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RashanGary
10-09-2019, 09:39 AM
Sullivan said in one of his interviews that the Packers play a lot of man defense, it’s no secret, so vs the Cowboys they were showing man but playing zone to mix things up. That is a really positive sign that they’re becoming effective in some of the middle to higher level defensive strategies.

Against Philly, MLF said they were gonna run mostly their best stuff. On defense that was man defense. With two of the more athletic and effective young cover corners in the league, it’s a natural strength. But an offense like Phillys with an experienced playcaller/QB tandem and a talented and experienced OL, showing and playing one coverage isn’t gonna cut it.

Since the Philly game, and I know it’s only one game, the Packers have shown more versatility and unpredictability in their coverages. It’s another wrinkle, that if your guys can handle it, affects the QB. Just like pressure, if you have guys who can get home, it affects the QB. You wouldn’t think coverages affect the run game, but they do. It’s easier for QBs to run against man because guys have their backs turned. It’s also easier for OL to play fast when they know the coverage because they can predict post snap alignment and aggressively get to their spot. So playing only one coverage puts additional pressure on the DL to have to be perfect in the run fits.

In short, the Packers seem to be evolving into a more complete defense as the year goes on. Both Alexander and King have 16+ starts under their belts and can play both man and zone. They also have guys up front who can play run and pass. If things continue to trend the way they appear to be trending, the Packers should be able to put a whooping on Stafford and the Lions. He’s good, real good, but with the Packers offense clicking and the defense taking another step toward a top 5 defensive makeup, the score could tilt field even more in the Packers favor and games don’t even have to be close anymore.

texaspackerbacker
10-09-2019, 01:21 PM
I think everybody masks coverages to one degree or another.

Even with the great personnel upgrade the Packers have had this season, they still have to do some finessing. That became obvious against Denver and Philadelphia. Our DL and LBs are not good enough to stop most rushing offenses straight up without help. The result of that help against the run usually is man coverage with not much help on receivers. And what happens then? Outstanding WRs can beat even our best coverage guy. Adjust to that, as we did in the second half, and it risks having other receivers getting open.

The best thing we had going for us was that the other team pretty much had to pass to get back in the game. So what is our best combined defense? Get 2 or 3 or 4 TDs ahead in the game so the other team has to become one dimensional. Lucky thing we have Aaron Rodgers to make that possible.

RashanGary
10-09-2019, 02:10 PM
The very best defenses sometimes play vanilla. Sometimes they mix. Depends on personnel. Packers have smart guys who can play both types of coverages so this team is gonna mix it up. Also, they only have one star DL, so they can’t just stop the run at will, so a little zone is needed.

texaspackerbacker
10-09-2019, 07:51 PM
You always play vanilla if you are good enough. The Packers have had to compensate for personnel deficiencies for a long time - less this year, but some still there.