New York Giants Week 5: First Look at Green Bay Packers’ Defense

Let's see what the Giants offense is up against this weekend when they face the Green Bay Packers.

Author:
Brandon Olsen
Publish date:
Oct 6, 2022 11:05 AM EDT

In this story:

With a 3-1 start, the New York Giants face arguably the toughest defensive test of the season this Sunday. Taking on the Green Bay Packers is difficult as is, let alone with the injuries and needing to travel to London. So let's dive into what the Giants' offense is up against.

Personnel

Going into week one, I said, "Jeffery Simmons is arguably the best interior defensive lineman in the NFL, not named Aaron Donald.” Meet the guy that’s the main opponent in that argument: Packers lineman Kenny Clark. Clark has been a consistent force on the interior in Green Bay - despite not being a true sack artist, Clark lives in the backfield against both the run and pass.

Through four games in 2022, Clark has 14 pressures, good for third-most in the NFL, and a pass-rush win rate of 20.2%, the best rate in the NFL among interior defensive linemen with more than 50 pass-defense snaps. As a run defender, the numbers aren’t as flashy, but Clark is yet to miss a tackle this season and has an average depth of tackle of just 2.3 yards.

On the exterior of the defensive line, the Packers have an incredibly productive duo led by Rashan Gary, with Preston Smith being the Robin to Gary’s Batman. Together, the duo has combined for 28 pressures in 2022, including eight sacks. Gary and Smith have also combined for 19 run stops.

On the second level, De’Vondre Campbell is the player who mans the middle of the field as one of the three Packers defenders who have played 100 percent of the team's snaps to this point. In recent weeks, Campbell has started to open up regarding versatility.

Through the first two weeks of the season, Campbell didn’t blitz at all, but through the last two weeks, he’s been used more as a pass-rusher. The other starting off-ball linebacker for the Packers, rookie Quay Walker, has been asked to contribute in more ways but with very different results. Walker has been wildly inconsistent through the first four games of his pro career, allowing 142 receiving yards and a touchdown on 23 targets.

The Packers secondary is one of the best in the NFL, both at the top and in depth. Star cornerback Jaire Alexander is still questionable for the game after getting injured during the Packers’ Week 3 game and then missing the Week 4 game.

Second-year cornerback Eric Stokes has been filling in as the top corner in Green Bay, with Adrian Amos and Darnell Savage as the veteran safeties patrolling over the top. Stokes will almost always line up on the left side of the field for the Packers, while Amos and Savage will be used in multiple ways, especially for a Packers defense that likes to work in various coverages.

Scheme

The Packers operate out of a 3-4 base but often have five defenders along the line of scrimmage, with Preston Smith and Rashan Gary as standup defenders on the edge. This allows Jarran Reed, Kenny Clark, and Dean Lowry to all play with their hands in the dirt along the interior when operating in their base front.

Giving this look to opposing offenses allows the Packers to rush anywhere from three to five defenders without having any tells since Smith and Gary are free to drop back or rush the passer from their every down stance.

The Packers will do something defensively similar to what the Panthers have done under Phil Snow. That same front five will be on the field with just one linebacker in the second level and five defensive backs on the field, giving a 5-1 look to the Giants offensive line in what Packers Defensive Coordinator Joe Barry calls their “Penny” front.

This 5-1 is arguably the best front six the Packers could roll onto the field on any given play. The 900+ pound interior of Reed, Clark, and Lowry allows the Packers to clog the middle of the field while forcing interior linemen to block one-on-one and leaving offensive tackles in one-on-one situations against Gary and Smith.

With this personnel grouping, the Packers also have Quay Walker off the field, as he’s struggled in coverage early on. Offenses are also almost forced into keeping a tight end, running back, or both in as pass protectors since few offensive linemen could handle either Gary, Smith, or Clark in one-on-ones.

“Penny” isn’t the only pressure look the Packers will give to the Giants on Sunday. On passing downs, Joe Barry and the Packers like to show a double mug look that mentally can throw an offense for a loop.

Double mug crowds the line of scrimmage even more, placing both edge defenders on the outside shoulders of offensive tackles, both interior defensive linemen are on the outside shoulders of guards, and two linebackers set up on the interior, both filling an A-gap. This causes a six-to-five mismatch in the trenches where offenses either have to keep in extra blockers or have plans based on which defenders could rush or drop into coverage.

The Packers have a modern defensive scheme that shows plenty of two-high looks, with both safeties lined up deep pre-snap, but they mix up coverages well between covers 1, 3, 4, and 6. Offenses will have underneath completions if they can connect on them, but the Packers will have defenders within distance to close the gap and make the tackle.

What This Means for the Giants

Finding consistent success against the Packers will be a tall task for a Giants team that, even if Daniel Jones does play, he likely won’t be playing at 100%. On top of Jones’ health, the Giants are also dealing with multiple injuries at wide receiver.

Luckily for the Giants, the way that some teams have given the Packers trouble is using fewer wide receivers to make running the ball easier. Last week, the Patriots brought out a sixth offensive lineman (Marcus Cannon) on almost half of their snaps and ran the ball 33 times for 167 yards.

In week one, the Minnesota Vikings opted to use Johnny Mundt or Ben Ellefson as blockers instead of Irv Smith or put fullback CJ Ham on the field as an additional blocker. The Vikings would rush for 126 yards on 28 carries.

Both teams got it done differently but showed that the blueprint for finding consistent success on the ground against the Packers is to bring on additional blockers. The Bears used multiple tight end sets and fullbacks to pick up 180 yards on just 24 carries.

With the Packers playing multiple coverages, it’s difficult to say what specific concepts should be used to exploit them while throwing the ball. However, a vague “throw the ball underneath” might suffice since most of the coverages that the Packers play leave underneath relatively open for business.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the one team the Packers have played that chose to throw the ball often, threw the ball 71.4 percent of the time nine yards or shorter. On those passes, Tom Brady went 26 of 30 for 181 yards and a touchdown.

The Vikings also threw the ball underneath plenty, with 62.5 percent of Kirk Cousins’ passes being less than ten yards downfield. Cousins would go 18 of 20 for 114 yards and a touchdown in that range.

The way to move the ball against the Packers defense isn’t pretty, and it isn’t exciting, but it is effective. Put heavier players on the field to consistently run the ball and attack underneath when you throw the ball. With a banged-up quarterback and receiver room, this may have been the strategy that the Giants were hoping to implement as it is.

Final Thoughts

The Giants had the odds stacked against them regardless of how their injury report looks going into Sunday’s game against the Packers. The injuries certainly don’t help the situation, but if there was any week to not have your passing attack focal points, the Packers game is it.

The challenge is set for the Giants to move the ball consistently, but the blueprint has been laid out, put larger players on the field and let them do larger people things. It’s about execution at this point for the Giants offensively.