Jeff Hafley Has Bold Takeaway About How Packers’ Defense Is Trending

GREEN BAY, Wis. – During Green Bay Packers training camp, the “Ball King” was the talk of the town. After finishing fourth in the NFL with 31 takeaways, the Packers hoped to produce even more this season.

Instead, only the woeful New York Jets have fewer takeaways than the Packers ahead of Monday night’s showdown against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley, however, “can look you in the eye” and say with confidence that he believes the team is on the right track.

Maybe even a “dominant” track.

“We’ve had three takeaways in the last three games, so we’re trending in the right direction,” Hafley said on Friday.

It’s not the three consecutive games with a turnover. It’s that they were close to a couple more.

“We had the one that went under review, the one on Keisean (Nixon) when he almost took the ball away [against Arizona],” Hafley recalled. “And then last week, X (Xavier McKinney) had the sack/fumble and they recovered it for a 6-yard gain, if you remember that one. So, we’re getting closer, and I can look you in the eye and tell you that we are getting closer.”

Defensively, the Packers boast one of the best units in the NFL.

Green Bay Packers safety Xavier McKinney, celebrates after his interception against the Panthers. | William Glasheen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

They enter Week 10 ranked fifth in total defense, including second in yards per play. Against the run, they are fifth overall and ninth in yards per carry. Against the pass, they are ninth overall and first in yards per attempt.

With a strong run defense and strong pass rush, Green Bay is third on third down.

However, the lack of takeaways is dumbfounding. The Packers finished last season with a fourth-ranked 17 interceptions and a third-ranked 14 fumble recoveries.

It’s not as if cornerbacks Jaire Alexander or Eric Stokes were premier ballhawks. It’s not as if Kenny Clark was elite at forcing fumbles. It’s not as if the pass rush got worse.

In fact, the pass rush got a lot better when the Packers traded for Micah Parsons before Week 1. Common sense would suggest more sacks would mean more fumbles and more pressures would mean more interceptions. However, with Parsons and Rashan Gary having combined for 14 sacks in nine games – almost as many as Green Bay’s top three in sacks for all of last season – the defense hasn’t forced an abundance of quarterback blunders.

While the defense hasn’t made many game-turning plays, it hasn’t allowed many, either. The Packers entered this weekend’s games ranked eighth with 20.8 points allowed per game. That’s not far off last year’s sixth-ranked 19.9.

That should be winning football – and it has been with a 5-2-1 record. Now, the next step is to generate more takeaways to help the offense generate more points. A seven-point swing here and a seven-point swing there could be the difference between getting to the playoffs or booking tee times, getting to the Super Bowl or being one-and-done.

“We’ve had a takeaway in the last three games and that’s the step in the right direction, and I think if we continue to do that and hit them at the right time, I think it’s going to help us out a lot,” Hafley said.

“The impressive part is last year at this time, I thought we were playing good defense and I think we relied a lot on takeaways to hold people under 20 points. This year, we’re doing that and probably playing better defense and we’re not getting as many takeaways.”

Because of the pass rush, Green Bay’s cornerbacks, Keisean Nixon and Carrington Valentine, are playing more aggressively at the line of scrimmage to challenge receivers and not allow so many easy completions.

A case in point of why Hafley is confident came against Carolina. On Carolina’s game-winning drive, Valentine almost intercepted Bryce Young’s incomplete pass to Tetairoa McMillan.

Green Bay Packers cornerback Carrington Valentine (24) breaks up a pass to Carolina Panthers wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan. | Wm. Glasheen/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

“C.V. was right there – and I mean right there. Like, I kind of jumped up in the booth,” Hafley said. “He was right there and that’s like, we’re close. He’s going to make that play the next time, so I am encouraged. I’m not happy with the number at all, but I’m encouraged in the way we’re trending.”

It won’t be easy this week. The Eagles have a league-low three giveaways. Quarterback Jalen Hurts has an NFL-best 15-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio. All-Pro running back and reigning rushing champion Saquon Barkley hasn’t fumbled in more than 11 months.

The big-picture reality is impossible to ignore. Teams that don’t force turnovers don’t win Super Bowls. Good defenses limit yards and points to help win games. Great defenses make big plays to win games.

“If we can continue and climb and get better just fundamentally playing defense and add those takeaways, I think you’re going to see a really dominant defense as we go, and that’s the plan,” Hafley said. “But I do see progress towards it, and I think our coaches are doing a really nice job emphasizing it. I think we’re starting to throw punches again and I think we’re getting more competitive.”

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