A New System in Green Bay

When Jeff Hafley left to become the head coach in Miami, the Packers turned to Jonathan Gannon to run the defense. Gannon spent the last three seasons as the head coach in Arizona, where he went 15-36, but he’s best known for his time as the Eagles’ defensive coordinator. His 2022 Philadelphia defense led the NFL with 70 sacks and helped the Eagles reach Super Bowl LVII. From day one in Green Bay, he said he wasn’t bringing a playbook with him and would build “a new system” around the players he has, as he told Packers.com, with the goal of being fast, physical, and taking the ball away.

The Early Returns

So far it’s been a mixed bag. In Week 1 the Packers led Minnesota 22-10 in the second half, then gave up 29 straight points, with penalties wiping out stops on the go-ahead drive. Week 2 was the high point. The defense kept the Packers alive against the Jets, Lukas Van Ness had his best game as a Packer with nine tackles, 1.5 sacks and four QB hits, and the unit opened overtime with back-to-back sacks. Then came Thursday night. Atlanta put up 498 yards, including 244 on the ground, and Bijan Robinson said afterward that the Packers defenders’ “eyes were really big” (Heavy via Yahoo Sports).

That adds up to 91 points allowed in three games, and that isn’t going to cut it. The good news is the core pieces are there, with Xavier McKinney and Edgerrin Cooper on the field now and Micah Parsons on the way. Gannon likes to say it’s not what you play, it’s how you play. Right now the how needs work, especially tackling and staying disciplined against the run, and Tampa is the next test.

Sources: Packers.com, 5 things to know about Jonathan Gannon, Packers.com, Gannon building a new system, Packers.com, Week 1 updates, Packers.com, Jets recap, Heavy via Yahoo Sports.

Featured photo: All-Pro Reels, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.