Green Bay Packers: 3 Matchups to Watch in Week 11
By Kenny Jilek
Christian Kirksey vs. Nyheim Hines
Christian Kirksey was brought to Green Bay with the hope that he would stabilize the linebacker group after the departure of Blake Martinez, but he’s played in just four games because of injury. This week will be a huge test for his coverage ability that was touted when he signed to replace Martinez, a notoriously bad coverage player.
While Nyheim Hines has not taken the brunt of the carries for the Colts this season, he has carved out a great niche for himself as a receiving back in his three years in the league. He’s caught 33 balls for 265 yards and four touchdowns this season, and had a big game against the Titans last week, scoring two touchdowns and going over 100 yards from scrimmage.
In limited reps defending the pass this season, Kirksey has allowed eight catches on nine targets, a completion percentage of 88.9 percent. This is a small sample, but it is a bit concerning coming up against a great backfield receiver in Hines. The other linebackers will play a part as well, but two of them, Oren Burks and Kamal Martin, are in the bottom ten in yards per target at 14.7 and 13.0 respectively. Those are also in limited sample sizes, but it doesn’t appear that the Packers have any great options against Hines in the passing game.
First, they’ll have to stop the run to get to a point where this is a problem, but Phillip Rivers has the 12th-lowest average intended air yards in the league, and three of the guys with less than him are Washington Football Team quarterbacks. He likes to throw short and Hines is a huge part of that strategy.