Green Bay Packers: 3 Things to do Differently Against the Bucs

Football is a game of adjustments, and the Green Bay Packers will have to make some big ones in their gameplan from when they played the Buccaneers early in the season.

Of course, the loss wasn’t all because of things that they did with their scheme. There were some plays where the ball just didn’t bounce the right way for him, and things like that are anomalies that lead to the Packers’ only loss of the season that was by more than one possession.

It’s a completely different game this time around. The change from playing in Tampa Bay in October to Green Bay in January is a complete 180, and we’ll see plenty of differences. Even with those differences, there are still some basic gameplan changes that could flip the script from their regular-season matchup and give the Green Bay Packers an edge, propelling them to the Super Bowl.

Less Wide Runs

This first point comes down to a simple fact. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense is possibly the best in the league to stop outside runs, especially Matt Lafleur’s outside zone scheme. Their edge players, Shaq Barrett and Jason Pierre-Paul, do a good job of containing run, while inside linebackers Devin White and Lavonte David are one of the most athletic duos in the league. This makes it easy for them to sprint to the outside and shoot gaps to make the play. They combined for 5.5 tackles for loss in the week six matchup.

When these teams met earlier in the year, the Packers’ interior linemen were asked to make blocks that were borderline impossible against these two, trying to help double team a down lineman and climb to the second level before the linebacker crossed their face and made the play.

If they want to run outside, they need to have motion or some misdirection going the other way to at least make these guys think twice and give their lineman an extra second to get there. They can mix that in, but they should really look to more runs between the tackles.

While Aaron Jones, the speed back of the three who’s best equipped to run outside, averaged just 1.5 yards per carry, Jamaal Williams and A.J. Dillon, the two power backs, combined for 7.2 yards per rush. Additionally, the Packers’ longest run of the game was a 25-yarder right up the middle on an inside zone play by Jamaal Williams.

Running on this Bucs defense isn’t easy in any way, especially with Vita Vea potentially returning this week. They will need to be very deliberate in the run game, having a clear plan to attack the middle and not let Tampa’s linebackers play fast.

The entire team is always trying to play fast and downhill, which leads to our next difference that the Green Bay Packers can make from week six to this game.