Packers: Who’s to blame for disappointing season for Green Bay?

It’s most certainly old news by now, but that’s it for the Green Bay Packers and their playoff dreams.

They, of course, were defeated by the Detroit Lions in what was a shock to some—especially considering the run the Packers were enjoying going into the game—a four-game winning streak.

Their season started abysmally, as we all know, but they seemed to have turned it around a wee bit there, but in one fell swoop and perhaps when they needed it most, it kind of all went to hell in a hand basket against the Lions on January 8.

And like at the beginning of the season the old blame game started and really that’s logical, as fans want to know just who’s to blame as much as those entrenched within the organization itself.

As always, that blame has fallen to the team itself and to Aaron Rodgers; however, there was also a small group of those that felt the blame should have been placed at the doorstep of head coach, Matt LaFleur.

To me, this makes a lot more sense, as LaFleur was at the helm of it all. And yes, Rodgers did have a bad season; I think even his biggest supporters can admit that much, but the head coach should shoulder quite a wee bit of the blame here, if not the brunt of it.

As Bill Huber of Sports Illustrated stated, the Packers essentially had a bad team, writing that the team was the worst they could have gotten for their buck, but I’d like to ask one and all, just whose fault was that?

The bulk of their massive bank account went to Aaron Rodgers, and he is slated to make even more in 2023—a $58.3 million bonus is estimated, according to the aforementioned piece.

And considering, as my editor and a head writer here at Lombardi Ave, Freddie Boston, so eloquently put it in a piece you should definitely read, Rodgers should perhaps have been traded long ago, and a new team should have been built some time ago.

I agree 100%, but would love to play a round of ‘what if’? if you’ll allow me, dear readers…

What if Rodgers would have been given a different head coach to deal with, the question remains: Would it have gone as badly?

Interesting to say the least, I’d say. But if you ask Matt LaFleur himself, and as the Wisconsin State Journal reports, there isn’t anything wrong with how things are going behind the scenes (nor how they went overall!!), despite the recent loss and the complete waste of a season.

"“I do think there’s something to the guys that we have in this building. Certainly, I think there’s a lot of things that all of us can improve upon, most notably myself. But I do believe in the people not only in the locker room, but our coaching staff…I think continuity is a big part of having success in this league. When you feel good about the people, then you’ve just got to work hard to improve…Although it wasn’t always pretty, I did think we started to improve as the year went on, and I thought we saw more of an identity. Certainly, I thought (Sunday) night we played well enough to win on the defensive side of the ball.”"

Quite astonishing if you ask me. If you follow the CFL at all, he sounds very much like head coach of the Saskatchewan Roughriders, Craig Dickenson (the Riders had an even worse season than the Packers did, if you can believe that one, and all of the blame went to their quarterback, Cody Fajardo).

The chorus sung by both head coaches is quite similar: There was nothing wrong with our plan.

I’d like to disagree. In the end I think Rodgers and the rest of the team would have fared better without LaFleur, and truthfully, Rodgers tried to warn one and all of that early on in the season when the first string of losses were at our doorstep.

I do agree that it’s perhaps time for new beginnings, but those new beginnings should start with a change at the top.

As for Rodgers, as we all know, he may very well not be getting that aforementioned bonus after all, as rumors are circulating about his future. He made the following statements, as per Sports Illustrated:

"“I did not think we’d be talking about this after this game,” he said after the loss to the Lions, “but, you know, I’m gonna take some time and have conversations with the folks around here, and then take some time away and make a decision, obviously before free agency or anything kind of gets going on that front.”"

If a restructuring of the team does occur though, Rodgers states that that might also signal the end of his time with the team we know and love.

"“I don’t want to be part of a rebuild if I’m going to keep playing…I think this thing is definitely going to look different moving forward in Green Bay—a lot of decisions, a lot of guys with opportunities.”"

Uncertain times ahead, I’m afraid.