All-22 film review: Breaking down OLB Rashan Gary’s 7 pressures vs. Jaguars

Packers OLB Rashan Gary had a breakout performance rushing the passer against the Jaguars.

After several quiet weeks, Green Bay Packers outside linebacker Rashan Gary showed signs of life and a glimpse of his immense upside with a breakout game in Week 10 vs. the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The second-year edge rusher didn’t really see the field until early in the second quarter, but when he did, he made his presence felt almost immediately.

Gary finished the game with one sack and two tackles. He also had seven pressures and was rated as the third-highest Packers’ defender in Week 10 with a 79.7 grade from Pro Football Focus. The only Packers rated higher on defense were outside linebacker Za’Darius Smith (84.8) and safety Adrian Amos (83.0).

Throughout his college career at Michigan and early NFL career in Green Bay, Gary relied far too much on his physical gifts to try to win pass-rush reps. With that approach, he found very little success. As the second half of his second NFL season is beginning, he’s starting to show signs of technical skill development.

Here is a breakdown of each of Gary’s seven pressures vs. Jacksonville:

Second quarter (13:01) – 2nd-and-9 at JAX 44

For his first pressure of the game, Gary lines up off the left edge. From a two-point stance, he gets a good jump off the snap and accelerates up the field quickly. Gary engages right tackle Jawaan Taylor with pretty good leverage (hands above eyes), lands his hands inside Taylor’s chest, gets good arm extension and bull rushes him several yards into the backfield. Za’Darius Smith helps collapse the pocket from the other side but rookie quarterback Jake Luton does a nice job of climbing and sliding in the pocket to buy time and get the throw off.

This was a good pass-rush rep by Gary. If defensive lineman Kingsley Keke didn’t get turned out of his rush lane and fail to contain, Luton would’ve had a harder time stepping up and Gary may have been able to finish with the sack from behind.

Second quarter (12:53) – 3rd-and-9 at JAX 44

For pressure No. 2 on the following play, Gary rushed off the right edge out of a three-point stance and a wide 9 alignment. On this rush, he timed his jump well again, got up the field quickly and used a stutter stab/rip to turn the corner on left tackle Cam Robinson. The quick pressure led to an inaccurate pass and brought up fourth and long.

Fourth quarter (13:28) – 3rd-and-12 at GB 20

For his third pressure of the game, Gary looped inside off the left edge and got a one-on-one matchup with right guard A.J. Cann. He did a nice job of using his length to shed the block here before getting upfield to pressure Luton.

Fourth quarter (4:20) – 3rd-and-10 at 50

For pressure No. 4, Gary flies off the left edge and uses a jab/chop/rip move to eliminate Taylor’s outside hand and turn the corner. Luton senses the pressure and gets the pass away just before Gary can bring him down, but it was still a really nice pass-rush rep.

Fourth quarter (1:33) – 2nd-and-10 at GB 36

Gary really heated up in the fourth quarter, registering a whopping three pressures on the final Jaguars’ drive and ending it almost singlehandedly.

For the first pressure of the drive and his fifth of the game, Gary rushed from the left edge and used a bull rush/pull move to shed Taylor and get home for the sack on Luton.

Fourth quarter (1:24) – 3rd-and-16 at GB 42

Gary earned his sixth pressure on the following play. Rushing from the left edge again, Gary uses speed to get Taylor to flip his hips toward the sideline and then uses his momentum against him with the pull to shed the block at the top of the rush. Gary’s rush helps collapse the pocket and assists outside linebacker Preston Smith in getting the sack.

Fourth quarter (1:10) – 4th-and-26 at JAX 48

Gary’s seventh and final pressure was mainly due to effort and Luton getting flushed out of the pocket by Za’Darius Smith. On the left edge, Gary took on a double team from Taylor and the running back before pursuing a fleeing Luton on the broken play. Because of the pressure, the pass fell incomplete. The combined efforts of Gary and Smith forced a turnover on downs and helped secured the win for Green Bay.

After reviewing his Week 10 performance vs. the Jaguars, it’s clear that Gary is beginning to show signs of technical development as a pass rusher. For Packers’ fans, that should be very exciting news.

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