Matt LaFleur, Green Bay’s coach, hoped to avoid fights during Friday’s joint practice with the Denver Broncos. He and Broncos coach Sean Payton agreed to avoid one-on-one drills in which wide receivers face cornerbacks and linebackers face running backs. They also opted to reduce the length and intensity of the pass-rush drills during 7-on-7s. “We just want a good, competitive practice and we want to keep it safe,” LaFleur told me. “We want to eliminate all fighting if possible.” He knew this would be a struggle.
“It is football. “There will be competitiveness and chippiness,” LaFleur said. “But can you maintain your composure? That, I believe, contributes to the game’s appeal. When you’re in a real-life game environment, things may get heated and testy, and players start talking trash. Can you maintain your composure?” Less than 30 minutes later, LaFleur was enraged, charging onto the field and yelling at Broncos linebacker Nik Bonitto after quarterback Jordan Love, who had recently received a four-year, $220 million contract extension, was knocked to the ground and threw an interception. Bonitto shrugged and turned back to face LaFleur and the Packers’ boisterous sideline, defending himself.
Love later revealed that one of his own linemen had hit him just as he was about to throw the ball. “Zach “Tom just got pushed and hit my shoulder,” Love explained. “So, I don’t think that had anything to do with the D-line or anything. I suppose it was just friendly fire.” This incident incited his coaches and teammates. “A lot of guys didn’t really see it and know what happened,” Love claimed. “We make a huge point of staying away from the quarterback, so they might have thought the D-lineman hit my arm, which I do not believe happened. I was hit as I threw, but I believe it was by Zach Tom. “I got hit by my own guy.”
