Green Bay Packers: Defense, it is time!

Over the last two offseasons, the Green Bay Packers put a lot into the defensive side of the ball, it is now time to see the results on the field.

It feels that for much of the Aaron Rodgers era, the Green Bay Packers defense has been the Achilles heel and have often times held this team back from more success.

A few notable games that come to mind over this span include Rodgers’ first ever playoff game against Arizona where the Packers defense would give up 51 points.

In 2012 they would surrender 45 in a loss to San Francisco. And we all remember the NFC Championship game in Seattle where there was plenty of blame to go around, but the Seahawks would come back from a 19-7 deficit with just over four minutes left in the game.

Then in the 2016 NFC Championship game, a decimated Green Bay Packers’ defense would give up 44 points in a loss to the Atlanta Falcons.

Those are a few of the big moments that come to mind over the years and without a doubt there are more. But it isn’t just these moments that the Green Bay defense would crumble, Rodgers and the offense carried this team through most regular seasons.

For all of these defensive issues throughout the years, there are a number of parties who deserve some of the blame.

Under former defensive coordinator Dom Capers, this Packers’ defense was quite frustrating to watch, especially in his final years at the helm.

From poor usage of personnel, to not making adjustments to keep up with offensive trends, and as mentioned above, the overall failure of the unit in big games, the Dom Capers led defense would continually let this Packers team down.

Hindsight is 20/20 but really former head coach Mike McCarthy should have made the decision to let go of Capers after the 2014 NFC Championship collapse.

Another contributing factor was the last few draft classes from former General Manager Ted Thompson, along with a reluctance to pursue free agents.

For years the draft and develop approach made the Green Bay Packers one of the premier teams in the league, but when Thompson began whiffing on picks, the roster would quickly become depleted.

While injuries were a factor, when you have to rely on Ladarius Gunter and Joe Thomas as starters in an NFC Championship game, you’re roster isn’t in good shape.

As a result, since Brian Gutekunst has taken over as General Manager, he’s been on a mission to overhaul the defense.

It started in 2018 by bringing in Mike Pettine as defensive coordinator and revamping the cornerback position with free agent Tramon Williams and draft picks Jaire Alexander and Josh Jackson.

While improved from previous seasons, there was still work to be done in 2019. Last season the Green Bay Packers’ defense would finish 29th in takeaways and 22nd in points per game given up.

This offseason, Gutekunst would let Clay Matthews walk, he cut Nick Perry, and in free agency he would add Adrian Amos, Za’Darius Smith, and Preston Smith. Then in the draft, Green Bay would select Rashan Gary and Darnell Savage in round one, and add Kingsley Keke and Ty Summers later on.

The strategy behind this mini-rebuild the last two offseasons has been quite clear and now it is time for the defensive unit to step up and perform.

On paper, this defense looks as if it has the potential to be a top-tier unit in this league.

The defensive front is made up of Za’Darius Smith, Preston Smith, Rashan Gary, Kenny Clark, Mike Daniels and Kyler Fackrell to name a few, and may have become the deepest unit on this team.

The young cornerback group has another offseason under their belts and is led by future All-Pro Jaire Alexander. And the inside linebacker group is commanded by one of the most reliable players in the NFL at that position in Blake Martinez.

Lastly, the safety position has gone from a weakness to a strength with the additions of Adrian Amos and Darnell Savage.

The last time the Green Bay Packers gave Rodgers a top-tier defense, they won the Super Bowl. Now, by no means does this defense have to be a top five unit for this team to succeed, but if they can hang around 10-12th overall, this will be a very dangerous Packers team.

While the defensive unit as a whole is a bit young and will likely take their lumps here and there, a lot of draft capital and money has been spent on that side of the ball. It’s time to make that big jump.