Don't Worry About The Packers Defense

This is what I have been thinking/pontificating for awhile and it’s nice to know that those of this that agree with you aren’t alone.

I focused specifically on our 1st String D against Delhomme and a few notes here and there for the remainder.

In Delhomme’s first series:
It was 11 plays resulting in a TD. Of those, 4 were running plays.
Of the 7 passing plays, GB rushed 5 men 3 times (my apologies for saying not at all earlier).
It was mostly 5-7 yard hooks and square outs. Nothing flashy, but again, the CB’s played soft.
GB only played Press Coverage 1 time, and it was on 4th and 1. Cleveland line up with no RB’s, 4 WR’s, 1 TE. Delhomme under center. Underwood was beat on a quick slant.

Things to Note:
Almost every passing play was a quick pass by Delhomme.
On the Ryan Grant fumble, Colledge did a nice job blocking. Started by double teaming the RE, then moved to the 2nd level to block LB Fujita. Wells failed to block the NT, who caused the fumble.
AJ Hawk had a very nice blitz up the middle in a 4 man rush. The linemen did their job, because Hawk was practically untouched and attacked fast.
Collins almost had 2 interceptions in about 1 Quarter of play. The first was on the play Hawk blitzed. Collins simply dropped it after jumping the WR’s route. The 2nd was in the endzone, but it would have been a difficult interception to grab.
Raji could not penetrate. Alex Mack simply contained him well. Props to Mack, who is experienced in defending NT’s from the AFC North.
Underwood and Williams were picked on in most of the plays. Lee and Woodson were never targeted. Lee was in on the Dime Packages, which was on 2 plays. Underwood was the Nickel Back and targeted often.

…are worrying?

Really?

You say not to worry, but you are worried.

“…I’m worried that they won’t have enough pass rush other than Matthews. That will make them a pretty good unit, but I expect the offense will have to bail them out on a few occasions.”

That’s not very comforting.

I will not claim that the defense is going to be awful. Yet the Packers cannot afford to let good passing teams to have their way with them. I know this is the preseason. I also did not get the chance to watch the game. I am not going to panic.

Some people do say we should have drafted or picked up a CB. I am one of them. The fact that we did not is not the end of the world. The Packers made the playoffs last year with this team. They should do so again this year. Hopefully they can do a little better.

I want somebody that can PLAY now! Dom says we played “soft”, well you don’t play soft in the red zone. Our guys got beat by JD and SW.

While he’ll never be a shut down corner, he continues to improve

That’s sorta pessimistic isn’t it? I have hopes for all the young corners on the roster when guys like Chuck and Al are around to pick up the position from. Not to mention that these guys will be playing with Collins, who is young and seems to be settling in as one of the most consistent producers at the safety position in the league.

It was bad last year, and TT did NOTHING to improve it [drafting a S in the 3rd round doesnt count] aside from Woodson, they just don’t have much talent – and you homers need to stop believing that Williams, Underwood, or Lee are anything more than backups.

I hope the best for Al Harris, but I’m extremely skeptical, given his age and the type of injury.

Part of the problem was the lack of a consistent pass rush that doesn’t look like it’ll be any better this year.

However, the offense should be one of the best in the NFL….. so I forsee a 10-6 record and first round loss in the PO.