As everyone knows, Green Bay Packers games don’t really begin until Matt LaFleur rants at the officials. It’s turning into a fun weekly game. In an organization with longstanding traditions, letting the refs have it is his contribution to Green Bay’s illustrious past.
The latest incident occurred midway through the first quarter of Sunday’s game in Chicago. The Packers’ pass rush put Bears quarterback Caleb Williams on the run, and he was clearly heading out of bounds. Then, as soon as he stepped out, Packers safety Xavier McKinney softly touched him. And by gently, I mean that for a little second, part of their pads came into contact.
It was the type of “hit” that would be mocked during tape study. Unfortunately, it resulted in a 15-yard penalty, as one would expect.
Williams really didn’t need to sell it as hard as he did; on the TV broadcast, Tom Brady called him out almost immediately – but he did, and he won the flag. LaFleur was not pleased with the situation, and he spent no time in finding the referees and telling them so. Communication is essential to every successful relationship.
Matt LaFleur said some extremely precise comments to the refs regarding Caleb Williams’ flop.
I mean, he isn’t wrong? It was one of the softest unnecessary roughness penalties the Packers have been called for this season. The only reason everyone saw the flag coming was because that’s how the NFL works these days; the presenters even joked that any other player being “hit” like that would receive no attention. (But maybe teach your guys not to do that?)
Now that the LaFleur is out of the way, the Packers can concentrate on business. It’s similar to the first hit a quarterback takes (or in Williams’ case, fakes): once that’s out of the way, you can really get into the game’s flow. Let’s play some ball.
Leave a Reply