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Packers pass rush picking up steam and must maintain momentum vs high-powered Lions’ offense

Paul Bretl | 12/2/2024

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Coming out of the bye week, the Packers needed more steady pressure from their four-man rushes, and in recent games, they seem to be finding that consistency.

“I feel like it’s improving,” said Matt LaFleur of the pass rush. “And it’s got to continue to improve because it’s going to get more challenging, the later we get into this thing.”

In total sacks and ESPN’s pass rush win rate, the Packers ranked in the bottom third of the NFL in both categories coming out of their bye week. The only somewhat regular pressure they could drum up was when defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley dialed up a designed pressure.

But as of late, the pendulum has begun to swing in the other direction. The Green Bay defense would have San Francisco quarterback Brandon Allen under pressure on 38 percent of his dropbacks, which for some context, over the course of the season would be the seventh-highest rate for a quarterback in 2024.

A few days later against Miami, Green Bay had Tua Tagovailoa under pressure on 33 percent of his dropbacks. That, admittedly, isn’t an eye-popping number, but is solid and was the 13th highest quarterback pressure rate in Week 13. But of note, in Miami’s quick passing offense, Tagovailoa’s average pressure rate coming into that game was just over 21 percent, and the Packers converted five of those pressures into sacks–the second-most of any team that week.

“I think we coming along as a group,” Brenton Cox said. “Starting to get a feel for each other, know where everybody going to be at in the rush. I think that’s what the naked eye see and just got us playing with each other.”

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Pro Football Focus has their pass rush productivity metric, which in short, measures how often a pass rusher is able to create pressure relative to the number of snaps played, and is more heavily weighted towards converting those pressures into sacks.

Before the bye week, individually, the highest rated Packers’ defensive end by this metric was Rashan Gary, who ranked 81st out of 127 eligible defenders–or in the bottom half of the league. However, over the last two games, sparked by a forced fumble against the 49ers, Lukas Van Ness ranks second in pass rush productivity during that span. Gary, meanwhile, is 22nd, and Brenton Cox is 37th out of 88 defenders.

“I think we feel confident,” said Lukas Van Ness. “We’re starting to put it together and really just work as a four-man unit out there and again, we have a new week in front of us so a new set of challenges, but just continue the momentum and keep working.”

As we all know, the name of the game in football is pressuring the quarterback. Steady pressure disrupts the timing and rhythm of the play, leading to hurried throws and potential mistakes.

Helping the pass rush out during these two games has been the combination of the Green Bay offense getting off to a fast start, along with the defense eating its vegetables on early downs against the run. Both elements can make the opposing offense one dimensional, putting them in obvious passing situations, which allows the front to pin its ears back and just get after the quarterback.

Now, of course, in the grand scheme of an NFL season, two games is a small sample size. The challenge moving forward for this unit is to build upon these performances, and make their level of play over the last two games be closer to the norm rather than the outlier. But doing so this week won’t come easy against the Detroit Lions offense and their offensive line.

Pressure or no pressure, Jared Goff has picked defenses apart this season. However, the former is a much better alternative than the latter.

When kept clean this season, Goff is completing almost 80 percent of his throws at a hefty 9.2 yards per attempt with 19 touchdowns to six interceptions. When under duress, he’s completing just 55.3 percent of his passes at 7.6 yards per attempt with three touchdowns to three interceptions.

But, as alluded to, this is a task that’s much easier said than done. In addition to Goff playing at an extremely high level this season, having a strong run game to lean on that keeps the offense ahead of the sticks can take the bit away from an opposing pass rush. As does the Lions’ usage of screens, motion, and misdirections, all of which is coupled with a very good offensive line unit.

“Just reading your keys,” said Arron Mosby about defending the Lions’ offense. “They run a lot things–eye candy plays. That’s how they make their big plays and want to get you to look at this and the ball’s going that way, and things like that. Really just be disciplined. Just play to your rules, try to read your rules.

“Sometimes, like I said, the eye candy might get you, but your effort might overplay it. So really just be disciplined and effort, that could play a huge factor in this game.”

As I’ve pointed out often this season, a steady pass rush presence is a must if this Packers’ defense is going to reach its ceiling in 2024. It’s not a coincidence that the defense is finding its groove at the same time that the pass rush unit is picking up some steam.

“I think there’s a lot of guys starting to hit that stride,” said Jeff Hafley. “I think guys are gaining confidence in themselves, they’re gaining confidence in the scheme because they know what they’re doing and they’re getting more confidence in what they’re doing and when you have more reps over time that usually happens.”

Packers surging run defense meets Lions’ big-play running back duo

Paul Bretl | 12/2/2024

GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Packers defense has been finding its groove over the last two games, with their success against the run being a catalyst behind their play. This week, however, that run defense unit will be put to the test against Detroit’s David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs.

“They’ve got good running backs,” said Xavier McKinney. “They do a good job of putting the men in certain situations, too. Even the first time we played them, I think they played Montgomery the whole first half and then the second half they came with Gibbs. They got a good one-two punch. They’ve got a really good running game.”

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As a collective offensive unit, the 4.8 yards per carry by Detroit this season ranks eighth in football. Individually, the Lions have two very different backs, with Gibbs bringing the speed and homerun ability, while Montgomery is a more physical ball carrier–hence the nicknames Sonic and Knuckles.

Gibbs is just 27 yards shy of hitting the 1,000-yard mark this season and is averaging 6.0 yards per rush, the second-best mark this season. Montgomery has 720 rushing yards of his own and is averaging 4.3 yards per carry. Combined, the duo has 21 rushing touchdowns.

Tackling and rallying to the football is a must against these two backs with their ability to make defenders miss. While each back goes about it differently, with a more speedy and elusive approach from Gibbs compared to more power from Montgomery, both rank top 10 in missed tackles forced among running backs. This has resulted in a number of chunk runs, with Gibbs tied for first in rushes of 10-plus yards and Montgomery ranking 16th out of 61 eligible backs.

The last time the Packers and Lions met, about a month ago now, Montgomery and Gibbs would carry the ball 28 times between the two of them and rush for 138 yards at 4.9 yards per attempt.

“I think, personally, both those guys are very complete backs,” Matt LaFleur said on Sunday. “I think they’re a little bit different in terms of their style, where Gibbs has got that home run ability and Montgomery’s going to beat you up. I do think they complement each other nicely.

“I think they’re both kind of like what I used to talk about all the time with a 1A, 1B, and I think they’re both starting caliber backs in this league that are really explosive and dangerous both running the football and out of the backfield.”

Success for the Detroit offense as a whole begins here with the run game. As we saw in that first matchup, the Lions’ offense is a well-oiled machine. Oftentimes, either Gibbs or Montgomery picks up a handful of yards on first down. Now in a 2nd-and-short situation, the entire playbook is open to Detroit. They can run the ball again or pass, which spreads the defense out and can keep them on their heels with some unpredictability from the offense at play.

If Detroit chooses to run the ball, there’s a good chance they’ll put themselves in 3rd-and-short or perhaps pick up the first down. If they throw the ball, it will probably be off of play-action, where they use their run game to their advantage, and probably contains a crossing route or two, taking advantage of that aforementioned space in the defense, a screen, or the downfield shot play.

Obviously, this is a very oversimplified way to describe things, but you get the idea–it goes to show just how efficient and effective this offense is. Then, from there, just rinse and repeat the described process.

The Packers’ defense will enter Week 14 ranked seventh in yards per carry allowed at 4.2. They are coming off of two games against two dynamic backs in Christian McCaffrey and De’Von Achane, where they were able to bottle them up, holding the two to 45 total yards on 18 carries.

Limiting backs like McCaffrey and Achane, who can make any defense look silly, requires a group effort. It starts with a strong push from the interior and the defensive ends setting strong edges. Improved linebacker play for the Packers has been a critical factor as well with that unit filling gaps, fighting through blocks, and getting sideline-to-sideline to contain outside runs. For the defensive backs, it’s about rallying to the ball carrier.

“It’s just complementary football from all three levels,” said JJ Enagbare of the run defense after the Miami game. “The D-tackles, D-line, linebackers able to flow to over top and then the DBs able to make the open-field tackles when it comes to them, so it was pretty much just all 11 playing together and playing with each other.”

Not to be overlooked when discussing the Packers’ run defense as of late, has been the fast starts from the Green Bay offense. Complementary football, with the offense jumping out to quick leads, is a great way to mitigate the opponent’s run game, forcing the offense out of their gameplan as they can typically become more pass-heavy in an effort to try to catch up on the scoreboard, thus–in these last two games, for example–limiting the number of opportunities that McCaffrey and Achane had to touch the ball.

“It’s good. It works out in our favor every time,” said McKinney when asked about playing complementary football after the 49ers game. “When we do that, we’re a really good football team and I think it shows because when we execute on all levels and everybody’s kinda doing their job and our playmakers are making plays, we’re a hard team to beat, so just gotta continue to keep trying to do that.”

However, accomplishing that feat against the Lions, who have the highest-scoring offense in football and the third-best scoring defense, isn’t something that the Packers should probably be banking on.

A strong run defense has a positive trickle-down effect to the rest of the defensive unit. It puts the offense behind the sticks and in ‘get back on track’ situations, where the defense now has the upper hand. On these obvious passing downs, the pass rush can pin its ears back, and coverage-wise, there are only so many routes that can be run in those long down-and-distance scenarios, giving the secondary the advantage.

Finding a way to contain this high-powered Detroit offense likely starts on the ground for Green Bay, and not letting the dynamic duo of Gibbs and Montgomery control the game.

“We just want to be physical,” said Brenton Cox of the run game. “Knock things back, be violent, get off blocks to make plays.”

Checkdowns show growth, add consistency to Packers’ offense

Paul Bretl | 12/1/2024

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Coming out of the bye week, the passing game for the Packers has found some stability over the last three games as the offense as a whole is beginning to find its groove.

During this three-game span against Chicago, San Francisco, and Miami, Jordan Love has completed 69.1 percent of his 68 pass attempts at a hefty 10.2 yards per attempt with five touchdowns to no interceptions. For some context around those figures, that completion rate over the course of the season would be the fourth-best mark in football and the 10.2 yards per attempt would lead the league.

Even through the ups and downs that the offense experienced in the first half of the season, this has been one of the best units at generating big plays. However, after struggling to find consistency, the Packers have paired efficiency with that explosive play ability–a lethal combo for opposing defenses.

The run game and the Packers making fewer self-inflicted mistakes are two important factors behind this success, but so is the checkdown in the passing game.

“I think he’s been doing that the last few weeks,” Matt LaFleur said of Jordan Love taking checkdowns. “I think he’s done a really nice job. Some of it’s a byproduct of some of the teams we’ve been playing. When you’re playing some teams that are going to play more zone-y, soft zone-y defense and you have to make drastic movements or if the timing’s not just quite right, you’ve got to check it down.”

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Questionable decision-making from Love was a part of the ups and downs that the offense experienced prior to the bye week. We aren’t that far removed from him being one of the interception leaders this season, along with there being several other throws being put in harm’s way.

By Love’s own admission, he wants to push the ball downfield to generate the big play. He trusts his arm, and he trusts his receivers to make the play. But, like anything, there is a time and a place for it. What does the situation dictate? How is the defense defending the play? Is there a favorable matchup to exploit?

Although the checkdown often looks like a rather simple play and decision, when used appropriately, it shows a quarterback who is in control of the offense. In order to get to the dump-off, the quarterback has to go through his progressions, identifying the coverages and the individual matchups, knowing the situation at hand, while in real time weighing the risk-reward of each decision.

In fact, quarterbacks coach Tom Clements has said that a pivotal part of Love’s turnaround in 2023 was knowing when to take the checkdown and when to push the ball downfield. The process of getting to the checkdown is what can be the encouraging part, obviously not the throw itself, and in the last three games, we have again seen Love strike that balance between the two.

“I think he’s playing his best ball right now. I really do,” said Matt LaFleur of Love. “I think he’s done a great job of taking what’s there, taking the checkdowns when they’re there, or taking the shots when they’re there. He’s moving around in the pocket really well.”

With players like Josh Jacobs and Tucker Kraft often on the receiving end of those checkdowns, the ability for the offense to pick up some chunk yardage certainly still exists.

As a ball carrier, Jacobs has been one of the best backs in football at making defenders miss, ranking among the best in missed tackles forced and yards after contact. That ability is then magnified in the passing game, where he begins with the ball in space.

Kraft, meanwhile, is a force in the open field, determined not to be brought down by any initial contact and relishes the fact that multiple defenders might be required to get him to the ground. On the season, Kraft ranks second among all tight ends in total YAC and is first in average YAC per reception at a whopping 9.8 yards.

“My play style, I think the YAC brings the juice,” said Kraft after the Miami game. “When someone sees me run someone over or break a tackle and keep going, everyone’s on the sideline jumping up and down. That brings energy and it moves the sticks, too. Positively, I would say my greatest attribute as a tight end is my ability to move with the ball after the catch. And I like to do it.”

We know this Packers’ offense with Love under center and the talent that they have at receiver can hit the explosive downfield play, but sometimes, in order to have those throws available, you have to eat your vegetables beforehand. In this case, the vegetables are the run game, checkdowns, and short area underneath routes if the deep ball isn’t there.

However, as we saw against Miami–who has a very stingy pass defense–the patience and willingness to take those checkdowns or short underneath incompletions, when effective, can eventually present the opportunity to take those downfield throws. Green Bay’s ability to consistently move the ball successfully on touches near the line of scrimmage resulted in the Dolphins’ defenders creeping up, allowing Love to connect with Christian Watson down the right sideline after a barrage of rush attempts and short completions.

The checkdown is never going to draw much attention–and understandably so. But the process of getting to that throw is quite telling and, in the right circumstances, can showcase a quarterback that is operating the offense at a high level, even if, at the end of the day, it looks like an easy completion. Then the cherry on top for the Packers is there is still some big play ability that comes with those passes when Jacobs and Kraft get the ball in their hands.

“It just comes down to reading out the play,” said Love of taking more checkdowns. “Whether I feel like I can make a throw or might be pushing the envelope too much, you know, a guy might be in that area. So it just comes down to playing fast, reading it out and, you know, taking what the defense gives us, you know.

“There’s obviously sometimes you want to push the ball down the field and throw some tight window throws, and sometimes you just make that decision, that quick decision, like, No, I think this is covered, so moving on. But I think really just finding those completions, getting the ball moving, and that’s really the key to success for our offense.”

Packers defense stifles high-powered Dolphins and 49ers run games

Paul Bretl | 11/30/2024

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Following a performance against the Chicago Bears coming out of the bye week that defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley said was “not to our standard,” the defense made a quick turnaround over these last two games. An important contributing factor to that success has been their ability to contain the opponent’s run game.

And not only did the Green Bay defense limit San Francisco and Miami on the ground, but they did so against two very dynamic running backs.

The 49ers’ Christian McCaffrey was held to just 31 yards on 11 carries. As a team, San Francisco totaled just 44 rushing yards at 2.8 yards per attempt. A few days later against Miami, with a backfield that features De’Von Achane, the Dolphins would muster just 39 rushing yards on 14 carries. Achane was held to just 2.0 yards per rush on seven attempts.

“I just think it all starts up front, in terms of being able to set edges,” Matt LaFleur said after the Miami game. “Anytime in the run game you can get penetration and get some knock-back, it makes it extremely difficult on offenses. We’re getting a lot of hats to the football, and that’s what I see. I see a physical brand of football where guys are running to the ball and we’re not missing a ton of tackles. Guys are doing their job.”

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Defending the run successfully, as the Packers have, has a physical component to it and begins in the trenches, as LaFleur mentions. The defensive ends are setting edges to keep the ball carrier from bouncing the ball outside, while the interior is taking on blocks to free up other defenders, and attempting to generate a quick push up the middle, which is the best way to disrupt any offensive play.

But contributing to Green Bay’s ability to stop the run these last two games has been the superb play of the linebacker position. Led by Quay Walker, this is a fast and physical group right now, filling gaps between tackles, fighting through blockers, and getting sideline-to-sideline to contain any outside runs.

“Just staying square, killing blocks,” said Quay Walker about the run game. “Anytime guys can kill blocks and get off, things will go well. I think whenever you try to go one-for-one, just say I did my job, I got in my gap, whatever the case may be, that’s when you can get explosive runs and stuff like that. But anytime we can kill blocks, shed, get off, we have a pretty high percentage chance of stopping a run.”

Holding players like McCaffrey and Achane to 45 combined yards on 18 carries is very much a total team effort, and all 11 defenders rallying to the football. These are two backs that can make defenders miss and look silly, even if, as a defensive player, you are positioned well and do what you’re supposed to do. Unison from the front end to the back end is a must.

“It’s just complementary football from all three levels,” said JJ Enagbare of the run defense. “The D-tackles, D-line, linebackers able to flow to over top and then the DBs able to make the open-field tackles when it comes to them, so it was pretty much just all 11 playing together and playing with each other.”

In what is the ultimate team game, where the phrase ‘complementary football’ is vital and thrown around often, the Packers’ offense has played a hand in the run game’s success as well. While it is the defenders who are obviously the ones making the plays, the offense has helped put that unit in some advantageous situations when it comes to the run game.

With the Packers jumping out to early leads in each of these two games, it takes away the opponent’s ability to lean heavily on the run game. It forces them out of their offensive gameplan as they can become more pass-heavy in an effort to try to catch up on the scoreboard, thus limiting the number of opportunities that McCaffrey and Achane get to touch the ball.

“It’s good. It works out in our favor every time,” said Xavier McKinney when asked about playing complementary football after the 49ers game. “When we do that, we’re a really good football team and I think it shows because when we execute on all levels and everybody’s kinda doing their job and our playmakers are making plays, we’re a hard team to beat, so just gotta continue to keep trying to do that.”

While these past two games have been arguably the best that the Packers have played against the run all year, they have steadily been solid in this regard for much of the season. Before the majority of teams play on Sunday in Week 13, the Packers currently rank eighth in yards per rush allowed at 4.2.

“I think we’re starting to accumulate reps together, and everything’s just starting to click I think defensively as a whole,” said Eric Wilson. “Everybody’s playing together, figuring out exactly what we need to do each week in order to do what we’ve got to do. Just playing together, I’d say is the biggest thing.”

Sparked by run game, Packers offense finding consistency with Lions looming

Paul Bretl | 11/29/2024

GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Packers’ offense has begun to hit its stride and find more consistency, especially situationally, as they now prepare for a pivotal divisional matchup with Detroit.

“We just work every day, strive to get better, challenge ourself in practice and then let it translate to game day,” said Elgton Jenkins of the offense’s play.

The last time these two teams met, a little less than a month ago now, the Packers were held to just 14 points. Sure, they put up yards, but the 24-3 deficit they faced is a more accurate portrayal of how this game went for them.

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During this game and for much of the first half of the season, the Packers were plagued by inconsistent play, often rooted in self-inflicted errors. These penalties, dropped passes, off-target throws, or whatever it might have been, put the Packers offense behind the sticks and in disadvantageous situations far too frequently.

The negative trickle-down effect is the offense facing long down-and-distance situations, which puts them in obvious passing downs. From a coverage standpoint, the secondary has the advantage. In short, there are only so many routes that can be ran on 3rd-and-10, and the pass rush is then able to pin its ears back. Play-calling-wise, it becomes a real challenge to get into a flow, and the gameplan can become pass-heavy very quickly.

Even for the best offenses, having to overcome those situations often is a massive undertaking that has resulted in the up-and-down play we see on Sundays, and was a leading factor in the poor red zone and third down performances from the Green Bay offense.

But now here we sit several weeks later, and this is a different and more steady Packers’ offense.

“I feel like we just found our rhythm,” said Josh Myers at his locker. “We’ve settled in. That whole time you kept hearing complementary football being thrown around everywhere, I feel like we’re doing that now. I feel like even when we were losing some of those games, we weren’t necessarily playing bad. We were just doing stupid stuff at the wrong time.”

In those key, must-have-it situations on third down and inside the opponent’s 20 yard line, we’ve seen Green Bay go from floundering to highly productive. In the last two games, the Packers have converted 48 percent of their third down attempts, which for some context, over the course of the season would be the third-highest mark in football.

In the red zone, meanwhile, the Packers went from ranking 27th in that category following the game against Chicago, to converting eight of their last 10 trips into touchdowns. Again, for more context, that success rate over the entire season would lead the league.

So, what has led to a drastic turnaround in such a short period of time? Well, as always in the game of football, there is never one answer, but many that factor into the equation. However, a catalyst has been Josh Jacobs and the running game.

“I am a huge believer in this and a ton of people are too,” added Myers, “but the offense, we definitely feel like even down there the more you can provide a run threat the more it opens everything else up, even down there.”

Led by Josh Jacobs, who has carried the ball 45 times in the last two games, the Packers have totaled 283 rushing yards as a team on 67 carries. For as potent as this passing game can be, it is the run game that is leading the charge for the Green Bay offense.

That success in the run game has been pivotal in the Packers’ ability to move the chains on third downs and to find the end zone when in the red zone. Or another way to put it, the Packers are sustaining drives and putting up points.

“I think that’s just our offense,” said Jordan Love of the run game. “Starts the front with the O-line creating those lanes for the running backs to get through there. The backs are doing a great job just making guys miss. And then I think just the scheme we have, you know, the plays we’re dialing up that Steno and Matt are dialing up, are, you know, top tier.

“So, I think it goes all around. But, you know, you get the tight ends in there blocking, receivers blocking, but everybody’s just doing their part. And, you know, letting this thing go.”

The impact of the run game on these recent third down and red zone figures is that moving the ball on the ground often keeps the offense ahead of the sticks and out of predictable passing situations. In short down-and-distance situations, the entire playbook is open for the offense, which can create opportunities for the passing game, and the defense is on its heels, having to defend the entire field while being prepared for both the run and the pass.

Playing from these advantageous situations, an already dynamic passing game that, despite the inconsistent play, has been one of the best at generating explosive plays this season, now has efficiency a part of the equation as well.

Facing a stingy Miami pass defense on Thursday night, Jordan Love was 21-of-28 passing for 274 yards at a hefty 9.8 yards per attempt with two touchdowns, and includes no interceptions over the last two games.

“I think he’s playing his best ball right now. I really do,” said Matt LaFleur. “I think he’s done a great job of taking what’s there, taking the checkdowns when they’re there, or taking the shots when they’re there. He’s moving around in the pocket really well.”

As we discussed, coming out of the bye week, a much healthier Love with improved mobility and mechanics has expanded the offensive play-calling and improved his accuracy.

His decision-making has improved as well, which was an obvious point of emphasis after a turnover-heavy first half of the season. But up against fewer long down-and-distance situations has also allowed Love to take what’s available, rather than routinely playing from disadvantageous positions behind the sticks, and trying to push the ball–or at times forcing it–in order to get back on track.

That patience and willingness to take those checkdowns or short underneath incompletions, when effective, can eventually present the opportunity to take those downfield throws. Just as we saw against Miami, when Love connected with Christian Watson down the right sideline after a barrage of rush attempts and short completions.

“Opens up a lot of stuff,” said Matt LaFleur of the checkdowns. “Those are leaky yards, and nobody wants to give up those but both those guys are so physical and they’re tough to bring down and when you do bring them down, you feel them.

“So Tuck’s an animal. I think we’d all agree with that. both him and Josh. And it’s not just those two guys. I just love the mentality of our football team. I think our guys, they strain for one another, they fight, they block, and they try to inflict pain. Which as a coach you love to see.”

As we all saw in early November, the Lions are a well-oiled machine and continue to stack wins now at 11-1 on the season. However, the Packers believe they’re in a better spot at this time than where they were the first time these two teams met and better equipped for the matchup ahead.

The combination of Jacobs in the run game, Love playing at a high level, and all of the pass-catching options is already plenty to stress a defense. But that then becomes even more magnified when how the Packers attack opponents is so balanced between the run-pass mix, along with short to intermediate throws versus downfield attempts. Defenses truly have to defend the entire field against Green Bay.

“Definitely,” said Love when asked if the offense was finding its groove. “I think areas we’ve needed to focus on, red zone, I think we’ve been doing a lot better in that area and just trying to stay on the field, keep those drives going, keep the defense off the field. So I think we’re getting in a really good groove.”

‘On a mission’ preparation and confidence has Packers LB Quay Walker playing his best ball

Paul Bretl | 11/29/2024

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Two weeks ago against the Chicago Bears, both Jeff Hafley and Quay Walker acknowledged that wasn’t his best performance by any means. Missed tackles and opportunities, poor angles, and wrong assignments were all a part of the equation.

However, since then, Walker has played what Hafley called his “best game” against San Francisco and then carried that momentum into Thursday’s game with Miami.

“I think the little things just add up,” said Quay Walker at his locker on Thursday night. “Leading up to the game, practice, walk-throughs and everything, just being locked in. I was really, really locked in the whole entire week through everything. Wasn’t saying much, just making sure I come out and play my best. I think that’s translated over to Sunday.”

Hafley agrees. The way Walker responded after that Bears game was like a man “on a mission,” and that began with his practice and preparation throughout the week leading up to the 49ers game. That focus and attention to detail led to him playing with “great” fundamentals and several impact plays.

But most importantly, Hafley was proud of how Walker responded after a tough showing the week prior.

“I thought the way he responded and the way he practiced and in practice it was like he was on a mission last week, and then he went out and played like that,” said Hafley of Walker’s performance. “He was fast, he was getting downhill, he tackled well. He played with great fundamentals, he was using his hands, he had a couple TFLs.

“I mean he was just getting there, beating people to the punch, he was knocking guys back, he was setting the edge, he was really good in pass coverage. I think that’s the best game he’s played at least since we’ve been together and I hope he can build off of that. But again, I think the coolest part is how he responded. I mean, that says a lot about him and I was really proud of him.”

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Against Miami, Walker was tied for the team lead in tackles with 10, two of which came for a loss behind the line of scrimmage. For a linebacker, that tackle metric can, at times, be hollow, but facing a speedy and YAC-heavy Dolphins’ offense, Walker and the Green Bay offense were able to limit those big play opportunities by swarming to the ball carrier–a point of emphasis for the defense this week.

In addition to the tackles, Walker also had a quarterback hit and a key sack with Miami facing a fourth-and-goal from inside their own five yard line.

For Walker, as already described, the preparation throughout the week has been a crucial factor in his improved play. With that improved confidence in what he’s being asked to do because of the foundation he’s laid on the practice field an in the team meetings, there is less thinking, and simply more reacting, resulting in fast and physical play.

“I think I just do too much thinking and, being honest with you, instead of going out there and just play,” Walker said. “Anytime I can play without doing any thinking – not that Hafley’s making me think or whatever the case may be – just be me trying to do everything right instead of just lining up and just playing, anytime I have that mindset, see it, go, I can be a real, real productive player. I don’t want to give myself too much credit but that’s how I see it.”

While the production and this level of play hasn’t has been there from Walker, he brings a very versatile skill-set to the linebacker position, which, as we’ve seen, gives Hafley a lot of flexibility in terms of how he utilizes him–almost being able to customize his role on a weekly basis depending on the matchup.

Walker can be utilized as a blitzer to help drum up pressure. His sideline-to-sideline speed, coupled with his physicality to fight through blockers, allows him to restrict running lanes for ball carriers, particularly on runs outside the tackles. Then, in coverage, he has the ability to cover a lot of ground as well.

“From the time that I got around him when I first came to now,” said Xavier McKinney of Walker, “obviously he’s growing each game, each practice, but from my eyes and from what I’ve seen, I believe Quay’s the best middle linebacker in the league, in my opinion. I think he has so many different qualities that you don’t really see. He can cover well, he can tackle well, he do a lot of things.”

With Hafley taking over as the defensive coordinator, Walker not only has been navigating learning a new defensive scheme, but he’s also become the Mike linebacker in the middle of the Green Bay defense–a role with immense responsibilities.

The Mike linebacker is responsible for relaying the play to the rest of the defenders, along with signaling coverages, making sure everyone is aligned correctly, making adjustments based on the offensive alignment and so much more. All of which has to be done in those few seconds before the ball is snapped.

“He goes through different things because he got the Mike,” McKinney added, “and that’s something that I completely understand because I had the Mike when I was in New York for a time. I know how hard that can be. So I understand him.

“I try to help him, just trying to call certain calls out and just try to make his job easier so he can go out there and play fast. But when he goes out there and plays fast, there ain’t a lot of people that can do what he can do.”

A big box was checked on Thursday night for Walker. After having his best performance of the season versus San Francisco, on a short week, he backed it up with another strong showing.

Like any player, Walker is still chasing consistency, so what we saw from him performance-wise these past two games becomes closer to the norm rather than the outlier. But over the last week and a half, he appears to be on the right track with his preparation leading to confidence and that confidence translating into disruptive play on the field.

“Man just continue to play, just allow my confidence to continue to grow,” said Walker. “Like I said, don’t do no thinking and just play. Whenever I see it, just go. Still a lot I can be better at, still a lot I can get better at.”

Packers defense finding its groove in another low-scoring performance

Paul Bretl | 11/29/2024

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Less than two weeks ago, the Packers defense had a performance against the Chicago Bears that was “not to our standard,” as defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley put it. However, the unit has responded since then and appears to be hitting its stride as another matchup with Detroit awaits them.

It’s no secret that San Francisco was without quarterback Brock Purdy in that game. But that was still an offense that featured Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, George Kittle, and Kyle Shanahan as the play designer and play caller. Against an albeit shorthanded unit, the Packers defense did what any good defense would do in that situation–they controlled the game. San Francisco scored just 10 points and totaled just 241 yards of offense.

“I don’t care who was playing,” said Hafley on Tuesday. “And I get it. I know who wasn’t playing. And I’m not going to sit here and tell you that, ‘Oh, we’re (awesome).’ I’m not. They’re good players. But at the same time, that scheme, the players they still had and that coach, are very hard to defend. So I give credit to the guys on the team.”

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Just a few days later on a short week, the Packers defense had a much more difficult test against a Miami offense that has a lot of speed and was averaging 29.0 points per contest over their last five games with Tua Tagovailoa at quarterback. But again, the Packers defense kept points off the board and while the Dolphins’ offensive stat sheet looks nice, the game was never in their control.

Tagovailoa finished the game completing 37-of-46 passes for 365 yards, averaging 7.9 yards per attempt with two touchdowns. However, where it matters most, the Miami offense would muster only 17 points.

A lot of those yards that were produced through the air were empty calories, meaning they didn’t lead to points, and came in the second half when Green Bay held a 27-3 lead, which isn’t to say that’s acceptable. There are things that certainly have to be cleaned up.

“We just got leaky,” said Xavier McKinney about the second half performance. “We could have been better on our details. That’s kind of what it was. I think just kind of small, little details that they hit us with and we just gotta do a better job.”

With that said, a defense often takes a different approach when leading by 24 points in the second half compared to when it’s the first half and the game is far from decided. And when a big play–or plays–were needed, with Miami at the one-yard line in a 2nd-and-goal situation, the defense came away with a massive stop.

“I think our guys were playing physical and made a couple plays there,” said Matt LaFleur of the stop. “They tried to run a keeper out of the gun, and Keisean was kind of all over it. We got good penetration on that fourth-down play and got the sack. So I think our guys, they did their job.”

However, when it comes to determining what to make of Green Bay’s defensive performance in Week 13, I would turn my attention to the first half, where we saw this Packers’ defense really flexing its muscles.

As he was the entire game, Tagovailoa was efficient, completing 14-of-19 first-half targets. He would total, however, a modest 118 passing yards, averaging 6.2 yards per attempt. For some context, that 6.2 figure on the season would rank 29th out of 32 eligible quarterbacks. And most importantly from Green Bay’s perspective, the Dolphins had just three points at halftime.

The Packers were willing to give up that kind of efficiency if it meant limiting the number of explosive pass plays. But in order for that approach to be effective, swarming to the ball and sound tackling was a must in order to prevent this speedy and dynamic offense that does well at getting its playmakers the ball in space from picking the Green Bay defense apart with yards after the catch.

“For sure,” said McKinney about the emphasis on tackling. “When you play guys like that that’s all speed they going to get the ball on the perimeter and everybody gotta be running to the ball because sometimes, that first person might not get him down, not due to a missed tackle but they might out run your angle.

“So that’s the type of speed that they got. But I think we did a great job today of just all running to the ball and really a great job of getting them down.”

The Packers’ offense jumping out to a quick multi-score lead helped limit Miami’s ability to lean on their run game. The Dolphins entered this contest ranked eighth in rush attempts per game, but De’Von Achane and Raheem Moster ran the ball just 12 times combined. And even when they did get the ball on the ground, they totaled just 33 yards.

The trickle-down effect of playing with a lead, along with containing the run, is that it puts the opposing offense in obvious passing situations where the defensive front can pin its ears back. That, however, against Miami anyways, isn’t always enough to get after Tagovailoa.

This is a rhythmic Dolphins’ offense that leverages Tagovailoa’s ability to anticipate throws to get the ball his out of his hands at the quickest rate in football. To counter this, the Packers’ did a very good job of disguising their coverage looks, along with playing a physical brand of football, helping to takeaway Tagovailoa’s initial reads.

The end result for the Green Bay defense was a pressure rate of 31 percent, according to PFF, which was up 10 percent from Tagovailoa’s average pressure rate this season, and five sacks.

“That was pretty much our game plan for starting today,” added Enagbare. “We pretty much knew they’re a rhythm offense. He pretty much like to do everything in synch and a timing type of scheme, so pretty much I guess the DBs was able to re-route them and get them off the spot and just mess up the timing and that helped the rush and vice versa. The rush helped the coverage, so I feel like it was just complementary football on the defensive end.”

Now awaiting the Packers next Thursday is a rematch with the 11-1 Detroit Lions. When it comes to the NFC North race, this game is a must-win for Green Bay.

Although that first game at Lambeau Field between the two, which was won by the Lions fairly convincingly, was only a month ago, this Packers team is in a different position and playing better, more complementary football than what they were at that time.

The offense has leaned on the running game, while the passing game has found more consistency, and the defensive unit is finding its groove. When paired together, you get a difficult team to beat.

“The way we’re preparing,” said McKinney of the improved play on defense. “Like I said, every time I talk to ya’ll, I tell ya’ll like, hey we going to get back into the lab and we’re going to figure out what we need to do better and then we’re going to do that. And we’re doing that. And you can tell, you can see it when we go out there and play.

“So like I said, that’s really the biggest reason. We’re really locking into the small things and the little details that make us that much better. So we’re going to keep doing that. Obviously we’re not comfortable with where we’re at as a defense right now, there’s still some things that we gotta work on, but we’re going to do that.”

Packers WRs Malik Heath and Dontayvion Wicks will have more on their plates vs stingy Miami secondary

Paul Bretl | 11/28/2024

GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Packers will be without Romeo Doubs for their Thanksgiving night matchup with Miami, putting more on the plates of Dontayvion Wicks and Malik Heath.

Doubs sustained a concussion in Green Bay’s win this past Sunday against San Francisco when going up for a ball in the back-right corner of the end zone, coming down hard on his back. As of Tuesday, Doubs was still in concussion protocol.

In a Packers’ offense filled with playmaking potential, as he did last season, Doubs has provided a steady presence week in and week out. His 52 targets are tied with Jayden Reed for the most on the team and he ranks second in yards with 483.

Where Doubs has really thrived is in helping this offense move the chains, oftentimes in those must-have-it third down situations. Of his 34 receptions, 25 have picked up a first down, and Doubs has done that in a variety of ways, from where he’s lined up to what routes he’s asked to run.

“Rome, he’s such a problem if you get him one-on-one with DBs,” said Adam Stenavich. “He’s an excellent route runner. He can win in the quick game. He can win over the middle. He can win on the long ball. So, he’s a really versatile wide receiver.

“The one thing he’s been doing great that people probably haven’t taken notice is his run-blocking. He’s done a really good job in the run game. He’s becoming a total wideout for us and doing a good job. If he’s not out there, we are deep and I think these guys are gonna do a great job if Romeo is not out there, filling in for that.”

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It will, in all likelihood, take a group effort to make up for Doubs’ absence. Reed and Christian Watson will have to continue to come through for the offense on those third downs, while Dontayvion Wicks and Malik Heath likely see more playing time.

Wicks’ sophomore season has been plagued by drops. Pro Football Focus has credited Wicks with six drops this season, tied for the second-most among receivers. He also has the highest drop rate in football at 26.1 percent and his catch rate of 37.8 percent is the second-lowest among qualified pass-catchers.

However, despite the drops and inconsistent play from Wicks, he is still third on the team in targets with 45, and he’s second in touchdowns with four. The reason is that he’s a well-refined route runner with a diverse release package at the line of scrimmage who knows how to create separation, allowing him to win–and get open–at all levels of the field.

To illustrate this, PFF has a metric called separation percentage, which tracks how often a receiver gets open by beating the coverage rather than benefitting from how the defense defends the play. So far this season, Wicks ranks second among all receivers in this category, creating separation on 74.5 percent of his routes.

Against San Francisco, Wicks would catch a pass from Jordan Love over the middle of the field, setting up a catch-and-run opportunity for him, picking up 25 yards. As always it was a smooth route from Wicks, but what hasn’t always been the case was that it was a smooth reception as well. The context of when this happened in the game matters, with Green Bay in control at this point, but hopefully this play can be a catalyst towards more consistency from Wicks in the remaining weeks.

“It was great,” Stenavich said of Wicks’ reception. “It was great. Just for him to go rolling in there over the middle of the field, strong hands catch, get some good YAC. He’s got all the ability in the world, and we trust him. That was a really good thing to see.”

Heath has most often been known for his willingness and ability as a blocker in the run game. But the point of emphasis for him this offseason was fixated on his route running to pair that element with his already strong pass-catching hands.

The Packers have seen this growth from Heath throughout the regular season in practices, but we got a glimpse of those aspects on display late in the fourth quarter of this past Sunday’s game. With the Packers at the three-yard line, Heath’s release at the line of scrimmage helped him gain enough separation against the cornerback for Love to throw the ball up to his in the back left corner of the end zone. Heath then went up and picked the ball out of the air with “violent” hands.

“He’s done a really good job,” Stenavich said of Heath. “Malik’s always had really good hands. Big thing this offseason was him working on his routes, working on his drop steps and all that stuff. Just being violent when he catches the ball and he’s made some great plays in practice.

“He’s just one of those guys that’s just been biding his time and waiting for his opportunity. We’ll see this Sunday–see him out there in a little bigger role probably.”

Awaiting the Packers on Thursday night is a Dolphins’ pass defense that has been quite stingy this season when it comes to eliminating big passing plays. This is a product of the players that they have on the back end, led by cornerback Jalen Ramsey, along with this being a defensive scheme that disguises their coverages with the best of them.

The 6.1 yards per pass attempt surrendered by the Dolphins’ secondary is the fifth-lowest mark in football this season. They’ve also given up just 27 explosive pass plays–or plays of 20-plus yards–which is tied for the second-fewest in football.

“I think all across the board, they’ve got really good players, especially in the back end,” said Jordan Love of the Dolphins’ defense. “It’s tough, because on such a short week, this is a defense that, they’ve got a lot of stuff in their arsenal in terms of coverages, pressures.

“In a game, they’re mixing up their calls and do a bunch of different looks. It’s a game you’ve got to be focused in and dialed in on all the pre-snap tells you might get and just seeing what they’re getting to post-snap. They’re a very good defense. We talked about in the beginning of the week, they’re top-10 in almost all the categories. So definitely a really good challenge coming here Thursday.”

By Love’s own admission, and as we see on Sunday’s he wants to push the ball downfield. He trusts his arm and he trusts his receivers to make the plays. This week, however, could provide Love, LaFleur, and the offense as whole a test of their patience. This may be one of those games where leaning on the run, taking the checkdown, or continually targeting the short to intermediate parts of the field may be a requirement to moving the ball consistently against Miami.

Then, if the Packers can eat their vegetables and move the ball steadily in that capacity, it could then open up some downfield opportunities for Love and the passing game to try to capitalize on.

“It just comes down to understanding what the defense is trying to do, seeing the coverage and obviously post snap recognizing if they’re bluffing or doing any disguise,” Love said of the defense. “After that, it just turns into finding completions. Obviously we want to push the ball downfield and exploit whatever coverage they might be in, but if we don’t have a great play, just understanding where I need to go and finding those checkdowns for sure.”

Forced fumble vs 49ers can be catalyst and confidence boost for Packers DE Lukas Van Ness

Paul Bretl | 11/27/2024

GREEN BAY, Wis. — A forced fumble this past Sunday against San Francisco can hopefully be a catalyst for Packers’ second-year defensive end Lukas Van Ness heading into the remaining stretch of the season.

With the Packers up 24-10, the San Francisco offense had the ball at their own 15 yard line. Facing a 1st-and-5, from shotgun, quarterback Brandon Allen faked the handoff to Christian McCaffrey. With a mix of speed and power, Van Ness would run through the blocker, throw MCaffrey to the side, and hit Allen from behind as he stepped up in the pocket, forcing the fumble, which was recovered by Kenny Clark.

It was this play that ultimately put the 49ers away, with the Green Bay offense scoring three plays later to take a commanding 31-10 lead.

“I’ve been waiting for a big play like that and I’ve kept my head down,” said Lukas Van Ness on Tuesday. “Even going back to that game, I think a lot of it is you gotta take your shot and be willing to go out there and make a difference.”

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The play and the end result is a promising development on its own, particularly since it’s been a fairly quiet year for Van Ness. However, what is really encouraging is the real-time diagnosing by Van Ness of what the 49ers’ offense was trying to do and then putting together a pass rush plan that he was able to execute on.

Following the game, when asked about Van Ness’ forced fumble, Rashan Gary mentioned that a few series prior, Van Ness had noticed something in how the offensive line was blocking off of play-action and how the defensive front should then attack it. Then when San Francisco presented that look again, Van Ness knew exactly how to respond and took advantage.

“Man it was a great,” said Gary of the play. “A couple series back, Lukas was saying if he gives me the play-action, if we get it, just shoot up field and it was crazy because the play out there was the same play he was getting a couple series ago.

“So it actually showed how locked in he is, and we locked in and you see the formation, you pull the trigger and when you pull the trigger big plays happen and we needed it.”

Again, the result was terrific, but everything that went into getting to that point showcases the strides that Van Ness is making, even if that element isn’t going to show up on the stat sheet.

Van Ness finished that game with two pressures, his most in a game this season, along with recording his second sack. Before that game, Van Ness had just seven pressures in the previous 10 games and now ranks 79th out of 122 defensive ends in PFF’s pass rush win rate metric.

In terms of playing time, he was the fourth member of that rotation against the 49ers, being out-snapped by Brenton Cox.

Coming to the NFL out of Iowa, Van Ness was a very raw prospect with fewer than 1,000 collegiate snaps under his belt. In Year 2, we are still seeing a young player who appears to be navigating the learning curve that comes with making the jump to the NFL, with it too often looking like he doesn’t have a complete pass rush plan and when his initial move is countered by the offensive lineman, Van Ness is seemingly taken out of the play.

This play on Sunday, and everything that went into making it happen, can hopefully provide Van Ness with a needed confidence boost.

“I hope it gives him the confidence that he’s been looking for,” said Jeff Hafley. “He kind of went in with power, continued to fight and did a really nice job finishing on the ball. I thought he played a better game, and I think he’ll continue to get better.

“Hopefully it’s just a confidence, just getting in routine, feeling good about himself and going out this week and continuing to do so. We have a ton of confidence in him. I think he did a really good job in the run game.”

It’s not only Van Ness who has gone through ups and downs this season, but, to varying degrees, you could lump most of the Green Bay pass rush unit into that category as well–although this unit has been picking up some steam in recent weeks.

When it comes to the Packers’ defense as a whole reaching its ceiling this season, an improved four-man pass rush over the second half of the season will be a must. The name of the game is getting after the quarterback, and when done consistently, there is a positive trickle-down effect to the rest of the defense, with the timing and rhythm of the play being disrupted, which can then lead to mistakes–not to mention that pressure means less time in coverage for the defensive backs.

As a key member of that four-man rotation, Van Ness is going to play a pivotal role in helping this defensive front find more pass rush consistency. While the next step is to build off of Sunday’s performance so it becomes more of the norm rather than the outlier, Van Ness’ play against San Francisco was a step in the right direction.

“They always talk about stealing a play and that’s what separates those great players is they get a look once and they get it again they can recognize that and steal that play,” Van Ness said.

“That’s what I talked to my D-line coach about and it’s something I recognized during the game, but totally a difference maker and that’s again what’s separates all those great players is you can understand what you’re getting pre-snap and be able to react and make a big play.”

Potentially a much larger role incoming for Packers’ rookie LB Ty’Ron Hopper vs dynamic Miami offense

Paul Bretl | 11/27/2024

GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Packers potentially could find themselves quite shorthanded at the linebacker position in Thursday night’s game with Miami, who features an offense that can very much stress that position group.

On the two estimated injury reports that have been released this week, both Edgerrin Cooper and Isaiah McDuffie have been non-participants. Cooper is still navigating a hamstring injury that popped up during practice last Wednesday. McDuffie, meanwhile, is working through an ankle injury that was presumably sustained in Sunday’s win over San Francisco.

When Matt LaFleur was asked on Tuesday if he was concerned about the linebacker depth with these injuries, his reply was short and to the point: “Absolutely.”

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If the Packers are without both Cooper and McDuffie this week that will leave them with Quay Walker and Eric Wilson to handle the nickel linebacker snaps. Walker is coming off of what Jeff Hafley called his best performance of the season. In that game, he was decisive in his decision-making, which led to fast and aggressive play.

That success that we saw from Walker on the field Sunday began with his week of preparation, and improved fundamentals. The need for Walker to build upon that performance, given the injuries at linebacker and the opponent ahead, will be vital.

Against a Miami offense that features a ton of speed, while nickel is already the most often utilized defensive personnel package, we may see Green Bay lean into that even more in this week’s matchup. However, there will be instances where they do have to line up in their base 4-3 defense, which puts three linebackers on the field, which will thrust rookie Ty’Ron Hopper into a much larger role.

Hopper has been a core special teams player for the Packers this season, ranking fourth on the team in snaps. He didn’t see his first defensive snaps until this past Sunday, where he was on the field for seven, most of which came at the end when the game was out of reach.

When the Packers drafted Hopper in the third-round out of Missouri, GM Brian Gutekunst noted his “stopping-power” when taking on blockers and overall physicality, along with Hopper’s speed. Gutekunst added that they measured Hopper’s 40-time in the high 4.5 second range.

However, like many rookies, Hopper has been navigating the learning curve that comes with making the jump from the college to the NFL level, which includes learning a new system and the intricacies of it, along with adjusting to the play speed. But the Packers have continually seen progress from him on the practice field as the season has went on.

“He’s done a really good job,” Hafley said of Hopper. “Whether he’s on that look team, or whether we put him in on reps, you can see him getting better, getting more comfortable, being more confident. I thought when he did go into the game, I thought he was physical. I thought he played fast. I think he took advantage of the opportunity, and if he has that opportunity again, I think we’re all confident that he’ll be able to do it again.”

Between the speed that this Dolphins’ offense features, along with all of the pre-snap eye candy, this is a group that can really stress the linebacker position in particular.

All of the motion, which Miami uses extremely heavily, and misdirections are done, in part, to get the linebackers and the defense as a whole looking one way while the play is unfolding elsewhere. With players like Tyreek Hill, DeVon Achane, and Jaylen Waddle, it only takes a slight hesitation or a half-step in the wrong direction for a big play to ensue, with the defense being stretched horizontally, creating running and passing lanes.

This is also a Miami passing game that does an excellent job of getting their pass catchers the ball in space, oftentimes over the middle of the field on short to intermediate routes–where the linebackers are positioned–or on screens, forcing the defenders to make a play in the open field to limit any YAC opportunities.

“You’ll see them throw the ball downfield and hit some big plays,” added Hafley, “but then you’ll see a lot of catch-and-run, where in rhythm he’s throwing the ball, whether it’s play-action or he’s just getting the ball out quick in quick game. He does a really good job with it. He’s accurate. Like I said, he really throws the ball in rhythm well, and then he has those guys, when they catch it, you’d better be on them or you’d better take great angles.

“They probably throw as many screens as we’ve seen on film, and a variety of different ones. And it’s not just the receivers. It’s the backs, too. So they’ve done a really good job creating some mismatches, getting the ball in space and letting their guys kind of catch and run. So they do a really good job with that.”

Containing this Dolphins’ offense that is averaging 29.0 points per game over the last five contests with Tua Tagovailoa at quarterback will take a complementary effort on the defensive side of the ball. But given the speed, all of the pre-snap eye candy, and how this Miami offense operates, the Packers’ potentially shorthanded linebacker position could be a focal point on Thursday night.