Come Christmas Day, the 6-8 Green Bay Packers will face another do or die Sunday against the 8-6 Miami Dolphins, desperate to end a three game slide that has backed them into the 7th and final Wild Card spot in the AFC Playoff chase.
But the Wednesday conversation before and after the first practice of the week coming off the 24-12 Monday night victory over the Los Angeles Rams, wasn’t on the explosive Miami offense or even the slim playoff hopes, it was about quarterback-wide receiver meetings and hand signals.
During the Monday night broadcast on ESPN, announcers Joe Buck and Troy Aikman relayed something Matt LaFleur had told them in the pre-game production meeting. The broadcast version intimated Aaron Rodgers and his wide receivers weren’t even meeting together this season. LaFleur spent several minutes at his pre-practice news conference saying that’s not the case. The Head Coach admitted he didn’t relay the story clear enough. There are meetings, almost daily, with assistant coaches and players, quarterbacks and receivers. They get together in game planning sessions and even post-practice review meetings. LaFleur told the ESPN crew that there was a single, post-Wednesday practice meeting that was dropped from the weekly schedule but it had been reinstated since. That somehow led the announcers to believe Rodgers and his young receivers were distant when that clearly isn’t the case.
As for the quarterback, an article written by Kalyen Kahler of The Athletic described the intricate hand signaling system used by Rodgers to check play calls or route adjustments at the line of scrimmage. Rodgers quizzes his receivers weekly on the signals and according to the story, several current and many former receivers on the team said the tests can be daunting and incorrect answers can even get the “death stare” as one put it, from the four time NFL MVP. Those that struggled to understand the signals are often left behind or given little chance to prove themselves on the field.
On his weekly appearance on the Pat McAfee Show, Rodgers called the story “the biggest nothing-burger” of the year.
After practice, Aaron was asked what goes on a nothing-burger?
I guess you can hold the cheese on that burger too.
Holding court after practice Wednesday was Keisean Nixon. In just over a month, he’s become a kickoff return sensation for the Packers. He already leads the NFL with at least three kickoffs returned more than 50 yards. It’s just a simple case of preparing for and taking advantage of the opportunity according to Keisean who was given the job after Amari Rodgers was released following a series of misadventures with ball security. Nixon, admittedly a quiet type, said it was Rodgers who helped draw out his personality a few weeks back when the quarterback asked him why he seems so uptight all the time. Keisean said he nearly balked when the quarterback tried to give him a hug but the point was made, Nixon lightened up and has since taken off. He’s so confident, he apparently approached LaFleur about possibly giving him a chance to play the slot, not in the secondary, but the slot receiver on offense. “I’m an athlete”, Nixon said, “let’s see.” LaFleur played coy about the idea saying wait and see, he wanted to leave reporters guessing into the weekend. Rodgers quoted Kevin Garnett by saying “anything’s possible” but admits it’s unlikely he’ll be getting another weapon.
The team conducted just a walk through and jog through practice inside the Don Hutson Center on Wednesday as a major snowstorm is moving into the state late this week. The only two non-participants were David Bakhtiari and Elgton Jenkins. Bakhtiari is a long shot to come back this season after his appendectomy earlier this month and Jenkins is expected to be available. Running Back A.J. Dillon quickly cleared the concussion protocol after taking a shot to the helmet against the Rams on Monday night. Dillon talked about his first trip into the concussion evaluation and protocol experience.
The Packers will get in one more significant practice Thursday before escaping the winter blitz for South Florida and what they hope will be a very, merry, Miami Christmas.
