Coach Matt LaFleur Addresses Anders Carlson’s Rough Debut

On Friday night, the Green Bay Packers beat the Cincinnati Bengals 36-19 in their first preseason game of 2023. While fans were pleased to watch 2020 first-round NFL Draft choice Jordan Love perform well in his first game action since taking over for Aaron Rodgers, there were still hiccups that prevented the game from being fully clean.

One of these was that kicker Anders Carlson, who is replacing Packers fan favorite Mason Crosby, botched two extra point tries. Carlson has had a wild training camp, capped by a good showing during the annual Family Night practice. However, he has been inconsistent thus far, as seen by his failure to score those two additional points.

Not surprisingly, Packers fans have been insistent that Crosby be brought back. Despite the veteran kicker’s own troubles in recent seasons, there is some consolation in knowing what the team had when he was on the roster.

Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst has emphasized all summer that they will be patient with the difficulties that come with having a rookie kicker. Many people forget that Crosby did not hit 80% of his field goals until his sixth season in the NFL. He was already a Super Bowl champion at the time.

When speaking to the media following the game, head coach Matt LaFleur underlined the Packers’ plan. “I don’t wanna look too far into it,” LaFleur said. “It’s one game, but as long as you learn from it and get better and make the necessary adjustments, then a lot of times you come back stronger from it.”