The Packers kept their defensive scheme and coordinator intact to begin the Matt LaFleur era. Despite the offensive-mindedness of their new head coach, second-year Green Bay general manager Brian Gutekunst invested a big part of their free-agent and draft capital on the other side of the ball.
A return on those investments was seen immediately Thursday night in the Packers' season-opening shutdown of the Bears. In the recent past, Green Bay would have been doomed had Aaron Rodgers and the offense scored only 10 points. But all of the team's new pieces for defensive coordinator Mike Pettine fit together perfectly as they allowed only three points in a game for the first time in four seasons.
Green Bay fielded eight new starters in Chicago, and the Packers' four primary acquisitions — Za'Darius Smith, Preston Smith, Adrian Amos and Darnell Savage — had a wire-to-wire impact.
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The Smiths, the former from the Ravens and the latter from the Redskins, came from similar schemes and similar production. The Packers had been slowing down in the pass-rushing area with Clay Matthews and Nick Perry, and the Smiths delivered the jolt of juice against the Bears, combining for 2.5 of the team's 5 sacks of Mitchell Trubisky, with each getting three hits on him.
Before Amos, the former Bear, made the game-sealing interception of Trubisky in the end zone, Savage, the rookie first-rounder, lived up to his last name by swarming to break up plays in coverage. The two are meant to be interchangeable ballhawks at safety, and they were just that in Week 1.
The Packers have not played with such energy and executed so well on every level of the defense in a while. And it was telling that their three longest holdover starters — nose tackle Kenny Clark, inside linebacker Blake Martinez and cornerback Tramon Williams — all had an extra step and were more sound in their assignments.
Green Bay has long been trying to turn its base 3-4 into a complete unit. But no matter where the focus has been, the team has toggled between being good against the run and bad against the pass and vice versa. In holding the Bears to 3.1 yards per carry and 5.1 yards per pass attempt, the Packers gave plenty of indication Thursday that they might have solved the puzzle.
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In the offseason, the Packers recognized what they had in Clark and Martinez and built around their skill sets. They surprised many when they cut end Mike Daniels before the season, but they had some good depth at that position, and eventually, they will get something of note from first-round pick Rashan Gary. With Martinez as a rangy, prolific tackler who has inside blitzing prowess, the Packers had the luxury of opening with a three-safety look with Raven Greene, a second-year linebacker hybrid suited to play next to Martinez in the nickel package.
The other key element was the emergence of 2018 first-rounder Jaire Alexander. With him showing the qualities of a shutdown corner, Pettine was set to call for more effective blitzes. Getting the Smiths as equal threats to get to the quarterback avoids any double-teaming, furthering the pass-rush cause.
Now Pettine can be aggressive calling for one thing from a player or an area of the field and not be worried about being exposed and burned elsewhere.
Green Bay hired LaFleur to rev up Aaron Rodgers in the quarterback's age-35 season. Lost a little in the spotlight of how LaFleur and Rodgers would mesh was the Packers' other key intiative: taking the pressure off Rodgers and being less dependent on him.
Rodgers had a tough night against the Bears' formidable, established defense. After the game, he had reason to be giddy about his own defense. He has been waiting for a while for a defense that fully has his back in a quest for a second ring.
It seems to have arrived in style.
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When Rodgers got his first and only ring in 2010, the Packers had the No. 2 scoring defense under coordinator Dom Capers. B.J. Raji and Desmond Bishop were the Clark and Martinez then, with a young Matthews in his prime. They sent three defensive backs to the Pro Bowl in Charles Woodson, Nick Collins and, yes, Williams.
Rodgers has been missing that strength as much as he has been missing the offensive play-calling adjustments LaFleur offers over Mike McCarthy. Over the past three seasons, the Packers have finished 21st, 26th and 22nd in scoring defense. Consider the fact that Patriots QB Tom Brady has been buoyed by a top-10 scoring defense in seven consecutive seasons. Rodgers has enjoyed that only twice, in 2009 and '10.
What we saw from the Packers' defense in Week 1 wasn't a fluke against the rusty, shaky Bears. It was early evidence of talent and scheme finally getting them to championship caliber, just when Rodgers needed it most.
