Defense Shows Overwhelming Power at Training Camp
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GREEN BAY, Wis. – After the first day of Green Bay Packers training camp, quarterback Aaron Rodgers playfully called the defense “chumps.”
Rodgers carved up the defense that day, but he knew tougher times were ahead.
“I felt coming into camp, to be honest, we were going to get our butts kicked most days because our defense is talented and deep and athletic. It’s one of the best defenses, on paper, that we’ve had,” Rodgers said.
Monday’s practice was the 11th of training camp. Three of them have been at a jog-through tempo, meaning there have been seven “real” practices since Day 1 of camp. The “chumps” have been champs, delivering seven consecutive butt-kickings.
When Rodgers said, “We’re a defensive team now,” he didn’t really mean it. But, through two weeks of training camp, that’s the reality. With David Bakhtiari, Elgton Jenkins and Robert Tonyan out of action, the offense has been playing with three ACLs behind its back.
The defense has been playing at full strength – and at full speed – with perhaps the best starting 11 in the NFL. It is a unit without a weak link. Defensive line used to be a weakness, so general manager Brian Gutekunst signed Jarran Reed and used a first-round pick on Devonte Wyatt. Linebacker used to be a weakness, so Gutekunst used a first-round pick on instant starter Quay Walker.
With quite the winning streak against Rodgers, the defense is playing with boundless confidence.
“We’re capable of anything we want to become, anything we want to be,” said outside linebacker Rashan Gary, who has been perhaps the most dominant member of a dominant defense. “You see the talent. You’re out there watching us. I don’t really want to talk too much because you’ve got to do the work and see it. But you see the type of guys we got and the type of ball we’re playing, and you also see the standard we’re holding each other to. When we’re out there, everybody is talking to everybody in all three phases.”
Monday was a massacre. During a third-down period, the offense had seven chances ranging from 12 yards to 2. The only conversion came on a third-and-2 run by AJ Dillon. Defensive stops were made by cornerback Rasul Douglas on a checkdown to Aaron Jones, excellent coverage by cornerback Jaire Alexander against Allen Lazard, a potential sack by Gary, a potential sack by Jonathan Garvin and a potential sack by Reed.
Later, during a move-the-ball period, the offense picked up a pair of first downs – that was the goal of the drill – before the second-team defensive backs locked down the receivers and Gary sacked Rodgers.
The defense also got a stop on a two-minute drill at the end of practice.
“I think during camp right now, we’re so competitive with one another that we look at it as, ‘All right, this person made a play (so) now I’ve got to make a play,’” safety Adrian Amos said. “They’re catching up to me on the leader board, you know what I’m saying? Takeaways, disruption plays and stuff like that, that’s what we try to do. We compete with one another.”
Monday’s performance was a continuation of a growing trend. During a red-zone period on Family Night, Rodgers and Co. ran seven plays from inside the 10-yard line and scored only one touchdown – a Rodgers to Marcedes Lewis pass that Walker almost intercepted. Amos ended a two-minute drill on Thursday with an interception.
Based on the start of training camp, this looks like a defense that can win games with play-to-play dominance and not just with big plays when spotted a lead by Rodgers.
There are high-quality starters everywhere, led by All-Pros Campbell and Alexander and Pro Bowler Kenny Clark. Gary and Preston Smith have been so disruptive that they’re often kept off the field for two-minute drills.
The addition of Walker has changed the way defensive coordinator Joe Barry is doing business. Dime defenses – meaning one off-the-ball linebacker and six defensive backs – have been a staple dating to Mike Pettine’s time as coordinator. Through 11 practices, you can probably count the number of dime snaps on one hand because Walker can cover so much ground.
Another key has been re-signing Campbell and Douglas. Both players were the ultimate bargain additions, with Campbell inking a paltry $2 million contract last offseason and Douglas signing off Arizona’s practice squad. Their career seasons helped fuel last year’s defense. Rather than being one-year wonders who caught some lucrative lightning in a bottle, they appear to be driving forces to this year’s defense.
“The thing that makes me smile the most is watching ‘59’ because there’s a little something that changes naturally when you get paid,” Rodgers said of Campbell. “It kind of cements the integrity of your leadership opportunity. To watch him continue to expand that role as a leader and really the leader of the defense has been great to see.”
Injuries could make the whole thing topple like a house of cards but, with all hands on deck, this looks like one of the best defenses in the NFL. Moreover, it looks like the team’s best defense since the 2010 team finished second in points allowed en route to winning the Super Bowl.
Amos and others have the right mind-set. Strong performances against a work-in-progress offense in August won’t mean a hill of beans against Justin Jefferson and the Vikings in Week 1, Tom Brady and the Buccaneers in Week 3 and Josh Allen and the Bills in Week 8.
“We’ve got to prove it every week. That’s what we’ve got to do,” Amos said. “There’s no sense of claiming that now or saying we’re going to be this or that right now, especially to the media. But that’s our goal. We expect to try to be great, so we have to take that one step at a time, one game at a time.”
