Two hundred and sixty-eight games finished, one more …
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. I think there was a purpose behind your post-game comments that was very intentional? A million percent, yes. Look, Rodgers is very smart and very self-conscious. There are accidents in these areas. So when he says “the future of many guys [are] uncertain, including me ”, it is worth paying attention to these two final words. Rodgers had an absurd year and will win the MVP by a wide margin. The forced marriage to Matt LaFleur and the Shanahan doctrine of offensive football worked better than anyone could have imagined. But if he looked across the landscape on Sunday, he saw three teams that moved aggressively in the past year to outdo each other (see: Stefon Diggs, Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, Le’Veon Bell, etc.), and a fourth that valuable continuity about trying to maximize the window they are in (for Packers and Bucs, that’s what remains for the legendary quarterback; for Chiefs and Bills, it’s having young famous quarterbacks at an affordable price). Now, the Rodgers situation is not exactly where, say, Tom Brady was in New England a year ago. He has a top-10 receiver (Davante Adams), an emerging star at the tight end (Robert Tonyan) and a stable backs (Aaron Jones, Jamaal Williams, AJ Dillon). The line was also fine, before David Bakhtiari fell. So, of course, it would be a little dramatic for Rodgers to complain too much about his situation. But it’s also understandable why he would be frustrated if he didn’t feel that the team builders in Lambeau are acting with the same urgency to win that he needs in his old age. Which puts the Packers in a difficult situation, but not unsustainable.
• By the way, just as LaFleur is going to have to live with his fourth decision, he sent the field goal team to reduce the deficit to 31-26 with less than three minutes left, and his attack never caught the ball back – until he have a chance to atone for this in a playoff scenario, Rodgers’ decision not to run the ball on the third down should endure. If Rodgers stuck the ball in, he probably would have won the race for the post. At the very least, he would have put the Packers in a more manageable fourth defeat situation. Instead, he contributed to LaFleur’s fateful decision.
• An underestimated move in the Bucs race for the Super Bowl: GM Jason Licht swapping a spot in April to ensure he would hit Tristan Wirfs, the Iowa tackle who was the fourth in a group of four tackles to top the 2020 draft. The expectation on Thursday night, nine months ago, was that the fourth tackle would leave the board at 10 (Jets) or 11 (Cleveland), leaving the teams with a need to choose OL after that, looking for possible customers. Instead, Tampa launched his fourth round to switch places with San Francisco (the Niners used that fourth to negotiate with Brandon Aiyuk later in the round) and ended up with one of the league’s best rookies, and a long-term tackle response right. It certainly made a difference on Sunday against the Packers’ fearsome trio of edge rushers.
• A challenge for a growing program is the replacement of assistants. The Chiefs had to replace two offensive coordinators in Andy Reid’s time there (Doug Pederson and Matt Nagy), and although Bills avoided that fate this year, with Brian Daboll likely staying in Buffalo, they can still be caught elsewhere. Defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier is proving to be the favorite for the Texans, and QB coach Ken Dorsey is piquing an external coordinator, with the Seahawks asking for permission to interview him on Monday. Coach Sean McDermott’s record is on defense, and former Bears and Jaguars DC Bob Babich being at home could ease the blow if Frazier leaves. Losing Dorsey would also hurt, because he was in line for a promotion if Daboll had gotten a job, but the Bills have a good depth in their offensive team, and their job as a QB coach would certainly be attractive to outside candidates.
• I’m sure there is more to this, but Cole Beasley touching a broken fibula for a month is a delight. And another example of “these guys are not like the rest of us”.
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• While we’re there, Ravens assistant coach David Culley is getting a second interview in Houston, and his name is interesting – he and GM’s side, Scott Cohen, made it to the Texans search list before Nick Caserio get hired. I was told that Korn Ferry, the company that was conducting the search in Houston before Caserio boarded, received solid recommendations from both Ravens’ coach, John Harbaugh, and they included details on why Culley is widely viewed internally as suitable to be a head coach. The only knock here would be age. Culley turned 65 in September. On the other hand, he has extensive experience in working with quarterbacks and was the coach of Allen’s position during the Bills star’s debut year.
• Dan Campbell’s team is meeting in Detroit – and the landing of Aaron Glenn (who is on a fast track as head coach) and Anthony Lynn (who met Urban Meyer on a job in Jacksonville) gave him an excellent starting point . The arrival of Duce Staley puts another former player in the fray and further clarifies the identity of the group. And yet, I think you might see a surprise or two, still, and that’s because of where Campbell went when I asked him about his team the other night. “You’re making a ton of phone calls about guys, in reference to them, trying to do your due diligence,” said Campbell. “I always said, I said in my interview, I don’t want to hire guys just because they are my friends. Now, if I happen to find a guy that I know is a great coach, and he’s a friend, I will. But I’m not kidding when I say that we’re looking everywhere. I’m using Chris Spielman as a resource and we’re looking everywhere. I’m looking for Canadian football, I’m looking for college football, we’re still looking for the league, I know a high school coach now that I’m thinking about how I can put him on that team. You know why? Because he is a great coach. He just needs to grow and learn, that’s all. So that’s what I’m in the process of. All the great coaches and all the great people for whom I have a lot of respect in this business, they all said the same thing, it’s the same message, there are many things that come out, but here’s the one constant that they all say: Don’t rush your team, do not rush to hire your team, do not do it because that is the most important decision I will make. And we are not. ”I must say that the idea of the arrival of a high school coach sparked my interest. Let’s see if that materializes.
• With Matt Canada officially promoted to offensive coordinator in Pittsburgh, it will be interesting to see if the Steelers will try to put Pep Hamilton or Hue Jackson on board as a quarterback coach. I think the job is more attractive than it looks on the surface, because it gives you the chance to put a productive year for an established veteran (Ben Roethlisberger) on your resume and a chance to showcase your skills as a talent developer, working with the Dwayne Haskins recovery project.
• The return of controlling owner Woody Johnson from the UK and to the Jets was anticipated some time ago. In fact, it’s a significant reason why GM Joe Douglas received a six-year contract in early summer 2019 – the team needed to show a commitment and give Douglas some assurance that the course would not revert to him when Woody returned of your embassy. It will be interesting to see how different Woody is, if at all, after four years away.
• Eric Fisher’s injury should not be ignored. This opens up the possibility that the Chiefs will lose their two main tackles against Tampa, as Andy Reid said on Monday that Mitch Schwartz is unlikely to be ready for the Super Bowl. And we saw how that kind of scenario played out for the Packers attack on Sunday. Sans David Bakhtiari, Green Bay was terrified by Shaq Barrett, Jason Pierre-Paul and Ndamukong Suh in Lambeau.