Thread: Packers' weakness: Pass Defense

Packers' weakness: Pass defense

The only real change from last season is Al Harris, whose knee injury made him a nonfactor. But he is 35 years old and was a better fit in Green Bay’s old 4-3 scheme that demanded the corners play a lot of man-to-man coverage. He will be welcomed back, but it remains to be seen just how well the knee holds up and allows him to play.

The only real change from last season is Al Harris, whose knee injury made him a nonfactor.

Okay, so that's one change. Yeah, he's been injured and I don't think we'll have him back right away, I'm guessing PuP list, but this move has more of an impact in bumping everyone down the chain than some might imagine.

...Tramon Williams played pretty well in Harris’ absence last year. Williams is too risky with his decisions, but does show good ball skills. It isn’t out of the question that he takes another step forward.

So, that's a good thing, right? He should improve and we'd get better.

Pat Lee, a second-round pick in 2008, also could factor in, but he has had a very difficult time staying on the field and has shown little to get excited about thus far.

From the reports I've been getting, he's looked great in OTAs. He actually looked quite good last year, as well, before he went down.

I do expect the safety production and range as a unit to be improved with Morgan Burnett added to the mix.

So that'd be another upgrade.

Now I'm not saying that all of these four things will happen. Pat Lee might get injured, Burnett might not "get it" from the start, but it's also very unlikely that we haven't improved anything from last year. Especially not with the collection of young CBs we have behind Harris and Woodson.

And I'm still not writing off Brandon Underwood, either.

I actually wrote my only (get ready) BleacherReport article I ever wrote about this subject.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/386489-why-the-packers-didnt-need-a-cornerback

excellent read Rock. I think you article is very well written and convincing.

From a Viking fan perspective the Packers secondary can only play better. It will be interesting to see how they try to deal with Favre this year.

Hmm, interesting...you could probably say both our team's biggest questions are the same: 1. Can our pass defense hold up? 2. Will our OL play improve?

I just happened to be looking through team stats from last season as I get an early look at Fantasy rankings and was noticing just how freakin close our teams' performances were in 2009...and was inspired to write this:


VIKES VS. PACK, THE BLACK-N-BLUE DIVISION IS BACK!!!!!


Way back in the 2009 NFL season, the Vikes came in 5th in total offense and 6th in total defense while the Pack was 6th in total offense and 2nd on total Defense(Doh!)!! That is two strong, well-balanced teams!!!

Breaking down the offense, We tied at 5.8 yards per play, were within .5 of each other on first downs a game, within 12 seconds of average time of possesion, .6 apart in points per game, and fumbled 19 or 20 times each. The big # that sticks out tho is the Pack's league leading +24 TurnOver Differential...to our +6. DOH!

Defensively, the Pack allowed .9 less points per game, and 20 yards less/game, but .1 more first downs per game. All really freakin close!

Vs. the run, we are the top two teams! Our average allowed per play was only .3 worse (yup, gulp, they were No.1!) and we tied for league lead of only 5 rushing TDs allowed!!!

Vs. the pass, the Pack came in at no.5 while we were once again down at No.19, but that is kind of misleading given the ranking is based on our passing yards allowed per game, which were only 17.3 more. When it comes to allowing the big play, we were dang near dead even at 50+ each of 20+ yards and right on with 9 plays each over 40. They allowed 3 more TDs, but picked off nearly Three Times the INTS (30 to our 11!?) Triple DOH!!! We get some clout back tho on our league-leading 48 sacks to their 37...especially since around 10 of them came at Rodger's expense!!

On top of all that, these are both well built teams with a mix of young and vet talent with the potential to keep them competitive for years to come. Get Ready To RUMBLE!!! THE BLACK AND BLUE DIVISION IS BACK!!!!!!!!

BAAAAHWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! SKOL VIKES!!!!! :woohoo: :laugh: B) :silly: :blink:

Doh! I wanted to add, and had typed, but lost somehow? anywho...

On paper, the Bears improved as much as nearly anybody in the NFL through FA, and even the Lions seem ready to take a sizeable step up under Jim Schwartz.

I for one am glad that we should finally stop hearing any talk about our division being weakest in football, and welcome the improved competition. The easiest way to reach the Superbowl obviously goes through your home town, so I want our guys coming in focused, dedicated, determined, and confident each and every week!!! Every game matters if you're shooting for top seed!