3 things to watch as the Packers visit the Los Angeles Rams

GREEN BAY — Matt LaFleur had no witty retort. When your brother is right, your brother is right.

In advance of their teams' matchup at SoFi Stadium on Sunday, word had gotten back to the Green Bay Packers head coach that his younger brother Mike, the Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator, had told Southern California reporters that their mom, Kristi, preferred him over Matt.

"My mom likes me more, so she's cheering for me," was the direct quote, for the record.

Asked about the remark late in the week, Matt smirked.

"I would say that's probably a fair assessment," he finally replied. "He's a lot easier to deal with."

Then, after a pause, "But, I'd say this: My parents do live in Green Bay — and I purchased their house. So, I would think that counts for something.

"I don't know what they're going to be wearing. They're probably going to have a mish-mash of a Rams hat and Packers shirt or whatever. But I'm sure inside they're definitely bleeding green and gold."

In truth, the LaFleur Bros. facing each other has lost some of its novelty, as has Matt facing any of his closest friends in coaching — Rams head coach Sean McVay, New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh, Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel, San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan.

Since LaFleur took over as the Packers' head coach in 2019, he's faced all of them at least once, and Sunday's matchup will mark the fifth time he and McVay, whom he views as a brother from another mother, have gone head-to-head.

LaFleur has yet to lose to McVay, having gone 4-0 against him, including a playoff victory; McVay's only win over the Packers in five tries came in 2018 against LaFleur's predecessor, Mike McCarthy. However, this marks the first time the teams have met at SoFi Stadium.

"Oh yeah, I had to hear about that in the offseason," LaFleur said.

And how does he feel about yet another matchup with McVay?

"This league, I think the longer you're in it, the smaller it is because you get to know everybody. So, inevitably, you're going to go against somebody that you really care about," LaFleur said. "There's very few times that you care as much (as this game). I've got one sibling (in) having my brother there, and Sean is like a brother to me.

"It's crazy to think about how many times I've had to go against these guys over the course of my tenure here. It seems like every year we're playing one of those guys."

Here are three things to watch — beyond the brother-versus-brother matchup — on Sunday:

Romeo Doubs suspended by team The curious case of Packers wide receiver Romeo Doubs, who is listed as doubtful because of what LaFleur had termed a "personal" matter at midweek, became clearer on Saturday when the Packers suspended Doubs for Sunday's game for what general manager Brian Gutekunst called "conduct detrimental to the team."

Doubs had skipped Thursday and Friday's practices to demonstrate his dissatisfaction with what he viewed as his limited role in the Packers' offense through four games, according to a report from Bill Huber of Sports Illustrated on Friday evening .

According to the report, when Doubs didn't show up at Lambeau Field on Thursday after practicing on Wednesday, team officials went to his home to make sure he was OK.

After Thursday's practice, LaFleur gave no details as to the reason for Doubs' absence, and when asked if the third-year wideout would be back on Friday, LaFleur replied, "I would hope so."

He wasn't, and Doubs has apparently scrubbed his social media accounts of all Packers-related photos and references, too.

"Unfortunately, we had to make the difficult decision to suspend Romeo for this week's game," Gutekunst said in a statement released by the team Saturday afternoon. "His decisions and actions during the week negatively impacted the team and required us to take this action.

"While we are certainly disappointed, we are confident that we will be able to move forward in a positive manner. Romeo is a valuable member of our team, and we look forward to welcoming him back next week."

This marks the second consecutive year that Gutekunst has had to suspend a player for conduct detrimental to the team. Last year, cornerback Jaire Alexander was suspended after appointing himself captain and calling the pregame coin toss before a Dec. 24 win over the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte, Alexander's hometown.

What's bizarre about the Doubs situation is that he is a Los Angeles-area native and was set to play in his hometown for the first time on Sunday.

It's also strange that Doubs could be so unhappy that he took such a drastic step despite the fact that he has played the most snaps of any wide receiver on the roster (224), far outpacing Jayden Reed (182) and Dontayvion Wicks (154). Although Doubs is third on the team with 20 targets, that's only two fewer than Reed and Wicks, who have 22 apiece.

Although Wicks had 13 targets in last Sunday's loss to Minnesota, Reed and Doubs had eight apiece. And Doubs, who had a team-high 96 targets last season, still is the Packers' second-leading receiver with 12 receptions for 169 yards. Only Reed (17 catches, 336 yards) has more receptions and yards.

Not only that, but the Packers played two games without starting quarterback Jordan Love, and backup Malik Willis threw fewer passes in wins over Indianapolis and Tennessee combined (33) than Love threw last Sunday against the Vikings (54).

With Christian Watson (ankle) sidelined for this game, Doubs presumably would be in line for plenty of targets against the Rams. Instead, like Watson, he was officially listed as doubtful on the team's injury report on Friday.

Asked Friday if Doubs would play Sunday, LaFleur replied, "It's still day-to-day."

Rashan Gary looks to increase production

First-year defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley delivered a spirited defense of edge rusher Rashan Gary's limited production through four games. Then, Hafley added a prediction.

Gary, in the first year of the four-year, $96 million extension he signed last October, has just one sack and just a 3.0 pass-rush win rate this season, according to Pro Football Focus. He's generated only 11 pressures on 94 pass-rushing snaps,

"We can challenge him all we want. You guys know RG — I think he's going to challenge himself," Hafley said at midweek. "I don't think RG's going to sit here today and tell you that his production is where he wants it to be. And it's the same for me.

"We need to get more out of him, and he needs to get more out of me. I mean, that's just the facts, right? So, we need to work together on that.

"I think you're going to see that this week. I'd be very disappointed if we didn't."

If that PFF 3.0 pass-rush win rate seems preposterously low for Gary, that's because it is. Gary's win percentage had been 17.1 in 2022, before a season-ending ACL tear, and 16.0 last season.

His one sack this season came when Philadelphia Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson appeared to give up on a play expecting a penalty to be called during the Eagles' season-opening win over the Packers in Brazil on Sept. 6.

But Gary's coaches believe the Rams and their cobbled-together offensive line, which ranks 21st in the 32-team NFL in pass-blocking win rate (56%) so far this season according to ESPN Stats & Information, could be just what Gary needs to get going.

"I don't believe my expectation for Rashan is any greater than his own," defensive line coach Jason Rebrovich said. "Is there an expectation for Rashan to go out there, rush the quarterback? Yeah, that's everybody. It's not just him. It's collective. And there is some frustration there, but that's our standard.

"We all see the tape. The tape's the tape. There is no hiding from it. The thing is, you've got to get back to your fundamentals, your techniques, your basics, and keep striving and working for them."

Added Hafley: "The fact that RG's not having that success, that bothers me. I'm not mad at him for it, I'll be mad at myself. Like let's help him, let's coach him better, let's help him better, and then he's got to go and do it. And I totally believe that he will, and we'll do a better job with him."

Kickoff rules causing frustration

When the NFL altered its kickoff rules in hopes of creating more return opportunities, Packers two-time first-team All-Pro returner Keisean Nixon was convinced that he'd be the beneficiary.

It hasn't worked out that way.

"Yeah, they made it seem like I was going to get the ball a lot, get returns, but I guess two All-Pros, they ain't going to just kick it to me anymore," said Nixon, a Los Angeles-area native who is playing in his hometown on Sunday for the first time in five years.

"It's really kudos to myself, though — the last two years, the resume I built for myself."

Opposing teams have kicked off 17 times to Nixon, and all but one have gone for a touchback. In fact, his lone return — a 24-yarder he took out from 8 yards deep in the back corner of the end zone — should have been downed, too.

Looking for a spark in the final minute of their loss to the Eagles, the coaches told Nixon to bring the ball out, but didn't communicate that the ball placement mattered. Given where it landed, he should have stayed in.

Nixon has exhibited frustration several times but to his credit, he hasn't taken unnecessary risks and instead just taken the touchback, which gives the offense the ball at the 30-yard line.

"I've tried to teach Keisean that frustration is kind of a wasted emotion. The definition of frustration is if you can't change it, it's going to change sooner or later," special-teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia said.

"The thing we're trying to really work hard on are the blocks in front. We've had an opportunity the last three Thursdays to practice kickoff returns in pads and hopefully those guys up front are getting better. And I think Keisean has made really good team decisions back there not to take it out."