The Green Bay Packers made it official on New Year’s Day when they announced that cornerback Jaire Alexander would undergo knee surgery and would not play again this season. This will be a big setback for the Green Bay defense as they prepare to face some of the better teams in the NFC in the postseason. Here is how the Packers can best overcome the loss of Jaire Alexander in the playoffs:
How the Packers Can Overcome the Loss of Jaire Alexander: The Situation
Alexander suffered a knee injury on the final defensive play of the Packers win over the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 8. He returned to play 10 snaps on defense against the Bears in Week 11, but swelling prevented him from fully returning to the lineup. Alexander managed to practice before several games but was unable to play in games.
“It’s unfortunate. It is what it is,” head coach Matt LaFleur told the media on New Year’s Day. “I feel for him, obviously trying to get his knee right. It wasn’t getting right. So, yeah, it’s just a tough deal for all of us.”
Now, the team will be without their best cover corner in the playoffs. Teams like the Eagles, Lions, Rams, and Vikings have elite receivers that will be challenging for the team to cover without their best cornerback.
The First Step Step
One vital thing the Packers will have to do to overcome the loss of Alexander is get a consistent pass rush. This has been an issue all season for the Packers. In some games, they’ve been able to get pressure on opposing quarterbacks to disrupt their rhythm and make them uncomfortable in the pocket. That causes mistakes. But in other games, the pass rush has not gotten home, and enemy quarterbacks were able to pick apart the secondary.
Defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley has utilized deceptive pass rush combinations to get pressure on the quarterback. He often has six players at the line of scrimmage but usually only four actually rush the passer. The offense has to figure out which players are rushing and who is dropping back into coverage.
Rookie linebacker Edgerrin Cooper gives the team another quality pass rusher when he’s healthy and in the lineup. Rashan Gary and Kenny Clark got off to slow starts this season but have been better in recent weeks. They will need to step up and help pressure quarterbacks. Brenton Cox and Kingsley Enagbare will also need to contribute to the pass rush. A healthy Devonte Wyatt also adds pressure from the interior of the line.
Hafley will need to devise some new schemes that opposing teams have not yet seen to perhaps add an element of surprise.
Essentially, the pass rush will have to step up and improve to mask Alexander’s absence in the secondary. If they can help create turnovers like they did earlier in the season, that could help turn games around as well.
How the Packers Can Overcome the Loss of Jaire Alexander: The Secondary
Getting the rest of the secondary healthy is one important thing the team can do. Rookie Javon Bullard is best suited to playing in the slot. Bullard returned to the lineup last week against Minnesota after missing three games due to injury. He was a bit rusty and had to change positions to safety after Zayne Anderson left the game due to injury. The position change clearly hurt his play, and he was beaten for two touchdowns by the Vikings. Keeping Bullard healthy and in the slot would be the ideal situation for the Green Bay defense.
If Bullard is healthy, that allows Keisean Nixon to play on the perimeter opposite Carrington Valentine. The Packers will likely press receivers at the line of scrimmage and predominantly play zone behind them. It also minimizes the reps that Eric Stokes gets on the outside.
Getting linebacker Quay Walker healthy again and playing in the middle of the defense will also help in pass coverage. Walker and Cooper give the Packers two speedy inside backers who can either rush the passer or keep up with running backs or tight ends in coverage. This helped the team prevent short passes over the middle from becoming long gains. The team can keep short passes in front of them and rally to the ball. This was effective when everybody was healthy shortly after Alexander was injured.
It won’t be easy for the Packers defense to thrive without Alexander. But they have a chance to do enough to keep the team in these games against top opponents.
Follow Gil Martin on Twitter @GilPackers
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