Confidence Is Sky High on the Packers Defense
Mike Pettine’s presence is already having an impact on the 2018 Green Bay Packers early in training camp.
By Ryan Brunner
Early on in training camp for the Green Bay Packers, the defensive unit is displaying a confidence and swagger that the unit hasn’t shown in many years and this should be sweet music to any fan’s ear. As the years have passed recently, the Dom Capers’ units seemed uninspired and flat at times but the dawn of the Mike Pettine era in Green Bay seems to be bringing a whole new life to the Packers defense and the team as a whole.
The firing of Capers and the hiring of Pettine at the end of the 2017 season brought hope to Packers fans that a new defensive scheme and leadership would right the ship on that side of the ball moving forward. As spring progressed into summer, the Pettine hype continued. Now that the team is together as one unit in training camp, the buzz surrounding the coach couldn’t be larger.
Part of that buzz about Pettine is the speech that he delivered to the team at the onset of training camp. In an unusual Mike McCarthy move, he allowed both the offensive coordinator and the defensive coordinator to address the team as a whole. And following Pettine’s speech, players couldn’t have been more excited. Aaron Rodgers quoted the speech as being a “near all-timer” and Muhammad Wilkerson admitted that he wasn’t expecting the speech but also noted that it left the team with chills. While exact details of the speech obviously aren’t available, themes of toughness, accountability and aggressiveness came out according to the players. Ha Ha Clinton-Dix called Pettine’s speech a boost of positive energy that the defense would feed off of in a pack mentality.
With training camp now underway, Pettine’s attitude adjustment seems to be taking hold on the defense now that the pads are on and the competitions are in full force. The team defense has been seen stifling the Packers first-team offense at times in the 11-on-11 periods and in the two-minute drills. And while excitement here should probably be tempered until we get a chance to see real live action on the field against other teams, one can’t help but be excited from what has been witnessed so far through training camp.
Pettine has stressed from day one as the new defensive coordinator that attitude and effort would trump scheme on his defense and this mantra is becoming evident in hearing his players speak. Take rookie cornerback Jaire Alexander for example. The young and hopeful first round pick is exuding a cocky swagger both on and off the field and other players can find this attitude infectious. Alexander stated that the defensive backfield is the last line of defense and that they need to do their part to help the defense succeed. He’s been seen celebrating with his fellow defensive backs after a big play is made on the field.
Continuing on with the potential key players on the Packers defense, Blake Martinez is looking forward to his role of being a leader on the defense. Coming off an impressive 2017 season where Martinez tied for the league lead in combined tackles during the regular season, Martinez spoke about the need for the defense to build on the momentum from the end of a first half into the second half of games and then into the following games during the regular season.
Savvy veterans like Clay Matthews and Muhammad Wilkerson are also expressing the new mindset that is prevalent on the Packers defense. Having played under Pettine in the past, Wilkerson joins the Packers defense with the most experience in working with the coordinator while still stressing the need to do your job and be accountable on each and every play. Wilkerson said that a Mike Pettine defense boils down to an attitude and beating the man across from you each play. Matthews was most excited about the renewed energy level of the defense under the new coordinator.
Any way you slice it, the hiring of Mike Pettine as the Packers defensive coordinator brought huge expectations from a fanbase that has been craving a dominant defense for what seems like an eternity now. If hearing the players under Pettine speak and watching them perform on the practice field are any indication of what is to come for both the unit and the team as a whole, the sky could be the limit for the 2018 Green Bay Packers.
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Ryan Brunner is an avid Packers fan hailing from Chippewa Falls, WI. He is a firm believer that punters are NFL players too! Follow him on Twitter @brunwardo
Comments (16)
croatpackfan
August 01, 2018 at 06:38 am
I surely hope that Packers will be much better as team, especially on the defense... And I can not wait season to start...
Go Pack Go...
NickPerry
August 01, 2018 at 06:39 am
First and foremost I love the idea that Pettine actually holds his players accountable, something Capers clearly never did. Most players love a coach who will hold his teammates accountable, Capers depended on his veterans to do that. That may work for a minute but not long term.
"The team defense has been seen stifling the Packers first-team offense at times in the 11-on-11 periods and in the two-minute drills."
I REALLY hope this is because the defense is actually that good and the offense isn't that bad!! : )
But seriously I love this Alexander kid. I like players who are confident, cocky even as long as they aren't showboats. The Packers have a very nice mix of veterans and youngsters on this defense and for the most part this defense is athletic and fast as hell. They needed a leader and finally have one even though it came a few years to late. Better late than never.
jeremyjjbrown
August 01, 2018 at 08:07 am
"I REALLY hope this is because the defense is actually that good and the offense isn't that bad!"
Maybe the offense is just used to practicing against Caper defense when the same 5 iso plays used to work over and over.
Community Guy
August 01, 2018 at 06:50 am
the early part of the season will be important for the Packers D.. they need to sustain emotion with confidence.. the defense needs to know that they are very good. the best way to build and sustain confidence is through quality performances. i am hoping D-line can be dominant and secondary can get many take-aways. ultimately, it will be the players who make the plays.
RCPackerFan
August 01, 2018 at 07:30 am
I think the biggest addition to the team this year is adding Pettine to the defense. The former defense got stale and teams just knew how to attack it.
Bringing Pettine in not only changes the scheme but it also changes of mentality of the defense. It will make a huge difference.
Schematically we have already seen them using more 3 DL sets. That is something I think Capers didn't use enough. It wore down Mathews and Perry who essentially were DE's.
The new scheme should create a lot more pressure schematically. They bring pressure from anywhere. They create a lot more confusion on offense which should cause hesitation by the QB which in turn might allow the pressure to get to him more or force the QB into more mistakes.
I also have to mention that I think Gutekunst did a great job of going out and bringing in Wilkerson and Williams. Bringing back House, and then drafting Alexander, Jackson and Burks. The veterans should help the younger players to give them more time to develop.
Savage57
August 01, 2018 at 07:32 am
Accountability sounds good, and is a great characteristic to aspire to, but for it to have meaning it has to be backed by consequence.
So you're not doing your job and the coach and team is going to hold you accountable. They bench you and put in another player, but the trouble starts when they can't do the job, either.
Why it plays better in theory than reality, easier to say than do.
Roadrunner23
August 01, 2018 at 07:43 am
The players are clearly as excited about Pettine's Defensive attitude as are we the fans. A change at DC has been needed for a long time and even a top 12 Defense should be enough to get the Pack back to where they need to be, in the Playoffs. Let's just hope we can avoid the injury bug this year. Not a good start with the Ryan injury, too bad, he's a nice kid and a pretty good two down linebacker. I hope he has a quick recovery and somebody steps up.
Handsback
August 01, 2018 at 07:48 am
I want to see the difference in December and January. Just doubt we see much in the preseason, but would be nice to see this defense hammer offenses in the winter months!
Bure9620
August 01, 2018 at 07:53 am
I have to say I like this stand from the defense, its encouraging, as opposed to past camps where Rodgers just surgically implants the offense into the endzone. The offense needs some adversity.
porupack
August 01, 2018 at 08:59 am
>where Rodgers just surgically implants the offense into the endzone.<
That is one quality line. Nice one, B9620.
Bure9620
August 01, 2018 at 09:55 am
Thank you sir
Guam
August 01, 2018 at 08:24 am
The consequence of accountability is not just being benched and replaced. I can also be embarrassment in front of your teammates. I am old enough to recall the days of Vince Lombardi and the film sessions on Monday after gameday. He would repeatedly rerun film of guys blowing plays and discuss in painful detail how badly they screwed up. The players hated those sessions and would work incredibly hard to avoid that embarrassment in future games. Accountability has more than one way to achieve motivation and performance.
lebowski
August 01, 2018 at 08:52 am
I love it, but this serves as an unfortunate reminder that McCarthy wasted two or three years of Rodgers' career by failing to see what EVERYONE else could, that Capers' defense wasn't cutting it anymore. Maddening.
Blizzard
August 01, 2018 at 09:06 am
Has anyone seen or heard anything about Biegel?
JohnnyLogan
August 01, 2018 at 12:29 pm
It just seems incredible how many people defended Capers for years while the D was so obviously a mess. We all knew 3rd and long was a completion, we all hated that damn two man rush... and yet if you criticized Capers on most boards you were destroyed. McCarthy not seeing it was the most troublesome. I think the hiring of Pettine and bringing back Philbin, two ex head coaches, was a subtle way of telling McCarthy to just mind his own business and let them lead. And from the reaction of the players to Pettine's speech, he's in line to take over in a year or two.
Lphill
August 02, 2018 at 05:33 am
Just having an animated coach on the sideline is a positive compared to a coach up in a booth falling asleep .