Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - Packer Plus
Packers’ faith in Amos, Savage paying off
Green Bay — Adrian Amos and Darnell Savage are far from the only reasons the Green Bay Packers’ defense is surging under new coordinator Joe Barry, but they’re among the main ones.
The Packers’ starting safeties are proving very much worth the big investments Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst made in them in 2019 – Amos as a free agent and Savage in a trade up in the first round of the draft.
The two play a big role in Barry’s defense, because they have to offer run support while lining up most downs in a two-deep shell, yet they also shoulder significant duties in the zone-heavy pass coverages and disguises that are a staple of Barry’s Brandon Staley-derived scheme.
In the Packers’17-0 win over Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, Amos and Savage had especially good games in a secondary that is playing its best football of the season. They played key roles in making Wilson’s day miserable (39.7 rating) holding one of the NFL’s most talented receiving duos, DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett, to a combined five catches on 16 targets for 46 yards.
Amos and Savage are making plays in the passing game and driving up hard to help defend the run. They took away the deep ball to Metcalf and Lockett – the Seahawks’ longest completion was a 28-yard catch and run by tight end Will Dissley – and came up with one interception, by Amos, and missed good chances for two more (one each).
Amos’ fourth-quarter interception was a great example of him and Savage not allowing themselves to get beaten by the deep ball. On the play Lockett ran down the left hash with Savage and Amos in a two-deep look. Savage had primary coverage but knew he had help from Amos to the middle of the field, so he honored Lockett’s fake to the corner. But when Lockett turned back inside Amos was cruising along still as the deepest player on the field.
Wilson took the shot anyway and launched the deep pass into the end
zone. If you didn’t know better you’d have thought Amos was the intended receiver, because he calmly tracked the pass and plucked it from over Lockett’s head. The play had almost no chance because of the blanket two-man coverage and ended up snuffing out whatever chance the Seahawks had at that point trailing 10-0.
Wilson is always going to take his deep shots to produce game-changing plays, and Savage showed his great catch-up speed on another deep ball, this one early in the third quarter on a third-and-9 throw to receiver Freddie Swain. Rasul Douglas had underneath coverage on Swain on a go route along the sidelines, and Savage was initially beaten helping over the top and let Swain get a couple steps behind him.
But Savage showed his catch-up acceleration – he ran a 4.36-second 40 at the NFL scouting combine – and broke up the throw. Wilson slightly underthrew the pass, too, but that didn’t matter because by the time Swain slowed up
at the last second Savage was already on his hip. That speed is a big reason Gutekunst used a first-round pick on Savage.
The Packers’ defense had a great day by any measure Sunday and now ranks No. 3 in average points allowed (18.0). A lot of players are contributing to the ascension, and Savage and Amos deserve a high spot on that list.
Shotgun hinders run game
Matt LaFleur and all NFL play-callers base their game plans on reams of data and hours of opponent film study. They have highly educated reasons for game planning the way they do and calling the plays the call.
But looking at Sunday’s game from the perspective of a defensive coordinator, it’s hard not to think the Seahawks were happy to see the Packers deploy a shotgun-heavy approach Sunday night.
The run threat is simply not as strong from the shotgun as when Aaron Rodgers takes the snap from under center. In shotgun, the running back takes the handoff either from a standstill or after a lateral step, whereas under center the back has already built up some speed when he gets the ball. That especially helps a downhill runner such as AJ Dillon, who will be the Packers’ primary back while Aaron Jones recovers from an MCL sprain.
The run threat from under center is especially big in the red zone, where defenses have less field to cover and LaFleur can’t use Marquez Valdes-Scantling’s deep speed to stretch the secondary. The defense can flood coverage with seven or even eight defenders (with a three-man rush), and that can make it tough for receivers to find open lanes when linebackers and safeties aren’t concerned with playing the run.
That might help explain some of the Packers’ red-zone woes (no touchdowns in their first three trips) against the Seahawks in the first three quarters Sunday.
The raw numbers tell the story of the run game shotgun vs. under center. For the game, the Packers ran the ball nine times when Rodgers lined up under center, gained 45 yards and no runs of zero or negative yardage. They ran out of shotgun 21 times for a 3.2-yard average and had three runs of zero or negative yardage.
The first time the Packers got deep in Seattle territory, LaFleur lined up in shotgun every play. On first-and-10 from the 20 Aaron Jones picked up 3 yards on a shotgun run. On second down a holding penalty nullified a Rodgers scramble for 7 yards, and that left the Packers in an almost must-throw situation, which resulted in a sack and then a short completion.
LaFleur on Monday said the extensive use of shotgun Sunday was a Seattle-specific decision – “It’s kind of a game-by-game thing,” he said.
He no doubt has a lot of information on which to base his game plans. But he also might want to consider whether he’s cutting defensive coordinators a break when he strays too far from the strength of his offense – the play-action passing game – by going so shotgunheavy even if he has good reasons.