Tackling Maestro Blake Martinez Becoming a Packers Defensive Staple

One of the biggest stories out of Green Bay these last few weeks has been the ascension of Packers inside linebacker Blake Martinez.

From the second the stitches securing the wound on his nose burst open in the week three game against the Detroit Lions in his rookie year, Martinez has subtly been a fan-favorite. With blood cascading down his facemask and a couple of re-stitchings so he can continue playing, he seemed to fit in with a culture of spartan-like Packers linebackers from the start.

The second-year Martinez out of Stanford entered the 2017 season as the only true inside linebacker in the Packers' Nitro defense, which featured a safety -- Morgan Burnett -- playing alongside Martinez in the box. It became the Packers' base defense and also an outlet to keep Martinez on the field.

Nearing the midway point of this year's campaign, that seems like one of the better decisions defensive coordinator Dom Capers can make.

Martinez has played at least 95 percent of snaps in his last three games, including playing all but one (75/76) in the loss to the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.

In the loss, Martinez sported a career-high in solo tackles with 13, toppling his previous mark of seven from just a week earlier. He's tallied 46 total tackles over his last four games and has led the team in tackles in three of those four contests.

"I kind of just go back to last year where I was overthinking too much," Martinez said on Monday. "Whether it was the given play call we had or the formation the offense put out on the field. I'm just going and playing football -- and at that point, it allows me to play more freely, kind of like I usually did in college and high school football."

The fourth-round pick from a season ago has become a staple to the Packers' defense this season, proving as one of the few bright spots up front along with a stout defensive line. He's done it all -- from blitzing, playing stellar run defense and flooding ball-carriers behind the line or dropping back into coverage, Martinez isn't having any issues with his workload.

It's ultimately why he's tied for the league-lead in tackles with Baltimore Ravens linebacker C.J. Mosley. They both have 64, but Martinez is second in solo tackles (47) to Mosley's 48. It's been an impressive start to a sophomore season for Martinez, and his playing time certainly isn't going to dwindle anytime soon.

The accolades are a nice touch, but Martinez knows he can only do so much. The Packers -- losers of two games in a row -- will have a chance to right the ship as they venture into their bye week. Their preparation for Monday Night Football against the same Lions team Martinez faced in his third career game begins next week.

"We have extreme confidence in our capabilities to achieve the goals we want to achieve -- obviously being winning the Super Bowl. We have the guys in this locker room who can get that done, and I think moving forward, it's just understanding that and, like we've always said, you just have to put that much more effort.

"Maybe that one block is going to spur open a touchdown or that one tackle is going to stop them and allow us to have that momentum shift."

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Zachary Jacobson is a staff writer/reporter for Cheesehead TV. He's the voice of The Leap on iTunes and can be heard on The Scoop KLGR 1490 AM every Saturday morning. He's also a contributor on the Pack-A-Day Podcast. He can be found on Twitter via @ZachAJacobson or contacted through email at [email protected].

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Comments (22)

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MITM's picture

October 24, 2017 at 03:56 pm

Seeing Martinez and Clark blossom this season has been awesome

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Denver's picture

October 24, 2017 at 09:20 pm

And Fackrell..............not.
How I wish without #12 the D could make a difference.

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HankScorpio's picture

October 25, 2017 at 06:57 am

Do you mean a difference like creating 2 turnovers?

Or do you mean they need to go from one of the worst defenses in the game in 2016 to one of the best in 2017?

One was accomplished, the other is pie in the sky.

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Pauly's picture

October 24, 2017 at 03:56 pm

Defense? Does it make sense to move CMIII to ILB with Martinez full time?
Give up on CMIII pass rushing,, he's not that effective at age 32, play to his strength.
Give the Com helmet back to Martinez until maybe Burnett is back?
Start Beigle and Adams playing.
Then 2 press corners, King/House.
3 DBs with 1 high safety. Jones, Randall, Dix/Burnett when he's back.
Seems like a lot less complex defensive scheme for all types coverage and run defense

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HankScorpio's picture

October 25, 2017 at 07:04 am

Matthews has also been more of a high energy, relentless kind of player. He moves well and can make plays when he runs to the ball. That description perfectly fits ILB. But the issue I have with him inside at this point in time is Kyler Fackrell. He's not a guy I want to see much on the field.

If Brooks was healthy and Biegel showed the ability to chew up some OLB snaps, I'm all for ILB duo of Matthews and Martinez. I think it puts the best players on the field, which is the goal. But if playing Matthews inside means putting Kyler Fackrell on the field, it is the opposite of putting your best players on the field.

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dobber's picture

October 25, 2017 at 07:23 am

I think you hit the nail on the head: get the Packers a passable guy to rotate in at OLB and they can do more with Matthews, who has very quietly had a pretty good (not $15M good) year. Hopefully Brooks is back after the bye, but back injuries are always a cause for concern. Having had my share, they not only linger but they destroy your ability to function.

How long until the club comes off for Perry?

Kyler Fackrell can take up snaps, but he is always one of those guys who runs into the picture just as the whistle blows. He gets eaten by blockers. Frankly, he belongs at ILB in the Packers defense and on ST.

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ScaryGary's picture

October 24, 2017 at 04:09 pm

hey all you packer folk!!! shout out to since 61 u seem to be the voice of reason more often than not without laying down ur packer guard. i tried to register under the name "blake the snake" but i guess i tried to register a couple years back ( when 50% of everything seemed to be about that cow dude). its weird that i care more about the injury report than the actual games but i still believe in this team. rodgers injury is awful but we can now sign adams, burnett, and dix cause they all benefit from arod. clark, king, jones, jones, taylor, and martinez r the real deal u couldn't say that at start of season. i see green grass in packerland!

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ScaryGary's picture

October 24, 2017 at 04:15 pm

oh, and go hawks!! my game day jersey is mikey D. i remember the local newspaper had a QnA for iowa great d line of clayborn, ballard, king, i forget to other guy. the question was who would u want to have ur back in a dark alley? they all said first team sub mike daniels. that was a bad ass o-line, a healthy mike daniels is john randle with some pudding

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ScaryGary's picture

October 24, 2017 at 04:17 pm

i swear i typed d-line

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Gforcetrivers's picture

October 24, 2017 at 05:23 pm

I think my next Jersey will say Martinez

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dobber's picture

October 25, 2017 at 09:51 am

Mine will say, "This Space For Rent".

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Samson's picture

October 24, 2017 at 10:35 pm

Blake Martinez = AJ Hawk 2.0.
We'll find out if that is good or just another short term misdirection for a "D" that's glaringly inept.

Blake needs some "game changing" plays.-- (Remember, someone has to or eventually makes the tackle)
Thanks. Since '60.-- Samson.

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dobber's picture

October 25, 2017 at 07:26 am

I don't think you're watching the same player as the rest of us.

Martinez is frequently stuffing and shooting gaps and playing on the offensive side of the LOS. Very active and making some of the few quality plays for this defense. The "big plays" will come.

Don't forget that AJ Hawk, early in his career, was also very active and played well. Don't let the AJ Hawk from 2012 on cloud your view of who he was earlier in his career when he was playing on the outside in the 4-3.

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Thegreatreynoldo's picture

October 25, 2017 at 01:40 am

Martinez is playing faster and his processing speed has improved. He does owe Clark 7 steak dinners and 3 dinners for Daniels.

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NickPerry's picture

October 25, 2017 at 05:45 am

"The fourth-round pick from a season ago has become a staple to the Packers' defense this season, proving as one of the few bright spots up front along with a stout defensive line. "

The Packers are ranked 27th against the run, 26th in scoring, 27th in sacks, 22nd in total yards. Based on those rankings I'm not sure how you can call the defensive line "Stout"?

Martinez? That's a different story. Martinez has been a bright spot and has been EVERYWHERE for the Packs D.

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flackcatcher's picture

October 25, 2017 at 06:43 am

When your preferred defense loses it's best DB and defensive play caller along with every starting boundary CB bad things happen. Still 4-3 after playing 5 of the heavy run teams in the NFL. We seen this movie before. Packers injuries wipe out a position group, coaches 'make adjustments' (duck tape and super glue) and make an unreal run into the playoffs. Capers still is considered one of the great defensive minds inside the NFL. He and staff put together a plan which in large part got the Packers into the NFL Championship game last year. Do not let your desire for change blind you to the on going facts of this season. What's happening to this team happens to every successful team in the NFL. One or two bad drafts and off the wire. (no safety net for GMs) Capers gets the benefit of the doubt from me based on his record as Packer DC. As you say Nick, Martinez has been a bright spot so far this season. (And for his reward he'll probably get injured after the bye and be lost for the rest season. Jerry Jones Voodoo doll man. Got the whole defense with little pins stuck in them...:)

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flackcatcher's picture

October 25, 2017 at 06:54 am

Oh yeah, watched this game on the all 22. It was worst the second time around. May be the first time this team collapsed in the MM era. Total confusion on both sides of the ball. Never thought I see that under this head coach. I bet the self scouting sessions are brutal this week.

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Thegreatreynoldo's picture

October 26, 2017 at 03:22 am

IMO, Clark and Daniels have been very stout. As a duo, they probably are in the top 10 DTs in in the NFL. A little more pass rush and they'd be top 5. Nickel and the nitro are not made to stop the run. Moreover, Josh Jones' run fits were particularly bad last week, and Dix hasn't been good all year. Lots of runs that should have been short gains busted for chunk plays this season.

CM3 has never been good with his contain. He guesses too much; that allows him to make the splash play but when he guesses wrong it can be a big gainer. Perry's club has limited him both in run defense and pass rush. His contain is usually pretty good.

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Handsback's picture

October 25, 2017 at 07:13 am

One of the few mid-round defensive picks that TT has made that has worked out.

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al bundy's picture

October 25, 2017 at 09:30 am

Hate to go against the grain since Martinez is out there trying, but one play defined him for me. A TE broke from the line, our guy Martinez was playing off, let the guy catch the ball then came up and tried to make a high tackle. Why he wasn't in step and batting the ball away makes me question his real talent. Does he know how to play or just running around doing clean up. Don't know.

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HankScorpio's picture

October 25, 2017 at 09:41 am

Everyone has bad plays. Arod threw a very ugly looking pick 6 earlier this year, too.

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Nelson Alberto Gonzalez Cuña's picture

October 25, 2017 at 11:51 am

This is a problem with the defense that Capers implement ,no with B. Martinez. You see every defensive player five or ten yards off and when the offensive player catch the ball, try to tackle . It's a Dom Capers mess ,year after year. Martinez is an intelligent player and a studier of the football , he is a good football player.

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