Who is going to play where for the Packers in Jeff Hafley's defense?
Aaron chats with Cody Alexander, the founder of Match Quarters, about the new pieces on defense and how they may all fit together in Jeff Hafley's new defense in Titletown.
By PackerAaron
Comments (11)
Leatherhead
April 29, 2024 at 06:43 pm
At this point, with what we currently have,I think the defensive personnel will look something like this:
Clark, Slaton, Wyatt, Gary, Van Ness, Smith, Wooden, Brooks. That's 8, and if they can all play rested and healthy then that's a real good group, IMO.
At linebacker, it's Walker, who is going to be the "main dog", and will be on the field for most of the defensive snaps. McDuffie, Cooper, and Hopper, will compete for the remaining 90 or so snaps. If they all stay healthy, this can work. I'm sure we'll carry more than 4, but nobody else is really standing out to me at this point.
The secondary starts with Alexander and Stokes and Nixon as our primary CBs. Valentine and Ballantine. That's 5 CBs
McKinney, of course, and Bullard. Two more. I'm really pulling for Kitan Oladapu, who has the best initials for a Safety, ever.
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Those are the pieces, most of them at least. Some will get hurt in training camp and people will move up.
I'm suspicious of this notion that we should rush with more and cover with less. It looks awesome when it works, but it backfires quite a bit, too. I hate seeing a team gain 35 yards on one play when it should have taken 6 or 7. The Turnover is a statistic that really correlates very strongly with winning and if we can cause more turnovers then I'm onboard with that.
Alberta_Packer
April 29, 2024 at 07:11 pm
Yes! Both context and clarity to the Packers draft picks - relative to the Hafley scheme(s). What has been thought of as "reaches" by Gutekunst - is just the execution of his player-to-scheme plan. A plan that would not be public knowledge. Thus the usual discrepancy between his draft board and all others.
TKWorldWide
April 29, 2024 at 09:27 pm
Quay at mike? (In base)
Quay and Edge as the two lb’s in the nickel. Should be good!
dobber
April 30, 2024 at 07:33 am
I'd always thought of Walker as being more of a classic Will, but if they're going to play a lot of big nickel, then I think think the typical 4-3 nomenclature falls by the wayside.
TKWorldWide
April 30, 2024 at 07:41 am
Agreed. A nice 4-man D-line backed by two fast ILB’s chasing everything down.
LLCHESTY
April 30, 2024 at 02:38 pm
I agree, but they've made their picks and Walker still is the only LB with decent size on the roster so it might have been their plan from the start. Alexander saying Hopper would be the backup MLB with McDuffie at SAM threw me a bit too, as McDuffie is the biggest of the lot. Plays bigger than his size though.
ArlenWilliams
April 29, 2024 at 11:37 pm
Isaiah McDuffie seems to be more of a classic MLB run-stuffer than the other two, who are side-to-side runners and blitzers.
TKWorldWide
April 30, 2024 at 07:43 am
Certainly could be that. And to be on the field more than 20% of the plays, you’ve gotta be one of the two lb’s in the nickel. I’d wager eventually (or sooner) that’ll be 7 and 56.
Leatherhead
April 30, 2024 at 12:06 pm
Actually, if we're going to play a 4-3 base on first down, that's about half the snaps right there.
LLCHESTY
April 30, 2024 at 02:39 pm
They'll be in nickel 70-75% of the time, including most 1st downs.
TKWorldWide
May 01, 2024 at 10:01 am
They’ll match personnel. If the offense is 3 wide, they’ll be in nickel. At least, that’s my expectation.