- Every Packers quarterback lost the ball once.
Sean Clifford came up with an interception late in the first half that set up a Broncos touchdown after a long return. LaFleur said the offense made a good play to cover the Denver defense but didn’t follow through when Clifford tried to hit tight end Joel Wilson deep up the middle.
“We need to flatten the route a little bit and try to be quicker in that window,” LaFleur said. “Sean threw the ball in the right place. I’ll have to look again to see if that was the right timing of the play.
“Overall, the execution needs to be better.”
Rookie QB Michael Pratt’s loss came early in the third quarter on a strip sack that set up a field goal for Denver. He tried to rush up the middle as the pocket collapsed, but was unable to protect the ball.
Overall, Clifford completed 6 of 10 passes for 43 yards, while Pratt completed 10 of 16 passes for 52 yards. Running back Emanuel Wilson had 13 carries for 41 yards and receiver Malik Heath caught three passes for 22 yards.
With only 10 first downs and 168 total yards on offense, it was a disappointing night that LaFleur did not attribute solely to the quarterback’s play.
“I want to see more fighting spirit from our guys,” he said. “The ability to move the ball is simply lacking, both in the running game and in the passing game…
“The performance kind of speaks for itself, but it wasn’t just (the quarterbacks). It’s everyone’s fault. We need to block better up front, we need to finish runs better, we had a couple of drops. Overall, all 11 need to be better for us to have success offensively.”
- The new kick-off rule seems to have a serious flaw.
After the Green Bay Packers safety, Denver took a free kick from their own 20-yard line, which does not deviate from the long-standing rule.
However, since the kicker was able to thunder the kickoff almost to the goal line and the setup zone was in the same place on the field, the fact that the kickoff came from the 20-yard line and not the 35-yard line made no difference.
Receiver Dimitri Stanley could only return the ball to Green Bay’s 29-yard line.
“I don’t really like it,” LaFleur said of the new rules being applied in this case. “You lose the advantage you get from safety. People start in the same place.”
- The final week of training camp and preseason will be a labor of love for players hoping to make the roster.
The Packers still have one more practice session and a warm-up game at home against Baltimore before making squad decisions on August 27.
LaFleur said he wasn’t sure how he would handle the starting lineups’ playing time against the Ravens, but his message to the rest of the roster was pretty clear.
“I’ve asked our team to pay attention to themselves every game,” LaFleur said. “Are you playing your best? Are you putting in the effort we expect you to? Is the style of play the way we want to see it?”
“It will be a good opportunity for all of us to judge and see the guys who really want to give their all, not only for themselves but also for the team.”
