Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - Packer Plus
NOTEBOOK Clark shakes off injury, returns to help defense
Green Bay — Green Bay Packers nose tackle Kenny Clark has been dealing with an injured left calf since getting hit from the side against the Dallas Cowboys three weeks ago.
Against the Oakland Raiders, he got hit in the same exact way and had to leave the game.
Clark eventually returned and finished with five tackles. The way the defense was playing it had no room for error and so his return was critical.
“Early on they got a couple of big runs on us,” Clark said. “In the second half, we bottled (Raiders running back Josh Jacobs) up. But they still had a lot of yardage.”
Clark said holding the Raiders to 17 points until garbage time was the bottom line in the defense’s performance. But he acknowledged that big plays have been the Achilles’ heel and are worrisome.
“Those explosive plays are hurting us,” he said. “We have to get those under control. I know I had a missed tackle on one. We just have to do a better job preventing them.”
After their 42-24 victory over the Raiders, the Packers’ defense rose to No. 9 in the NFL in scoring defense. But while they have proven to have a knack for keeping teams out of the end zone, the Packers are in the bottom third of the league in total defense at No. 26, allowing an average of 381 yards per game.
Broken down further, the Packers allow large chunks of those yards on individual plays. That was the case again against the Raiders, who had plays of 46, 42, 36, 31 and 27 yards from scrimmage.
“There’s some things we definitely need to clean up on the defensive side of the ball,” Packers head coach Matt LaFleur said Monday. “We gave up way too many explosives.”
But it has been a trend. Including the two 40-yard plays from scrimmage
Sunday, the Packers have allowed 11 plays of 40 yards or more and 30 of at least 20 or more. But, only five have resulted in touchdowns.
“We might make some mistakes, but in the red zone we just make sure we don’t give them nothing easy,” linebacker Preston Smith said. “Make them earn everything, and just go out there and play hard, regardless of we’re back up against the wall. We’ve got to make sure we execute better than they execute.”
Carson joins division rival
When the Packers signed running back Damarea Crockett to their practice squad last week Wednesday, they seemed to be bracing against the possibility that tailback Tra Carson would not return.
If so, they were right. The Lions claimed Carson on waivers the next day. The Packers had to clear room on the roster for wide receiver Ryan Grant, so they released Carson for the second time this year.
Carson spent the offseason in Green
Bay. Though he was released after camp and placed on the practice squad, the Packers elevated him to the active roster two weeks ago before traveling to Dallas. Carson spent the past two games on the 46-man game-day roster, surpassing rookie Dexter Williams on the depth chart because of his reliability.
The Packers like Williams’ talent long term, but they could be in trouble without Carson if one of their top two backs, Aaron Jones or Jamaal Williams, are injured.
An undrafted rookie, Crockett spent the offseason with the Houston Texans, who released him following training camp. Crockett spent the past six weeks with the Raiders, who released him last week Monday.
The Packers also signed cornerback Tremon Smith to their practice squad last week. Smith was claimed off waivers from the Kansas City Chiefs earlier this season, but the Packers released him to make room on their active roster for tight end Evan Baylis.
The Packers were able to retain
Smith in the organization after he cleared waivers. They released tight end Ethan Wolf from the practice squad to make room.
Grant is suited for the slot
It’s not that the Packers are averse to lining up a big-bodied receiver in the slot.
Late in his career, Jordy Nelson (6foot-3) made his living in the middle of the field. Davante Adams (6-1) has shredded defenses inside as recently as Week 2 against the Minnesota Vikings. Both receivers are long and, at 215 pounds apiece, ideally suited for the perimeter of the field, where they can beat press-man coverage.
“Over the years we have had big bodies from that spot,” quarterback Aaron Rodgers said. “Jordy did it for years playing the slot receiver. Davante has done it before. Greg Jennings worked in the slot at times when he was here. So it doesn’t really matter about the body type. It’s really about the production, and that certain player.”
The Packers tried this season to make Geronimo Allison (6-3, 205) their latest big-bodied receiver to produce out of the slot. Allison, who has proven production on the perimeter in his career, dropped inside this season after the Packers chose not to re-sign Randall Cobb.
After 20 catches for 303 yards in five games before going on injured reserve last season, Allison has just 13 catches for 144 yards in six games this fall. Indeed, consistent slot production has been lacking, a problem considering coach Matt LaFleur’s offense relies heavily both on crossing patterns underneath, and lateral, pre-snap motions.
The Packers tried to fill that hole once again last week, signing Grant. A veteran joining his fourth team, Grant most recently played two games this season with the Raiders. Grant was not active against Oakland on Sunday.
“If he can bring some ability to the slot,” Rodgers said, “that really gives us
another weapon there.”
Grant, whom the Raiders released in late September, was drafted in the fifth round by Washington in 2014. He signed with the Indianapolis Colts in 2018. Grant is 6-foot, 195 pounds and, though capable of playing on the perimeter, is ideally suited for the slot. He has trained with Adams in the past, and Rodgers said he has heard good things from his top receiver about Grant’s route running.
Grant caught 35 passes for 334 yards in 14 games with the Colts last season. He had career highs with 45 catches, 573 yards and four touchdowns with Washington in 2017.
Plans for Grant will be interesting. He is a smooth athlete, but not particularly fast, running a 4.64 40 at the NFL combine in 2014. One scout said Grant is a “savvy” route runner from the slot, and he has dependable hands.
Ingold’s bittersweet homecoming
Oakland fullback Alec Ingold was the one Raiders player warmly welcomed Sunday, as the Green Bay native and Bay Port High School alumnus played at Lambeau Field for the first time as a professional. The University of Wisconsin alumnus went undrafted but made the Raiders’ roster out of training camp. The team promoted his return on their social media account when it arrived in Wisconsin.
“It is pretty special,” Ingold said. “The one thing about coming back home is that I hope to inspire some kids that are going through the same thing that I was going through. Not a lot of people make it from Green Bay, so if there are some kids that push a little bit harder and follow their dreams a little bit more, then that is what it is all about.”
Unfortunately for Ingold, not only did the Raiders lose but he couldn’t help get teammate Josh Jacobs into the end zone on several key plays deep in Packers territory. That included a stand from the Packers’ 7-yard line when the Raiders trailed 35-17 and were trying to get back into the game. Jacobs had rushes for 4 and 1 yards before a fourthand-1 play when Packers linebacker B.J. Goodson stuffed Jacobs over the top of the line of scrimmage.
“They definitely had our number today,” Ingold said of that stop. “They had a good game plan going against us. We ran plays that we had been successful with before and we weren’t successful today. There is a lot to get better from. Hats off to them.”