Packers Stock Report: All defense edition

The Green Bay Packers No. 1 wide receiver is out for the season. Their No. 3 receiver has missed most of the season with a bad ankle. Eddie Lacy still doesn't look healthy after suffering an ankle injury against Seattle and Andrew Quarless is out with a bum knee.

Randall Cobb, the Packers No. 2 receiver, is playing with a sore shoulder and T.J. Lang exited Sunday's win over the St. Louis Rams with a knee injury.

No wonder the Packers offense is struggling. 

Yes, Aaron Rodgers can turn water into wine and perform several other superhuman feats of football greatness, but even he can't crank out Madden-like numbers week in and week out on a team that's dealing with as many injuries as the Packers are.

And despite all the sprained ankles, messed-up knees and the "struggling" offense, the Packers are 5-0. Not only are the Packers 5-0, with the exception of about 5 minutes in the Seattle game, at no point this season have I ever felt that the Packers were in serious danger of losing a game.

Consider this as the offense works its way back to optimum health and maximum production: In the month of October during the Packers 2010 season, they scored 20 points or fewer in three games. That team also dealt with a bunch of early injuries. Eventually, they figured it out and won the Super Bowl.

The Packers defense has more than picked up the slack as the offense tries to get back on track this October. To honor the D's efforts, we're dedicating the entire Packers Stock Report to Dom Capers' and his defenisve players: 

Rising

Clay Matthews
CM3=DPOY. (If any Bears or Vikings fans are reading this, that translates to Clay Matthews = Defensive Player of the Year.)

Mike Daniels
Mike Daniels racked up seven solo tackles on Sunday. That's not supposed to happen for a 3-4 defensive lineman. Daniels is not only blowing up running plays with penetration, he's also finishing up with tackles.

Sam Shields
Sneaky move by Sam Shields in week 1. He purposely played bad so other teams would think he isn't any good and would continuously challenge him deep. The rope-a-dope has worked. Teams are taking their shots against Shields and he keeps turning them away. 

Steady

Datone Jones
Not only is Jones contributing to a surprisingly effective defensive line, he also made his mark with blocked field goal against St. Louis.

Ha Ha Clinton-Dix
Pro Football Focus ranks Clinton-Dix as the fourth-best run-defending safety in the NFL. With the exception of a few missed tackles against Matt Forte in week 1, what I've seen with my own eyes matches PFF's numbers. Clinton-Dix seems to have rid himself of that annoying habit where he's dive at a players feet instead of making an aggressive tackle.

Falling

Aaron Rodgers
LOL. Just kidding. Rodgers was a little skittish in the pocket on Sunday, but I don't think it's anything to worry about. It was hard to tell if he was jumpy because Lang was out, or if he felt his receivers weren't getting separation and the only hope of making a play was to start moving around.
 

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Comments (21)

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egbertsouse's picture

October 13, 2015 at 02:35 pm

The defense is much, much better than it has been the last few years. In fact, it's playing at championship caliber level.

The only thing that worries me is the on-again, off-again run defense. It's OK against the Rams and the Bears but it's tough to win a close playoff game when allowing 200+ rushing yards.

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EdsLaces's picture

October 13, 2015 at 02:44 pm

Atta way HaHa! He's gonna be a great one.

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Charvid's picture

October 13, 2015 at 03:25 pm

You know who else is rising? Letroy Guion. He gives that Defense a nasty edge. I believe he will be a serious difference maker as the season progresses.

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RCPackerFan's picture

October 13, 2015 at 03:41 pm

Another player rising. Quinten Rollins.

He had a huge impact in the game this week. 2 Interceptions is big in any game, but 1 was returned for a TD and the other was the one that clinched the game.

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NewNikeShoes's picture

October 13, 2015 at 05:59 pm

Not just Rollins, all the CBs, sans Hayward, who's been very inconsistent.

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DrealynWilliams's picture

October 13, 2015 at 03:59 pm

Damn you, Adam! Lol! I got to "Falling" and seen Aaron's name and immediately thought, "Ohhhhh! They're going to kill him in the comments!" Lol. Damn it!

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DrealynWilliams's picture

October 13, 2015 at 04:05 pm

- On a serious note, we have to find a place to put BJ Raji.
- You hit the nail on the head with that CM3=DPOY statement. Clay's play is highlighting BJ Raji's and Mike Daniels' play this season.
- I don't think anyone ever worried about Sam's covering ability. It's always been his overall game. I'd probably put him at STEADY and place HHCD at RISING.

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jh9's picture

October 14, 2015 at 05:35 am

After four long years of waiting, it's like a dream come true to see this defense playing so well.

After watching the Chargers on MNF, I expect we'll see the first real blowout this season. The Chargers have a terrible OL and I expect our defense to be all over Rivers. I also think AR will have a rebound game. I think this game will give us the first real glimpse of what we can expect by the end of the season when our offense and defense play a complete game together.

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croatpackfan's picture

October 14, 2015 at 04:47 am

blow out game or not, I say "just win baby" w/o additional injuries. I will be happy with 4-0 victory (2 safeties!) and no more players hurt...
I think it will be something like 35-15/20...

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Lphill's picture

October 13, 2015 at 05:58 pm

The chargers will be a good test, Rivers will put it up at least 50 times, we will see how the pass rush is and the defensive backs perform, also someone has to cover Gates but I think the Pack jump out to an early lead and the chargers try and play catch up, gonna be a lot of garbage yards again which hurts the D Stats.

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pooch's picture

October 13, 2015 at 06:15 pm

Is it just a coincidence that the D is playing S.B level and M.M. is over looking it.They went from read and react to just react,hit your guy/the hole and persue,not sure we should be giving Capers the credit when I think M.M. has changed the D. philsohpy

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4thand1's picture

October 13, 2015 at 06:30 pm

Players, not plays. MM seems to giving the whole team a boost. ST's are vastly improved and defense is fun to watch. Injuries are slowing down offensive production but it will pick up too.

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Dan Stodola's picture

October 13, 2015 at 11:22 pm

Capers made significant changes in the number of plays. The naming of plays and things of that nature. The overall affect has been to allow the D to play faster, not think to much and have the young players able to contribute earlier. Don't know if McCarthy was behind that or not, but Capers made a lot of changes to simplify the D and the playcalls to allow for faster play and less thinking. There's been a couple articles I've read recently on that and they seemed to give credit to Capers.

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Ibleedgreenmore's picture

October 15, 2015 at 02:11 pm

I watched the replay of the Rams game man they smacked their QB several times, it was legal but they sure let them know they were there.

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John Galt III's picture

October 13, 2015 at 07:06 pm

Again, this team reminds me of our 2010 SB team. Balance because the defense looks good. Raji and Daniels are allowing CMIII to be menace and he is a nightmare for opposing teams.

Also, announcers love the "so many games at home w/o an interception by Rodgers. I am glad actually we can put that to bed. Being 68 and having watched all the Lombardi NFL championships games I can tell you Bart Starr threw interceptions as well. So what.

One last thing - Charles Woodson, made the most insane interception I have ever seen in watching some 50 years of football against the Broncos on Sunday. He's a HOF player and I am glad we had him. He is also a good individual. He came into the NFL with P Manning. Wow, that was long time ago.

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Thegreatreynoldo's picture

October 13, 2015 at 07:09 pm

Dix is the 4th best run defender for a FS. That is great, but I am suspicious of cherry-picked or qualified stats. So, how is his coverage? I like Dix, but I am still waiting for him to range over and defend a pass directed at a boundary CB. That all said, I have Dix rated as an average FS.

Datone was a good pass rusher last season. This season I would say that he is excellent. But his run defense is still bad. I'd say he is unplayable in base, if that is too harsh, then I'd say GB would prefer Jones not play 3-4 DE in running situations.

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aj's picture

October 13, 2015 at 07:31 pm

Dix is a very good player. Not quite elite yet, but he is definitely one of the reasons the defense has improved this season. When Burnett gets back, we may be able to say that we have the best secondary in the league.

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croatpackfan's picture

October 14, 2015 at 04:53 am

I think you are so hard on Ha-Ha. Guys really plays good football this year. He has some mistakes, but he is playing with different players at safety - Burnett, Hyde, Banjo... He plays little SS, little FS... ANd he is doing well. He covers mistakes from secondary and from LB... I'm so glad he made that INT... It looks like reward to his play!

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Thegreatreynoldo's picture

October 15, 2015 at 12:53 am

I don't think so. I'd give Dix a C+ or so, and the trend is generally rising. When he cleans some things up he'll become a solid FS. He is so much better than Mcmillian, Peprah, or MD Jennings that I think some have gone overboard by suggesting he is closing in on elite or all-pro status. Dix can not be compared to a Nick Collins or LeRoy Butler. I still expect Dix to be a red chip/above average/really solid FS in the NFL for 10+ years.

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LASVEGAS-TOM's picture

October 15, 2015 at 04:45 pm

Thegreatreynoldo, I agree with you. I have not been a Dix fan up until now. He isn't there yet, but without question is getting better. I hope it continues & is just not a fluke. He is definitely better than Jennings, Mcmillan or Peprah, but no where's near all pro status. He has certainly improved IMO, in the last couple of games. No way can he be compared yet to Leroy Butler, or Nick Collins. What I've seen in the last 2 games, I'd say he has the ability to get there, but he is Not There Yet. I have to say, "I've been impressed in what I've seen in the last 2 games from him". I hope it continues. We will need it down the stretch. LVT

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cheddarhead's picture

October 13, 2015 at 09:50 pm

The defense sells out the run sometime, to not get beat with the deep ball.

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