Matt LaFleur gave 2-3 Packers a challenge heading into bye week

It hasn't been pretty for Matt LaFleur's Green Bay Packers.

They've lost their last two in prime time and didn't look good in the process. At 2-3, they still have a chance to turn things around, and it's worth noting that there is talent on the team, but even this young squad is running out of excuses.

Quarterback Jordan Love has regressed weekly, the offense is directionless at times and inept at others. The defense is middling, giving up 22.6 points per game and quite often being unable to make the big play and get off the field when it needs to.

No, things aren't good, but LaFleur seems to think this bye week can be a time of focus for his team. Take the bad, and turn it into fuel to do better.

"There's a lot of good that can come out of adversity if you stay tough-minded and persistent and you don't let it bring you down," he said regarding his message to the team, via Green Bay's official website. "And that's what I told our guys. I was like, nobody's feeling sorry for us and if we feel sorry for ourselves, we will regress. But as long as we take that approach like, hey, we're going to roll up our sleeves and get back to work, then you've got a chance to show some progress.

"That's what I want to see. I want to see that fight from our team, and I believe that we will."

LaFleur is right: Outside of Green Bay, nobody in the NFL is sad to see the Packers struggle — especially the other three organizations in the NFC North. The Packers have had a stranglehold on the division over the past 30 years as they transitioned from Hall of Famer Brett Favre to future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers.

Love, so far, has not looked the part. He's completed just 55.6% of his passes for 1,083 yards eight touchdowns and six interceptions. Yes, there's a young squad around him and the Packers have been plagued by injuries to multiple key players, but LaFleur isn't looking for excuses from his team.

"We all knew there were going to be some growing pains along the way, but I haven't lost faith or belief in the group that we have," he said. "I just think we can do things better. I think we can coach better, and I think we can execute better."