Green Bay's Run Defense Shows Flashes of Improvement Against Philadelphia
After the Green Bay Packers' match with the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, they ranked fifth worst in the league in yards per carry allowed on the season. In the individual game, though, the Packers performed well against the run. While the Eagles did manage to go over 100 yards on the match, they were held to 3.5 yards per carry on the game.
A replication of that number would have Green Bay tied for fifth best in the league in yards per carry allowed in 2014, the polar opposite of its actual season accumulation.
A quick glimpse of the Packers' run game film from Sunday showed that the effort was indicative of progress in stopping the run, not just an outlier performance for the squad.
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First Quarter, 3:02 on the Clock
On this play, the Eagles came out in 11 personnel with a one-by-two set. They had the play strong left but had a lean toward running right due to the position of LeSean McCoy in the backfield.
To combat this, Green Bay played in its nickel defense, subbing in an extra cornerback and taking out a defensive lineman for a 2-4 front.
The play was an inside give, which allowed McCoy to run to the strong side of the field despite his position before the play. Coming in from his new inside linebacker role was Clay Matthews, who entered the backfield like a bowling ball.
With his ability to diagnose and hit the weakness of the blocking scheme, Matthews was able to trip up the running back for a result of a one-yard gain.
Second Quarter, 15:00 on the Clock
Philadelphia originally was in a two-by-one set, but after motioning a receiver, the Eagles had all three of their receivers to one side of the field. They also had their tight end on the right, making it the strong side, and a running back leaning to a run to the strong side.
Green Bay again matched up 11 personnel with its nickel defense.
The Eagles' plan was to stretch the defense to the right sideline, hopefully hitting the corner in the empty space which was vacated by the receiver in motion.
Green Bay, though, had all aspects of the play covered. The defensive line didn't allow any free holes for McCoy to move through. Chasing him in pursuit were Matthews and rookie safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix. On the back side, outside linebacker Mike Neal had outside containment on a cutback lane.
As the play advanced, McCoy gained a single yard before Clinton-Dix and Matthews wrapped up the runner.
Second Quarter, 10:39 on the Clock
The first and only highlighted play from under center, the Eagles again played 11 personnel with a strong-right look. This time, though, they decided to go in a two-by-one set.
Green Bay continued to play nickel defense with Matthews at inside linebacker.
At the point of the handoff, safety Morgan Burnett flew from his high safety position into the tackle box. With the hole opening up at the center of the offensive line, he and inside linebacker A.J. Hawk had a shot to make the play.
Playing downhill football worked for Burnett, who went from playing from a position far off the ball to making a tackle for a three-yard gain.
Second Quarter, 8:32 on the Clock
For this rep, the Eagles gave a similar look to the second highlighted play. They had a two-by-one set but motioned their man from the right to the left side of the field. Again, they also had strong right and the running back positioned to run to the strong side out of the shotgun formation.
The Packers stayed consistent, combating the offense with their nickel package.
The same play was called once more. An outside run was the play with pulling linemen to attack the vacated portion of the field on the ground. Green Bay's second level of run defense read it correctly from the jump, chasing the sideline while keeping control of cutback lanes.
When it was time for McCoy to make a decision, Clinton-Dix was there again to meet him in the hole.
The running back was brought down for no gain on the play.
Third Quarter, 14:45 on the Clock
Out in a two-by-one set, the 11 personnel of the Eagles was matched against another nickel formation from Green Bay. The formation either favored a run to the right or center by the running back, based on his position, but Philadelphia had its tight end on the left side of the formation.
At the handoff, the play looked like an inside run. Outside linebacker Julius Peppers beat his man, the right tackle, and was in the backfield as soon as McCoy touched the ball.
After meeting the ball-carrier at the line of scrimmage, McCoy was brought down for a gain of nothing.
Third Quarter, 6:37 on the Clock
Green Bay's nickel package took a different look on this 3rd-and-1 play. Instead of lining up off the ball, Matthews added another body on the line of scrimmage to the side opposite of the running back.
Philadelphia continued its trend of 11 personnel lineups by coming out in a one-by-two set with a tight end to the right side of its formation.
The Packers had correctly guessed which side the run was going to head toward, as the running back crossed the formation for the carry. Defensive end Mike Daniels, with natural leverage, was able to push his man, the left guard, and create separation to make a play on the ball.
Shedding his man off himself, Daniels freed himself to make the tackle a two-yard gain.
Final Thoughts
Against the Philadelphia Eagles, the Green Bay Packers looked to have improved in their defensive ground game. In several facets of the game, including pursuit, individual penetration and playing downhill football, the Packers flashed on-film accomplishments they haven't consistently been able to achieve all season.
If Green Bay continues to put together efforts defensively like it did on Sunday, it could be looking on the up-and-up against the run for the remainder of the season.
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