Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur is keeping the faith after his team’s season-opening 23-7 loss to division rival Minnesota where Vikings all-pro wideout Justin Jefferson torched the Packers’ defense for nine catches, 184 yards and two touchdowns.
“I think that’s something we’ll talk about each and every week, and every week’s a little bit different,” LaFleur told ESPN. “But we have a lot of confidence in our other corners out there too, whether it’s Stokes or Rasul Douglas. So, it’s how exotic do you want to be and exactly what do you want to do?”
LaFleur’s comments came after his team was forced to spend much of its postgame press conference defending its questionable positioning in matching up against Jefferson. While some of the team’s defenders said they could have slowed Jefferson and maybe even won the game if they could have been moved, LaFleur said that sticking to their zone plans for games would pay out eventually.
“If you want to change the structure of your defense, I mean, you could certainly do that,” LaFleur said, adding that he backed defensive coordinator Joe Barry’s decision to play zone in part because of how Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell decided to run his offense and use Jefferson.
“There were many times throughout the course of that game where it wasn’t just a single motion, it was a double motion, right?” he said. “So now you’re talking about trailing a guy, whatever it may be, but you would have to commit to man coverage. I don’t know how else you get it done.”
After the game, Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers complimented Jefferson and said he was the ‘best in the game’ at his position, according to Bleacher Report.
Rodgers said he’s been a fan of Jefferson since the wideout was in college and that he’s a great player to watch.
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