Tag: Darnell Savage

Consistency the key for Packers S Darnell Savage to build off preseason performance

An expected starter entering a crucial season, Packers S Darnell Savage needs to be more consistent in 2023.

Green Bay Packers safety Darnell Savage has been much more consistent this summer, but the key for him and the safety group as a whole will be continuing the consistency during the regular season.

Even with training camp and the preseason now behind us, there aren’t a lot of certainties that we can speak to when discussing the safety position. Really all we know right now is that Savage — as long as he’s healthy — will be starting Week 1 in Chicago. It also looks like Rudy Ford will be next to him, but even that hasn’t been made official. Beyond those two things, this position group is an enigma.

Savage is coming off a very rocky 2022 season that was plagued by missed tackles, miscommunications, and coverage breakdowns, all of which eventually resulted in him being benched at one point. Tackling has never been a strong suit of Savage’s but on the coverage side of things, by his own admission, he was trying to do too much at times, resulting in him voiding his responsibilities and big plays for the offense.

“I think my biggest downfall,” Savage said late last season, “is I feel like I can make every play. When I’m not making every play, I get frustrated. As any competitor, you get frustrated, you can’t really focus on the task at hand.”

Savage was able to find some success last season playing from the slot, but that isn’t going to be what he’s asked to do in 2023–or at least not right away. He is going to have to fill that traditional deep safety role instead.

On a few occasions this summer, Matt LaFleur has praised Savage for the approach he has taken, whether on the field or off, throughout the course of OTAs, minicamp, and training camp, which has resulted in much more consistent play from him.

“I think he’s had a really nice camp,” said LaFleur. “He’s attacking it the right way on a daily basis. He’s been much more consistent, I would say, throughout the course of it. He’s got to maintain that because the one thing I know about this league is as soon as you relax for one second, your play slips or somebody is bypassing you.

“So you got to have that mentality on a daily basis and I think that’s what he’s had throughout the course of, when he was here during OTAs, throughout training camp, and in his limited snaps he’s had throughout the course of the preseason.”

With 4.36 speed, Savage has playmaking ability, and we’ve seen it here and there throughout his career. However, as Joe Barry discussed earlier this offseason, what he is really searching for right now at this position, in particular, is consistency—something that was very much missing last season.

Consistency begins with Savage trusting himself and what he’s seeing. It also includes communicating effectively with the rest of the secondary pre-snap, being a sound tacker, and positioned correctly based on the defensive call. If Savage can do those aspects correctly, and do so consistently, then he’s going to be in a better position more often to make those splash plays we know he is capable of.

“I think Darnell is best when he pulls the trigger and let’s it all hang out,” said defensive backs coach Ryan Downard. “I’ve had that talk with him. If you watch his Maryland tape, he was going to get it. He’s got to trust himself. We have to do a better job of tackling and playing a physical brand of football. That’s not only at the point of contact, but that’s taking on blocks.”

Once again, this is a Packers defense that has some higher expectations to live up to, but on paper anyways, the safety position is potentially the weak link. It’s hard to envision a scenario where this position group is playing well that doesn’t include Savage leading the way. A bounce-back season is a must for him and this Packers secondary, and it all starts with down-to-down consistency.

‘Trust’ and playing fast important parts of potential bounce back year for Packers’ Darnell Savage

Darnell Savage needs to play fast and confident to bounce back during the 2023 season.

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Green Bay Packers safety Darnell Savage is coming off a disappointing 2022 season in which he was even benched at one point. A bounceback is needed, and that begins with trusting what he sees, allowing his instincts and playmaking to take over.

Missed tackles and breakdowns in coverage were two things that happened far too frequently last season. Out of 68 eligible safeties, Savage would have the fourth-highest missed tackle rate in 2022. And when there was a big play given up as a result of a blown assignment, oftentimes it was Savage who was out of position.

After being relegated to only dime duties, Savage was placed in the slot late in the season, where he found success. That alignment, or playing closer to the line of scrimmage, is where many believe he is at his best. However, given the makeup of the Packers’ cornerback and safety rooms, Savage is going to have to be utilized in that traditional safety role. Regardless of where Savage is asked to line up, he’s at his best when he’s decisive and playing fast.

“I’ve seen Darnell make plays in the post,” said defensive backs coach Ryan Downard on Wednesday. “I think Darnell is best when he pulls the trigger and let’s it all hang out. I’ve had that talk with him. If you watch his Maryland tape, he was going to get it. He’s got to trust himself. We have to do a better job of tackling and playing a physical brand of football. That’s not only at the point of contact, but that’s taking on blocks.”

During Savage’s final two seasons at Maryland, he was a ball magnet, coming away with seven interceptions and 11 pass breakups during that span. But last season in coverage, he was overly aggressive, which led to him trying to force things in an effort to make a play and abandoning his assignment. That “trust” that Downard speaks of is something that several of the Packers’ positional coaches referred to during interviews this past week. When a player trusts what they see, they’re thinking less, letting their instincts take over more, and that’s when big plays happen.

Tackling has never been a strength of Savage’s game. The lowest missed tackle rate that he has logged in a season still would have been among the top 10 in 2022, but it is an important part of playing safety in Joe Barry’s defense. With a heavy usage of light boxes, safeties do have to be active in the run game, filling gaps and taking on blockers.

This ability was a clear emphasis for the Packers this offseason in how they went about addressing the safety position. Jonathan Owens, Rudy Ford, Anthony Johnson, and Tarvarius Moore all have track records of being willing and capable tacklers. To complement Savage, consistency with tackling and run defense may be the deciding factor in who is starting next to Savage come Week 1.

“Prototype-wise, I’d like to have a two-way safety,” said Downard. “What I mean by that is a guy that can cover and a guy that can tackle. If you can thump, if you bring power on contact, that’s a bonus, but I got to be able to get guys on the ground. So tackling is a premium. Obviously, coverage and taking the ball away is a premium. If we have two of those guys who can do both, we can play them left and right. If we have a guy whose skill set is more anchored towards tackling or physicality to his game, then we might place him on the boundary and the other guy in the field. So we have to see who is going be that guy.”

Savage is playing the 2023 season on his rookie fifth-year option, which was picked up during the 2022 offseason. The deal originally came with $7.9 million guaranteed, but following a contract restructure that utilized void years, the Packers were able to save $5.46 million in cap space this season by doing what they’ve done often the last few years, pushing cap charges into the future. It’s worth noting, however, that with how they restructured the deal by strategically placing roster bonuses into the void years, they do have the opportunity to extend him prior to free agency in March of 2024, something that wouldn’t have been possible under a normal contract restructure with void years.

As we saw last year, just because Savage begins at safety doesn’t mean that is where he is going to finish the season, depending on what takes place. Although questions still surround the position, with Owens, Ford, Moore, and Johnson, Green Bay isn’t lacking options at the position. Also, once Eric Stokes returns from injury, a crowded cornerback room could give the Packers the flexibility to have Rasul Douglas take some safety snaps, something GM Brian Gutekunst discussed before this year’s draft.

Savage has another opportunity before him. Seizing it could result in an extension while failing to do so will end with him in a new uniform next season. But it all begins with trusting what he’s seeing, what he’s doing, and letting his playmaking nature take over.

“I do think he has some ability to patrol the middle, but when he’s in the post, he can go red line to red line, probably more,” added Downard. “I think he can do both. I do think he brings that skill set, we saw that last year. I think he got into a little bit of a groove. So he can do that for us, but we have to figure how these puzzle pieces fit together.”

Packers restructure contract of S Darnell Savage, create $5.5 million of cap space

The Packers created rougly $5.5 million in 2023 cap space by restructuring the contract of safety Darnell Savage.

The Green Bay Packers restructured the contract of safety Darnell Savage and created a little under $5.5 million in cap space in 2023, according to Field Yates of ESPN.

Savage, a first-round pick in 2019, was set to enter the 2023 season on the fifth-year option worth $7.9 million. The restructure drops his cap hit to roughly $2.4 million.

Per Rob Demovsky of ESPN, the Packers reduced Savage’s base salary to $1,080,000 in 2023 by converting base salary into signing bonus and added four void years to the deal. The deal voids following the 2023 season and adds dead money equal to the cap savings onto the 2024 cap, although the Packers and Savage could eventually come up with a new, long-term deal next summer.

Savage’s play took another step back in 2022 and he was benched midseason in favor of Rudy Ford. The Packers are expecting him to move back to safety, where he could start again in 2023.

Restructuring Savage’s deal created the cap savings necessary to extend the contract of quarterback Jordan Love, who got an extra year added to his deal on Tuesday.

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A look back at No. 21 overall selections in NFL draft from last decade

Find out who has been picked with the No. 21 overall selection in the past ten drafts.

With the Chargers picking 21st overall, here is a look at the past ten years of No. 21 selections in the NFL draft.

After season of disappointment, Packers still hoping for the best from Darnell Savage in 2023

Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst isn’t giving up on Darnell Savage: “I’m hopeful as we go into next season that we’re going to see his best.”

The Green Bay Packers aren’t ready to give up on safety Darnell Savage despite a 2022 season full of disappointments. General manager Brian Gutekunst still has a positive outlook on Savage after a midseason benching and switch to nickel.

“I think he’s very versatile,'” he said. “Middle of the season, we sat him down for a little bit, and he came back and played more in the nickel, which allowed him to get closer to the ball and make some plays. Certainly, saw more urgency out of him once he came back, which was good to see. More like he was his first few years. He can really do anything. He has so much speed and range to cover at the back end. But when you put him back there, he gets further away from the ball and doesn’t have as many chances to make plays. He can do a lot of things.”

To put it bluntly, it wasn’t a great year for the former first-round pick out of Maryland. Savage was supposed to be an integral part of what looked like on paper to be one of the most talented secondaries in the league. His constant struggles never allowed that to come to fruition.

In fact, Savage had arguably his worst statistical season.

Savage received the lowest coverage grade of his career from Pro Football Focus and also missed 12 tackles while playing fewer snaps than he did as a rookie. Things got so bad that Savage was benched for Rudy Ford and played only two defensive snaps over a three-game span from Weeks 12-15.

“I think there were some reality checks as he went through this season,” said Gutekunst.

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Savage eventually made his way back onto the field when Ford dealt with the same breakdowns in coverage and communication.

Against the Miami Dolphins on Christmas Day, Savage came in during the second half and did not surrender a single catch to Tyreek Hill or Jalen Waddle, who combined for nine catches totaling 246 yards and a touchdown.

The following week, Savage made his biggest play of the season – perhaps restoring some faith fans had in him before the season. With 5:17 left in the first quarter, Savage intercepted Kirk Cousins and returned it 75 yards for a touchdown to go up 14-3. The defensive touchdown took the wind out of the Minnesota Vikings’ sails and eventually led to a 41-17 blowout victory.

In both games, Savage played free safety and in the slot, which doesn’t provide much clarity on where he is best suited moving forward. Not having a clear position entering your fifth season is never a good thing.

After Savage showed signs of regression in 2021, many thought he would be cut if he didn’t show signs of improvement. That was quickly put to rest last offseason when the team picked up his fifth-year option last offseason, including a guaranteed salary of $7.9 million. Now it is basically a foregone conclusion that he will be back for another year.

However, given the state of the Packers’ safeties, retaining Savage for another season isn’t the end of the world. He is currently the only returning starter at the position unless the team decides to bring back Ford and veteran Adrian Amos. At the very least, Savage could be a placeholder until there is an influx of talent through the draft or free agency.

Gutekunst still has hope that Savage can turn things around in 2023.

“I’m hopeful as we go into next season that we’re going to see his best.”

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Packers’ recent defensive adjustments may have saved their season

The Packers’ defense has been a different (and better) animal over the last four weeks. Laurie Fitzpatrick dives into the tape to tell us why.

The Green Bay Packers went from a 4-8 record in the beginning of December to 8-8 and in control of their own destiny. If they can win their last game of the season against the Detroit Lions, they are onto the playoffs!

There are several factors that go into the Packers recent success: and no, it’s not Aaron Rodgers’ haircut.

On the offensive side of the ball, they have been handing it off more to their pair of tanks in the backfield, Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillion. But the biggest impact for the Packers has been on the defensive side of the ball.

Up until the Packers’ Week 14 bye, the defense had just 10 interceptions with six dropped interceptions. But over the last three weeks alone, they have seven interceptions with only one drop. From weeks 10-13, they went from a defensive DVOA of 17.2% which was 29th in the league. Since Week 15, they have the third-highest defensive DVOA at -24.2%..

There are several reasons for the sudden uptick in production from the Packers’ secondary. So let’s dive into the film to see where it began and what changes they’ve made over the last few weeks!

Brian O’Neill gets carted off, ruled out with calf injury

The Vikings are getting hit hard with injuries

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The Minnesota Vikings offensive line is now down two players as right tackle Brian O’Neill has been ruled out with a calf injury.

He suffered the injury trying to tackle Green Bay Packers safety Darnell Savage when he intercepted Kirk Cousins on fourth down. He went down without being hit which is always scary.

Considering the injury was non-contact, that isn’t a good sign, as a “calf injury” oftentimes will be clarified as an Achilles injury.

Backup center Austin Schlottmann was already ruled out with an ankle injury and the Vikings offensive line is down two players for the rest of the game.

Darnell Savage returns pick of Kirk Cousins 75 yards for touchdown

Darnell Savage turned an interception into a pick-six for Green Bay

The Green Bay Packers have gotten big plays from their special teams and defense as they look to find their way into a playoff spot.

The Packers Keisean Nixon return a kickoff 105 yards and later in the first quarter Darnell Savage picked a Kirk Cousins pass.

Savage wasn’t content with the interception. He weaved his way through the Minnesota offense to the end zone, which was 75 yards away.

Green Bay led 14-3 with time left in the first stanza.

Packers S Darnell Savage returns Kirk Cousins interception 75 yards for TD

Darnell Savage gave the Packers a 14-3 lead over the Vikings on a 75-yard interception return for a touchdown on Sunday.

The first quarter of Packers-Vikings has been pure football chaos from Lambeau Field.

A blocked punt led to a field goal. The Packers returned a kickoff for a touchdown. And now Green Bay has a defensive touchdown.

Darnell Savage intercepted Kirk Cousins on a deflected pass intended for TJ Hockenson and returned the pick 75 yards for a touchdown, giving the Packers a 14-3 lead with 5:17 left in the opening quarter.

Rasul Douglas helped break up the pass attempt. Savage, with a bevy of blockers in front of him, weaved his way into the end zone.

According to the Packers, this is the first time the team has had a kickoff return for a touchdown and an interception return for a touchdown in the same game since 1967.

Here’s the touchdown:

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Eagles’ PFF grades: Best and worst performers from win over Packers

Here are the Best and worst PFF grades from the Philadelphia Eagles’ 40-33 win over the Packers on Sunday night

Philadelphia took some early body blows from the Packers and then proceeded to physically pound on the Packers’ defensive line Sunday night.

The Eagles gained 363 rushing yards and 500 total yards of offense to beat Green Bay 40-33, improving to a league-best 10-1 this season.

Quarterback Jalen Hurts set a franchise record for most rushing yards by a quarterback with 157 and running back Miles Sanders set a career-high with 143 rushing yards as the Birds relied on what they do best.

The PFF Grades are out for Week 12 and Jason Kelce led the charge.