Packers Defense - 2024

[Scott4Pack]

"This team is driven right now."

That is what I love to hear about the team, especially when he picks up on it in May!

And, "The most important thing is fundamentals." Whether they are tackling the dummy or training or whatever.

Yes!!

[wallyuwl]

Pad level

[RingoCStarrQB]

Pad level

What does pad level even mean?

[Scott4Pack]

Pad level

What does pad level even mean?

I'm not even a coach. But what I can tell you is that pad level translates into how much leverage you gain against an opponent. There isn't a perfect amount of level. If you get way too low, then your opponent can pummel you into the ground. But if you get low enough compared to him, then you can drive against him better. And if you are too high compared to him, then you are easy to knock off balance. So, there is an ideal level at which you must keep your pads in order to win the scrimmage battle. It's something a lineman (both offensive and defensive) need to be aware of on every play. For an easy example, watch a scrum at the goal line and see how low those guys want to get.

How's that?

[Half Empty]

Wasn't this just a smiling shot at Mike McCarthy and HIS 'pad level' concerns?

[RingoCStarrQB]

Pad level

What does pad level even mean?

I'm not even a coach. But what I can tell you is that pad level translates into how much leverage you gain against an opponent. There isn't a perfect amount of level. If you get way too low, then your opponent can pummel you into the ground. But if you get low enough compared to him, then you can drive against him better. And if you are too high compared to him, then you are easy to knock off balance. So, there is an ideal level at which you must keep your pads in order to win the scrimmage battle. It's something a lineman (both offensive and defensive) need to be aware of on every play. For an easy example, watch a scrum at the goal line and see how low those guys want to get.

How's that?

Sounds reasonable. So when Jerry Kramer blocked Jethro Pugh in the Ice Bowl at the goal line tieh 16 seconds left on the 16 inch line, he (and Ken Bowman) was low enough to drive Pugh backwards not allowing Pugh to pummel Kramer in to the ground.

At the goal line some defensive linemen get low to submarine the blocker leaving the linebacker(s) ad open lane to tackle the ball carrier for little or no gain.

[Scott4Pack]

What does pad level even mean?

I'm not even a coach. But what I can tell you is that pad level translates into how much leverage you gain against an opponent. There isn't a perfect amount of level. If you get way too low, then your opponent can pummel you into the ground. But if you get low enough compared to him, then you can drive against him better. And if you are too high compared to him, then you are easy to knock off balance. So, there is an ideal level at which you must keep your pads in order to win the scrimmage battle. It's something a lineman (both offensive and defensive) need to be aware of on every play. For an easy example, watch a scrum at the goal line and see how low those guys want to get.

How's that?

Sounds reasonable. So when Jerry Kramer blocked Jethro Pugh in the Ice Bowl at the goal line tieh 16 seconds left on the 16 inch line, he (and Ken Bowman) was low enough to drive Pugh backwards not allowing Pugh to pummel Kramer in to the ground.

At the goal line some defensive linemen get low to submarine the blocker leaving the linebacker(s) ad open lane to tackle the ball carrier for little or no gain.

Yeah. It isn't a static thing. The "proper" pad level can vary depending on several factors.

[Yoop]

Pad level

What does pad level even mean?

the add ons we see in just about every bill we get these days the leverage our suppliers have over us, urrrrr.

actually I think Big Mike was referring to a different meaning of leverage though

[Yoop]

I'm not even a coach. But what I can tell you is that pad level translates into how much leverage you gain against an opponent. There isn't a perfect amount of level. If you get way too low, then your opponent can pummel you into the ground. But if you get low enough compared to him, then you can drive against him better. And if you are too high compared to him, then you are easy to knock off balance. So, there is an ideal level at which you must keep your pads in order to win the scrimmage battle. It's something a lineman (both offensive and defensive) need to be aware of on every play. For an easy example, watch a scrum at the goal line and see how low those guys want to get.

How's that?

Sounds reasonable. So when Jerry Kramer blocked Jethro Pugh in the Ice Bowl at the goal line tieh 16 seconds left on the 16 inch line, he (and Ken Bowman) was low enough to drive Pugh backwards not allowing Pugh to pummel Kramer in to the ground.

At the goal line some defensive linemen get low to submarine the blocker leaving the linebacker(s) ad open lane to tackle the ball carrier for little or no gain.

Yeah. It isn't a static thing. The "proper" pad level can vary depending on several factors.

I have to add this, Leverage is the advantage hoped for with having DE's in a 3 point stance, that they start low and can gain leverage against the OT's, it probably has merit if there face up on each other, which is rarely ever the case though, to me it's a half truth at best, a upright rusher has plenty of time to get low and still bull rush successfully, we see that done resulting in sacks regularly every week

[YoHoChecko]

[Cdragon]

Wasn't this just a smiling shot at Mike McCarthy and HIS 'pad level' concerns?

It was always the go to for MM in the first few years.

[TheSkeptic]

Wasn't this just a smiling shot at Mike McCarthy and HIS 'pad level' concerns?

It was always the go to for MM in the first few years.

Rodgers was right about MM, MM was not and still isn't a very good HC - and that is being generous. Proof is the playoff game in January. MM had his team poorly prepared mentally and his game plan sucked. It should have been a close game and instead the Packers dominated. Anything MM said about pad level or anything else has to be taken with a grain of salt.

[williewasgreat]

Wasn't this just a smiling shot at Mike McCarthy and HIS 'pad level' concerns?

It was always the go to for MM in the first few years.

Rodgers was right about MM, MM was not and still isn't a very good HC - and that is being generous. Proof is the playoff game in January. MM had his team poorly prepared mentally and his game plan sucked. It should have been a close game and instead the Packers dominated. Anything MM said about pad level or anything else has to be taken with a grain of salt.

MM was an excellent head coach for many years here. Did you forget he won a Super Bowl? Dallas has been and will continue to be a circus as long as the GM is Jerry Jones. No coach since the 90s has been able to succeed, nor will they with JJ running the show.

[Yoop]

Wasn't this just a smiling shot at Mike McCarthy and HIS 'pad level' concerns?

It was always the go to for MM in the first few years.

Rodgers was right about MM, MM was not and still isn't a very good HC - and that is being generous. Proof is the playoff game in January. MM had his team poorly prepared mentally and his game plan sucked. It should have been a close game and instead the Packers dominated. Anything MM said about pad level or anything else has to be taken with a grain of salt.

one sided games like that happen all the time, one team has a game plan the other didn't expect or prepare for, and because the well prepared team is actually playing really well, the other can't make the necessary adjustments, thats all that is, blaming MM is so ridiculous, the exact same thing has happened to every coach in the league, and that includes the best.

MM was and still is a excellent HC, pad level equates to better chance to win the leverage battle, it's so important almost every coach harps on it continuously every season.

when winning, then the coach is great, losing and he's pond scum, in reality, there is a lot more involved, it's never really just one thing

[RingoCStarrQB]

It was always the go to for MM in the first few years.

Rodgers was right about MM, MM was not and still isn't a very good HC - and that is being generous. Proof is the playoff game in January. MM had his team poorly prepared mentally and his game plan sucked. It should have been a close game and instead the Packers dominated. Anything MM said about pad level or anything else has to be taken with a grain of salt.

one sided games like that happen all the time, one team has a game plan the other didn't expect or prepare for, and because the well prepared team is actually playing really well, the other can't make the necessary adjustments, thats all that is, blaming MM is so ridiculous, the exact same thing has happened to every coach in the league, and that includes the best.

MM was and still is a excellent HC, pad level equates to better chance to win the leverage battle, it's so important almost every coach harps on it continuously every season.

when winning, then the coach is great, losing and he's pond scum, in reality, there is a lot more involved, it's never really just one thing

I think it was the Hundley game at Lambeau versus the Ravens (before COVID) ............ McCarthy's coaching that day was embarrassingly disgusting. It was like the entire team was in slow motion. No energy, no pop. The Packers looked like they didn't practice all week. It was a one sided game that didn't justify being a one sided game. They seemed listless. Both teams were 5 and 5. Pack lost 23-0. Uglier than ugly. UGH!

[BSA]

.
Here's a really interesting article on the " vision and break" principles espoused by new DC Hafley and how they came into being.

https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-sta ... e-coverage

"How do you limit explosive plays?" Barnes asked the crowd rhetorically. "Limit busts, limit lost leverages – make sure you’re guys are running to the ball, and limit missed tackles. How do you do that? Let them play fast. If a guy has to think, he’s going to miss tackles. If a guy has to think, he’s going to bust. If a guy has to think, he’s not running to the ball. Make sure they know what they’re doing."

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"I drew it this way for a reason," Barnes said when showing a diagram similar to the one above. "I didn’t say ‘corner-safety-corner, safety-backer-backer-backer,’ no, it doesn’t have to be that way… It’s plug-and-play. I’ll show you a clip here where our SAM linebacker is in the middle 1/3. Sometimes our SAM is the outside 1/3. Our inside linebacker is going to the Buzz dropper. Our 5-technique is the Hook dropper. Our middle field safety dropping down to the Hook defender. It’s plug-and-play."

By teaching roles instead of specific positions, it actually provides more flexibility as the Buckeyes can rotate different personnel into each spot with ease. According to Barnes, this approach creates two distinct advantages.

"One, it creates a lot of confusion for the offense," he said. "Two, it’s inexpensive for us, so when we teach this, I don’t have to teach one guy one thing. We do a circuit, so we’re going to teach everybody on the defense to learn how to be a Hook dropper. So now we’re all coaching Hook drop. We blow the whistle, we rotate the circuit and now, ‘hey, you’re a Buzz dropper there, this is the Hook station,’ and we roll it right through. So, we’re all learning, and then it’s plug-and-play."

While many teams use pre-snap motion to mess with defenses, forcing them to quickly react to new alignments just mere moments before the ball is snapped, the Buckeyes handled such shifts with ease as every player in the back-seven knows the responsibilities of each spot.
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[BSA]

.

The 2024 Packers defense needs to shave off 1.4 points/game in order to be at 20 pts per game allowed. That's the number that will put them in the top 10 for NFL defenses in most seasons. That translates to 24 points over the course of a 17 game campaign.

https://www.teamrankings.com/nfl/stat/o ... s-per-game

Packers 2024 defense needs to be a lot better in the Red Zone than they were in 2023. GB ranked 20th in Red Zone scores per game

https://www.teamrankings.com/nfl/stat/o ... s-per-game

The Packers defense needs to be a lot better in shutting down 3rd down conversions, Packers ranked 30th (!) in stopping 3rd downs last year

https://www.teamrankings.com/nfl/stat/o ... s-per-game

Hafley has his work cut out for him, but I expect the 2024 defense to be better in all 3 of these categories (and others too)
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[BSA]

.
Jeff Hafley says Rashan Gary didn’t like the defense’s intensity recently and asked Hafley if he could speak to the defense.
Hafley seemed pumped that Gary wanted to. Intensity picked up afterward.

“That’s something that you guys might not see, but it’s important to note.”

[Labrev]

.
Jeff Hafley says Rashan Gary didn’t like the defense’s intensity recently and asked Hafley if he could speak to the defense.
Hafley seemed pumped that Gary wanted to. Intensity picked up afterward.

“That’s something that you guys might not see, but it’s important to note.”

There were people whining in Rank the Roster that Gary is not a leader like Z, haha.

[NCF]

Fantastic X's and O's conversation if you want to learn a little more about the Packers defensive philosophy.