I did not want to watch the Super Bowl this year. Not because the Eagles had beaten the Packers, simply because the matchup bored me. I would have taken any other combination from the playoff field over what we got. In fact I decided a few days prior that I was going to skip watching it all together.
That didn’t happen. And I’m glad it didn’t. Because what I saw was the perfect encapsulation of what the Packers need to do next if they want to be where the Eagles are this time next year.
Lets get one thing out of the way first. The Packers were a better team this year than last. I know the way it ended makes that difficult to see sometimes, but it is undeniably true. They scored more points, gave up fewer points, and won more games. The one thing they didn’t do, was have a unit that could simply dominate games.
This brings us back to the Super Bowl and the Philadelphia Eagles. Because what won them that game, was a unit that dominated. The defensive line.
Six Sacks. Not a single blitz.
One of the biggest reasons I was hopeful that the defense would improve from 2023, besides the change in coordinator, was that the defensive line was lowkey very good. They had a pressure rate in the top ten of DVOA. They had a combination of youth and experience that I thought in a scheme that prioritized more aggression would yield even better results. Unfortunately things went the other way. On the bright side, the Packers run defense improved dramatically, the secondary played well despite players being in and out with injury and they didn’t make a Tommy DeVito level QB look like Joe Montana.
The defensive line rarely took over games however, and wasn’t able to help Green Bay in several games when they were needed the most.
The Packers need a pass rush. They need to be able to generate it with just four guys. Maybe somebody on the roster takes a step next year with a full season under their belt under a new system. You’d certainly like Rashan Gary or Lukas Van Ness to live up to their draft spots and contracts in a more impactful way.
Maybe it comes from a trade. Myles Garrett wants out of Cleveland, 31 teams should be making that call. Unfortunately I don’t think Cleveland could trade him even if they wanted to with their cap situation.
What about Maxx Crosby? Another unlikely option given what he might cost to obtain, but certainly more possible than Garrett, and there is reason to think he might want to go to Green Bay.
Maybe Gutekunst does what he does anytime the roster has a weakness, and simply hammers the position in the draft with multiple picks. Certainly an option, but more difficult when the team also has other pressing needs like CB and WR.
Regardless of how, the team needs to improve that group on the defense. This is a good football team. If it wants to be great, it needs to add this last piece of the puzzle.
