GREEN BAY, Wis. With a talented defense, like
Kenley Jansen Jersey the one the Green Bay Packers will be packing for Sundays NFC showdown at the Tom Brady-led Tampa Bay Buccaneers, there are two schools of thought.One is to sit back, with the belief that the opponent isnt good enough to move the football methodically up and down the field. Thats bend but dont break.The second is to attack, with the intention of creating big plays. Theres confidence the pa s rush will get home and, if it doesnt, the secondary can win their matchups. Thats risk vs. reward.Defensive coordinator Joe Barry has taken the safe and conservative approach. Through two games, he hasnt sent a single blitz at the opposing quarterback. I did notice that, Barry said on Thursday, but then I saw some stat that weve defended the least amount of pa ses, too, through two
Kirk Gibson Jersey games. So, I think theres a little bit of a correlation there.Barrys not big on blitzing. Last season, according to Sports Info Solutions, he sent five rushers 17 percent of the time (20th-most in the league) and six-plus rushers just 2 percent of the time (29th). Through the small sample size of two games, inside linebackers DeVondre Campbell and Quay Walker have only dropped in coverage. Rasul Douglas hasnt attacked from the slot.We do like to bring multiple people but, on the other end, too, when we do choose to rush four, the four guys we have rushing are pretty effective and pretty good, Barry continued. But by no means do I ever want to think that were not a pre sure team because we can, we will, we like to do that. Its just the way the two games have gone. Weve defended quite a few runs. Well get to the point where we do that, but I really
Corey Seager Jersey do like our four-man rush. I think its highly effective.By playing it safe, Barry is betting that his four-man rush can get the job done. Thats not a bad bet. Among edge rushers, Preston Smith ranks first and Rashan Gary ranks sixth in ProFootballFocus.coms pa s-rushing productivity, which measures sacks, hits and hurries per pa s-rushing snap. Among interior defenders, Kenny Clark is No. 1. Those players must bring the heat if the Packers are going to get the best of Brady.Ive been getting great protection, Brady told reporters on Thursday. The guys up front have been competing very hard. I think thats part of why weve run the ball so well. Weve been able to run it a bunch
Hyun-Jin Ryu Jersey of times and control the line of scrimmage. Its a big challenge. Great pa s-rushers, one of the best inside players well face all year, Kenny Clark; Preston Smith and Rashan Gary are great rushers. Its another big challenge but weve got to meet it.A strong four-man rush, combined with Green Bays trio of cornerbacks and veteran safeties, should be a winning combination. That wasnt the formula in the Week 1 lo s at Minnesota but the Packers smothered Chicago in Week 2. The challenge will be infinitely higher this week. Scroll to ContinueBrady is the quarterbacking gold standard. Hes seen every blitz, every defensive wrinkle, every coordinators try at sleight of hand. Theres nothing that Barry can scheme up that Brady hasnt seen a thousand times. Thats not to say Barry should sit back and play zone for four quarters on Sunday. But the risk-reward paradigm is always slanted toward the accomplished veteran quarterback. That might mean another week with a low volume of blitzes.The things that youve got to do is you have to at least try to affect him because youre really not going to trick him or fool him, Barry said.Its the constant cat and mouse of whos going to make the first mistake, Barry added. Douglas used the same phrase.Youve
Maury Wills Jersey got to be smart, he said. Youve got to know that if he understands its coming, he has a plan for it. Its like a cat-and-mouse game that youve got to play with him. Sometimes you mix it in, sometimes you dont.Packers at Buccaneers: Related Stories
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