Packers Huddle

It’s time we start zeroing in on some defensive talk and what we can expect from Jeff Hafley and this 2024 defense. FA additions, veteran leadership at key positions, and young players looking to break out. There’s a lot to be exited about!

I’ll start with this:

Love that he wants to attack with the DL.

I'm hoping Wyatt can bail us out of the "Kenny Clark is gonna cost $30M" issue at the end of this year.

The only thing I’m worried about on this defense is the edge players getting after the QB. Gary disappears quite often. He is either lights on and Carrie’s a game on rare occasion or absolutely useless in both phases of the defenses.

Van Ness is an unknown still. He looks like a specimen and has the draft pedigree but will he put it together? Ultimately I think he’s too big and athletic not to but he needs to prove it.

Preston is another year older and for the first time is going to be a down lineman. I always thought he was exactly what you wanted from a 3-4 OLB because he was an overall good player.

Enagbare is coming off a late serious injury. Will he be ready? And if he is did he rehab so hard that he’s burnt out?

YoHoChecko wrote: ↑

06 May 2024 21:09

I'm hoping Wyatt can bail us out of the "Kenny Clark is gonna cost $30M" issue at the end of this year.

Can’t imagine us paying Clark a 3rd contract. He’s a good player. Not a great one.

This dude fires me up.

I love his approach. Fundamentals and technique...then worry about whatever scheme they're gonna implement.

Also, you'll notice he talks about getting to know his players AND THEN implementing a scheme that maximizes their talents. I feel like the Packers, for sooo friggin' long, have done things the opposite - implement a scheme and then hope the player talents translate to executing the scheme. From Capers to Pettine (to a point) to Barry the priority has been about scheme. Glad to hear a coach talk about taking the time to evaluate the players on hand, learn their strengths and weaknesses, and then putting them in positions that maximizes their talent.

APB wrote: ↑

07 May 2024 11:11

This dude fires me up.

I love his approach. Fundamentals and technique...then worry about whatever scheme they're gonna implement.

Also, you'll notice he talks about getting to know his players AND THEN implementing a scheme that maximizes their talents. I feel like the Packers, for sooo friggin' long, have done things the opposite - implement a scheme and then hope the player talents translate to executing the scheme. From Capers to Pettine (to a point) to Barry the priority has been about scheme. Glad to hear a coach talk about taking the time to evaluate the players on hand, learn their strengths and weaknesses, and then putting them in positions that maximizes their talent.

In his single high 43 scheme, they all have a base scheme design to work from, and adjust it to there players, some are just better at it then others, the common denominator is the level of talent to make adjustments with, or the limitations if the talent doesn't exist, I think DC's will struggle no matter what if those limitations are to great.

I like everything I hear concerning Haf, we are going from a passive let it come to us Barry to a lets "beat them to the punch" Hafley, and I think the talent level is good enough for him to succeed, course I thought that for Pettine and Barry too

Yoop wrote: ↑

07 May 2024 12:56

APB wrote: ↑

07 May 2024 11:11

This dude fires me up.

I love his approach. Fundamentals and technique...then worry about whatever scheme they're gonna implement.

Also, you'll notice he talks about getting to know his players AND THEN implementing a scheme that maximizes their talents. I feel like the Packers, for sooo friggin' long, have done things the opposite - implement a scheme and then hope the player talents translate to executing the scheme. From Capers to Pettine (to a point) to Barry the priority has been about scheme. Glad to hear a coach talk about taking the time to evaluate the players on hand, learn their strengths and weaknesses, and then putting them in positions that maximizes their talent.

In his single high 43 scheme, they all have a base scheme design to work from, and adjust it to there players, some are just better at it then others, the common denominator is the level of talent to make adjustments with, or the limitations if the talent doesn't exist, I think DC's will struggle no matter what if those limitations are to great.

I like everything I hear concerning Haf, we are going from a passive let it come to us Barry to a lets "beat them to the punch" Hafley, and I think the talent level is good enough for him to succeed, course I thought that for Pettine and Barry too

I have serious, serious doubts we’ll be categorizing the Hafley defense as a simple “single high 43 scheme” 8 months from now.

APB wrote: ↑

07 May 2024 18:10

I have serious, serious doubts we’ll be categorizing the Hafley defense as a simple “single high 43 scheme” 8 months from now.

Agreed. But it will be a 4 man defensive front with 2 Tackles and 2 DE's. It fits the players.

Clark is a DT, not a NT and not a DE. TJ is a DT, not a NT. Wyatt and Brooks are DT's, not DE's.

Gary, Van Ness, and Preston are DE's, not OLB's. Only Enagbare might be better suited to be a OLB than a DE.

What we won't see much of is 3LB's on the field at the same time. This will only happen in short yardage situations when a run is much more likely than a pass.

As for the defensive backfield, who knows? A lot depends on whether Stokes is healthy and has kept his speed.

APB wrote: ↑

07 May 2024 18:10

Yoop wrote: ↑

07 May 2024 12:56

APB wrote: ↑

07 May 2024 11:11

This dude fires me up.

I love his approach. Fundamentals and technique...then worry about whatever scheme they're gonna implement.

Also, you'll notice he talks about getting to know his players AND THEN implementing a scheme that maximizes their talents. I feel like the Packers, for sooo friggin' long, have done things the opposite - implement a scheme and then hope the player talents translate to executing the scheme. From Capers to Pettine (to a point) to Barry the priority has been about scheme. Glad to hear a coach talk about taking the time to evaluate the players on hand, learn their strengths and weaknesses, and then putting them in positions that maximizes their talent.

In his single high 43 scheme, they all have a base scheme design to work from, and adjust it to there players, some are just better at it then others, the common denominator is the level of talent to make adjustments with, or the limitations if the talent doesn't exist, I think DC's will struggle no matter what if those limitations are to great.

I like everything I hear concerning Haf, we are going from a passive let it come to us Barry to a lets "beat them to the punch" Hafley, and I think the talent level is good enough for him to succeed, course I thought that for Pettine and Barry too

I have serious, serious doubts we’ll be categorizing the Hafley defense as a simple “single high 43 scheme” 8 months from now.

For example:

APB wrote: ↑

08 May 2024 05:55

APB wrote: ↑

07 May 2024 18:10

Yoop wrote: ↑

07 May 2024 12:56

In his single high 43 scheme, they all have a base scheme design to work from, and adjust it to there players, some are just better at it then others, the common denominator is the level of talent to make adjustments with, or the limitations if the talent doesn't exist, I think DC's will struggle no matter what if those limitations are to great.

I like everything I hear concerning Haf, we are going from a passive let it come to us Barry to a lets "beat them to the punch" Hafley, and I think the talent level is good enough for him to succeed, course I thought that for Pettine and Barry too

I have serious, serious doubts we’ll be categorizing the Hafley defense as a simple “single high 43 scheme” 8 months from now.

For example:

I didn't say simple, but I remember Hafley saying simplifying terminology and what we do would lead to less blown plays.

I said single high 43 because that is what WE heard he is installing, it's the main driver to pay a player like McKinney, there are variations incorporated into any scheme, if you want to call it a 43 hybrid, fine.

I wouldn't doubt we'll use Oladipo as a hybrid ILB/safety, seems like the perfect fit for him, coverage against both the pass and run should improve.

this next ota should tell us more

Packers 2023 3rd down defense was ranked 25th. No wonder Barry lost his job .

For fans who don't pay much attention to scheme, maybe and hopefully the one thing that we'll see different this year is the number of turnovers we get. Haf sounds like that is an emphasis at the design level and not merely in the chit chat.

Would love to hear if there is any hype about Van Ness or any interesting news. Would love to see him take that big next step forward in production his second year. Lupe kind of mentioned it. It could be a big deal. Wyatt was making impactful plays last year. I think he can be even better. Would love to see Quay and Jaire stay healthy.

RingoCStarrQB wrote: ↑

08 May 2024 19:11

Packers 2023 3rd down defense was ranked 25th. No wonder Barry lost his job .

the defense seemed to go in streaks last year, hot and cold, to me thats a sign of player discontent, it improved near the end of the season, smelling PO's can have that affect though and spur a player to perform better

I think these players can't wait to perform in a attacking style scheme

MY_TAKE wrote: ↑

09 May 2024 19:12

Would love to hear if there is any hype about Van Ness or any interesting news. Would love to see him take that big next step forward in production his second year. Lupe kind of mentioned it. It could be a big deal. Wyatt was making impactful plays last year. I think he can be even better. Would love to see Quay and Jaire stay healthy.

If Wyatt is used in an attacking style, which Hafley has said is intended, I expect Wyatt to be an impactful player.

APB wrote: ↑

09 May 2024 22:21

MY_TAKE wrote: ↑

09 May 2024 19:12

Would love to hear if there is any hype about Van Ness or any interesting news. Would love to see him take that big next step forward in production his second year. Lupe kind of mentioned it. It could be a big deal. Wyatt was making impactful plays last year. I think he can be even better. Would love to see Quay and Jaire stay healthy.

If Wyatt is used in an attacking style, which Hafley has said is intended, I expect Wyatt to be an impactful player.

IMO, Brooks was a steal in last year's draft and will take a lot of snaps from Wyatt this year. The small DT in a 4-3 is perfect for both these players and don't be surprised of it is near a 50-50 rotation.

TheSkeptic wrote: ↑

10 May 2024 02:41

APB wrote: ↑

09 May 2024 22:21

MY_TAKE wrote: ↑

09 May 2024 19:12

Would love to hear if there is any hype about Van Ness or any interesting news. Would love to see him take that big next step forward in production his second year. Lupe kind of mentioned it. It could be a big deal. Wyatt was making impactful plays last year. I think he can be even better. Would love to see Quay and Jaire stay healthy.

If Wyatt is used in an attacking style, which Hafley has said is intended, I expect Wyatt to be an impactful player.

IMO, Brooks was a steal in last year's draft and will take a lot of snaps from Wyatt this year. The small DT in a 4-3 is perfect for both these players and don't be surprised of it is near a 50-50 rotation.

I like Brooks a lot but Wyatt is the physical specimen with the potential to be a gamewrecker and he was close last year. He just needs to be better at securing tackles. Too many times he got close to making a stop and the ballcarrier slipped of him.

Brooks on the other hand just looks like a pretty good player but doesnt nearly have the playmaking potential Wyatt does.

Be interested to see what Brooks is doing with his body this offseason.

I know he’s already heavy, but has been and still likes playing on the edge. Played edge all college at like 285-290.

Sounds like Wooden was going from like 275 to 290. Wonder if Brooks will stay at 290 or go closer to 300+ or go smaller.

APB wrote: ↑

09 May 2024 22:21

MY_TAKE wrote: ↑

09 May 2024 19:12

Would love to hear if there is any hype about Van Ness or any interesting news. Would love to see him take that big next step forward in production his second year. Lupe kind of mentioned it. It could be a big deal. Wyatt was making impactful plays last year. I think he can be even better. Would love to see Quay and Jaire stay healthy.

If Wyatt is used in an attacking style, which Hafley has said is intended, I expect Wyatt to be an impactful player.

I thought he was mostly used that way, I think people are expecting a fire breathing 4 man attacking front different then the front we saw last season, I don't, never was overly concerned whether we 3 or two point our edge rushers either, to think a rusher has better get off from a 3 point or more upright is so marginal it doesn't catch my interest to argue about.

I think the biggest change is how we'll use our lbers and off ball players stunting gaps, in that sense the job of the DL is to provide that gap, and they can't do two things at once, we have two or 3 plus ILB's, plus edgers that can play inside, and the most affective pass rush is gotten when a stunter goes un touched to the QB, thats what I expect to see more of, our draft seemed dedicated to acquire that type of talent.

we had good talent on defense last year, we have a bunch more now.

I remember years ago we all wanted interchangeable lbers, guys who could get by a play or two rushing from the edge, that can also cover the job of a ILB and not get roasted in coverage, I think Cooper and Hooper fit that bill, Quay as well, the versatility allows us more deception and disguise, jmo.