This Time, Packers Might Have to Handle Mismatch Against Browns

GREEN BAY, Wis. – When the Green Bay Packers faced the Washington Commanders on Thursday, defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley wasn’t in the mood to mess around.

He could have placed his dominant new pass rusher, Micah Parsons, at right defensive end so he could face the Commanders’ new left tackle, Pro Bowler Laremy Tunsil. Or, he could have put Parsons at left defensive end so he could face Washington’s first-round pick, right tackle Josh Conerly.

Hafley went with the mismatch and got the desired – and expected – results.

Parsons finished the night with eight pressures. With Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels under siege all night, Green Bay’s defense powered a 27-18 victory.

This isn’t about Parsons, though. This is about the Packers’ second-round rookie offensive tackle, Anthony Belton.

Premier right tackle Zach Tom was inactive against Washington due to a oblique injury sustained against Detroit. While it’s early in the week, that Tom didn’t practice on Monday might mean Belton will be starting against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.

The matchup? Myles Garrett.

Garrett is the equivalent to Parsons. Asked about Garrett on Monday, coach Matt LaFleur smiled as if he’d just been told a good joke. Of course, it’s always better to laugh than cry.

“He’s a game-wrecker,” LaFleur said.

Garrett has played 83 snaps this season. According to Pro Football Focus, 72 snaps have come against the right offensive tackle while 11 snaps have come from the left side of the defense.

The Browns’ defensive coordinator is Jim Schwartz. He’s one of the best in the business. Garrett can beat any lineman at any time, but it stands to reason Schwartz is going to put Garrett – a four-time first-team All-Pro and two-time second-team All-Pro in his eight NFL seasons – against Belton early and often.

“He’s a good player. Everybody knows Myles Garrett,” Belton said.

Belton alternated series at the start of the game but wound up playing 51 snaps. He used his size to his advantage in the run game and didn’t allow a pressure in 25 pass-protecting snaps, according to Pro Football Focus.

Really, the only major blemish was a holding penalty on the opening series that nullified Jordan Love’s touchdown pass to Jayden Reed.

“Outside of the one penalty, I thought he played really solid football,” LaFleur said. “He was physical. He was straining. There was great effort. So, I thought for his first game, especially a game where there’s really no practice, I thought he went in there and did a really outstanding job.”

Because of the Sunday-to-Thursday turnaround, the Packers had only three walk-through practices last week.

“I feel like overall it was pretty solid, but there’s still technical stuff I need to clean up,” Belton said. “I had a penalty, but I feel like overall it was good. We still have to clean a lot of stuff up.”

He added: “First game, you’ve got the good nerves in there, but it was definitely good, though, getting in there and getting my feet wet and just getting a feel for the game.”

This will be a big week of practice for Belton. Reps against Parsons and Rashan Gary during the four practices this week should help him get ready – or as ready as possible – for a player who, like Parsons, is on a Hall of Fame trajectory.

“I see the progress when it comes to technical stuff but my thing is I want to be more consistent with it,” Belton said. “So, my biggest thing is consistency, so that’s still something I’m striving to see. I want to be able to come in and take what’s been coached from indy [individual drills] to team and when the opportunity is presented try to take it over to the game.”

Garrett is one of the best defensive players of the generation. Starting with 13.5 sacks in 2018, he has hit double figures in seven consecutive seasons. He’s the only player in the league with a 10-sack streak of seven seasons. During those seven seasons, only Pittsburgh’s T.J. Watt has more sacks and quarterback hits (108 sacks, 227 hits) than Garrett (106 sacks, 205 hits).

Garrett also is second with 122 tackles for losses, including an NFL-high 22 last year.

So, if Tom is out, Belton expects he’ll see a steady diet of No. 95, though he obviously won’t be expected to block him one-on-one for an entire game.

“I feel like any team is going to try to because he’s a younger player, they expect the inexperience,” Belton said. “So, I think that’s normal and I expect it to happen.”

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