Paul Bretl | 10/16/2024

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Back on the field for the Packers on Sunday in their win over Arizona, was rookie offensive lineman Jordan Morgan who, like any young player returning from injury, had some rust to shake off.

“It went well,” said Morgan at his locker after the game. “A lot of rust I’ve got to shake off after missing a few weeks, then going back out there. You expect to make some mistakes, but at the same time, you’ve got to do your job.”

While Sean Rhyan held down the right guard position during the three games that Morgan missed as he worked his way back from a shoulder injury, on Sunday, Morgan was thrown right back into the rotation. Rhyan would play 40 offensive snaps against the Cardinals and Morgan 38.

Of those 38 total snaps from Morgan, 19 came in pass protection, where he allowed just one pressure, according to Pro Football Focus. And while PFF’s grading system is not the be-all-end-all by any means, Morgan’s run-blocking grade of 48.9 in this contest reflects the part of his game where the most improvement is needed.

“(He’s) gotta keep working in the run game,” said offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich last Thursday. “I think that’s going to be a big thing for him to take the next step. So we just gotta keep him moving along, keep him improving, but I’m excited about him.”

Up to this point in his short career, not only has Morgan been navigating the learning curve that comes with making the leap from college to the NFL, but he’s also been working through a position change as well. Morgan spent just about every collegiate snap at Arizona playing left tackle, and now with the Packers he’s at right guard–a totally new position along with being on the opposite side of the line.

“You’ve got to be in a three-point stance a lot more,” said Morgan during training camp about the move from tackle to guard. “Everything happens quicker. You’ve got to get your hands on people quicker.”

Then what about the move from the left side of the offensive line to the right side?

“I’d say just technique,” Morgan added over the summer. “I mean, the footwork and the hand placement. I’m used to punching with my left then getting out there and having to punch with my right. It’s so different and you’ve got to get used to the timing and pick up everything quicker.”

As a former tackle with quick feet, that part of Morgan’s game has helped him with the transition inside. Although working from a more confined space now, Morgan’s footwork, as he put it, allows him to mirror the defensive tackles well as they try to move laterally. He also gives the Packers the added element of pulling him to get him out in space.

Being injured forced Morgan to hit the pause button on his development as the focus then turned to getting healthy, but in those first few games, Stenavich mentioned a noticeable improvement in Morgan’s fundamentals at the guard position, particularly in his hand usage.

As Morgan navigates these anticipated ups and downs that comes with a young player making a position change, has stood out clearly to the coaching staff is his potential. The Packers believe that Morgan can become a really good guard. So although Rhyan had put together to of the better performances that he’s had in his career while Morgan was sidelined, there was no hesitation about getting Morgan back in the mix.

“Jordan I think his potential is extremely high,” Stenavich said. “I think he’s going to be a very good player. So it would be foolish of us not to try and push that along as quickly as possible, and the only way to really do that is to get him out there playing.”

Perhaps the most important aspect right now to Morgan’s growth are the live reps–both in practice and in games. It’s one thing as a player to know the playbook and your responsibilities, it’s a totally different thing to be able to go and execute it in real time. Over the last few weeks, that was a big part of Morgan’s development that was missing.

“There were some good things,” said Matt LaFleur of Morgan’s play on Sunday. “I think there’s a lot he needs to clean up. He looks like a guy who hasn’t played football for a while. That’s just part of it. He’s a young player. He’s only going to get better. So I think it’s still important to get him in there, but yeah, there’s certainly some room for improvement.”

Paul Bretl | 10/15/2024

GREEN BAY, Wis. — As he’s done since arriving in Green Bay this offseason, Packers’ rookie safety Evan Williams continues to put himself around the football and again came up with a few key plays in the team’s win over Arizona.

“Like I said during camp,” said Jaire Alexander after the game, “you seen him making plays all camp. He was getting after the ball. He was attacking the ball, probably had one of the most production points out of the secondary, so I mean it’s no secret. He practices like that and it shows up in the game.”

Alexander has also previously compared Williams to former Packers’ safety Micah Hyde because of his ball-hawking mentality and regular presence around the football.

The first big play from Sunday’s game came in the second quarter with the Cardinals’ offense facing a third-and-one. Williams came down from the safety position and showed blitz from the right side of the defensive alignment.

When the ball was snapped, quarterback Kyler Murray ran a read-option, but Williams didn’t get overly aggressive and pursue the running back who was running up the middle. Instead, he kept his focus on Murray–who kept the ball–and then made the open field tackle on one of the game’s more elusive players, forcing Arizona to punt.

“I figured, because of the situation, it was third-and-1 and K hadn’t really gotten anything going,” said Williams of the play. “He hadn’t been able to make a play with his feet yet, so I’d assume that he’s probably eager to make something happen. I know I’m coming off the edge and I know there’s a possibility of read-option where he’s reading me.

“I figured a guy like that would want the ball in his hands on that third down. Didn’t really do anything but did my job. He pulled it, I was in a great spot, had level feet – they say when you get your shoulders parallel to the sideline, bad things happen in read-option – and he pulled it, tried to make a move and I stayed squared and was able to make that play.”

Although the Packers were up 17-0 at this time, this proved to be an important play given the sequence that followed. On the Cardinals’ ensuing punt, Keisean Nixon returned it 39 yards and then on the first play from the offense, Jordan Love connected with Christian Watson for a 44-yard score. After the game, LaFleur called this sequence a big turning point in the game.

Then late in the third quarter, down 13-34, the Cardinals found themselves inside Packers’ territory–attempting to make a late push. On a pass from Murray to Greg Dortch that turned into a 16 yard gain following some YAC, Williams made a textbook punch out, forcing a fumble that was recovered by Alexander.

Williams found himself in a good position and knew he had help around him to bring Dortch to the ground if his strike didn’t land–so he went for the big play.

“I was squared up,” said Williams of the play. “He was kind of just running down the center of my helmet, so knew that had a couple guys that were hitting him already and that I was gonna have a good chance to punch the ball out and we teach that, as they fall, the ball gets a little separated form the body and yeah, just try to stick my face right through the ball and it popped out. Ja with the recovery and got to celebrate with the guys.”

Again, in a bit of a timeshare with fellow rookie safety Javon Bullard–who played 54 snaps–Williams was on the field for 38 snaps on Sunday. In total, he made three tackles and allowed one completion in coverage for only nine yards.

The Packers found different ways to get Williams on the field. In some instances, when Williams was in the game, we would see Bullard lined up in the nickel and then there were times when it was Nixon who was in the nickel while Bullard was out for those few plays. There were also some snaps where Williams was on the field next to Xavier McKinney when the Packers were lined up in their base 4-3 defense.

However, almost regardless of the personnel grouping around Williams when he was out there, the Packers had him filling the all-important deep safety role in Jeff Hafley’s defense.

“He just does a great job,” said Matt LaFleur. “I think it’s a credit to him. He’s a smart football player, and that’s something that we saw in him and our scouting staff saw in him coming out of the draft. He’s a really intelligent guy that has great instincts and awareness, and can take the plan and go out there and execute it.”

Those qualities that LaFleur mentioned have been used to describe Williams since the team drafted him back in April. At that time, long-time scout Sam Seale described Williams has smart, instinctive, and someone who is always around the football.

Those qualities were on display for the duration of training camp, with Williams recording a handful of interceptions in practice, along with forcing a fumble in the Packers’ preseason opener against Cleveland. And now as Williams gains more experience and continues to refine his weekly preparation, not surprisingly, those big plays are translating over to the regular season.

“He’s a very intelligent player, he’s a very intelligent person,” said Jeff Hafley last Thursday. “I think one of the biggest things he’s done to put himself in the situation that he’s in now and having a bigger role is he’s starting to learn how to study the game more and he’s starting to understand how serious you need to take it because when those opportunities come you have to be ready for it.”

The Packers have a luxury in the secondary with all of the talent and versatility that they have. This provides Hafley an abundance of options when it comes to putting the game-plan together, however, finding playing time for everyone can be a challenge as well.

But with how well Williams is playing and the high-impact plays he’s making, he’s in-store for only more playing time moving forward. It’ll be up to Hafley to find a way to make that happen.

“Absolutely,” said Williams when asked how he keeps making plays. “I don’t know how to answer that other than it’s my job to be around the ball. It’s definitely something I take pride in. I feel like when you run to the ball, good things happen.

“We have a saying that, our linebackers coach, his name’s Campanile so we say, ‘Campy 3:16 is God loves those who run to the ball.’ That’s something we definitely carry. I feel like safeties, you’re in a good spot up high to see the whole picture. When you run to the ball, good things happen. I’ll give it up to the scheme for me being in good spots to make plays.”

Paul Bretl | 10/14/2024

GREEN BAY, Wis. — In the Packers Week 6 win on Sunday over the Arizona Cardinals, we saw on display what at the pass-catcher positions can do for an offense.

Jordan Love finished the day completing 22-of-32 passes for 258 yards with four touchdowns and an interception. Of those 22 completions, nine different players had at least one reception and 10 different players had a target.

Obviously, when this many pass-catchers are getting involved the distribution goes beyond just the receiver position. In addition to five different wide outs having a target for the Packers, so did two running backs and three tight ends.

“That’s just the glory of our offense, man,” said Jayden Reed at his locker. “We’ve got a lot of different players that can make plays. We distribute here. Got a lot of different playmakers, and you’ve got to game plan for that.”

While Jayden Reed has emerged as the top target and playmaker for the Packers in the first six games, this is still a wide receiver unit where the strength is in its numbers. If defenses try to key in on Reed and limit his production, the trickle-down effect is that it’s going to leave them exposed elsewhere, putting players like Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks in one-on-one matchups, which all will exploit.

Magnifying the impact of this depth is Love’s willingness to spread the ball around. In most instances, how the defense reacts to the play design and what the read dictates will determine where Love will go with the ball.

Production-wise, it was a fairly modest day for each of the Packers’ pass catchers. Reed’s six receptions were the most in this game, Christian Watson’s 68 receiving yards led the team, and Doubs led the way with two touchdowns. But you put all of that together and spread the production out over nine different players, and overall, you get a very good performance from Love and the offense.

“I think that we have guys in every position that can make the play at any moment,” said Christian Watson after the game. “So when we got that complimentary football just within our offense guys who can make plays at any depth of the field that’s hard to defend that.”

This ability to spread the ball around adds more pressure for the defense. Opponents are unable to key in on one or even two players pre-snap, almost regardless of the situation. This then forces them to defend the entire field, creating better spacing for the Packers’ offense to operate within, along with one-on-one matchups to take advantage of.

“I think the more that other people are making plays, we know that the more plays there are that’s going to be made going forward,” said Watson. “They can’t guard everybody, they can’t guard everybody perfectly, scheme everything up perfectly, so the more people that get their hands on the ball, the more people that can make plays, the better off we’re going to be as an offense.”

With a number of options in the passing game comes a variety of skill sets as well. Matt LaFleur can take an a la carte-like approach as he builds out the weekly game plan, mixing and matching formations and play designs that can very specifically attack an opponent’s weaknesses and create mismatches. This element can also make game-planning for this Packers offense quite difficult because they can hurt you in a number of ways.

Going back to Sunday’s game against the Cardinals, beyond just the sheer number of pass-catchers who had opportunities, Love was able to attack really all parts of the field and LaFleur helped facilitate that by scheming up different route combinations–again, something that can only be done when there are different skill sets to work with.

“Man, Christian’s fast,” said Bo Melton. “Not only fast, he’s elusive. He can make big plays. At the end of the day, when you have him out there, defenses tend to back up. We play a similar role. I’m a deep threat at well, but with Christian, he’s 6-4. Nobody wants a 6-4 big old gazelle running at them looking like that, running a post like he had today – he’s dangerous.

“I appreciate him, all our wide receivers. We have J-Reed. We have Wicks. We have Malik. We have Rome. Myself. Just everybody brings a special treat. That’s why we’re so special.”

Making matters even more difficult for the Cardinals defense was that the Packers were also finding success in the run game. Green Bay finished the game with 179 rushing yards as a team at an efficient 4.7 yards per attempt.

All week, the emphasis for the Packers was on complementary football in all three phases–which they accomplished. Specifically on the offensive side of the ball, the Packers checked the box there as well with the passing game distribution and the marrying of the run and passing games off each other.

When everything just described about the passing game can be coupled with an effective run game–look out.

“I think that’s always the goal is to be able to have a great run game and a great pass game, just play off each other with both of those,” said Jordan Love after the game.

“And then explosive plays, that’s our mindset. We try to get those explosive plays and then obviously try and take care of the ball, which I think we still (need to) do a better job, build on that next week. But explosives, take care of the ball and have a balanced game is definitely something we want to be on offense.”

Paul Bretl | 10/10/2024

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Once fully healthy, the Packers have the ultimate luxury in their secondary: a number of versatile defenders for Jeff Hafley to build his game plans around.

“I think just the versatility we have in the secondary is a huge luxury,” said Matt LaFleur on Monday. “I don’t think a lot of teams have as many guys that we feel confident in to put in the game and not only put in the game but play winning football.”

Once Jaire Alexander is back in the mix, between the cornerback and safety positions, the Packers will have seven different players that they trust to play significant defensive snaps on Sundays. In addition to Alexander at corner, there is Eric Stokes, Carrington Valentine, and Keisean Nixon. At safety, is Xavier McKinney, Javon Bullard, and Evan Williams.

More often than not, with the majority of defensive snaps coming in nickel, five defensive backs will be on the field. The next most utilized formation will be when the Packers are in their base 4-3 defense, which requires just four defensive backs. Occasionally, we may see the Packers in dime, requiring six defensive backs.

Regardless, in just about every instance, the Packers will have a surplus of options at the cornerback and safety positions.

“I think that’s a great problem to have,” said Hafley of the depth. “When Ja comes back — hopefully we’ll get Ja back soon — once he does we’ll have to figure out who we’re playing, who our opponent is, what receivers we’re playing against, can there be different packages in the game.

“We call the package that Bull was in one thing and he knows to come out on the field in that spot and when he goes to the safety position, we call it something else and he goes to the safety spot and Keisean was going into the nickel spot, right, and this week we have some other things possibly up where we say this and guys are in different spots.”

One thing–and an important thing–that this provides Hafley with is immense flexibility when putting together the game plans each week. The only givens in the secondary are that Alexander and McKinney will be on the field. Beyond that, everyone else’s playing time or what roles that they have to fill could vary week-to-week depending on the opponent.

A great example of this flexibility came this past Sunday against the Rams. After the secondary had early struggles the week prior with Minnesota’s passing game, Hafley went back to the drawing board and came back with some brand-new looks on the back end.

Still without Alexander versus the Rams, we saw Nixon move from the slot to the boundary, while opposite of him, Stokes and Valentine shared playing time. In the nickel, against the more run-heavy Rams, was a more physical presence in Bullard. Then, at safety, was McKinney and Williams.

Every NFL fan wants their team to be willing to make changes on the fly when things aren’t working, injuries take place, or based on what the matchup dictates, rather than being rigid and rolling out the same game plan each week because that’s just how things are done.

Since Hafley arrived in Green Bay back in February, we’ve heard about his willingness to make those adjustments as needed, and we saw that on display against the Rams. The circumstances of that game–matchup-wise and injury-wise–played an important part in determining how Hafley approached things from a game-planning perspective.

“I think this game is a lot about matchups and I think sometimes people take it for granted that it’s not always your Xs and Os and like I’ve talked, these blitzes you can draw up and these coverages you can draw up, ultimately it’s gonna be me against you and I have to get off the block or I have to cover you or I have to beat you on a pass rush or I have to tackle you and those are the things we gotta win, so who gives us the best chance?”

With Hafley having so many options in the secondary in regards to who sees playing time, along with where he asks several of those players to line up and what their responsibilities are, it can make game-planning for this Packers defense quite difficult. As opposing offenses try to decipher how the Packers might attack them, they have to be prepared for a number of different outcomes, and when game day arrives, they might see something completely different than what was expected.

This advantage also goes beyond just the mixing and matching of personnel. Being able to rely on a number of different players means having a variety of skill sets to work with as well, which provides Hafley with the ability to use different coverages, along with disguising looks by moving defenders around.

“Matchups is huge, right, so for example,” said Hafley, “if they’re gonna line up with two tight ends, one back and two wide receivers, so they’re getting into a bigger grouping, you wanna put a SAM linebacker on the field or do you wanna put Bull on the field and play like that nickel-SAM position. What are they doing out of it? Are they gonna spread us out? Are they gonna get big and try to run the ball? Well then maybe you wanna put the SAM on the field.

“If they come out in 11 personnel, right, one back, one tight end and three wide receivers, do they wanna spread us out and throw the ball. Then maybe do we wanna play a lot of a certain coverage? Then maybe we’ll get true nickel personnel on the field and play with more corner-like people and if we feel like we have to play against the run, do we want a bigger body, a more physical body in the game? Then what do we wanna do on third down and medium vs. third down and long based on what the tendencies are and who they put on the field. So I think matchups are really, really important. But then I also think it’s within the course of the game, how are they trying to attack us and what are we gonna do to stop it and that’s constantly going back and forth.”

Without question, it is great to have as many reliable options as the Packers do in the secondary, but with that comes its own challenges–specifically finding playing time for everyone.

The competition at several of those positions will hopefully help elevate the play of the entire unit, just as we saw along the offensive line during the second-half of the 2023 season when there were rotations at right guard and left tackle. Perhaps, as the season progresses, one of Valentine or Stokes and Bullard or Williams will get more playing time as they begin to separate themselves from the other at their respective position.

However, with that aforementioned adjustability being in Hafley’s DNA as a coach, at least for the time being, to be any set-in-stone starters–again, outside of Alexander and McKinney. Playing time could continue to ebb and flow week to week depending on what the matchup calls for, and the Packers’ recent history of rotating players on both sides of the ball tells us that they may try to find a way to keep all of these players involved to some degree with there being specific alignments that get whoever the non-starters are that week on the field.

“I think it’s our job to, if they’re playing well, to find roles for ’em and make sure that they’re on the field,” Hafley said. “But what unit gives us the best chance to win that particular game.

“I think it’s very nice to have options and I think the more guys are healthier, the more competition we’ll have, the better we’ll get, the better they’ll get and we’ll play better defense as we continue to go. But having those guys on the field and having that versatility, where they can kinda switch around positions, I think it’s huge.”

Regardless of what side of the ball you’re discussing or what position, options are always a good thing. Options mean versatility, competition, and the ability to keep the opponent off-balance. Well, the Packers have a lot of options in the secondary and as the group gets healthy and the young players gain experience, we will really start to see the value in that, just as we did in Los Angeles.

Paul Bretl | 10/10/2024

GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Packers defense will have to contend with one of the more efficient rushing offenses this weekend, taking on the Arizona Cardinals, which features running back James Conner and quarterback Kyler Murray.

As a collective unit, the Cardinals are averaging 5.5 yards per rush this season, which is the third-best mark in football through five weeks. An explosive run is categorized as a rush of 10 or more yards. The Cardinals have 21 of those–the most in the NFL–and their explosive run play rate of 16.5 percent is also a league-best.

“I mean you gotta pick and choose how aggressive you’re gonna be on early downs,” said Jeff Hafely, “but we wanna win those early downs so we get ourselves in those situations on second. I know we’ve played better against the run and we’re continuing to improve that way.”

Leading the way for the Cardinals in terms of carries is Conner. On the season, Conner has carried the ball 82 times and is averaging 4.6 yards per attempt with three scores. Among all running backs, Conner ranks fifth in missed tackles forced, according to PFF, has the second-most rushes of 10-plus yards, and is tied for fifth in rushes of at least 15 yards.

“Conner, he’s a beast,” said Matt LaFleur on Wednesday. “He’s a big physical back that is more elusive than he leads on just in terms of, for a bigger guy.”

On the year, the Packers’ play against the run has been mixed. Outside of Jonathan Taylor, who routinely ripped off some chunk runs, the Packers, for the most part, contained Saquon Barkley, Aaron Jones, and Kyren Williams, but each back also generated a carry or two of at least 15 yards.

The 4.4 yards per attempt that Green Bay is allowing ranks right in the middle of the league at 16th. The 12 explosive rushes that the Packers have surrendered is right about in the middle as well.

In Jeff Hafley’s system, which primarily features four down linemen versus at least five blockers, gap integrity will, as always, remain crucial, along with the ability to flow with the gap as it moves. In addition to that, the play of the defenders at the second level to fill any gaps that do appear will be paramount as well. There has to be order and a coordinated effort amongst the defensive front in how they rush so running lanes don’t open up.

“Typically what we’re trying to do is get guys in the backfield to own their gap through their man,” said defensive line coach Jason Rebrovich. “So if they’re aligned as  3-technique on the outside part of the guard, it’s his job as you go through the outside part of that guard and own the B-gap in between the outside part of the guard and the inside part of the tackle.

“So wherever that gap moves he’s gotta move a along it and then that allows the guys behind it to obviously scrape, get over top, get downhill, and fill the gaps that they have to fill.”

The challenge for the Packers doesn’t stop there, however, they also have to be hyper-aware of Murray and his ability to extend plays once outside of the pocket. As a ball carrier, Murray is averaging 10.7 yards per rush on 23 attempts this season. Those 247 rushing yards are the third-most among quarterbacks and Murray also has the second-most rushes of 10 or more yards.

Individually, both Conner and Murray will create problems for opposing defenses, but the Cardinals are also deliberate about their usage of RPOs and zone reads–all added stressors for the opponent, who are forced to read-and-react on the fly and sometimes all it takes is a slight hesitation that can result in a big play.

“You’ve got Kyler Murray who is able to, whether it’s a zone read that he takes to the house for 50 yards or whatever it was or just trying to contain him in the passing game, you’ve got to defend for a long time when he’s got the ball in his hands because he can throw within the timing of the pass, of the play, or he can go off schedule,” LaFleur said.

In the first two weeks of the season, the Packers faced Jalen Hurts and Anthony Richardson and took a more controlled pass-rush approach in those two games in an effort to keep those quarterbacks in the pocket. For the most part, the Packers were able to do that, limiting Richardson to only 37 rushing yards and Hurts to 33 yards.

Of course, LaFleur wasn’t going to delve into the specifics of whether or not the Packers would approach this game in a similar manner, but sound tackling, all 11 defenders swarming to the football, and the defensive front being disciplined with their rush lanes, along with rushing Murray as a collective group in unison will be at a premium.

“You’ve got to be smart,” LaFleur said. “You’ve got to be smart when you’re going against a quarterback of this caliber in terms of he can make you look really silly really fast. And if you give him huge rush lanes, he’s going to take advantage of it. Like I said he can beat you with his legs, he can beat you with his arm. I think he’s got a lot of talented players around him. I think they’re really doing a nice job, so it’s going to be a great test for our football team.”

The potential downside of this defensive approach, as we saw in Weeks 1 and 2, is that while you may keep the quarterback in the pocket, it makes getting consistent pressure more difficult. This then results in the quarterback having time in the pocket and puts added stress on the secondary, who has to be in coverage longer.

Murray has been a very efficient passer, completing 68 percent of his throws with seven touchdowns to just two interceptions. He’s also been willing to push the ball downfield, ranking eighth in percentage of pass attempts of at least 20-plus yards.

Cardinals rookie receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. has already showcased his big-play abilities, averaging nearly 17.0 yards per reception with four touchdowns. Tight end Trey McBride has also been a go-to target of Murray’s.

“Tremendous challenge,” said LaFleur of Harrison. “I think he’s just, he’s a long physical receiver that is capable of making great plays down the field. What’s scary is he still learning the NFL game, so I think he’s going to be a star in this league for a really long time.”

Oftentimes, success for just about any defense begins with limiting the offense’s ability in the run game. In general, when an offense can find success on the ground, there’s a positive trickle-down effect to the rest of the unit. This creates short down-and-distance situations, opening up the entire playbook for the offense and forcing the defense to defend the whole field.

On the flip side, struggles in the run game puts the offense in predictable passing situations where the defense has the advantage–both from a pass rush and coverage standpoint.

“We showed the guys a bunch of clips of him just making multiple defenders miss in the pocket and his ability to create and extend and make those off schedule, chunks down the field,” LaFleur said of Murray. “He’s extremely dangerous. He’s probably playing as good as he’s ever played. I think he really looks good, so it’s going to be a great test for our defense.”