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!
The Green Bay Packers made some much-needed defenses changes to fool Dak Prescott and the Cowboys in a season-saving win.
The Green Bay Packers were all too close to their season being over as they prepared to face the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. Through the first ten weeks of the season, the Packers experienced frustration on both sides of the ball. But in Green Bay’s 31-28 victory, when the offense finally came together, it was critical for the defense to step up and make plays, which they did.
Prior to this week, the Packers overall defensive DVOA was ranked 18th with 1.3%. With key defenders Eric Stokes, De’Vondre Campbell, and Rashan Gary out, it wasn’t looking good. Yet, that defense played its best game of the season on Sunday.
Instead of leaving Darnell Savage in the safety position, defensive coordinator Joe Barry rotated Savage to the nickel corner spot, and upgraded Rudy Ford to the starting free safety position. Ford grabbed two interceptions, which changed the entire dynamic of the game.
Let’s pull the film to see how the Packers made adjustments on the defensive side of the ball to pull out their first win in five weeks!
Touchdown Wire’s Laurie Fitzpatrick dives into Eric Stokes’ film to break down how the young cornerback elevates the Packers’ defense.
Packers cornerback Eric Stokes had one of the best rookie seasons that almost nobody is talking about. After being drafted by Green Bay Packers 29th overall in 2021, Stokes led his team in pass breakups (14) and also led all rookie defensive backs with the lowest completion rate allowed in coverage at 51.0%, per Pro Football Focus.
Stokes wasn’t just dominant among the rookies, though. He also had the lowest percent of open targets allowed among all NFL cornerbacks with 24%, and to put that into perspective, four-time pro bowler Marshon Lattimore finished the season with 24.5%.
There were only a handful of cornerbacks since 2015 to register a sub 80.0 passer rating in coverage their rookie seasons: Marcus Peters (2015), Jalen Ramsey (2016), Marshon Lattimore (2017), Marlon Humphrey (2017), Tre’Davious White (2017) and now, Stokes (2021); putting him in elite company.
Let’s not forget that this was also against the top No. 1 receivers in the league last year: Odell Beckham Jr., Justin Jefferson, Terry McLaurin, Ja’Marr Chase, Deebo Samuel, Allen Robinson. And Stokes still finished as a top cornerback statistically.
Despite all these numbers, Stokes really isn’t getting the early recognition he deserves. This could be due to the Packers’ defensive scheme overall. So, let’s dive into the film to see how he was able to perform at an elite level and why we should start giving him the love he deserves!
The Packers’ defense is a serious problem because new DC Joe Barry isn’t tying pressure to coverage. Barry needs to fix this quickly.
Following a 2020 season in which they made it all the way to the NFC Championship Game, and Aaron Rodgers was named the NFL’s Most Valuable Player, the Packers decided to part ways with defensive coordinator Mike Pettine. Green Bay ranked 14th overall in Defensive DVOA, 15th against the pass, and 18th against the run. So, things weren’t bad, per se, but the organization decide that things could be better.
Through two games in the 2021 season, things are decidedly not better. The Packers currently rank 29th overall in Defensive DVOA, 26th against the run, and 25th against the pass. Joe Barry, Pettine’s replacement, has come under considerable fire, and it’s easy to understand why. When your defense allowed 23 touchdowns and had 11 interceptions through 18 games in 2020, and has already given up seven touchdowns to one interception through games against the Lions and Saints, the new guy is where you start.
This was amplified after Green Bay’s 35-17 Monday night win over Detroit, in which Jared Goff completed 26 of 36 passes for 246 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. Head coach Matt LaFleur recently explained to local media that he had to take Barry aside and explain that Barry should pick a lane between pressure and coverage.
Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Joe Barry is shown during the fourth quarter of their game Monday, September 20, 2021 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis. The Green Bay Packers beat the Detroit Lions 35-17. (MARK HOFFMAN/MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL-Imagn Content Services, LLC)
“You’ve got to give Detroit a lot of credit,” LaFleur said. “They came out ready to play, and I think we did make some necessary adjustments at halftime. One of the things that I talked to Joe about was, hey — either play coverage, or we have to pressure. Because when we were doing out four-man rushes, and playing man coverage behind it, we weren’t hitting. We weren’t getting to the quarterback. So, if you don’t get him off the spot — I’ve been around Jared, and he will be efficient. He’ll make the throws. So, we needed to affect the quarterback much more.”
LaFleur pushed back when asked if this was something the Packers would just have to live with this season.
“Well, I think we have enough guys up front. We have to take a good, hard look at what we ask those guys to do. Detroit’s got a pretty damned good offensive line, and we can’t discredit them. I watched it on tape, and against one of the premier defensive lines in the game of football with the 49ers, and I thought they did a damned good job. But there are things we can do to try and get home with a four-man rush.”
Barry, for his part, denied that the conversation happened at halftime, as was widely reported.
“Matt and I didn’t even talk at halftime,” Barry said, per Tom Silverstein and Ryan Wood of PackersNews.com. “You come in (to the locker room), guys go to the bathroom, you discuss some things as an offensive-defensive staff. You get in front of the players, you kind of hit some of the runs that were an issue. You hit some of the passes that were an issue and then bam, we’re right back out on the field.”
Barry also pointed to the fact that the Packers sat most of their top defensive players in the preseason.
“I don’t want to use that as an excuse. Because we made that decision, Matt and the staff, and I stand by that decision absolutely. But football is a full-speed game, and things happen fast. Not only do they happen fast, it happens physical. You’re getting hit. The weather, it might be hot. There’s a lot of things that go into that.
“I do think it takes potentially some time to get into play shape.”
However and whenever it happened, tt’s not a good time to be figuring this out. After the win over the Lions and a Week 1 loss to the Saints in which Jameis Winston was allowed to throw five touchdown passes, Barry has to test his playbook against Kyle Shanahan’s when the Packers take on the 49ers on Sunday night.
