Tag: Preston Smith

NFL Top 100 Players list: Packers OLB Preston Smith ranks No. 63

The Packers OLB ranked No. 63 on “The Top 100 Players of 2020” list.

The first of six Green Bay Packers to make “The Top 100 Players of 2020” list is outside linebacker Preston Smith.

Smith, a free-agent signing of the Packers who delivered a career-high 12.0 sacks during his first season in Green Bay, ranked No. 63 on the 100-player list.

After spending four years in Washington, Smith teamed up with Za’Darius Smith to completely revamp the Packers’ pass-rush. Together, the pair delivered 25.5 sacks, the most by a pair of teammates in the NFL in 2019.

Smith played all 16 games and two playoff games. He added two sacks and four quarterbacks hits during the postseason, bringing his 18-game totals to 14 sacks and 27 quarterback hits.

This is the first time Smith has made the NFL’s top 100 players list.

Packers on “The Top 100 Players of 2020” list

No. 57: WR Davante Adams
No. 62: LT David Bakhtiari
No. 63: OLB Preston Smith

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Santa Claus came early this year for entire Packers defense

OLB Preston Smith bought electric scooters for the entire Packers defense.

Green Bay Packers outside linebacker Preston Smith put on his red hat and played Santa Claus on Saturday.

Smith, who leads the Packers in sacks this season, bought the entire defense electric scooters from Bird, a California company that operates shared scooters in multiple cities across the world.

The scooters were personalized for every player, with unique colors, nicknames and numbers.

“It’s my gift to them for us having a good season right now, we’re 11-3 and going to the playoffs,” Smith told Mike Spofford of the team’s official site. “I just wanted to treat the guys and show my appreciation for them.”

According to Smith, cornerback Tony Brown organized a race between players at the team’s facility. The winner? Brown.

Smith, a free-agent signing of the Packers, beat pass-rushing partner Za’Darius Smith to 10 sacks, giving him the responsibility of providing a gift for the defense.

“They did help me reach that (goal), I couldn’t have done it by myself,” Smith said.

His 11.5 sacks set a new career-high.

Smith said last month that he’d be getting Rolex watches for the defense, but he revealed that purchase is still “pending.”

Coaches didn’t get scooters, but Smith has something “cheaper” planned for them.

After spending his first four seasons in Washington, Smith signed a four-year, $52 million deal with the Packers in March.

3 key matchups ahead of Bears vs. Packers in Week 15

Ahead of Sunday’s Bears-Packers game, here are some matchups to watch as the two NFC North rivals square off for the 2nd time this season.

Arguably no two teams in the NFL know each other better than the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers. The league’s oldest rivalry adds another chapter to its storied history on Sunday when the Bears travel north to take on the NFC North division leaders in a pivotal game for both teams.

The Bears are on life support when it comes to their postseason hopes, sitting at a 2% chance to make the playoffs heading into Week 15. They’ll need to win and get some help from other teams to improve their chances.

The Packers, on the other hand, are knocking at the door when it comes to the playoffs. They’ll clinch a playoff berth with a win and a Los Angeles Rams loss when they take on the Dallas Cowboys. 

Despite the Packers’ better record of 10-3, this game will likely be close, as the 7-6 Bears are riding a three-game winning streak. Look for a few key matchups that may decide the game for either team.

1. Bears LB Nick Kwiatkoski vs. Packers RB Aaron Jones

AP Photo/Sarah Stier

Jones has been the catalyst for the Green Bay offense in 2019, accumulating over 1,200 yards from scrimmage and scoring 15 total touchdowns. He’s been the Packers’ most dangerous weapon this season, meaning the Bears linebackers are going to have a tall task ahead of them on Sunday.

With starting linebackers Roquan Smith and Danny Trevathan both out with injuries, that responsibility falls to Kwiatkoski. The fourth-year pro has been superb in relief of Trevathan, playing excellent run defense and improving in pass coverage. Now, he faces another big test against Jones without Smith by his side. Can “Kwit” slow down Jones both in the running and passing game?

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Bill Callahan talks about Preston Smith’s breakout year with Packers

Bill Callahan naturally faced questions about Preston Smith.

Hindsight doesn’t shine a great light on the Washington Redskins letting Preston Smith slip to free agency, where he promptly linked up with the Green Bay Packers.

Since doing so, Smith has put on a clinic en route to a career-high 10.5 sacks in 12 games, with a chance for more against the Redskins this weekend.

Speaking on the matter this week, interim Redskins coach Bill Callahan noted that’s just how it goes sometimes.

“Everybody matures, gets older, stronger, has new experiences, new position coaches, system and with that I think players evolve,” Callahan said, according to NBC Sports’ Peter Hailey. “You just don’t know what can make a spark in a player’s career, whether it’s a position coach, a coordinator, a system, new place, whatever it may be.”

The Redskins couldn’t have predicted this breakout from Smith and at least took the pass rush seriously this offseason by trading back into the first round for Montez Sweat.

That sequence of events hasn’t turned out to favor the Redskins just yet. In time it could, but it’s hard to deny Smith as one of the league’s best pass rushers right now.

He’ll get a chance to show Callahan and Co. just how much he’s changed compared to last season.

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Behind Enemy Lines: Week 12 Q&A with Packers Wire

With a Week 13 matchup between the New York Giants and Green Bay Packers on tap, we go behind enemy lines for a chat with Packers Wire.

The New York Giants (2-9) and Green Bay Packers (8-3) will square off on Sunday in Week 13.

The Giants opened the week as 6.5-point home underdogs, and the spread hasn’t changed as of Saturday morning.

With this matchup on tap, Giants Wire took the opportunity to hold a Q&A with Packers Wire managing editor Zach Kruse.

Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Giants Wire: The Packers appeared to have rounded out some early season struggles entering Week 12, but then came a meltdown against the 49ers. What did San Francisco do to frustrate Aaron Rodgers & Co. and what should the Giants have learned from that game?

Zach Kruse: The 49ers were a bad matchup for the Packers on paper and it played out exactly that way on the field. The 49ers dominated the line of scrimmage, contained Aaron Jones as a runner and receiver, got consistent pressure with only four rushers and smothered any and all underneath-to-intermediate options in the passing game. The Chargers established the blueprint in Week 9, and the 49ers executed it perfectly.

The key to frustrating the Packers is taking away the running backs (especially Jones), pressuring Rodgers without blitzing and playing coverage with seven. Force the Packers to beat you through the air with their receivers and tight ends. They haven’t proved capable of doing it consistently.

Continue …

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Giants vs. Packers: 4 keys to victory in Week 13

Here are four things the New York Giants can do to ensure a victory over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday and get their third win this season

The New York Giants host the Green Bay Packers at MetLife Stadium on Sunday in a tale of two very different seasons.

The Packers are 8-3 and currently sit in third place in the NFC, also leading their division. The Giants are 2-9, sitting second-to-last in the NFC and at the bottom of their division.

The Giants’ wildcard hopes are out the window and their divisional hopes are hanging on by a thread, but that doesn’t mean they can’t curb the Packers dreams. The Minnesota Vikings are hot on the Packers’ tail, and the Giants would do them a big favor with a win.

Here are this week’s keys to victory:

Stacy Revere/Getty Images

Pressure Aaron Rodgers

Much like the photo above, Markus Golden & Co. need to get pressure on Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers is notorious for holding onto the ball too long, and for making poor decisions under pressure. The Packers’ big plays don’t come when Rodgers has a defender in his face, and they have 40 big plays on record this season.

If James Bettcher can get his defense to plow through the Packers’ offensive line and put some serious pressure on Rodgers, the Giants’ chances of winning go up dramatically.

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Giants vs. Packers: 6 things to know about Week 13

The New York Giants and Green Bay Packers square off on Sunday in Week 13, so here are six things fans should know.

The New York Giants (2-9) will attempt to stop their free fall through the standings with an upset over the Green Bay Packers (8-3) at MetLife Stadium on Sunday.

Here are six things to know about the Week 13 game

Jamie Squire/Getty Images

The rivalry

This week’s game marks the 54th regular-season meeting between the two teams since 1928.The Packers lead the regular season series, 28-23-2. The Giants have a 16-15-2 home record against the Pack. The teams last met on October 9, 2016, a 23-16 Packers victory at Lambeau Field. The Giants last played Green Bay at home on November 17, 2013, winning, 27-13, over the Aaron Rodgers-less Packers.

The two clubs have met eight times in the post season. The Packers have won five times (1938, 1944, 1961, 1962 and 2017). The Giants’ three wins came in 1938, 2008 and 2012.

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Preston Smith wins race to 10 sacks, plans Rolex watches for entire Packers defense

Preston Smith won the race to 10 sacks. Now he’ll buy Rolex watches for every player on the Packers defense.

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The race to 10 sacks between Preston Smith and Za’Darius Smith already has a victor, but everyone on the Green Bay Packers defense is about to be a big winner.

Preston tallied two sacks of Carolina Panthers quarterback Kyle Allen on Sunday, pushing him to 10 sacks through the first 10 games of the 2019 season. Za’Darius, despite being close to several sacks, remained stuck at 8.5.

The two Smiths put a friendly wager on the race to 10. Whoever got there first would be responsible for buying gifts of their choice.

Preston, the winner, has made his decision.

He said in the locker room Sunday night that he’ll be buying Rolex watches for every player on the Packers defense. Not just for the outside linebacker room, but everyone on defense.

Za’Darius said he was planning to buy every player a chain with their number if he had gotten to 10 sacks first.

Preston beat him there and then beat his present idea.

“Yeah, that’s big,” Za’Darius said, smiling.

Preston should be able to afford it. He signed a four-year, $52 million deal with the Packers in March that included a $16 million signing bonus.

The two Smiths were dominant on Sunday, producing two sacks, seven quarterback hits and at least a dozen total pressures. Preston even got credit for tackling Christian McCaffrey on the game’s final play, preserving the Packers’ eight-point lead and securing the victory.

Together, Preston and Za’Darius Smith have 18.5 sacks through the first 10 games of 2019. The Packers are getting their money’s worth, and then some. Now, with Preston officially a member of the double-digit sack club, everyone on the Packers defense is about to benefit.

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