Sunday’s Packers’ Game Should Be Death of the Soft Zone
Green Bay Packers’ defense is always under fire. They haven’t had a great defense in a long time. But Green Bay’s defense is not woeful this season. They’re 16th in DVOA as of last week and have ebeen improving as the weeks have gone on. But there are things Green Bay consistently does that will piss you off as a fan. One of those being the soft zones that Mike Pettine, the Packers defense coordinator likes to run. The goal of the soft zone is to keep everything in front of you, but what’s happening is Green Bay does not play towards the sticks. Aaron Nagler of CheeseheadTV asked head coach Matt LaFleur about this yesterday at his press conference.
I had to ask about the 3rd and long defense… pic.twitter.com/O2zvgYUlm0
— Aaron Nagler (@AaronNagler) November 23, 2020
The soft zone is a two-way street. It is not just on Pettine. It is also on the players too. Let’s start with Pettine. First and foremost, he needs to trust his guys. The most infuriating thing about the soft zone is the fact that Green Bay has a legitimate secondary. The years of Jarrett Bush are gone bubba. Jaire Alexander and Kevin King can hold their own. Not to mention even if you drop the two safeties in a softer zone. Both Adrian Amos and Darnell Savage have been great of late. Even if the Packers add more coverage, they still can run mostly man out there without getting burned.
The second part is the players. They need to understand where the sticks are at all times. This is a two-way street. And one of the things about this defense is that a majority of the players lack a savviness on that side of the football. They have to be smarter out there. Packers’ EDGE rushers struggle with contain on a regular basis. And they struggle not knowing where the first down is for the other team. They have to be better. It is a team issue, not just a Pettine issue.
The good news for the Packers is they’re not playing a good quarterback for the next couple of weeks. Hopefully, this can be fixed because I’m already having nightmares of the second-coming of 4th and 26 in January.
Charlie.