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PACKERSPACKERS
PACKERS
After two seasons of single-digit wins, QB Aaron
Rodgers and the Packers are primed to take back
the North. Coach Mike McCarthy, fired after a
Week 13 loss to the lowly Cardinals, is out after
13 years; former Titans coordinator Matt LaFleur is in.
An offensive innovator, the 39-year-old LaFleur worked
for Rams head coach Sean McVay in 2017 and helped
a Tennessee team without a healthy quarterback to
a winning record in ’18. Having two-time NFL MVP
Rodgers (4,442 yards, 25 TDs, 2 INTs) execute
his offense will certainly ease LaFleur’s transition in
Green Bay. At 35 years old, Rodgers is still one of the
premier quarterbacks in the league, and if he’s healthy
for 16 games—something that hasn’t happened since
2016—the W’s will come.
The Pack brought in two new guards to help protect
Rodgers, drafting Elgton Jenkins (from Mississippi State)
and signing free agent Billy Turner (formerly of the
Broncos). And though Green Bay allowed two veterans,
WR Randall Cobb and LB Clay Matthews, to leave in
free agency, the team signed two 26-year-old edge
rushers, Za’Darius Smith (81/2 sacks with the Ravens)
and Preston Smith (4 sacks with the Redskins). The