Matthews, Peppers partnership gives Green Bay Packers a dual threat on defense
The Green Bay Packers are about more than just their star quarterback
Defense still matters in Green Bay. While nearly every headline revolves around Aaron Rodgers and his injured calf, the Packers’ defense has done just enough to give them a real chance of going all the way and capturing Super Bowl XLIX in Glendale, AZ.
The Packers made one move shortly after midseason that has allowed their defense to have a few brilliant moments and it will be one of the keys to what they hope is a three-game run to the letting loose of confetti and the receipt of the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
The Packers are viewed as a weak defensive team around the league, and that’s largely because of a run defense that ranked 23rd in yards allowed and gave up a lot of yards between the 20s. However, the Packers defense got better as the year progressed and ranked 15th overall, and defensive coordinator Dom Capers saw his pass defense rank 10th in yards allowed by the time the regular season concluded.
Just as any good offense usually includes some degree of versatility between the passing game and the running game, the best defenses have threats coming from a number of different directions.
During the first half of the season, the Packers’ biggest threat was Clay Matthews and he was lined up at the outside linebacker position and causing havoc as he tossed aside blockers and made his way into the backfield to harass quarterbacks. But at Matthews was doing his thing, Capers and head coach Mike McCarthy noticed that they weren’t getting much from former Chicago Bears stud Julius Peppers.
The Packers had signed Peppers in the offseason to give them a second pass-rush threat to go with Matthews, but he was playing like and aging linebacker who was on his last legs. Capers was sure that Peppers, 34, still had plenty left in the tank because of his remarkable athletic ability.
Despite his age, Peppers was still among the most athletic players on the team, and Capers felt compelled to find a way to give Peppers an avenue to show off his talent and help the Packers win games with their defense.
So Capers made a bold move following their Week Eight 44-23 loss at New Orleans. The Packers were off in Week Nine, and Capers decided to have Matthews line up at an inside linebacker spot. It was not an easy move, because Matthews had been a Pro Bowl performer four times in his first five seasons, but it was something that could free up Peppers and give the Packers a dual pass-rush threat.
Matthews is a single-minded and stubborn player who is used to doing things his own way and change does not come easily, but he went along with Capers in an effort to help get Peppers going. Matthews knew that if the defense had another threat on the field, the Packers would not have to depend on Rodgers lighting up the scoreboard if they wanted to win.
The Packers defense could make a serious contribution, and that’s just what has happened. Matthews is healthy and on top of his game. He has 11.0 sacks for the season and 6.5 QB traps in Green Bay’s last four games.
Peppers is proving to be a very valuable playmaker. In addition to recording 7.0 sacks from his OLB slot, he has 13 passes defensed, four forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and two interceptions, both of which were returned for touchdowns.
“We feel confident about the players we have on the field, the personnel, the changes we’ve made and what we’re trying to accomplish this week,” Matthews said. “It should be a good matchup. Obviously they have a bunch of playmakers on their side of the ball and we do, as well.”
The Green Bay defense is going to be forced to be on top of its game against the Cowboys on Sunday. Jason Garrett’s team is going to throw the best running game in the league against the Packers, and DeMarco Murray (league-best 1,845 yards) is a beast even with an injured left hand. He wants the ball and he wants to carry the Cowboys on his shoulders.
He knows his job is to ease the burden on quarterback Tony Romo and also to help keep the undermanned Dallas defense off the field. The best way to do that is to give Murray the ball and let him hammer away at the Green Bay defense.
The Green Bay defense has been a liability in recent playoff appearances. They gave up 330 passing yards to Eli Manning in 2011 as the New York Giants marched into Lambeau and upset the 15-1 Packers. The following year, the San Francisco 49ers destroyed the Packers with 579 yards as they unleashed Colin Kaepernick and his read option attack.
The 49ers knocked out the Packers again last year, and while the defense played a bit better in the Wild-Card meeting, the Packers could not stop the Niners on their final drive and dropped a 23-20 decision.
The Packers are facing perhaps the most versatile offense in the league, but their two most dangerous defensive players are healthy and capable of wreaking havoc.
It’s time for the partnership of Matthews and Peppers to step up and show Rodgers that he doesn’t have to do it all by himself.
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