Matt LaFleur has finally shown some guts. LaFleur has finally shown who is really in charge of the Green Bay Packers.
He held somebody accountable.
To be fair, most fans, critics and analysts believe that the person who should be held accountable in Green Bay is defensive coordinator Joe Barry, who is running one of the worst units in the league despite having a depth chart full of first-round talent.
With that said, LaFleur has to learn to walk before he can run, and suspending star cornerback Jaire Alexander for inviting himself to the coin toss this past weekend against the Carolina Panthers and almost dearly costing the team an important possession is a good start.
General manager Brian Gutekunst commented on the matter.
LaFleur also commented, suggesting that Alexander was suspended not just because of his role in the nearly-botched coin toss.
This may end up being a small footnote in what will be a long, successful career in Green Bay for Alexander. He’s already a two-time Pro Bowler and the Packers defense needs all the help it can get, after all.
This could also be the beginning of the end between the organization and a sometimes quirky player.
Those are things to discuss some other time, though, because the bigger point of this suspension is that LaFleur did something.
He has harped on communication for weeks and his usual refrains of “I’ll have to watch the tape” or “we got outcoached” after tough games have apparently been starting to fall on deaf ears.
LaFleur is seriously at risk of losing his locker room if he doesn’t command the locker room. Getting rid of an obviously inept defensive coordinator in Barry would be the best way to do it, but suspending a star player who got out of line will also go a long way in reestablishing him as the authority in the room as well.
