Green Bay Packers interior defender TJ Slaton is listed as questionable for Sunday night’s must-win matchup with the Minnesota Vikings. Slaton may not always fill up the stat sheet, but his presence is felt frequently when he’s on the field.
Slaton popped up on the injury report last week with a knee injury and was questionable going into the Carolina game after being limited in practice all week. Slaton ended up playing 34 snaps in that contest. After starting this week out as limited in Wednesday’s practice, he did not participate on Thursday but was back on Friday.
Slaton has been a steady presence in the middle of the Packers defensive front this season. The bulk of his snaps have come on early downs, or more run-likely situations. He leads the team in run-stops with 30 and ranks fifth among all interior defensive linemen in that category as well. Slaton also has the second most run defense tackles on the Packers, trailing only Quay Walker.
“He’s a big man,” said run game coordinator Jerry Montgomery of Slaton. “I’ve said it since he’s been here, when he does it right, it’s tough to block him. He plays with good pad level. He plays with his hands. He can eat up two most of the time and what that does it allows backers to not have to play off of blocks as much and let those guys run.
“Any time you have a big guy inside that can eat up blocks like that it helps your defense on early downs. So he’s done a good job and he’s been a ton more consistent. He’s grown each year and gotten better and he’s finally established himself as a guy. It’s never perfect and he’s still a work in progress but he’s made a huge, huge jump.”
Despite all the changes that the Vikings have made at quarterback since losing Kirk Cousins for the season, this is still an offense that wants to move the ball through the air. They enter Sunday’s game averaging only 3.9 yards per rush and rank 28th in rush attempts per game—although as we’ve seen in past performances by the Packers defense, that certainly doesn’t guarantee the run defense unit success either, with Pittsburgh and the Los Angeles Chargers being recent examples.
But with that said, while the pass defense has sputtered the last three weeks, it’s been the run defense that has actually held its own. Up until the final two drives in New York, Saquon Barkley was held to under 2.5 yards per rush. Tampa Bay as a team averaged 3.7 yards per carry and Carolina 3.8.
If Slaton can’t go, the Packers will have to rely more heavily on rookies Karl Brooks and Colby Wooden, both of whom have flashed but also taken some lumps in the run game.
“They’re learning on the run,” said Montgomery of Brooks and Wooden, “and they’re doing some good things, and there are some things that happen, and you’re like, we talked about this. But ultimately, they are growing and they are getting better and improving. Those guys are working extremely hard and it’s important to them.”
The tell as to whether Slaton will be available or not will probably come on Saturday, when the Packers either choose to elevate Jonathan Ford or Chris Slayton from the practice squad or choose to use one of their two elevations elsewhere. Either could help fill Slaton’s early down role and also provide depth along the interior defensive line. Without Slaton, the Packers have only four linemen on the active roster.
With Jaren Hall starting at quarterback for Minnesota, along with their passing game, the Packers also have to be conscious of his ability to to scramble—an element at the quarterback position that has given the Packers fits previously, as LaFleur mentioned on Thursday.
Limiting Hall’s scramble opportunities starts with keeping him in the pocket and the pass rushers being disciplined so that they don’t get out of position, creating escape lanes for Hall—much like saw Tommy DeVito exploit. If Hall gets out of the pocket, he and the Vikings offense can really stress the Green Bay defense at that point by having to defend the Minnesota receives off-script while also worrying about Hall taking off.
Slaton has provided the Packers with a steady presence in the middle of the defense this season. The stat sheet doesn’t often accurately depict Slaton’s impact, but when he is on the field and playing at a high level, his teammates around him can feel it with the opportunities that he helps create for them by either taking on double-teams or generating a quick push up the middle.
“I think TJ’s done a great job,” said Matt LaFleur on Friday. “Obviously, he’s our biggest body inside and he’s provided, not only in the run support but in his ability to get push in the pocket on those passing downs when he’s in there, and I think he’s progressed really well over these last couple of years.”