Play of Packers’ Secondary Has Been Indefensible

The numbers are absurd: No secondary in the NFL has made fewer plays than Green Bay Packers’ high-profile starting group. That must change, starting Sunday against the Jets.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Through the first five games of the 2019 season, the Green Bay Packers intercepted seven passes.

Through the first five games of the 2022 season, the Packers have broken up seven passes.

For all the focus on Aaron Rodgers’ deep passing game and end-of-game play-calling and run defense, no part of this year’s Packers has been a bigger disappointment than Green Bay’s hyped secondary.

The Packers enter Sunday’s game with one interception and seven passes defensed. Both of those figures are an indictment of Joe Barry’s defense, but the passes defensed is spectacularly bad. Picking a worst-of-the-worst point of comparison is impossible.

– Green Bay’s seven passes defensed are seven fewer than any other team in the league.

– Led by the Jacksonville Jaguars’ 33, four teams have at least 30.

– Five teams have at least as many interceptions as the Packers have breakups. That includes this week’s opponent, the New York Jets, who have seven interceptions and 23 passes defensed.

– Two individuals, Dallas’ Trevon Diggs and Kansas City’s Charvarius Ward, have more passes defensed than the entire Packers defense.

– Jets rookie cornerback Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner has six breakups.

Green Bay’s secondary should be the driving force behind a powerful defense. Instead, it’s been a major reason why the defense hasn’t lived up to anyone’s expectations.

Jaire Alexander, an All-Pro in 2020 after intercepting one pass and breaking up 13, has only one breakup – his Week 2 interception of Bears quarterback Justin Fields.

Rasul Douglas, a Pro Bowl alternate last year after recording five interceptions and 13 passes defensed, has more penalties (four) than passes defensed (two).

Eric Stokes, who was worthy of all-rookie recognition last year after leading the team with 14 passes defensed, has zero breakups.

Added together, Alexander in 2020 and Douglas and Stokes in 2021 combined for seven interceptions and 40 passes defensed. Throw in last year’s production from safeties Adrian Amos and Darnell Savage, and Green Bay’s starting five in the secondary combined for 11 interceptions and 57 passes defensed.

This year, the three cornerbacks have one interception and three passes defensed and the starting five in the secondary have one interception and four passes defensed. Where has the production gone?

“This happened a couple times over my career and I just think it happens in bunches,” defensive backs coach and passing-game coordinator Jerry Gray said on Wednesday. “Sometimes, you look at film and you see the safety from Pittsburgh. All of a sudden, he’s covering a guy, he gets blocked, the ball goes through the tight end’s hands he’s covering and into his hands. Oh, did he make a great play or was it a tip play?

“ So, a lot of times you see it happening on film and you tell your guys, ‘Keep doing what you’re doing. Don’t start pressing because as soon as you do you’re going to screw it up.’ You can’t press to make turnovers. They’re going to happen. I’m a firm believer they happen in bunches.”

That’s nice but Green Bay’s defensive backs aren’t even in position to make plays. During the first three seasons of Matt LaFleur’s tenure, the Packers ranked 10th with 222 passes defensed – an incredibly consistent 74 in each of those seasons. That’s 4.53 per game.

Against the Giants on Sunday, they had only one – a line-of-scrimmage deflection by Jonathan Garvin. That’s one more than they had against the Patriots the week prior. That means Green Bay’s defensive backs never laid a finger on a football while facing a third-string quarterback playing without a top receiver (New England) and a hobbled quarterback playing with three top receivers (New York).

Playing on the perimeter last season, Douglas literally saved the season when he was signed off Arizona’s practice squad. This year, he’s played three games in the slot and two games on the perimeter when Alexander was injured.

“He’s a really good football player,” Gray said. “He made a lot of plays for us last year when he wasn’t expected to make plays, so now the expectation is there and he needs to make plays in some people’s eyes. He doesn’t have a pick in five games. Well, he didn’t have a pick the first five games, either, because he wasn’t on our team. I think if we don’t panic and everybody else around us doesn’t panic, I think he’ll be fine. We’ve got 12 games to go and, you know what, we’re going to do what we’re going to do best.”

Meanwhile, Stokes has allowed 14-of-16 passing, according to Pro Football Focus’ best guess at coverage responsibilities, and not broken up a pass. He had at least one in 12 of 17 games as a rookie.

“The big thing to me is the mental part of, ‘Hey, they’re throwing the ball at me and they’re not throwing it to the other guys,’” Gray said. “You want them to throw at you because that’s how you make your plays. I think that’s what he needs to get back to doing. That’s my conversation with him. Talent is there. It’s the same thing it was last year.”

Often, Green Bay’s cornerbacks are aligned well off their coverage responsibilities. Is that the way to go given Alexander’s skill, Douglas’ physicality and Stokes’ speed? Gray said he wouldn’t discuss scheme – that’s the job of Barry as the defense’s “architect,” he said – but he knows his group must play better, regardless of the call.

“We’ve got to be more aggressive ourselves and not sit there and wait for schematics or something like that to tell us what to do,” Gray said.

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