Run Defense ‘Played Worst Game at Worst Time’
GREEN BAY, Wis. – With a trip to the Super Bowl on the line, the Green Bay Packers were run off the field.
In the NFC Championship Game at San Francisco, Raheem Mostert rushed for 220 yards – the second-most in NFL playoff history – and four touchdowns. His 160 rushing yards in the first half were the most in a playoff game since 1963. The dominance was so overwhelming that quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo threw only eight passes.
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“I can’t use any other phrase other than beyond disappointing,” defensive coordinator Mike Pettine told reporters in a Zoom call on Friday. “It’s tough to realize that we played our worst game at the worst time. But, at the same point, we own it. We’re not running away from it. There’s no excuses being offered. We just weren’t good enough in every aspect, whether it was scheme, effort, energy, technique. The key thing is to learn from it so it doesn’t happen again.”
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Whenever a team shows a weakness, it’s bound to be tested in the future. That means opponents figure to attack a Packers run defense that was demolished in the biggest game of the season. On top of that, Green Bay will start the season against several strong or potentially strong running games. In Week 1, it’s Minnesota’s Dalvin Cook. In Week 2, it’s Detroit rookie D’Andre Swift. In Week 3, it’s New Orleans’ Alvin Kamara. In Week 4, it’s Atlanta’s Todd Gurley. A rematch against the 49ers looms in Week 9.
“If that’s what teams want to do, that’s fine,” Pettine said of opponents’ potential run-first game plans.
Other than the free-agent signing of linebacker Christian Kirksey, who replaces leading tackler Blake Martinez, the Packers will line up with largely the same group as last season. That means it will be up to the coaches to find answers and the returning players to perform better. Mostly, though, it will be up to the players. Most weeks, the game plan will start with stopping the pass. That means more speedy cover men than big-bodied run-stoppers on the field.
“We’re big believers in our system,” Pettine said. “When it’s executed correctly, we can play the run damn well in pretty good stretches. There are times when we don’t allocate as many resources to stop the run and … we are going to be potentially a little bit short. We have to preach to our guys up front that, ‘Hey, listen, you can’t trade one for one. This is a hole that we have to have a gap-and-a-half mentality.’ So, the one thing that we’ll continue to stress, and I think our coaches up front do a really good job of it, is if offenses are good, they’re going to get a helmet on a helmet. We’re going to get blocked. The key is not to stay blocked, and having that understanding of how to violently release off a block, and the timing of it – not to do it too soon, not to do it too late. Those are all things that some guys just have a natural sense for, other ones takes a little bit longer to learn. We’ll certainly spend a lot of time on it. What’s great is our offense has such a strong commitment to running the football that when we do get to go against them in camp, that’s going to be a point of emphasis on both sides.”
Green Bay allowed 4.7 yards per carry last season, one of the worst marks in the league. More often than not, though, Pettine was willing to trade some rushing yards for minimizing the number of explosive plays in the passing game. As he put it last year, you get to Florida faster by flying than walking. It worked. The Packers went 13-3 behind a defense that ranked ninth in the league in points allowed. However, Green Bay was crushed twice by San Francisco. To get past the 49ers in the NFC will require a run defense that’s stronger than the tissue-paper-thin unit that gave up one big play after another in the championship game.
“It was a tough pill to swallow,” Pettine said. “You’re always remembered by your last performance, and I hate for it to tarnish what we were able to accomplish during the year when we won 14 games. We’re not going to do that and (have) this dark cloud hanging over us but, at the same time, it’s not going to be something we sweep under the carpet. We’ll address it, and we’ll do it again when the players are in town and it’s face to face. But it’s certainly been a focal point. We’re not dwelling on it, but it’s something we know if we want to take the next step – we were a game away, but that was a big step, and they present a big hurdle. If we want to take it, there’s a lot we need to get done between now and then.”
