Green Bay Packers: 3 Pending Free Agents that may Actually be Re-Signed
By Paul Bretl
Green Bay Packers potential re-signee: Tyler Ervin
Oftentimes when Matt LaFleur is speaking, he mentions the phrase “illusion of complexity,” which is what he’s trying to achieve on every play. So what does that mean? Well, I’ll let LaFleur answer that one:
"“We want to have like plays, meaning, plays that start out looking the same that are different. We also want to create what we call an ‘illusion of complexity,’ meaning we’re going to run the same concepts, but how many different ways can we run them?” LaFleur said via Packers Wire. “Whether it’s out of 11 personnel, 12 personnel, 13 personnel, just to make it a little more difficult for the defense.”"
Essentially LaFleur wants different plays to look similar to the defense and to be able to run the same play from a variety of personnel. Another way to keep defenses off balance is with pre-snap motion, a very important part of the LaFleur offense and where Tyler Ervin comes into play.
As the motion man, even without touching the ball, Ervin impacts the defense. Defenders have to pause to decipher what’s taking place, and even that split second of additional time can create a passing lane for Aaron Rodgers, a running lane for the ball carrier, or allow a blocker to get to the second level.
When Ervin is on the field, he is someone that opposing defenses have to account for with his speed. On top of that, he doubles as a return man as well.
When we look at this Green Bay Packers’ roster as it’s currently constructed, they don’t have a player with Ervin’s skill-set on offense — although in his absence, LaFleur will send just about anyone in motion — and they certainly don’t have a viable return man.
Realistically, both of these needs could be addressed in the draft, but it’s also risky to wait until that point, not knowing how the board is going to fall. This is why bringing back Ervin on another cheap deal should be in play.