The Rich Bisaccia era in Green Bay is off to an inauspicious start. 

Preseason games don’t count for much, but it’s sure not encouraging to see the Packers’ special teams units graded 31st by Pro Football Focus. Nor was it good to hear Matt LaFleur bemoan the lack of effort on display during the Packers’ final preseason performance, especially considering it was the last chance bubble players had to make an impression.

"The thing that I would like to see," LaFleur said after the game, "is just some of the things that we do in practice, you’d like to see that carry over into the game. And not just these made-up techniques that we don't necessarily, that we don’t coach and we don't see in practice. So that I think that's the most frustrating thing is when you see that; or a lack of effort, the things that you can control. 

“Because, you know, there's some things that are out of your control, but the lack of effort, and it wasn't everybody, but there were a couple of guys that it was glaring on tape. It's like ‘you can not put this on film.’ Not only for the Green Bay Packers, but for the entire league. Everybody's watching this tape.”

That LaFleur would have to call out those details is irritating, but that he’d have to criticize effort in a situation where guys are playing for their jobs is almost beyond the pale. Special teams comes down to “want to” as often as not, and I can’t conceive of a situation where anybody’s desire should be any higher than the final game of the preseason audition period.

To be fair, Bisaccia’s not playing with a full deck here, either. His hand-picked special teams ace Dallin Leavitt only just returned to practice this week after battling a shoulder injury, and Bisaccia has further promised to play starters on special teams as often as necessary. Starters have been in short supply during the preseason, so we may have to give Bisaccia the benefit of the doubt when it comes to the Packers’ coverage units.

But on the other hand, we may also need to adjust our expectations downward. Last year, the Packers’ special teams had more than a few catastrophic moments, including two blocked kicks in the playoffs that were as much a factor in ending the Packers’ season as anything else. If Bisaccia can get the Packers to avoid utter catastrophe on special teams, that would be an improvement.

It wouldn’t be a big one. It barely would raise their performance to something we could consider baseline competence. But after a lackluster preseason, it may be all we can expect.