Matt LaFleur Warns Packers Offense on Aaron Jones Hamstring Injury

Getty Aaron Jones of the Packers, recovering from a hamstring injury

Ah, remember back in Week 1? The Packers beat the Bears for a euphoric win in Chicago, their first game of the post-Aaron Rodgers era? Sure, there was the Aaron Jones hamstring injury at the end of his eye-opening 35-yard touchdown scamper, but it was a mere footnote.

Jones said so himself in the locker room after the game. A pulled hamstring? Nah. It was much more benign than that.

“I’ve pulled my hamstring before and I didn’t really feel a pull. It was just a little bite,” Jones said

If it was only a bite, it was an enormous one. The hamstring has taken a bite of its own out of the Packers’ attack. But coach Matt LaFleur this week warned against the assumption that getting Jones back is somehow a cure-all for the team.

“I never liked that narrative, to be honest with you,” LaFleur said. “He is a great player. There’s no doubt about it. And he’s an explosive playmaker. I mean, you saw what he did Week 1.

“He does tilt the field in your favor. However, there’s still an expectation that you’ve got to go out there and perform no matter who’s out there. That’s football. I never want that to be the narrative or the excuse, because it really doesn’t matter at the end of the day.”

Aaron Jones’ Hamstring Injury Cost Him 3 Games

Jones did not play in the Week 2 loss to Atlanta. He sat out the dramatic come-from-behind win over the Saints in Week 3. He attempted to return for the Thursday night showdown with Detroit in Week 4, but had just 5 carries for 18 yards. After a setback, he was held out for Week 5.

The Packers offense has not been the same without him. The team tallied 329 total yards in the opener and though it had 340 yards against New Orleans in Week 3, that game was skewed by the furious fourth-quarter rally that saw Green Bay accumulate 149 yards in the final 15 minutes.

Now, with the Packers on a bye and Jones with — one hopes — ample time to rest and heal the hammy, the question coming back will be how the team can get Jones to be a factor for a wobbly offense that so clearly needs him.

But quarterback Jordan Love, like LaFleur, was not ready to use Jones’ absence as some kind of excuse for the offense’s failings.

“Obviously, we miss Aaron Jones not being out there, but that’s not an excuse,” Love said Monday.

LaFleur: Packers Can Do ‘a Hell of a Lot Better’

Jones will not dictate the offense’s improvement, LaFleur said. The Packers need to improve as a blocking unit. The wide receivers need to improve their route-running and aggressiveness to the ball. Of course, Jordan Love needs to improve his decision-making and accuracy.

“There’s a lot of things we can do a hell of a lot better, and I think it all starts with the detail,” LaFleur said Tuesday, October 10.

LaFleur also hinted he will simplify the team’s attack, to focus on the more basic aspects of offense.

“It’s great we have this big ol’ call sheet with all these plays to attack certain looks,” he said. “Whatever it may be, and it really doesn’t matter if you can’t execute it. Although we didn’t have a ton of mental mistakes, we did have a few in some critical situations that we can’t have.”