The DL, including OLBs, are beginning to have a huge turn-around. Part of the defense's great performance in the second half was the increased playing time for Devonte Wyatt. He has truly come around, especially in the pass rush; he probably just needed some time to get used to the NFL.

Reed and Clark have returned to top form. Slaton has had some good moments as well, and is a good run stuffer.

I disagree about Lowry. He isn't very fundamentally sound, and has a tendency to get pushed around. He is not a very good run defender.

I would like to see more of the 350 lb NT Jonathan "The Ford" Ford. I want to see how he holds up as a run-stuffer. It would be nice to have him sprinkled into the DL rotation, especially on early downs or running downs.

D-Line is average at best, D Lowry is weak. You want to beat the Packers run the ball at D Lowry wherever he is lined up and throw over the middle, Packers D cannot cover the middle of the field. You want to see a good defensive team watch the 49ers.

This is an avg defense. IMO there is a lack of speed. I would not be shocked to see Jefferson race pass the corners and take on a slow and useless Amos. Could be Field day for the vikes.. way too many fast receivers and tight ends to cover. Speed kills and the vikes have it all over the place.
Season ends on Sunday.
Douglas has two inteception against Tua. Where has he by even the other 14 games. Stokes is a moron. Team is lucky to have the record it does

Reed had a good game. He’s actually had a few where he’s not being asked to stuff the run primarily. Lowry went out and that allowed us to get more from Slaton and Wyatt. As in previous games, both have looked more robust and more of a threat. Both should be getting more snaps but weren’t really getting serious numbers until injury forced it. Clark has been much more himself over the last month, though he wasn’t at his best yesterday on first viewing.

What does that tell us? The game suited Reed: despite his size he’d much better when allowed to disrupt. Other than that, injury simply forced us to do what play has long suggested and play more of Slaton and Wyatt. Is that the D line really gelling?

In my view this is not yet the emergence of a better DL. It was a game that played to our DL’s strength and not its weakness: the Dolphins hardly ran it. However, I think that if the coaches learn we are better with a group of Clark, Reed, Slaton and Wyatt and no Lowry against the run as well as the pass, but do I trust the coaches to not return to the status quo? Sadly not if Lowry is healthy. A caution though: we may be better, but none of those players are top line run players either, just better than Lowry.

My #1 player I wanted the Packers to draft in 2022 was Jameson William's. Then #2 was Wyatt at DE. My third choice was Pickens.

I'm really happy we got Wyatt and expect huge returns. They need to draft another big ugly early in 2023.

It is crazy to me how Wyatt does not play more.....the Lowry inury could be a blessing in disguise

The Pack run the team comparable to a good old boys club. It's not that Wyatt needed time to get ready, it's just the coaching staff being unwilling to play the best player at each position in favor of the established player.

As alluded to earlier: 1) Dean Lowry has been average or less for quite some time. 2) Taking over half the season to jettison Amari Rodgers and play Nixon-there is no way the coaches did not see Nixon's talent earlier. 3) Sammy Watkins should have been let go or demoted after week 3. 4) Taking over half the season to demote Savage. 5) Waiting until Stokes is injured to move Douglas back to his more natural position. 6) OL changes should have been decided in preseason and ready to go by week 1. Tom > Newman.

Packers should be playing the best player regardless if they are a rookie or veteran.

Chungo

This article seems a bit premature. The Dolphins did average 5.8 YPC on 10 runs in the 1st half and there were times the pass rush was non-existent and Tua made them pay for it. The run D stiffened considerably in the 2nd half. Without looking at the All 22 I'm not willing to say it was simply because Lowry was taken out of the equation but there could be some truth to that.

Wyatt at nose with Clark and Slayton is best combo, rotate in Reed, keep Lowery on the bench.

It was a busy Christmas Day, so I recorded the game and rewatched it.

It reaffirmed to me how dangerous the Packers could be in the playoffs IF the O can cure their Red Zone dysfunction and the D keeps winning the turnover battle because it is the only way Barry's D will stop any offense. Without the T/Os, this is a very bad D. Turnovers paper over a lot of holes.

Two big ifs. Improvement in the RZ offense is possible. Expecting the D to win the turnover battle is unlikely.

Two developments saved the D: 4 turnovers and the Packer O keeping the D off the field. Packers had 20 more plays on O than Miami, chewed the clock and scored.

The first half showed how bad Barry's defense can be. The second half was fun with the turnovers but now reading the QB was playing with a concussion which probably explains his terrible throws that saved the game along with Reed's great forced fumble.

I also have no clue why Barry (and MLF) continue to give Lowry snaps over Wyatt. Lowry is terrible. He gets rag dolled on almost every play.

And the other head scratcher is Amos. His decline is sad to see on the field. He is a liability at S. Some his age lose a step...he has lost several. Never even in the receivers zip code. And he is playing very timid and avoids tackles if he can. I wonder if he is all dinged up or just in the eventual decline all players see. Too bad....I like AA the man...but he is adding to Barry's mess with the Safeties. First Savage, now Amos.

Wyatt looked like he was on roller skates most of the season, but it looks like he's starting to perform better. We will need another good performance against a better O line, and we need to corral Cook.

I never wish injuries on anyone (what goes around comes around) -- so I wish Lowry well.

At the same time, I'm in the camp with most of you that I've been wanting to see Wyatt rotated in more. Unfortunately, the only reason it happened was due to Lowry's injury....not the coaching staff seeing his potential talent.

Now that the staff's hand has been forced, I can only hope it yields more snaps for Wyatt. Lowry, on the other hand, is a free agent in March. I'd be surprised if they brought him back again. Maybe, if only on a 1 year prove it deal, but I'd imagine that the Packers will let him test the market.

Reed is here on a one year prove it deal and I think he's proven he's worth keeping around at the right price. If he wants to stay and isn't demanding some insane contract, then I'd much rather have him back and let Lowry walk.

Safety is a mess. Amos was great his first 3 seasons, but he looks toast now. So he'll walk in free agency, but Savage also seems lost somehow and will be on his 5th year option....you'd have to think the Packers might draft a Safety in the 1st round come next April/May (always a defensive pick, right? :) Either that or bring back Rudy Ford and pair him with Savage....and then draft a safety later in the draft (it doesn't appear to be a great safety class anyway).