Despite massive upgrades in personnel at outside linebacker
White Elgton Jenkins Jersey , the Packers defensive improvement still hinges on the development of the secondary."Investing tens of millions and a top-15 pick in
the outside linebacker position signaled Brian Gutekunst’s willingness to
prioritize a need position, but that doesn’t hold the keys for defensive
improvement in Green Bay. Creating sacks last season wasn’t the problem for the
Green Bay Packers under Mike Pettine, with his intricate, terrorizing pressure
schemes. The depletion of the secondary cost his squad the chance to take the
proverbial step forward and, even with those pass rush reinforcements, that
holds true again in 2019. Gutekunst’s biggest opportunity to improve this
defense came more from his secondary additions in free agency and the first
round. When the Packers gave up a late rally against the Vikings in Week 2 last
season, two enormous factors stand out: Davon House coming in and getting
torched coupled with Kentrell Brice getting lost on a handful of enormous
downfield plays. “We probably didn’t handle Kevin King’s injury very well,”
then-head coach Mike McCarthy said after the game. “We just weren’t as detailed
down the stretch.” This was, in part, the story of the defensive season. King
couldn’t stay on the field, Jaire Alexander missed some time, and Tramon
Williams had to move positions to steady the defense after the Ha Ha Clinton-Dix
trade. Josh Jackson and Tony Brown weren’t prepared to shoulder that large of a
burden and the defense struggled as a result. It wasn’t the pass rush that let
this team down. Green Bay didn’t add at the cornerback position, but Williams
becomes a de facto addition by heading back to the cornerback room. Adrian Amos
offers the stability in the deep secondary that Ha Ha Clinton-Dix never could,
while Darnell Savage will get the chance to provide the playmaking Ted Thompson
never could replace after Nick Collins’ career-ending injury. Despite all the
complains about the lack of pass rush from the Packers, a group forced to
heavily feature Reggie Gilbert and surging Kyler Fackrell finished 10th in
adjusted sack rate, 9th in sacks overall
Dexter Williams Green Bay Packers Jersey , and 9th in pressure rate per Pro Football Focus. Pettine’s ability to scheme rushers free made up for the
lack of individual pass rush talent. Fackrell winning some of his individual
battles doesn’t serve as a counter to this notion either, although he converted
pressures to sacks at an entirely unsustainable rate. He did beat some offensive
tackles to get his sacks. This wasn’t just Pettine scheming him free. On the
other hand, indecision from offensive lineman wondering where pressure is coming
from at all times manifests in subtle ways. It can make life easier for the
Packers pass rushers even when they’re bringing traditional rushers from
traditional spots. Getting better on the edge with rushers who can create on
their own helps Pettine dial up more exotic coverage looks should he choose to
run them, while also focusing more on helping out the back end rather than
having to create so much out of whole cloth with the pass rush. The Patriots
actively subvert their pass rush to prioritize coverage, a plan that has helped
Bill Belichick win half a dozen Super Bowl titles and solidify himself as the
greatest coach of the modern era.“It’s all tied in to the coverage,” Belichick
said back in 2015 of his defense. “If you have the receivers covered, it gives
the pass rush more opportunity. If you don’t have the receivers covered, then
even a good rush isn’t going to result in a quarterback getting tackled,
probably. The interceptions are a result of pass rush, just like sacks are a
result of coverage,” Complementary football defines the Patriots dynasty. No one
has played better complementary or situational football in the last two decades.
With the Packers struggling on the back end, it creates a higher burden for
Pettine to manufacture pressure. Manufacturing coverage is nearly impossible.
“Overall, you need good coverage to have a good pass rush, and a good pass rush
to have good coverage,” Belichick says. “When those two have been in sync, we’ve
been more productive. When they haven’t
Dexter Williams Jersey 2019 , we’ve given up some plays.”Getting more pass rushers should make the coverage better in Green Bay, but the street runs both
ways. Alexander and Jackson need a Year 2 jump, the latter in particular. Late
in the season, the light appeared to go on for the second-round pick from Iowa,
though he never showed the playmaking and ball skills we saw from him in the
preseason. Perhaps that is coming. King’s role starts with staying on the field.
He showed early flashes last season of becoming a very good player and Alexander
did more than just flash. The two of them together hint at something great, but
each have injury histories and have to stay out of the training room. Jackson,
for his part, came to the NFL raw as a man coverage player. This was always
going to take time. One doesn’t simply forget how to play the ball or read a
quarterback. There’s still potential to get a lot better and even if he just
makes an incremental step forward, the top three takes shape. Beyond that,
Tramon Williams gets to slide back to his more natural position to play in the
slot or the outside. He can start if Jackson comes along slowly or in injury
situations. In 2019, he can be insurance at the position he’s been paid to play,
not the one where injuries and underperformance forced him to play. Much like
the pass rush makes the secondary better, the enormous improvement at safety
ought to bolster the coverage of the cornerbacks. Fewer blown coverages, missed
tackles, and missed assignments should allow guys like Alexander and Jackson to
resume their college roles as playmakers. Likewise, if Amos and Savage can rely
on those corners to consistently do their job
Color Rush Dexter Williams Jersey , the doors open to splash plays of their own. Gutekunst found a way to buoy the talent levels of two critical need
positions, ones that ultimately work in tandem to make the other better. Green
Bay’s pass rush would have jumped if only from the upgrade in the secondary even
if they had to trot out the underwhelming group from last year. Likewise, having
to play Kyler Fackrell and Reggie Gilbert becomes easier with the talent
infusion and hopeful improvement in the secondary. The combination should
amplify the positive impact of each individual move, but Pettine could have
handled creating pass rush on his own. He couldn’t manufacture the consistency
and playmaking he needed in the secondary. So, his GM went and got consistency
and playmaking for him. To make sure those moves took hold, he also gave Pettine
some new toys to make that pass rush even more monstrous. If the Packers’ mad
scientist defensive coordinator could make last year’s group work getting to
opposing quarterbacks, imagine what he can do with this re-tooled group. Packers
General Manager Brian Gutekunst admitted he was thinking about future moves when
he traded away players rather than bringing them at the deadline.But that
shouldn’t be construed as waving the white flag on this season, he said.The
Packers sent safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix to Washington for a 2019 fourth-round pick
and running back Ty Montgomery to Baltimore for a conditional 2020 seventh,
bringing in no immediate help for a 3-3-1 team.“I don’t necessarily think
there’s a message it sends to the locker room,” Gutekunst said, via Rob Demovsky
of ESPN.com. “I think the decisions that we make are always in the best interest
of our team, not only in the short term, but the long term, as well. But I think
our locker room knows where we’re headed and, like I said, I think we’re humming
at the right time and I think there’s a lot of positive things going
forward.”The two deals should be viewed separately
Tramon Williams Jersey , as the Cinton-Dix deal was largely because he was leaving in free agency in nine more games, and they got a pick in return (since they
plan to sign free agents next offseason, which means no compensatory picks). The
Montgomery deal was just about getting him out of there, after his costly fumble
against the Rams and reports that there was a lack of trust in him in the locker
room.Replacing Clinton-Dix on the field could require some shuffling, as they
may use cornerbacks Tramon Williams or Bashaud Breeland there. Montgomery’s role
should be easier to fill, as Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams are on hand.“We’ve
got to trust what Brian is doing and he’s making moves that are in the best
interest of the team,” quarterback Aaron Rodgers said. “In this situation, we
need guys to step up in those spots. Obviously Aaron and Jamaal [Williams] have
been playing really well, so more opportunities for those guys, and the defense
will take care of what they need to with the safety spot. . . .“I think we’ve
got good leadership. I think nobody has been hanging their head. We’re obviously
disappointed about the result on Sunday. I wouldn’t say anybody is discouraged,
though. I think we’re a tight-knit group. … We hang out together, we enjoy each
other’s company and you’ve got to stick together. You’ve got to stick together
through losses, through decisions that are made that are out of our control and
keep moving forward with the same vision.”We’ll find out quickly how the vision
holds this week against the Patriots.
