Packer Central

Jeff Hafley Misses Point About His Packers Defense

Contrary to what he was trying to sell on Thursday, the Green Bay Packers’ defense did not play well against the Bears. It’s going to have to step up down the stretch, starting on Sunday against the 49ers.

Bill Huber

Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley is shown before their game against the Chicago Bears.
Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley is shown before their game against the Chicago Bears. / Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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GREEN BAY, Wis. – After about 15 minutes at the podium on Thursday in which he fielded several negative questions about his defense’s performance at Chicago, Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley had had enough.

Polite as could be, and “half-jokingly,” as he added later, he said:

“Come on. Anyone got any positives to talk about today? You guys are like Debbie Downers today. We gave up 19 points and win another game and everybody just wants to be (negative). I thought this was a cheery, happy-go-lucky group. I hate to see you guys when it gets really cold outside.”

Yes, Green Bay’s defense limited the Bears to 19 points. Yes, that was good enough for a one-point victory.

Generally speaking, I’d side with Hafley.

As a defense, only two things truly matter. Points allowed and takeaways. Everything else is just noise.

The NFL’s “top defense” is judged by yards allowed. But who cares if the opponent gained 400 yards, so long as the defense got three red-zone stops and produced a couple takeaways? You think Jim Harbaugh cares that the Chargers rank 11th in total defense when they’re No. 1 in scoring by a large margin?

The victory at Chicago was different, though, and it should give Hafley and the Packers pause as they enter the stretch run to the regular season on Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers.

This season, teams are averaging almost 11 possessions per game. The Bears had only seven because they controlled the ball.

Chicago ran 68 plays to Green Bay’s 43. Its shortest drive – the final drive, when the Bears attempted a field goal on second down – was seven plays.

It was almost plus-13 minutes in time of possession.

It was 9-of-16 on third down and 3-of-3 on fourth down.

So, yes, the Bears scored “only” 19 points. However, because they kept Jordan Love quarantined on the sideline, Green Bay had only six possessions (not including a kneel-down to end the first half) to score the points necessary to win the game.

According to Stathead, offenses are averaging 2.03 points per possession this season. Chicago entered the game scoring just 1.63 points per possession.

Against the Packers, though, they scored 2.71 points per possession.

For context, Green Bay, which is eighth in the league in scoring this season, is averaging 2.27 points per possession.

Fortunately for the Packers, they won, anyway. The defense got a big red-zone stop to start the third quarter and Karl Brooks blocked a field goal on the final play of the game.

“This is the National Football League,” coach Matt LaFleur said on Friday. “I would tell you this, and I told him the same thing, ‘Anytime we hold somebody to 19 points in a game, I expect to win the football game.’

“I don’t care who you’re playing. There’s talented players across the league. You’ve got to show up and play your best every week. Otherwise, you’re susceptible to giving up points and yards. Do I think we played our best game? No, I don’t. But am I discouraged? No, I’m not.”

Maybe he should be, especially given the firepower filling the closing schedule.

The Bears rushed for 179 yards. Quarterback Caleb Willliams, who had been flirting with 50 percent the previous three games, completed almost 75 percent of his passes. Hafley’s defense, which feasted on takeaways earlier in the season, didn’t get any for the third time in four games.

And, with the game on the line, the Packers allowed the Bears to convert on third-and-19 to get into range for a relatively easy field goal that should have won the game.

At the end of his press conference, Hafley was given a softball about what he likes about his defense.

Hafley cracked a joke about how reporters were perhaps cranky because they had to stand outside in the cold for 10 minutes before getting to watch a bit of practice. He talked about how hard his players work, how they work together and how they’ve improved every week.

“I’m not saying the last game was good enough by any means. So, please hear me loud and clear: That was not our standard. It was not good enough,” Hafley said. “But, over the grand scheme of this season, what we’ve been able to do so far in Year 1, these guys have done a great job. …

“They just work and they’re starting to come together, and you can feel the energy that they’re coming together with. To me, that’s the most impressive thing. You’re going to see this group just get better and better.”

Then, in a twist, it was Hafley who turned negative with some real talk.

“I’m not pleased. I’m not happy at all,” he continued. “In my opinion, I don’t know if they should’ve scored a touchdown on us, to be very honest with you. That’s our standard. So, that’s where I’m at, too.

“This is a week where this is a really good offense that we’re playing, probably the most explosive that we’ve played other than Detroit with wideouts, a great offensive line and really good running back, really good tight end and one of the best play-callers in the game, and our guys know that. And I can’t wait to get out there and watch us play. So, go smile guys.”

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Bill Huber
BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packers On SI, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.