The Packers Best Players On Defense Haven't Played Like It In 2022
By GilMartin
The Green Bay Packers defense has been a major disappointment in 2022. The unit, which features seven former first round picks (when they’re all healthy) was expected to carry the team, especially early in the season when the offense adjusted to life without Davante Adams and their two best linemen, David Bakhtiari and Elgton Jenkins, recovered from their serious knee injuries.
Unfortunately, things didn’t go to plan. One reason why: none of the Packers top defensive players (with one possible exception) played up to expectations this year.
If we go by position, Kenny Clark is unquestionably the team’s best defensive lineman. The former first-round pick out of UCLA earned Pro Bowl honors after the 2019 and 2021 campaigns.
Clark is one of the few interior defensive linemen in the league who can not just stop the run but also create some pressure on opposing quarterbacks. He recorded six sacks in both 2018 and 2019 and often occupies multiple blockers which helps teammates make plays behind him.
Unfortunately, this season, Clark’s play has taken a noticeable downturn especially after the first four games. His run defense has especially not been up to his usual standards. Both his run defense and pass rush grades are down on Pro Football Focus as compared to last year.
The Packers best inside linebacker is De’Vondre Campbell. Campbell earned All Pro honors for the first time in 2021 in his first season with the Packers after they signed him to a one-year, prove-it deal as a free agent.
This season, Campbell got off to a slow start and missed more tackles in the first four games of 2022 than he did in all of 2021. Again, his run defense suffered the biggest drop off in quality.
While his play improved as the season progressed, an injury forced Campbell to miss four mid-season games. It is possible playing alongside rookie Quay Walker, who was still learning the defense, prevented Campbell from covering as much ground in the middle of the field as he did a year ago.
Rashan Gary is the next star player on the Packers defense. Gary may be the one exception on the list, a player who met or exceeded expectations this year. Of course, the fact that he was injured in Packers loss to the Lions in Week 9 and lost for the season minimizes the impact he has on the team.
Gary was leading the team with six sacks. He was slowed by an injury after the first six games before being sidelined for the season with a knee injury.
Although he struggled in run contain early in the year, Gary did improve a bit against the run in the last few games before he was injured.
His absence has been felt by the team and even though Gary has missed the last four games due to his injury, he is still leading the team in sacks.
Jaire Alexander is the team’s highest regarded cornerback. Alexander went to the Pro Bowl in 2020 and was considered one of the elite cover corners in the league. In 2021, he suffered a shoulder injury in Week 4 and missed the rest of the regular season.
This year, while he has a career-high four interceptions, he is also getting beaten on pass patterns far more often than he was in the past. According to pro-football-reference.com, quarterbacks are completing 8.7 percent more of their passes when throwing to receivers covered by Alexander than they did in 2020 and they are gaining 3.4 more yards per completion as well.
Alexander is still a good cornerback, but he is much less consistent and is certainly not playing to the Pro Bowl level he was two years ago. The fact that the Packers made him the highest paid cornerback in the league this offseason only adds to the fans’ frustration.
At safety, Adrian Amos was considered the team’s best and most consistent player. Amos was always known as a positionally sound player who helped his teammates make big plays because they knew Amos would always be in the right place at the right time. The Penn State alum has also been a leader in the locker room.
Unfortunately, this season, Amos’ play has not lived up to his past standards. Opposing quarterbacks are completing a remarkable 76.5 percent of their passes when throwing to receivers covered by Amos (pro-football-reference.com) and their quarterback rating is 127.2.
Amos has also had issues about picking up and trading off players as they cross from one zone to another in defensive coverage which has rarely been an issue for him in the past. Of course, he is far from alone in this regard.
Clearly, the coaching staff is not maximizing the performance of the best players on the Green Bay defense this year.
The cliché in sports is that to win, your best players need to play like your best players. Unfortunately for the Packers defense, that has rarely been the case in 2022. The team has four games to change that equation and no margin for error.
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Comments (35)
ricky
December 15, 2022 at 11:28 am
As with the question of the chicken or the egg, there is whether it is the coaching/scheme or the players. That so many defensive players have declined so quickly at the same time seems to point in a certain direction. But until the Packers replace their DC and his staff (yes, that would include Gray, since the DB's are a major source of concern), we'll never know.
Leatherhead
December 15, 2022 at 11:50 am
I'd still rather have the Packers defensive roster than quite a few other teams. There are a lot of very good players there who didn't have their best season, and as always, there were injuries.
Overall, the Packers defense has been average-ish, as I've said many times. Depending on the last four games, we could end up 16th in scoring and near that in most defensive categories. Our pass defense numbers are better than the run defense numbers, which is what you'd get if you were prioritizing pass defense, which the Packers do.
Next year, we'll return Clark, Wyatt, and Slaton, who are all under contract. I'd expect Wyatt and Slaton to be better, and I think Clark could be again. He's obviously being nagged by injuries enough to make him merely a good DL, not a great one. So to that group of three, you add one really good guy and one jag and that's a 5 man rotation you can win with.
The linebacker situation is as good as it's been since Nitschke and Robinson lined up. On the outside, PSmith and Gary, inside with Walker and Campbell.
Pass defense starts with coverage, and we have some guys in the secondary who can cover. It looks like we're going to be replacing some safeties. We also have guys like Nixon, Ford, and Carpenter.
I think we can put at least an average defense on the field again next year, and average is good enough to win with. The Vikings are headed towards the #2 seed and they're 24th in defense. Miami is worse than us. The Giants are two points better than us over the season. KC is four. The Seahawks and Lions are both worse than us and they're ahead of us in the wildcard chase.
If we fix the offense, so we don't go out and score 7 and 9 on the road against division opponents, we can win the division next year.
BirdDogUni
December 15, 2022 at 12:05 pm
If Joe Berry is our DC, we might as well spend every draft pick we have while he's here on the offensive side of the ball.
No use wasting draft capital when you have a DC who can't put people in a position to succeed.
Draft ALL OFFENSE and score 40 points per game, because our defense is terrible, but we can make a stop every now and then.
Ok, maybe draft one 1st round Pass Rusher so our defense actually has a chance when it comes to the Playoffs next season.
Leatherhead
December 15, 2022 at 01:21 pm
BDU......it isn't Joe Berry's fault that we're an average-ish defense on a losing team. There was a lot of pre-season hype, I'll grant you that. Guys have gotten hurt, guys have played hurt. They spend too much time on the field and too little time protecting a lead.
Personally, I was in favor of an all-offense draft last year. I mean, if it were ARod's last season, why not put the best offense you could around him? And if Love is the future, then wouldn't it be nice if the future included a real good group around him?
We don't need to score 40 ppg. 30, without multiple turnovers, is plenty. We'd be undefeated right now. We had two losses in our division this year already where we scored 7 and 9. In a majority of our games this year, we've scored 22 or less and we've lost every one except the Tampa game.
If we had just managed 24 in every game, we'd have a winning record.
If I were driving the bus, I would trade down a little and load up on as many offensive players as I think can make the Top 25 offensive players on the team. That would include skill position guys and lineman who can block.
The defense? Keep them off the field and guarding a lead and you'll be surprised how much better our run defense numbers look.
Lphill
December 15, 2022 at 02:33 pm
But the Packers put up 33 on the road against Philly and the defense couldn’t hold the lead , you need balance from both units .
Leatherhead
December 15, 2022 at 02:39 pm
14 of Philadelphia's points were direct gifts from offensive turnovers. Take those out of the equation and the Packers have an impressive road victory. And that's the most points scored on the Packers in a game BY FAR....next highest is only 28.
If the offense scores 24 or more, and doesn't have multiple turnovers, we win just about every time. We don't need a 40 ppg offense, we don't need a shutout defense. Those losses to division rivals where we scored 7 and 9 points changed our season.
PackyCheese500
December 15, 2022 at 03:32 pm
I disagree. We need to have excellent offenses and defenses. I know it is very trendy these days to be able to score a lot, but the teams with top defenses are the ones that win Super Bowls. Depth on defense is more important, in my opinion. You aren't rotating out offensive linemen every 4-5 snaps. If you have 4 good WRs, 2 good RBs, 3 good TEs (one receiver, one in-line, and one off-ball) and an exceptional offensive line, that is an amazing offensive setup.
You are rotating guys out on the D-line regularly, so depth is of utmost importance there. See my post below for more.
Also, on an unrelated side note, it was Jordan Love that put up 10 of our 33 points vs PHI. It should have been 37 if not for a blatant missed DPI on Cobb
PackyCheese500
December 15, 2022 at 03:26 pm
The most successful teams don't have an exceptional offense but a terrible defense, or vice versa. They play complimentary football. Look at the Eagles. They have a great offense, but lead the league in turnover differential and are tied for the league lead in sacks, all big parts of their success. What you are describing are the 2020 Packers and Chiefs. Exceptional offenses, but bad defenses. Guess who won the SB that year? The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who had the #6 best defense and held the Chiefs' #1 offense to 9 points in the big game.
What you just described is a recipe to win in the regular season. This is what the 2011, 2020, and 2021 Packers were. Where did they go in the postseason? Losses in the divisional, NFCCSG, and divisional rounds, respectively. Look at the 2010 SB Champion Packers, though. Not as much regular season success, not as good of an offense, but the #5 defense. They had a pick in each of their playoff games, 3 of them for TDs. In each of the last 2011 Super Bowls, (excluding the 2019 Chiefs) the winner had a top-10 defense. From the '21 Rams and '20 Bucs to the '18 Pats, '15 Broncos, and '10 Packers. We cannot neglect our defense; we need to nourish both sides of the ball in the draft. Especially since the 2023 draft class is expected to be STOCKED with edge rushers and defensive line talent. We need to fix our defense to have a chance of being a true contender.
Also, hopefully Jim Leonhard is our DC next year. I have learned a bit about him, and I LOVE his scheme. He runs a Rex-Ryan-type defense, mixing in the 3-4 and 4-3, and overloading the pocket with exotic blitzes.
canadapacker
December 15, 2022 at 12:26 pm
WE do have the pieces - we have always had some of the pieces - even dating back to the TT days. And we have made good draft picks and bad draft picks - and of course there has always been the debate that TT wouldnt go out and get free agents until he picked up Wood and Peppers. Gute seems to have left that behind with the Smith brothers - not discounting the waiver wire guys and overpaying them ( his recent criticism). But TT was supposedly a draft and develop guy but he wasted a lot of high picks on D backs and many didnt work out. I think that there is an issue here not in who we are drafting as much as what type of qualities these players on D have. It seems that the Steelers, Ravens and other knowningly tough clubs - tend to value hard nose stick your nose in to tackle more than for example ball hawking, arm length 40 yard speed etc. ( not that those are not important) . So it all begins in the draft and with the scouts - and if you dont have those player skills hard to play that type of defense. We play soft - soft bend dont break and soft in missed tackles and one on one tackles in space etc and we still havent adapted our Defense to the Micah Parson types of interior linebackers ( we are getting there with Campbell yes) but we need to keep on selecting those types of players to help out our Dline ( which also needs some pieces besides Clark).
As I have posted before we could have lost 3 games easily last year - Arizona INT, Ravens - missed 2 point conversion and Cleveland - thanks Baker for the picks. Those things come around as we have seen this year.
We need a new DC who will play more aggressively and work more on tackling skills in OTA's ( cutting those who dont fill that bill) and who will sit players who make dumb plays ie Hits out of bounds and dumb holding penalties /PI by Dbacks - sit them for at least 1 play - not just continue on as if it is OK.
PackyCheese500
December 15, 2022 at 03:34 pm
Jim Leonhard is our guy for DC! I have been reading about his scheme and it is amazing! He runs a Rex-Ryan type defense that mixes in the 3-4 and 4-3 and is all about aggressively overloading the pocket with pressure via exotic blitzes, making QBs more prone to mistakes. It has worked extremely well at UW and it would be EXTREMELY fun to watch!
"It seems that the Steelers, Ravens and other knowningly tough clubs - tend to value hard nose stick your nose in to tackle...we need to keep on selecting those types of players to help out our Dline ( which also needs some pieces besides Clark)." - Completely agree. That also falls on the coaching for encouraging a wimpy culture. The difference is night and day between our D and that of Dan Campbell or Mike Vrabel's teams.
I would like to see Gutey be more aggressive in free agency if we have the cap space to afford it. The past couple of years have been pretty tight cap-wise, so I don't know if we can blame Gute for standing pat. Maybe with a couple more restructures and whatnot we could have carved out a little more space in the past 2 offseasons, but probably nothing hugely significant. Maybe it could have been significant - who knows?. In 2024, we should have lots of space, so maybe then we can go and have a 2019-esque spending spree.
Packer_Fan
December 15, 2022 at 12:33 pm
hmmm.... A whole bunch of good players not performing well. Does that really happen because they are all playing poorly, Not likely. Perhaps one, but not many unless something else is happening. And it all points to poor coaching. Too difficult to make players hesitant or whatever, Barry has blown it and badly.
And it has continued even well into the season. No, get rid of Barry. And it should have been done much earlier. Take Carolina. Dump the head coach and now they are playing well. But I fear it is too late.
splitpea1
December 15, 2022 at 12:46 pm
They should be lining up Clark at end more often instead of moving him around and playing him at the nose. Instead, Lowry gets a ton of snaps at end. So once again, we're not using our personnel to maximize our strengths due to stubbornness coming from somewhere....And an unfortunate side effect is that Wyatt is being developed at a snail's pace, even though he's played reasonably well for a rookie.
Gary needs to work on his run defense.
Preston Smith has been okay. It's been suggested that we may want to move on from him depending Enagbare's development and who we draft, but the cap savings aren't huge and I'm not sure how good of an idea this is.
Lphill
December 15, 2022 at 02:35 pm
You are correct, Wyatt in the middle , Slayton and Clark at end is the best combo .
stockholder
December 15, 2022 at 12:58 pm
I believe Clark has a injury. More than likely a Groin.
Amos knows he isn't going to get paid. But the regression is effecting the secondary.
And the only thing hurting a injuried Campbell, Is his mouth, and A poor DL.
It all starts up front. And Barry will never have the answers until he changes the DL.
Seriously, It's time for some 6 ' 6" guys. Clark and Wyatt must play.
This Defense is beat up. Gute could trade away anyone. And maybe he should.
My thinking is Zadarious exposed the slackers.
He didn't get paid. And still came out smelling like a Rose.
Barry will be back. But IMO. Gutey needs to draft Offense; to keep up with the neighbors.
Preferring Cast -offs doesn't fix anything long term.
PackyCheese500
December 15, 2022 at 04:09 pm
Our priorities shouldn't be keeping up with the Vikings and Lions - they will drive themselves into the ground like they have so many times over the years. We need to focus on building the best Packers team possible, which means addressing our key needs and key positions on both offense and defense. There are exceptional EDGE and DL draft classes in 2023; maybe we address those position rather early.
Gary was the life of this defense. Z may have 8.5 sacks, but he's been on a poor streak as of late and has been terrible vs the run. Gary is a guy who cares about this team; he will be better than Z was for us. His injury sucked whatever remaining life there was in Barry's defense out of the season; just like he is, unfortunately.
How do you figure Barry will be back? Because he's done such an excellent job with our "top-5" defense? I would be surprised if he lasts a week after the season is over.
stockholder
December 15, 2022 at 05:20 pm
I'm saying offense kept us on top for years. And they must keep drafting the guys that No defense can stop.
The edge does have good players. The best ones will be gone before the packers pick. The rest have SIZE issues.
The best dL will go top 10. The rest are 2-4 rounds. Safeties are Deep. 10 deep.
Too many Edge players get hurt. And never live up to their contracts.
And the better picks are Faster OLBs like CM3.
Barry = How- Because of injuries. And The players. P Smith, Walker, Wyatt, Stokes. Campbell, Douglass.
PackyCheese500
December 15, 2022 at 05:42 pm
Offense may have kept us on top for years, but defense got us over the top. Compare 2010 to 2011; Sure, we won more games in 2011, but we failed when it was most important. On the other hand, we won the SB in 2010 as the #6 seed with a 10-6 regular season record. I would take another 2010 any day over another 2011. I am sure that most fans, including myself would, in a heartbeat, trade all of our years "at the top" from 2011-2016 and from 2019-2021 for even one more Championship.
I get the feeling from reading your posts that you believe the goal of a season is to win in the regular season as much as possible. If this is the case, then 2011, 2019, 2020, and 2021 were as good as you can get, right? I do not agree; I believe, along with the vast majority of people, that the purpose of the league is to win Championships.
You keep saying that the best players will be gone after the top-10. This is not true; there are a huge number of star players in the league today who were not picked in the top 10 of their respective draft. Besides, the 2023 draft is expected to be one of the highest-quality draft classes in a long recent while. There are still amazing players we could get. There are a lot of quick EDGEs in the class, too. Jared Verse of Florida St, Will McDonald of Iowa St, and Zach Harrison of Ohio St. are a few of my favorite prospects that would be in our range of pick.
There are also a quality number of D-Linemen we could get. Zacch Pickens of South Carolina, Siaki Ika of Baylor, and Byron Young of Alabama are all good 2nd-round prospects. Pickens and Ika are 305 and 340 lbs, respectively, and Young, while lighter, has been a stud in run D for the Tide.
The Safety class is mediocre. There are only a few prospects I like: JL Skinner of Boise St, Brian Branch of Alabama, Christopher Smith of Georgia and perhaps Jordan Battle of Alabama.
Also, there is a very real chance we will be picking in the top 10 come draft day.
If I understand correctly, it is the players' fault that Barry has them playing soft zone 13 yards off of receivers all the time? Individual regression has certainly played a factor in the defense's disappointing performance, but Barry's scheme isn't designed around the strengths of our players. Could the regression be due to bad defensive coaching (not all on Barry, though)? I would be surprised if he lasts a week after week 18.
You do realize this is the same Joe Barry that defensively coordinated the 0-16 Detroit Lions, right?
stockholder
December 15, 2022 at 10:35 pm
Of course, Defense Wins Championships. And Yes; it has become important to win as much as possible, for Home field advantage.
My problem with Defense this draft?= It takes years for a defensive player to develop. Especially if you take them later in the draft. The problem is your looking at "Quality". I'm looking at domination. (Reggie White types?)
You forgot what TT believed. It's their job to find that player! Whats Gutes? Rodger's Window?
IMO. Love was the wrong pick, when he tried to fix the ILBs for years. There are 10 safeties that are just as good as Cross. (Who you wanted.) Again Gutey is a year late. No way we pick top 15. If we do, this team is BAD!
Barry's problem is Lowrey and Reed. Thats his Trench; on most passing Downs. And a good WR can burn it.
Do you remember Mouse DAVIS= Run and Shoot? If Watson goes down. We have Quality. Not Domination.
. Dobbs and Toure are Fine. But they're not Watson.
jannesbjornson
December 16, 2022 at 04:07 pm
It all starts with Mouse and LaValle Edwards.
arthurl
December 15, 2022 at 01:18 pm
This defense has been average or below average for a number of years. Walker was added, but he is a rookie and learning the position. Some guys who played decent last season haven’t had the same impact this year. Maybe it’s the coaching, but the team has had a number of DC’s with about the same results. They’ll probably roll the dice and replace Barry with someone, hopefully give Leonhard a shot. If he’s not available maybe one of the defensive coaches for the Ravens or Titans. Those two teams have consistently had above average defenses over the years.
Basaccia has turned around the special teams for the most part, so getting the right DC is possible. I just hope the beat writers temper their enthusiasm and see how things play out when the 2023 season begins. There was a lot of crap written/said about this current defense before the season, how great they were supposed to be.
PackyCheese500
December 15, 2022 at 04:12 pm
Leonhard is the MAN! I love his scheme! If not him, maybe Vic Fangio, Mike Zimmer, Brandon Staley (if he's fired) or Ejiro Evero. We need a competent DC for once. I'll be honest, though, if they can't get Leonhard, I wouldn't be opposed to dumping LaFleur altogether and hiring a more energetic, tough guy, such as Dan Quinn (Cowboys DC), Shane Steichen (Eagles OC), or even Mike Vrabel in the small chance he is available in the offseason.
canadapacker
December 15, 2022 at 05:09 pm
I like Vance Joseph - Cards are idiots as far as the money spent reuppping their guys but the GM has taken a LOA and maybe they dump the staff despite the money - totally incompetence there - Might not cost us much - half AZ money half GB money - and add some incentives for improvement.
PackyCheese500
December 15, 2022 at 05:53 pm
Hmm...Joseph's defenses haven't done that great in AZ, and who knows if he'll be available. Leonhard has has Wisconsin in the top-5 of almost every category for the last 5 years. Their defense was rated the least-unique in the NFL recently. He wouldn't be terrible, but I like Leonhard better.
canadapacker
December 15, 2022 at 07:32 pm
He has done pretty good except for injuries - he also built the Denver defense. And built the Miami into winner D. Especially good because he had to work under Gase
PackyCheese500
December 15, 2022 at 10:27 pm
Joseph took over the Broncos D in '17, well after their SB run in '15. He did do a nice job in Miami, but I'd like to think there are other options as well. Sure, he'd be fine, but he doesn't seem like the most exceptional D-Coordinator we could find.
canadapacker
December 16, 2022 at 12:17 am
Remember they had a good D but no QB for his years and that is why he got fired. Denvers defence has been good for the last decade or so - and maybe some of their scouts and dont know about their assistant co-ordinators.
fair_weather
December 15, 2022 at 01:46 pm
Sounds like a coaching issue. Do an article on them next.
TarynsEyes
December 15, 2022 at 02:26 pm
The drop in play for any player could be from a multitude of reasons.
The loss of a player of high caliber in the same group.
Falsely rated because of the higher caliber player in a group.
Playing hurt rather than not at all.
Not knowing the scheme.
Coaching.
Game plan.
There are other reasons, though some would upset some because they believe players have integrity, and not try as hard after a payday.
It's all about me is a big one.
barutanseijin
December 15, 2022 at 06:11 pm
For as long as i can recall, the DC has been the scapegoat among online Packer fans. Donatell, Capers, Pettine, and now Barry. Why is this? Is it because Packer coaches have exceptionally bad judgement when it comes to DCs?
One reason Packer DCs get dumped on is that fans overrate players. Capers got a lot of blame, but the end of Capers’ tenure coincided with TT’s decline. Whoever was making the picks in those days did a piss poor job. Guys like Kenny Clark are decent starters but not All Pros. The last times the Packers had a serious chance of winning it all, they had HoF players on defense (Woodson, then Peppers). They’ve had no one comparable since. Maybe some recent draftees will be great. Maybe not.
Also, it seems to me that the Packer defensive philosophy assumes that the team is playing with a lead. That’s why they emphasize pass defense and slowing the other team’s offense down. Obviously that breaks down when they are playing from behind — as they have been this season. Packer DCs end up taking the blame for the failings of the QB and the offense.
PackyCheese500
December 15, 2022 at 06:14 pm
Agree with you. Pettine wasn't great, but Capers was at least decent - we won a SB with him.
Barry was the DC for the 0-16 Lions. That's all I need to say.
Heyward
December 15, 2022 at 06:15 pm
I expect Barry to be fired, but I have very little confidence in LaFleur hiring a good replacement. Everybody but him knew that Drayton and Barry were bad hires the minute they were named.
BAMABADGER
December 15, 2022 at 08:08 pm
Throw the D Coach (not the players) out with the bath water.
stockholder
December 15, 2022 at 10:55 pm
Do you realize the age of some players? Maybe they're too old.
Amos 29
Bahk 31
Campbell 29
Cobb 32
Crosby 38
Douglass 27
Clark 27
Rudy ford 28
Aaron Jones 28
Daily Leavitt. 28
Dean Lowrey 28
Pat O Donnel 31
Aaron Rodgers 39
P. Smith 30
R. Tonyan 28
Sammy Watkins 29
Eric Wilson 28
stockholder
December 15, 2022 at 11:15 pm
Think why CM3 was drafted. He was the fastest LB in the draft. If the packers are to win. The speed on the Outside must improve.
SicSemperTyrannis
December 16, 2022 at 03:25 pm
This is coaching. They don't adjust when nothing works. There's talent all over this roster.
Defense was all psyched when they switched to man coverage, and it was more effective. Still lost games, but it was an improvement. Then it was switched back to zone coverage and they couldn't stop anything. This is on DC.