Just in Time for Niners, Cook Shows Packers’ Run Defense Remains Porous

“I’m focused on trying to find solutions,” LaFleur said. The question is, are there solutions to be found?

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Dalvin Cook ran for 163 yards and three touchdowns against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday.

Up next are the San Francisco 49ers, who ran for 285 yards and four touchdowns in trouncing the Packers in last year’s NFC Championship Game.

“That’s something that we better get it fixed, and we better get it fixed fast, because I have a pretty good idea of what’s going to happen on a short week on Thursday in San Francisco,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said after a 28-22 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.

As former Packers special teams coordinator Ron Zook liked to say, “It’s not a problem until it’s a problem, and then it’s a big problem.” The Packers have a big problem. Playing in a city nicknamed Titletown, the Packers might be able to win the NFC North this season but it’s almost impossible to see this team winning a Super Bowl title because of a run defense that was horrendous last season and hasn’t improved this season.

Is it the personnel, which is slanted to play pass defense, provided by general manager Brian Gutekunst? Is it the scheme operated by Mike Pettine? The work of the position coaches? All of the above? Whatever it is, the run defense has the toughness and fangs of an Elmo puppet.

LaFleur said he’s looking for an answers. Good luck. A run defense that wasn’t good enough last season, not surprisingly, wasn’t good enough on Sunday after Gutekunst’s lone move of consequence on defense during the offseason was signing frequently injured linebacker Christian Kirksey to replace limited but ultraproductive Blake Martinez at inside linebacker. Kirksey has missed the last four games with injuries. Other than defensive lineman Kenny Clark, when it comes to running the football, there isn’t a single member of the Packers’ front seven that is giving opposing offensive coordinators a gray hair.

“I’m focused on trying to find solutions,” LaFleur said. “We have what we have. It is what it is. We’ve got to find solutions and we all have to play better, we’ve got to coach better, and it starts with me. We’ve got to make sure that we take care of our own business. When we know that teams are going to try to run the football, we can’t let them. We cannot let them. We’ve got to force them to throw it. Whether that’s within the call or whatever it may be, we’ve got to be in the business of finding solutions.”

To be sure, the Vikings have one of the best running attacks in the NFL and Cook is one of the best backs in the league. Of his 30 carries, he lost yardage only once. On the Vikings’ first possession, he went untouched for a 21 yards touchdown. Late in the first half, starting at the 2-minute warning, he ran the ball five consecutive times for 23 yards and a touchdown.

Coming out of halftime, the Packers needed a stop. Instead, on the first play, Cook dodged Kingsley Keke at the line of scrimmage and wasn’t touched until getting shoved out of bounds after a gain of 37. Oh, and there was a 50-yard touchdown on a third-down screen.

“When you have more hats to the ball, there’s less missed tackles,” safety Adrian Amos said. “It’s a lot harder to tackle when it’s one-on-one in the open field. Watching the film tomorrow or watching it later today, I will see more of where we can avoid being in those one-on-one situations. We need more guys getting off of blocks and more guys running to the ball. We’ll see that in film study. But I think more hats to the ball makes tackling a lot easier.”

After some positive signs in victories over Atlanta and Houston, the Packers were beaten to a pulp by the Vikings, who on a blustery day got away with running the ball 34 times compared to 15 passes. Now, on a short week, it’s a trip to San Francisco for a revenge game against a team that smacked it around twice last year. With a revolving door in the backfield due to injuries, the 49ers still are eighth in the NFL in rushing per game and per play.

“We knew exactly what they were going to do in terms of they were going to ride him,” LaFleur said of Cook. “Just with the conditions out there, it was pretty windy and we never put them in a situation where they had to drop back and throw the football – or at least not too many times.”

LaFleur said the defense missed too many tackles. Amos said there weren’t enough defenders getting off blocks.

“We better figure out a solution quickly because the formula’s been written and we have got to step up and get it fixed,” LaFleur said. “If not, we’re going to continue to get these types of results.”

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