Tag: Kamal Martin

Green Bay Packers rookie linebacker Kamal Martin made his NFL debut last Sunday vs. the Texans, logging 29 snaps and totaling six tackles and three stops, per Pro Football Focus, in the winning effort.

Martin only played a few snaps in the first half. As the game wore on, he started to see the field more consistently and make his presence felt.

Here is a breakdown of Martin’s best plays from the debut game as well as a few plays that showed areas for improvement:

Third quarter (9:44) – 1st and 2 at GB 2

The Packers are lined up in 3-4 base at the two-yard line. The Texans are lined up in 12 personnel (two tight ends and one running back) with two in-line tight ends on the right side of the formation. Ty Summers and Martin are the linebackers. Martin is responsible for the frontside run gaps.

When the ball is snapped, Martin attacks the frontside C gap. At the line of scrimmage, he meets Texans tight end Darren Fells. On contact, Martin moves Fells backwards about two yards before shedding the block and getting in on the run stop. Defensive lineman Kingsley Keke does a great job of getting push on Texans right tackle Tytus Howard and squeezing the frontside B gap.

Defensive linemen Dean Lowry and Montravius Adams did a nice job of holding their gaps as well, while Summers came up to fill the backside A gap, forcing Texans running back David Johnson to stop his feet behind the line of scrimmage and eventually leading to the tackle for loss. Outside linebacker Za’Darius Smith also set a firm edge on the strong side of the formation to prevent Johnson from bouncing the run to the outside.

Martin’s aggressiveness and ability to slip blocks were on full display here.

Third quarter (4:40) – 2nd and 10 at HOU 25

Martin didn’t have to do a whole lot in coverage this game as he was only targeted once. On the only bad coverage play, he was covering wide receiver Randall Cobb in man-to-man and simply did not have the athleticism to stay with him. That’s entirely excusable, however, as most linebackers aren’t athletic enough to cover wide receivers in man-to-man.

On the above play, Martin showed good awareness and recognition to pass off Texans wide receiver Brandin Cooks, who was running a route beyond Martin’s zone and pick up Fells on the crossing route underneath.

Third quarter (2:14) – 1st and 10 at HOU 46

Similar to the previous play, Martin showed good awareness here to pass off Fells and pick up Cobb at the beginning of the play. Through the second half of the play, he showed good hustle to chase the receiver of the perimeter pass. The only negative here is that he didn’t quite come to balance upon reaching his landmark and overshot the tackle attempt. Fortunately, he had teammates there to make the play.

Third quarter (1:43) – 2nd and 1 at GB 45

On this zone-read play fake to David Johnson, Martin bit hard, as did most of the Packers’ defenders, and was late to find the ball. Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson tucked the ball away and rolled out to his right before flipping a pass to running back Duke Johnson for a 30-yard gain.

It wasn’t a horrible play and Martin may have been a little too far away from the action to impact the play even if he had recognized the fake sooner, but he was still slow to process the fake and find the ball.

Third quarter (1:11) – 1st and 10 at GB 15

On this play, Martin recognizes the screen to Duke Johnson quickly and hustles to the opposite side of the field to make a tackle for a 1-yard gain.

Fourth quarter (12:08) – 1st and 10 at GB 22

On this play, Martin looks a little stiff turning his hips and getting out of his backpedal but he does a nice job of transitioning from defending the downfield pass to defending the swing pass and helping make the tackle.

Fourth quarter (9:05) – 2nd and 6 at HOU 42

Martin showed his potential in defending screens and runs in a few plays this game. His explosiveness when attacking downhill to defend runs showed up on multiple occasions.

On this particular play, he reads run while scraping, then fires downhill through the open gap to tackle David Johnson for a 1-yard gain.

Final thoughts

Overall, Martin looked pretty good for a fifth-round pick playing in his first NFL game. He showed straight-line explosiveness, aggressiveness, physicality and instincts vs. the run, and good awareness in zone coverage. There were just a couple of instances of over-aggressiveness and he wasn’t tested much in coverage.

The Packers haven’t had a starting inside linebacker with Martin’s explosiveness in quite some time, so it’s exciting to find out that they might have one now. Obviously, Martin still has a lot to prove, but he showed signs of starting potential in his first NFL game and that was very encouraging to see.

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The career of Green Bay Packers rookie linebacker Kamal Martin will begin Sunday against the Houston Texans.

The Packers activated Martin, the team’s fifth-round pick, from injured reserve on Saturday.

A standout during training camp, Martin injured his knee during a scrimmage at Lambeau Field and needed surgery, requiring a stint on injured reserve. Martin missed five games.

The Packers could use the help at linebacker. Starter Christian Kirksey is on injured reserve, and rookie Krys Barnes is nursing shoulder and calf injuries.

Martin was running as a first-team player during camp. It’s unclear if the Packers will be comfortable using him in a starting role right away.

“The first thing that jumps out is he is a long, athletic guy. He is very intelligent. I think he works really hard at it,” coach Matt LaFleur said in August. “It’s going to come down to getting those reps and feeling comfortable in there and knowing what to do so he can go showcase that athleticism on Sundays.”

At Minnesota, Martin tallied 177 tackles, 13 tackles for losses, 3.5 sacks, nine pass breakups and forced three fumbles.

The Green Bay Packers placed two young defensive players on injured reserve to start the 2020 season.

The team announced rookie linebacker Kamal Martin and cornerback Kabion Ento were both placed on injured reserve on Monday.

Both made the initial 53-man roster and can return later this season.

Martin, a fifth-round pick who was in the running to start at linebacker, injured his knee during the Packers’ intrasquad scrimmage at Lambeau Field on Aug. 30. He needed surgery to correct the issue, according to ESPN’s Rob Demovsky, and could miss 6-8 weeks.

Ento, an undrafted free agent transitioning from receiver to cornerback, made the initial roster after spending his rookie season on the practice squad. He injured his foot and needed surgery, according to Ryan Wood of PackersNews.com.

Teams can bring back an unlimited number of players from injured reserve this year. And players can return at a minimum of three weeks, instead of eight.

In a corresponding roster move, the Packers signed cornerback Parry Nickerson. One roster spot remains open.

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An unfortunate injury will likely rob Kamal Martin of the start of his 2020 season, but the Green Bay Packers are still confident the rookie linebacker has a bright future ahead of him.

Martin, the Packers’ fifth-round pick, saw his standout training camp derailed by a knee injury suffered during the team’s scrimmage at Lambeau Field on Sunday. According to Rob Demovsky of ESPN, Martin needs surgery to fix a torn meniscus and could miss six or more weeks.

Despite being a rookie, there was a chance Martin could have started at linebacker for the Packers in Week 1 against the Minnesota Vikings.

“It’s certainly a shame that he had a setback, but we all see a pretty bright future for him here,” defensive coordinator Mike Pettine said Thursday.

Martin, who dealt with an injury to his other knee during his final season at Minnesota, impressed Pettine and the Packers with his combination of instincts, playmaking quickness and intelligence during camp.

“He’s very instinctive. There are some things that he just did naturally. We use the term triggering. When he sees something he reacts to it quickly. He had a real good knack for seeing things a little bit faster,” Pettine said. “We obviously like his body type. He’s a long guy who has been productive. We knew from the draft process and having him in the spring with all the Zoom interaction that he’s very intelligent, picked it up really quick.”

Without Martin, the Packers will have to rely on some combination of Oren Burks and Ty Summers to play next to Christian Kirksey at linebacker to start the season.

Pettine said both have gotten enough playing time during camp and are capable of handling the spot.

“Both of those guys have gotten quality reps and they are Year 2 in the system, so we’ll certainly be confident if those guys have to go in there,” Pettine said.

In recent years, the Packers have often prefered having just one true linebacker on the field, using a second linebacker in more obvious run situations while employing a hybrid safety type as the hang defender.

Raven Greene, the leading candidate to by the hybrid safety, remains out of practice. Curtis Bolton, who impressed at inside linebacker last summer, remains on the PUP list.

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Before Kamal Martin was forced to undergo knee surgery in 2019, the linebacker was developing into a solid overall player for Minnesota. Due to the injury, Martin was forced to miss the NFL combine, and his draft stock suffered because of it.

The Packers were able to snag the Gophers linebacker in the fifth round of the 2020 NFL Draft. Based on what he has shown in training camp, the team feels that they might have found a diamond in the rough.

Heading into the draft, the main concern with Martin was his injured knee. On Tuesday, he updated reporters on the status of that knee.

“The knee is feeling really good, it feels good to get back out there,” Martin said. “It has been since last November since I have been able to run around and stuff like that.”

Because Martin was only able to play eight games in 2019, the draft process became much more difficult. Many teams were not willing to roll the dice on him, even though he was feeling better by the time the draft came around.

“So around draft time, I felt really good with my knee. I sent a video out to multiple teams of me running around. It was a lot of fun doing that. I felt really healthy.”

This offseason has been difficult for many players. Zoom meetings replaced on-field work, which disrupted schedules and threw a wrench in the development of players. For rookies, it has been especially difficult.

Martin tried to make the best of an unusual situation.

“I think that a lot of us took it in as much as we could. It’s a lot of mental work, a lot of this game is mental. I always say that 90% of this game is mental and 10% is physical. The more you know in between the lines, it will be beneficial on the field.”

The transition from college to the NFL is a jump that many players struggle with. Martin told reporters that he needs to learn the little things if he is going to find success in Green Bay’s defense.

“I am a big believer in the saying that football is gonna be football at the end of the day. Cover 2, Cover 3, all of that stuff is always going to be the same. Just learning about the simple things in the defensive scheme, I think that’s the biggest growth area. The faster you can do that, the more success I think you will have in any type of defense.”

For Martin, expectations were not very high heading into camp. After all, he was a fifth-round draft pick with a history of injuries. However, Martin is not concerned about the public’s perception. He is just trying to leave it all on the table.

“The goal is to do the best you can possibly do, without feeling that you left anything on the table. That is success in a lot of people’s minds. That is kinda what my mindset was going in.”

Defensive coordinator Mike Pettine recently confirmed that Martin was involved in a competition for the second starting linebacker spot. Even if he isn’t able to nab to starting job, Martin has flashed the talent that has the Packers believing he could be an impact player in Green Bay for the future.

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The Green Bay Packers are holding an open competition at inside linebacker between at least four different players, but don’t count out the lone rookie.

Kamal Martin, the Packers’ fifth-round pick, has impressed the coaches early on at training camp with his athleticism and intelligence.

“The first thing that jumps out is he is a long, athletic guy. He is very intelligent. I think he works really hard at it,” coach Matt LaFleur said on Saturday. “It’s going to come down to getting those reps and feeling comfortable in there and knowing what to do so he can go showcase that athleticism on Sundays.”

Martin is 6-3 and 240 pounds, with 34″ arms and terrific speed. Although he wasn’t able to run officially before the draft, the Packers estimated he could complete the 40-yard dash in 4.5 or 4.6 seconds. GM Brian Gutekunst called him a “dynamic” player, especially before he suffered a knee injury during his final season at Minnesota.

Having a big linebacker with some length and speed could be what the Packers need to help plug gaps against the run and disrupt passing lanes in the middle of the field.

The Packers are also getting a chance to see how quickly Martin can pick everything up on defense.

“Kamal is a guy who really worked at it with all the Zoom stuff. When he got in here, he was mentally in a really good place, especially for a rookie,” Olivadotti said.

Knowing where to be is always one of the first hurdles to getting on the field for a young player. As Olivadotti said, “making plays” can help keep a linebacker on the field.

So far this summer, Martin has done a little of both.

Now, Martin must show he can be trustworthy within the framework of the defense while also creating consistent disruption as he battles for a role for coordinator Mike Pettine, who said he’s hoping the competition at linebacker pushes each player to greater heights.

“That’s the thing, Matt always talks about it, how important it is, is competition,” Pettine said. “We’re hoping competition brings out the best in those guys.”

Like all of the team’s first-year players, Martin didn’t get a traditional offseason workout program, robbing the rookie of valuable on-field reps before the start of training camp. He’s had to both absorb information through virtual meetings and then transfer everything he’s learned away from the facility to the practice field to start camp, all without the important opportunities rookies usually get at OTAs and minicamp.

“He had to take it from the computer screen to the field, and he did a nice job with that,” Olivadotti said.

Martin is competing with Oren Burks, Ty Summers and Curtis Bolton, who remains on the PUP list, for a starting spot next to Christian Kirksey, the established veteran who will start at one of the linebacker spots.

Last year’s No. 2 inside linebacker, B.J. Goodson, played 254 snaps on defense, mostly in a run-stopping role. He left in free agency. Although Pettine likes to use many different players at linebacker, including hybrid safeties in the dime package, the role could expand if the right player – like Martin – can prove capable of handling assignments against both the run and pass.

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