THE DEFENSE TAKES THE FIELD

New Faces On D Look To Shake 'Soft' Label

 

579.

The number sticks in Head Coach Mike McCarthy’s craw like a splinter in the eye.

579.

That is the total number of yards yielded by McCarthy’s Green Bay Packer defense in last year’s divisional playoff game against the San Francisco 49ers. By any measure, by any barometer, by any yardstick that is an ugly, embarrassing number. McCarthy and Defensive Coordinator Dom Capers had their hands full this off season in not only addressing the numbers but how to keep the likes of the new-age QB’s in the NFL like Robert Griffin III of Washington, Russell Wilson in Seattle and the Niners Colin Kaepernick who used the playoffs as his own personal statement and coming out party from running wild this season.

And considering that the Pack faces all 3 – Wilson and the ‘Hawks in the preseason rematch of the

epic Fail Mary game and Kaepernick and Griffin in weeks 1 and 2 – the Packer brain trust did not stand idle in the offseason.

The new faces on D as well as the departed reflect an inner resolve to get tougher and more athletic. Gone is OLB Eric Walden who had a brutal game against the Niners in the playoffs and last year’s rookie standout DL Jerel Worthy is not yet back from his season ending knee surgery. Once promising LB’s D.J. Smith (San Diego) and Desmond Bishop (Green Bay West – Minnesota) were released early as they no longer fit into the Pack’s plans. Charles Woodson has also left and the task in the offseason was to go out and get the types of players that can play against the new-age QB’s.

After the embarrassing loss to the 49ers, a game in which the Packers were actually leading, if not dominating, and threatened to break open until punt returner Jeremy Ross fumbled a punt inside the Packer 20 after the D held Kaepernick & co. to a 3 and out, the whispers around the league were that the Packers were ‘soft’. ‘Weak’.  A pure ‘finesse’ team. Nothing without Rodgers. Not tough. The Packers lacked the toughness requisite to win the tough games, especially on the road.

GM Ted Thompson heard the same talk and has used the draft once again to go out and get what McCarthy needs. He grabbed DE Datone Jones in the 1^st round. At 6’4” and 285 lbs. Jones is a gifted athlete who combines size, speed, and the wingspan of a pterodactyl and has been called the prototype DE for a 3 -4 D that has to face the newest innovation in the NFL. Jones lined across from this year’s #1 overall pick in LT Eric Fisher (Kansas City) in the Senior Bowl practices and caught many scouts’ eyes when he was was able to manhandle the bigger and stronger Fisher in practice. Jones is a plug-and-play player who will step right into the fire and will start from day 1.

For Capers he will be getting an almost 2 for 1 type of draft defense in that last year’s #1 pick of the OLB Nick Perry will be back after playing only 6 games and being lost for the season after wrist surgery. Perry’s athleticism and speed opposite Clay Matthews elevates the Packers D and the combination could provide what Capers and McCarthy need to stay in the hunt for the Lombardi Trophy. Both Jones and Perry add an element of speed that has been missing and desperately needed. Jones injured an ankle early and the Packer brass is hoping this does not become another season long, season ending dilemma so fresh in the minds of everyone in green and gold. The past few years of injuries – Bryan Bulaga, Perry, Derrick Sherrod, Cedric Benson, former 1^st round bust Justin Harrell, Nick Collins are a few names that recall the panic that sets in when a key player goes down.

The mandate of the D in addition to getting tougher is to stop the run better. B.J. Raji slid from his previous outputs last year and DE Ryan Pickett cannot play forever. To shore up the line DE Josh Boyd (6’3”/ 310 lbs/ Mississippi St.) was taken in the 5^th round. He joins 2^nd year man Mike Daniels and Mike Neal on the line. Neal finally began to show some glimmers of hope last year after he has had an up and down start after being drafted in the 2^nd round. Neal’s biggest problem is – what else? – the injury bug that has plagued him since he moved north. So impressive has Neal been that Capers has experimented moving him back to an upright hybrid OLB position on occasion. It gives the Pack some flexibility and some creative options for Capers to create some exotic package.

The feel-good story of camp and quite possibly in the entire NFL has been the return of a once rising

young star in DT Johnny Jolly. Jolly began to become a force and earned a hefty raise but was busted in ’09 for drug possession and was sentenced to a 3 year term in prison. Few, if any, gave Jolly any chance at the age of 30 of ever seeing an NFL field again.

But Jolly has been one of the surprise stars of camp. His capacity for batting balls at the line has returned; against the Rams he deflected a ball that was picked off by Jarrett Bush and later added an interception of his own greatly improving his chances of sticking. Jolly’s nimble feet have also caught the coaches’ eyes and it will be no shock to see him make the final 53.

Besides Jolly the surprise player on defense in camp has been the play of rookie 5^th round CB Micah Hyde (6’0”/ 197 lbs./ Iowa) who was named the Big 10’s Defensive Back of the year last season. Hyde is coming into a deep, elite group at CB. The Packers own the deepest stable of CB’s in the league, a position so deep it allowed them the luxury of cutting Charles Woodson loose. Tramon Williams, last year’s rookie sensation Casey Hayward and Sam Shields have all been nursing injuries in camp increasing Hyde’s playing time thus far. He has a nose for the ball and isn’t afraid to get it bloodied in the run game. Hyde has also shown some flash as a punt returner. While Hyde has made a few mistakes and been beaten on some deep balls he possess the type of athleticism McCarthy and Capers are looking for. In a pass happy league good corners are the antidote. While Hyde is not great yet, he has the tools to become one about the time Tramon Williams begins to slip. As a kick returner Hyde may not possess the lightning like strikes of Randall Cobb but he offers McCarthy a viable option to protect the Pack’s prize possession on offense. Davon House is also in the mix and all 5 give the Packers a truly elite corps of corners. With the depth at the CB position and at Safety special teams ace and swingman Jarrett Bush may become the odd man out in this scenario.

TT also drafted LB’s Nate Palmer (6’2’/ 248 lbs./ Illinois St.) and Sam Barrington (6’1”/ 235 lbs./

South Florida) to add some much needed depth at the LB positions. Perry, Clay Matthews, A.J. Hawk and Brad Jones comprise the 4 starters and the race is on for 5 more LB’s to make the team. 2^nd year man Terrell Manning is, like Barrington, a noted thumper and Barrington is built along the Sam Mills size and plays much bigger than his 235 lbs. Manning had a mysterious illness last year that turned out to be colitis, a parasitic infection that caused him to lose weight and missed most of the 2^nd half of the season but is now healthy. Barrington’s size along with the physical play of last year’s camp surprise Dezman Moses may make it a battle between Barrington, incumbent Jamari Lattimore and Palmer for a roster spot.

Surprisingly the Packers stood pat at the Safety position. Morgan Burnett has quietly become the anchor of the S group while Sean Richardson, M.D. Jennings and Jerron MacMillan battle for the starters spot.

Another real battle is at the Kicker position. Mason Crosby had a dreadful season last year, his worst as a pro. Crosby has struggled mightily in camp and McCarthy’s once steadfast support of his kicker has wavered as Crosby’s consistencies and accuracy woes continue into camp. Rookie UDFA K Giorgio Tavecchio (tah-veh-KEE-oh) was brought in for competition and at this writing the position is no clearer than it was prior to camp. Both players have missed makeable kicks, and it seems that every time Crosby gets a leg up he follows it with yet another maddening, frustrating shaky performance. Tavecchio has also had his misses and does not possess the leg Crosby has. It is not out of the spectrum of possibility the Packers go shopping for a street free agent (David Akers, Lawrence Tynes, Phil Dawson) if Crosby continues to falter. McCarthy has gone on record flatly stating “He (Crosby) needs to makes his kicks. He knows that”. That is hardly the endorsement McCarthy rang even late last year.

So how much tougher are the Packers than last year? If the numbers of in camp fistfights are any

indication the Packers are a whole lot tougher. McCarthy preaches constantly about playing with an edge. The competition for a roster spot has been tough.

The question remains will the final 53 be tough enough? Will the new faces be enough to catch the Niners and the Seahawks while fending off the rising challenges within the now incredibly tough NFC North? The depth the Packers have and the internal slugfests indicates they are serious and some decent players will end up elsewhere as they get caught up in a numbers game

But the number 579 has got to go. That is one number that will haunt McCarthy for the rest of his career.

 

NEXT: MAKING THE CUT - THE FINAL 53 (MAYBE)