Packers by the Numbers: 2013 Stats Green Bay Must Improve in 2014

In some ways, in the offseason preceding the 2014 season, the only numbers that matter from the Green Bay Packers' 2013 season are 8-7-1. 

However, looking back at the problems that plagued the Packers most last season can help target which areas they can improve in 2014, nipping ongoing issues (passing defense) in the bud while addressing relatively new ones (red-zone efficiency and a negative turnover differential).

The following five stats represent the five areas of the Packers' 2013 season that threatened to keep them out of the playoffs and ultimately led to an early exit in the first round. They are issues that in some instances preceded injuries to key players such as Aaron Rodgers, Randall Cobb, Jermichael Finley or Clay Matthews.

While all types of issues are exacerbated by injuries, the Packers will need to address the following five areas of their game even with a healthy returning set of starters. But if they do, they can put themselves in position to take a more complete team into the playoffs in 2014.

Red-Zone Scoring Percentage: 50.72 Percent

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It was a problem that preceded Rodgers' shoulder injury and lingered even after he returned: In 2013, Green Bay failed to consistently convert in the red zone after leading the league in red-zone scoring percentage in 2012, per TeamRankings.com.

After scoring from within 20 yards 68.52 percent of the time in 2012, the Packers only scored on 50.72 percent of their trips in 2013, which was 26th in the league.

It's difficult to determine how the Packers can best address the issue in 2014, as the reasons why production decreased so sharply at the beginning of 2013 are unclear.

One sure way to boost red-zone production is to ensure Rodgers has a scoring-threat tight end to find in the end zone; Green Bay's red-zone efficiency decreased noticeably after Jermichael Finley was injured in Week 7. 

Of course, missing James Jones and Randall Cobb for multiple games didn't help, and though the problem existed before his injury, Rodgers is certainly better-equipped to score when it matters than a backup.

But with the potential loss of Jones this offseason, Green Bay needs to ensure that it finds a replacement for him with a similar propensity for finding the end zone. It may seem that the Packers are stacked at receiver with Jones, Nelson and Jarrett Boykin all returning, but without either Jones or a suitable replacement and a pass-catching tight end, Rodgers may find his favorite targets covered in 2014. 

With both a healthy receiving corps and Rodgers, however, coupled with the emergence of Eddie Lacy, the Packers should be able to score more touchdowns than field goals per game in 2014—something that didn't happen often last season, per Pro-Football-Reference.com, as the Packers ended the season with 17 rushing touchdowns, 25 receiving touchdowns and 33 field goals.

Opponents, however, only settled for 24 field goals on average.

Takeaways Per Game: 1.4

Tony Gutierrez/Associated Press

The Packers finished 2013 23rd in the NFL in takeaways per game, per TeamRankings.com, with 1.4 on average. However, because that number includes fumbles as well as interceptions, it doesn't illustrate how bad the team truly was in terms of creating opportunities for turnovers on defense.

The Packers' fumble-recovery percentage was fairly high, at 57.50 percent, good for fifth-best in the league last season. But Green Bay only intercepted the ball 0.7 times per game on average, which was 26th overall. 

The safety group didn't produce a single interception for the first time in decades. 

Cornerback Sam Shields will hopefully begin to earn his new $39 million deal by leading the team in interceptions again in 2014, as he did last season with four. Fellow corner Tramon Williams contributed another three. And though corner Jarrett Bush only had one, it was a season-saving one.

The obvious area to upgrade in the secondary to increase Green Bay's turnover differential, which was in the red for the first time since 2006, is to add a true ball hawk to the safety group.

The Packers were in the top three teams in the league in turnover differential from 2008 through 2011—years the team still had Nick Collins, who totaled 17 interceptions in those years. 

His playmaking ability has yet to be replaced, but adding a free agent like T.J. Ward or draft prospects Ha Ha Clinton-Dix or Calvin Pryor would go a long way.

Total Missed Tackles: 116

Tony Gutierrez/Associated Press

Using weekly missed tackles compiled by Pro Football Focus (subscription required), the Packers missed a total of 116 tackles in 2013. It was a problem that plagued the defense and the secondary alike, with the same result: failing to stop big-yardage plays, which kept the defense on the field for long stretches of time. 

There was no single offender, either; in Pro Football Focus' tally of the most missed tackles by linebackers, cornerbacks and safeties, no Packers player was in the top 10, and yet the team still had an abnormally high overall number. It was a collectively poor team effort, which means it'll be difficult to repair in 2014. 

The players from each position group with the most missed tackles will all return next season. Morgan Burnett led Green Bay safeties, with 11; Tramon Williams and Shields each had nine, to top all corners, and A.J. Hawk had 13, the most among linebackers.

However, it stands to reason that the starters in each position group would have more missed tackles than the rotational players, as they're on the field for more snaps and therefore attempting more tackles. 

For instance, Burnett missed 11 tackles out of 83 total attempts, for a missed tackle rate of 13 percent. Though M.D. Jennings only missed nine tackles, they were out of 61 total attempts, so his missed tackle rate of 15 percent was more detrimental to the team than Burnett's. 

Upgrading the safety group, then, is an answer to yet another issue; letting Jennings walk and replacing him with either a veteran safety who has mastered textbook tackling or a promising draft prospect with surer hands is sure to get the mistakes in this group down.

As for the front seven, getting faster and more athletic in that group could help ensure the secondary has fewer big plays to stop in the backfield.

Passing Yards Per Game Allowed: 247.3

Mike Roemer/Associated Press

In addition to missed tackles, the secondary gave opposing quarterbacks too many opportunities for big gains and scoring plays in 2013. 

Though its lack of turnover creation was the most obvious issue for the secondary in 2013, its problems also included blown coverages and whiffs. Safety M.D. Jennings allowed the third-highest quarterback rating among all safeties in the league, per Pro Football Focus, with 148.8.

Morgan Burnett didn't do much better, allowing an average quarterback rating of 139.0, which was eighth-worst in the NFL.

The safety group also gave opponents multiple chances to score. Jennings allowed five touchdowns into his coverage, while Burnett allowed another four. They were fifth- and ninth-worst in the league among safeties overall, respectively, per Pro Football Focus.

Though cornerbacks Sam Shields and Tramon Williams didn't give opponents as many opportunities, they struggled with tackling, with their aforementioned nine missed tackles each.

However, re-signing Shields was a wise decision. Remember, teams pay for projected future performance not past output. Shields led the team in interceptions in 2013 and allowed opposing quarterbacks a passer rating of just 72.7, per Pro Football Focus.

He's a young player who will be instrumental in getting the average number of passing yards per game allowed down next season.

Green Bay may also want to look into restructuring Williams' deal, to allow the two veterans to continue to guide the secondary while not sacrificing the ability to improve elsewhere—that, of course, being safety. 

Chris Banjo, who has been re-signed, allowed opposing quarterbacks the lowest passer rating of all Green Bay safeties, with just 59.0, per Pro Football Focus. There are veterans Green Bay could look into, like Miami's Chris Clemons, who excel in pass coverage, and of course they could take either Clinton-Dix or Pryor in the first round. 

Rushing Yards Per Game Allowed: 125.0

Tony Avelar/Associated Press

After starting the first six games of the season as an elite unit, allowing just 79.0 yards on the ground per game, the Packers finished 2013 No. 25, allowing an average of 125.0 yards per game by Week 17. 

Like the secondary, Green Bay's run defense got away from fundamentals, which weighed it down for half a season. Defensive coordinator Dom Capers insists that the unit didn't suffer due to changes in scheme but rather poor execution. 

"We were playing the same defense," Capers said in late November, per Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com. "We were just playing it better."

But the key players who helped get the unit off to a strong start in 2013 could return in 2014, and leaning on them, together with adding more athleticism and speed on the rest of the line, could get the run defense back to a place where it allows fewer than 100 yards a game on average. 

Defensive end Mike Daniels had 20 stops constituting offensive failures in 2013, per Pro Football Focus, and finished 2013 ranked No. 6 overall among 3-4 defensive ends. Even if he is primarily used in sub-packages, he will be one of the unit's bright spots next season. 

Defensive ends Jerel Worthy and Datone Jones have to step up next season, as the Packers are set to lose up to four of their other defensive linemen. Jones, who had 3.5 sacks in his rookie year, needs to be more of a force against the run, while Worthy needs a healthy year to prove himself in the system. 

If neither B.J. Raji nor Ryan Pickett returns for 2014, the run defense could hinge on whoever the Packers select to plug in at the nose position. They may want to find a wide body with a little more speed and agility than the 337-pounders. 

On the inside, the Packers need to add speed. Linebackers A.J. Hawk and Brad Jones let runners break past the second level of the defense too often in 2013 and lacked the speed to wrap them up, despite Hawk having a career season in other areas. Upgrading the speed here, especially, will translate to improvement on the rest of the line.