The Green Bay Packers defense is going to have to strike a balance when facing the Las Vegas Raiders between defending the run and underneath throws while also making sure that Davante Adams isn’t routinely left in one-on-one matchups, either.
“That’s the chess match you play,” said Matt LaFleur earlier this week.
Buy Packers TicketsWhen defending a player of Adams’ caliber, it could be really easy for Joe Barry to dial up his patented Cover-2 look, with the defenders providing a lot of cushion of the line of scrimmage in order to keep everything in front of them in an effort to eliminate the downfield passing play. However, the issue is that the defense is now susceptible to the run game and underneath routes over the middle, where Jimmy Garoppolo likes to go with the ball.
Although the Raiders have Josh Jacobs at running back, this has statistically been the worst rushing offense in football this season, ranking 32nd in yards per rush and DVOA. But on the flip side, this is a Green Bay run defense that has allowed 200-plus rushing yards in two of their last three games. So, even with the Raiders’ struggles on the ground, there is no guarantee that the Packers will be able to contain Jacobs without making a concerted effort to do so.
Following the Detroit game last Thursday, LaFleur said that philosophical changes needed to be made to the Packers’ defensive approach, specifically not being so rigid in specific situations and more willing to break away from the shell coverages they rely on so heavily. Along with the play call, the players on the field have to execute better as well. Against the Lions, defenders weren’t getting off blocks, tackles were missed, and running lanes weren’t being filled.
“Are there times we’ve gotten out of gaps—absolutely,” said LaFleur. “I think that happens from time to time. Unfortunately for us, it’s happened too much where they’ve had too big of a hole, and we haven’t had people in position to make a play on the ball. We have to do a much better job of that gap integrity and making sure that we get people in the right position. How we approach blocks. How we defeat blocks is a big part of it.
“It takes all three levels. It’s not just on the defensive line or the outside backers. It is the second and third-level tier defense and making sure that they’re in a position. If a receiver goes down and cracks a safety, well, then the safety has to take on the block the appropriate way, and the corner has to be in the correct place. It really is everybody. It’s all 11 doing their job.”
Playing more Cover-1 or with an extra defender near the line of scrimmage will help in the run, but it will also muddy things up over the middle of the field on shorter routes where Garoppolo likes to go with the ball and where Jacobs has been a frequent target in the passing game. According to PFF, 53 percent of Garoppolo’s throws are within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage, and just over 50 percent are between the numbers.
However, when the Packers do utilize this approach, that also means that there will be less help over the top, putting more of a burden on the Green Bay cornerbacks to limit Adams in the passing game.
“The caveat to that is you get more people in the box,” added LaFleur, “now you’re more susceptible to pass game, and you’ve got guys like Davante and Jacobi Myers and Hunter Renfrow, so there’s a give-and-take to that. There’s a little bit of a feel of when you want to call your split-safety defenses versus when you want to get an extra hat in the box.”
Jaire Alexander is listed as questionable for Monday’s game. Obviously, having him available feels like a near must, but even if he is on the field, we aren’t going to see him matched up with Adams on every play. There are also things the Packers can do from a schematic standpoint to help with Adams, even when playing with more defenders near the line of scrimmage. During Green Bay’s Week 17 matchup last season against Minnesota, we often saw a safety shaded towards Justin Jefferson’s side of the field–although your other defenders are then left on an island.
From a gameplan standpoint, it’s not as if the Packers have to choose between stopping the run and short throws or limiting Adams in the passing game. We are going to see both approaches throughout the game. With that said, on one specific play, defenses can’t fully commit to taking away both the run and the pass–they have to choose based on the situation.
Of course, execution of the play call matters a lot, but it’s going to be up to Barry and his staff to put the defense in the right situation, whether that’s defending the run or the pass, so the defenders are in a position to be successful. And when going up against a Raiders offense that features Adams and operates as they do with Garoppolo at quarterback, that can be a difficult balance to strike.
“You’ve got to look at when you are playing split-safety and playing more of what we call ‘big box,’ and you’re short a hat,” said LaFleur. “How effective is that? When are we calling that stuff? So I would say there is a lot of reasons as to why, and hopefully, we have better solutions now.”
