Him8123
09-05-2007, 03:13 PM
By Pete Dougherty
pdougher@greenbaypressgazette.com
More than a few times during training camp, coach Mike McCarthy referred to the defense as the "catalyst" for his Green Bay Packers.
It's clearly the strength of his team, but depending on how well the Packers can run the ball on offense, it might have to carry this club at times. The question is whether it will be a good defense or something better.
The Packers appear to have the makings of a defense that could land in the top 10 in the NFL in yards allowed and, more importantly, points. Last year, they finished 12th and tied for 25th, respectively, in those categories. But they finished with a strong push over the final four games — in part fueled by Cullen Jenkins replacing Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila as the starting right defensive end — that has the team thinking big.
"I'd be disappointed if we're not a top 10-type defense," said Kurt Schottenheimer, the Packers' defensive backs coach.
Defensive tackle Corey Williams went so far as to say the Packers' defense can finish in the top five in the NFL in both categories. Last year, four teams accomplished that: Baltimore (first in yards, first in points), Chicago (fifth and third), Jacksonville (second and fourth) and Miami (fourth and fifth).
"Our defense feels that, too," Williams said. "We're ready. We're going to surprise a lot of people."
The Packers return the starters from last year that moved the unit from 29th to 12th in yards allowed in the final four games, with one change: Atari Bigby replacing Marquand Manuel as a starting safety.
The defense is the ascending part of the Packers' roster, with second-year pro A.J. Hawk a potential emerging Pro Bowler at weak-side linebacker; fifth-year pro Nick Barnett coming off his best training camp at middle linebacker; a sound veteran starting cornerback duo in Charles Woodson and Al Harris; and a deep and young defensive line that includes 27-year-old Aaron Kampman coming off a Pro Bowl season and Jenkins, 26, coming off a training camp that suggested his role in the Packers' improvement late last season was no mirage.
The No. 1 defense didn't play much together in the preseason — Woodson and Harris played sparingly in the first three preseason games and sat out the finale, for instance. But in 10 series with the starters almost completely intact in those exhibition games, they gave up only three points and scored one touchdown on a fumble return by Barnett.
It must be noted, however, the starters faced a Seattle team playing without quarterback Matt Hasselbeck and left tackle Walter Jones, who are two of their three best players, and Jacksonville played with quarterback Byron Leftwich, whom it cut at the end of training camp.
Nevertheless, three points is three points, and McCarthy proclaimed training camp a success for a defense in its second season working for defensive coordinator Bob Sanders.
"The biggest thing we were looking for, and I think we accomplished it, was consistency and clear communication," McCarthy said. "I thought they illustrated that throughout training camp — they were very consistent. There was not too many days where you came off the field and felt like they didn't have a very good day of work. Also, I thought they put together four good games. That was something coming off the offseason we wanted to improve on, and we clearly did.
"We're talented, we have playmaking ability on our defensive side of the ball (and) we're playing with a lot of confidence, a lot of energy."
The Packers are counting on reducing the number of coverage errors by defensive backs and linebackers that plagued them early last season in losses to Chicago, New Orleans, Detroit and St. Louis. Manuel was by no means the only culprit in making major mistakes, but he had more than his share, which especially was surprising because he was signed as a free agent last year to be the quarterback of the secondary. He ended up perhaps trying to do too much and was the defense's weak link.
Bigby is stronger and more athletic than Manuel, though the second-year pro has only two snaps of regular-season defensive experience in the NFL, in last year's finale against Chicago.
Still, with only one new player in a starting lineup that has worked in Sanders' scheme for 1½ years, the defense will have no excuses for excessive communication and alignment errors in his aggressive, bump-and-run-oriented coverage scheme.
"We're light-years beyond (last season's early mistakes)," Schottenheimer said. "A year ago, we got most of that solved. But beyond that, people are going to challenge you every chance they get. They're going to try to put pressure on, they're going to go after some problem. If the cornerback doesn't have the right leverage, the safety doesn't have the right leverage, some way they'll attack it. People are going to play-action pass us. They'll be very aggressive how they're going to play our secondary."
pdougher@greenbaypressgazette.com
More than a few times during training camp, coach Mike McCarthy referred to the defense as the "catalyst" for his Green Bay Packers.
It's clearly the strength of his team, but depending on how well the Packers can run the ball on offense, it might have to carry this club at times. The question is whether it will be a good defense or something better.
The Packers appear to have the makings of a defense that could land in the top 10 in the NFL in yards allowed and, more importantly, points. Last year, they finished 12th and tied for 25th, respectively, in those categories. But they finished with a strong push over the final four games — in part fueled by Cullen Jenkins replacing Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila as the starting right defensive end — that has the team thinking big.
"I'd be disappointed if we're not a top 10-type defense," said Kurt Schottenheimer, the Packers' defensive backs coach.
Defensive tackle Corey Williams went so far as to say the Packers' defense can finish in the top five in the NFL in both categories. Last year, four teams accomplished that: Baltimore (first in yards, first in points), Chicago (fifth and third), Jacksonville (second and fourth) and Miami (fourth and fifth).
"Our defense feels that, too," Williams said. "We're ready. We're going to surprise a lot of people."
The Packers return the starters from last year that moved the unit from 29th to 12th in yards allowed in the final four games, with one change: Atari Bigby replacing Marquand Manuel as a starting safety.
The defense is the ascending part of the Packers' roster, with second-year pro A.J. Hawk a potential emerging Pro Bowler at weak-side linebacker; fifth-year pro Nick Barnett coming off his best training camp at middle linebacker; a sound veteran starting cornerback duo in Charles Woodson and Al Harris; and a deep and young defensive line that includes 27-year-old Aaron Kampman coming off a Pro Bowl season and Jenkins, 26, coming off a training camp that suggested his role in the Packers' improvement late last season was no mirage.
The No. 1 defense didn't play much together in the preseason — Woodson and Harris played sparingly in the first three preseason games and sat out the finale, for instance. But in 10 series with the starters almost completely intact in those exhibition games, they gave up only three points and scored one touchdown on a fumble return by Barnett.
It must be noted, however, the starters faced a Seattle team playing without quarterback Matt Hasselbeck and left tackle Walter Jones, who are two of their three best players, and Jacksonville played with quarterback Byron Leftwich, whom it cut at the end of training camp.
Nevertheless, three points is three points, and McCarthy proclaimed training camp a success for a defense in its second season working for defensive coordinator Bob Sanders.
"The biggest thing we were looking for, and I think we accomplished it, was consistency and clear communication," McCarthy said. "I thought they illustrated that throughout training camp — they were very consistent. There was not too many days where you came off the field and felt like they didn't have a very good day of work. Also, I thought they put together four good games. That was something coming off the offseason we wanted to improve on, and we clearly did.
"We're talented, we have playmaking ability on our defensive side of the ball (and) we're playing with a lot of confidence, a lot of energy."
The Packers are counting on reducing the number of coverage errors by defensive backs and linebackers that plagued them early last season in losses to Chicago, New Orleans, Detroit and St. Louis. Manuel was by no means the only culprit in making major mistakes, but he had more than his share, which especially was surprising because he was signed as a free agent last year to be the quarterback of the secondary. He ended up perhaps trying to do too much and was the defense's weak link.
Bigby is stronger and more athletic than Manuel, though the second-year pro has only two snaps of regular-season defensive experience in the NFL, in last year's finale against Chicago.
Still, with only one new player in a starting lineup that has worked in Sanders' scheme for 1½ years, the defense will have no excuses for excessive communication and alignment errors in his aggressive, bump-and-run-oriented coverage scheme.
"We're light-years beyond (last season's early mistakes)," Schottenheimer said. "A year ago, we got most of that solved. But beyond that, people are going to challenge you every chance they get. They're going to try to put pressure on, they're going to go after some problem. If the cornerback doesn't have the right leverage, the safety doesn't have the right leverage, some way they'll attack it. People are going to play-action pass us. They'll be very aggressive how they're going to play our secondary."