The Packers defense had gone through a Jekyll and Hyde transition so far this season. They really have been a completely different defense in the last two games, and there’s one key difference between Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I’ve been extremely pumped about the Packer defense lately. The boo-birds will point out all the negatives about the defense… and… they have a point to some degree.
Currently, the Packers have the #26 defense when you consider the number of yards they’ve given up. Right now, the Packer defense is giving up an average of 390.0 yards per game.
Ouch!
They’re ranked #12 in total points given up and #14 in points per game, allowing their opponents to score an average of 24 point per game. While I will contend that the Packer offense is more than capable of scoring more than 24 points a game and thus offsetting what the defense is giving up, that’s still a lot of points we’re allowing other teams to score.
That said, I think the Packer defense has turned a corner recently.
Have they been holding opponents to fewer yards?
Nope. The Lions put up a respectable 353 yards against the Packers defense. The Bears chewed up 496 yards in the most recent game. While the Lions only averaged 3.0 yards per carry on the ground, they averaged 6.6 yards per attempt in the passing game. The Bears averaged 5.7 yards per carry and 7.3 yards per passing play.
One of the keys is that the Packer defense is turning the ball over more.
In the first two games of the season, the Packers had one fumble recovery and zero interceptions. In the last two games however, the defense has shut down drives twice with interceptions and recovered a fumble once.
Whether we like it or not, the Packers defense is a bend but don’t break defense. In the first two games of the season, they bent and broke. Granted, against the Jets, the Packer offense bailed the defense out. In the most recent two games, the defense bent, giving up 353 total yards and 496 total yards, respectively. But, they did not break. When needed, they came up with the turnover they needed to stop the opposing team’s drive.
So, the real question I have going into the rest of the season is, “Which defense will show up, Jekyll or Hyde?”
Well said J.R.. I do think we broke a bit on D in the first half of the Bears game, but in the second half Cutler went back to being Cutler and our D capitalized on their opportunities. That’s going to be enough to win most games, as long as our offense remains on track. Go Pack go!
Good read J.R. I am just waiting for this team to show up on both sides of the ball, We have yet to see it this year. Seattle neither side did, Jets was a toss up dfense played for a half and the offense played for a half, Detroit I think the D played well but Offense went on vacation, Bears I will say the Defence play so-so but got gashed in the run game and the offense just killed it, So this game in bad conditions I believe its Packer football and both sides show up to get this team rolling with confidence on Defense and Offense, Lacy finally gets his first 100+ yard game with 1 TD at least
Packers win 31-24
Yes yes yes packers