere. . Defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier becomes the favorite for the Texans’ job, and QB coach Ken Dorsey piques the interest of the outside coordinator, with the Seahawks asking for permission to interview him on Monday. Head coach Sean McDermott’s background is defense, and having ex-Bears and Jaguars DC Bob Babich in the house could soften the blow if Frazier goes. Losing Dorsey would hurt too, as he would be lining up for promotion once Daboll had found a job, but the Bills have quite a bit of depth in their offensive staff, and their job as a QB coach would certainly appeal to outside candidates.
• I’m sure there’s more to it, but Cole Beasley playing on a broken fibula for a month is pretty banana. And another example of “these guys aren’t like the rest of us.”
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While we’re there, Raven’s assistant head coach David Culley gets a second interview in Houston, and his name is interesting – he and, on the GM side, Scott Cohen, landed on the Texas search list before Nick Caserio was hired. I have been told that Korn Ferry, the company that ran the Houston quest before Caserio came on board, got solid recommendations on both from Ravens coach John Harbaugh, and they include details on why Culley is widely considered internally fit to run a Head to be trainer. The only knock here would be age. Culley turned 65 in September. On the other hand, he has extensive experience working with quarterbacks and was Allen’s position coach during the Bills star’s rookie year.
• Dan Campbell’s staff converge in Detroit – and the landing of Aaron Glenn (who is on the right track for head coaching) and Anthony Lynn (who met Urban Meyer over a job in Jacksonville) has given him a good starting point. Entering Duce Staley puts another ex-player into the fray and further clarifies the group’s identity. And yet I think you might see some surprises, still, and that’s because of where Campbell went when I recently asked him about his staff. “You make a lot of phone calls about guys, in reference to guys, and try to do your due diligence,” Campbell said. “I’ve said all the time, I said it during my interview, I don’t want to hire guys just because they’re my friends. If I happen to find a guy that I know is a good coach and he’s a friend, I’ll do it. But I’m not kidding when I say we’re looking everywhere. I use Chris Spielman as a resource and we search everywhere. I watch Canadian football, I watch college football, we still watch the league, I know a high school coach right now that I’m thinking about how do I get him onto this staff. You know why? Because he is a good coach. He just has to grow and learn, that’s all. So that’s what I’m doing. All the great coaches, and all the great people that I have a tremendous amount of respect for in this industry have all said the same thing, it’s the same message, a lot of things come out, but here’s the one constant that they all say don’t rush your staff, don’t rush hiring 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 piqued my interest. We will see if it becomes reality.
With Matt Canada officially promoted to attack coordinator in Pittsburgh, it will be interesting to see if the Steelers try to get Pep Hamilton or Hue Jackson on board as quarterbacks coach. I think the job is more appealing than it first looks because it gives you both the chance to put a productive year of an established veteran (Ben Roethlisberger) on your resume, and a chance to have your chops as a developer of talent, in collaboration with the landing project Dwayne Haskins.
• The return of controlling owner Woody Johnson from the UK and to the Jets has been anticipated for some time. In fact, it’s a big reason GM Joe Douglas got a six-year deal in the early summer of 2019 – the team had to show a commitment and give Douglas the assurance that his course wouldn’t be reversed if Woody returned from his ambassadorship. It will be interesting to see how Woody is different, if any, after his four years away.
• The Eric Fisher injury would not being ignored. It opens the possibility that the Chiefs will beat their best two tackles against Tampa, as Andy Reid said on Monday that Mitch Schwartz probably won’t be ready for the Super Bowl. And we saw how that kind of scenario played out for the Packers attack on Sunday. Without David Bakhtiari, Green Bay was terrorized by Shaq Barrett, Jason Pierre-Paul and Ndamukong Suh in Lambeau.