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The Green Bay Packers’ offense has been getting praise all season for its jump in performance in year two under Matt LaFleur.
There is another man however that deserves just as much credit as the head coach and quarterback are receiving and that’s offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett.
Over the past season and a half, Rodgers has been effusive in his praise for Hackett saying that he doesn’t have just great Xs and Os ability but also the amount of energy and joy he brings into the building.
The “yeet” mantra the Packers adopted last year? That was Hackett.
The Jacksonville Jaguars, who travel to play the Packers at Lambeau Field Sunday, famously let Hackett go midway through the 2018 season and LaFleur wasted little time in adding him to his staff when the Packers hired him.
Freed of the albatross that was Blake Bortles, Hackett has proven given the right tools he can cook up a sizzling offense. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him mentioned as a head coach candidate come the offseason.
It’d be a loss for Green Bay, but he would represent the first branch of the LaFleur coaching tree.
There’s more on Hackett plus an early look at next week’s Packers opponent in today’s curds.
The focus has been on the Aaron Rodgers/Matt LaFleur dynamic but the quarterback seems absolutely head over heels in love with the offensive coordinator. Rodgers mentioned how big of a role Hackett has made in the cultural refresh the team has made under LaFleur and how he doesn’t want Hackett to go anywhere (unless, Rodgers said with a smirk, he goes somewhere else before the coach).
For his part, LaFleur has called Hackett the “glue guy” that brings everything together for the offense. He also has been critical in developing the Zoom calls with players due to the pandemic thanks to his teaching background.
Packers nose tackle Kenny Clark fighting the frustration of persistent double teams—PackersNews.com
The rest of the league finally understands how good Kenny Clark is and the defensive lineman is finally seeing that through more double teams. Getting Clark a consistent running mate along the line should be a priority for Green Bay this spring.
What we learned in Colts’ win over Titans on Thursday night—NFL.com
Green Bay travels to Indianapolis to play the Colts next weekend and judging by their dismantling of the Titans, they will be a very formidable opponent.
Peppa Pig “Spiders Can’t Hurt You” Episode Removed From TV In Australia—IFLScience.com
Spoiler alert: some spiders can indeed hurt you.