Packers’ Butkus Award winner struggles at LB vs. Jets — Matt LaFleur’s wake-up call: "This isn’t college.”
“This isn’t college.” — Matt LaFleur’s message to linebackers switching positions
GREEN BAY, WI — The preseason opener is usually a snapshot: distorted lighting, imperfect angles, but revealing enough to spot the issues. For Isaiah Simmons, that snapshot showed a supreme athlete being “repositioned” as a true in-box linebacker — and the basic requirements of the role were exposed immediately against the New York Jets. Green Bay lost 10–30, but what worried folks more than the scoreboard was how Simmons played.
In this league-wide debate about positional fit, Matt LaFleur offered a blunt reminder — the kind of words that can chill any linebacker trying to relearn the position:
“THIS ISN’T COLLEGE. IN THE NFL, NOBODY GRADES YOU ON TOOLS OR TROPHIES. HE HAS TO EXECUTE WITHIN THEIR SYSTEM — SNAP TO SNAP — FOR THE COACHES TO TRUST HIM WITH A REAL ROLE.”
Simmons logged a heavy defensive workload and stacked a few solid tackles, but two pain points stood out:
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Screen/perimeter: late to close the edge, not shedding blocks decisively enough, yielding YAC.
Match zone/MOF: landmarks weren’t consistent and eyes weren’t disciplined against crossers.
Those details don’t erase his size-speed edge, but they do underline that an inside linebacker lives on discipline, not on highlights.
LaFleur’s message hits the nerve. The Packers aren’t short on depth (Quay Walker, Isaiah McDuffie, Edgerrin Cooper, Ty’Ron Hopper). In this room, the down-to-down floor determines the role more than the athletic ceiling. That’s why the staff wants to see Simmons:
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Read it and be in the right spot in the middle of the field instead of living on chase speed.
Shock, shed, and close on the perimeter to blunt screens.
Tackle reliably, especially in the alley.
When those fundamentals settle, the “unlock” packages appear: seam-carry in match quarters leveraging his length; green-dog blitz when the RB stays in protection; spy/contain against mobile QBs. If not, the realistic lane narrows to special teams and limited nickel usage.
Postgame, the Packers’ internal messaging stays consistent: this is an evaluation process. They want Simmons to “do it right within the system” so they can trust him with a major role — exactly the spirit of Reid’s line. The preseason is where you fix it: eyes-shoulders-angles, drop rhythm, and how you handle screens.
Green Bay has two more tests before trimming to 53: the Colts, then the Seahawks. For Simmons, the measuring sticks are clear:
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Reduce YAC & defeat screens: win more one-on-one block battles on the edge.
Lower the missed-tackle rate: clean angles, clean shoulder entry.
Coverage discipline: hit your landmarks, protect the MOF, don’t show your back on crossers.
If he ticks 2 of these 3 boxes, the door to nickel/dime package work opens wider. If not, the conversation tilts toward “ST impact + limited rotation.”
The headline can say “Simmons struggles,” but the core is systemic execution. The NFL isn’t college — just as Matt LaFleur framed it. For a rare athlete like Simmons, the key isn’t the 4.39 speed or the old Butkus trophy; it’s executing his assignments inside the Packers’ defensive structure. Do that, and he can turn an uneasy night against the Jets into a bona fide growing pain — and earn back staff trust when September knocks.
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