Green Bay Packers: Nickel defense needs to be diminished

The Green Bay Packers have one of the worst run defenses in the NFL, and playing with an extra defensive back too often is not helping their cause.

It has been no secret that the Green Bay Packers have had trouble stopping the run this season. They rank 26th in the NFL in rush yards given up per game at 125.5. This goes hand in hand with the fact that they give up a ridiculous 4.8 yards per rush, 28th in the NFL in that category.

There are many reasons for this. Kenny Clark is having a slightly down year, but he’s still doing an alright job of at least eating up some blockers. Starting defensive linemen, Tyler Lancaster and Dean Lowry have simply not been doing the job this season. They have combined for a total of 22 solo tackles in 11 games. That’s an average of one tackle each per game. Additionally, they both each only have one tackle for loss on the season. They need to do be doing more.

Blake Martinez, usually the sole inside linebacker in what has become the Green Bay Packers’ base nickel defense is also having trouble in the run game. He makes a lot of tackles, in fact he’s third in the league in total tackles. That sounds great, but when those tackles are being made five yards past the line of scrimmage, it means he’s not quite doing his job that well either.

The interior run defense has been bad. On the outside, the Smiths do a good job of holding the edge and letting others pursue and get to the ball. Between the tackles has not been the same story. On third and fourth downs of two yards or less, the Green Bay Packers are giving up a first down or touchdown 70 percent of the time, ranking them 26th. Also, the percentage of the time they tackle the running back behind or at the line of scrimmage is just 12 percent, 2nd worst in the league. Football Outsiders also has them ranked dead last in Adjusted Line Yards which mostly analyzes the defensive line’s ability to stop rushes.

This is all to say that the run defense, especially the defensive line needs help, badly. When your interior defense is this atrocious against the run, another bigger body is needed to at least take on another block and keep from huge holes opening up between the tackles.

Last week, the Packers played the second-best rushing offense in the league in the 49ers. Inside linebacker B.J. Goodson played just 13 snaps and Oren Burks played only one. This, while nickel cornerback, Tramon Williams, played 33, extra safety, Ibraheim Campbell played 21, and defensive back, Chandon Sullivan, played 20.

Tramon Williams is having a great season and is actually the highest graded player in the Packers’ secondary on Pro Football Focus. Getting him snaps is important, because he is so adept at covering speedy receivers in the slot, but it can’t be on every down. In passing situations, like 2nd or 3rd and long, it’s great to have him out there, but he has no business trying to play the run.

A team like San Francisco that often has only two receivers on the field at a time does not necessitate having a third cornerback to defend that. Instead, bulkier personnel needs to be deployed to combat bigger offensive personnel.

Early in the season, it was Raven Greene that was bringing some added muscle to the field while also having the speed to do well in coverage. Unfortunately, he was hurt in the week two matchup with Minnesota and is still on the Injured Reserve list. Since his injury, the Green Bay Packers defense hasn’t found a replacement and has been getting torn up by the run. They’ve tried multiple things, including signing B.J. Goodson, but he hasn’t really gotten a chance. He’s only played on 30 percent of the Packers’ defensive snaps this year and hasn’t had many opportunities to make an impact.

The key for this defense, like most defenses with good pass rushes, is getting the offense to third-and-long situations. They haven’t done that effectively because of opponents gaining 4.7 yards per carry on first down. 14 of the 28 sacks for the Packers have come on second, third, or fourth down with seven or more yards to gain. This is when the Smiths feast, and it needs to come around more often.

There are still some great running backs left on the Packers’ schedule this season. They will be visiting Saquon Barkley on Sunday and Dalvin Cook, who ran wild for 154 yards when they played against him in week two. To stop these explosive backs, the defensive strategy needs to change. Goodson and Burks need to see the field and Tramon Williams needs to be more of a situational piece.

What do you think of how the Packers distribute defensive snaps? Who do you think should play more or less? Leave your thoughts in the comments below or @DairylandXpress.