New secondary coaches know where focus is needed

Mike Spofford

GREEN BAY Other than the addition ofMicah Parsons, the biggest difference in the Packers' defenses of the last two years came down to takeaways.

In 2024, Green Bay had the fourth-highest total in the league with 31. Last season, the Packers dropped to tied for fourth lowest with just 14, the lowest single-season total in franchise history.

Whether they can climb out of the hole and get back to where they were in that category will go a long way toward defining new defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon's first season in Green Bay.

And while takeaways are a collective effort amongst all players and coaches, a lot will fall on the secondary to get its hands on the ball most often as pass defenders, and as extra tacklers coming into the scrum with a targeted mode of attack.

"You've gotta be opportunistic," new defensive pass game coordinator and secondary coach Bobby Babich said.

"One of the things I tell the guys all the time is, we don't need to chase plays, we need to put ourselves in position to make plays. And when that ball shows up you just better make sure that you've repetitioned that so much, you visualized, you've trained it, you've done all of that."

Capitalizing on the plays to be made was missing last year, because there was no lack of opportunities or attention to such a crucial aspect of the game. The Packers ran all sorts of drills in practice and had film sessions devoted to takeaways, but the results didn't follow.

Green Bay's number of "dropped" interceptions varied based on grading and subjectivity, but practically every defender in the back seven had chances that got away.

New cornerbacks coach Daniel Bullocks admitted "the hardest thing to do as a defensive back is finishing at the catch point," so it must be trained as much as the anticipation and reactions that got the players in position in the first place.

Putting all those pieces together is the task facing Green Bay's new DB coaches.

As Buffalo's defensive coordinator the past two seasons, Babich led a Bills group that was one of the few teams with more takeaways (32) than the Packers in 2024. Buffalo also fell off last year, but still ranked around the league's midpoint with 20, just two takeaways from the top 10.

Meanwhile Bullocks is a former NFL defensive back (drafted in the second round by the Lions in 2006) who has coached San Francisco's secondary the past three years. The 49ers haven't been a great takeaway team of late, plagued by missed chances much like the Packers a year ago.

It's not all on them. Pressure up front can produce errant throws, and sacks can force fumbles. Plenty of other players have roles to play, as pressure and coverage always go hand in hand.

Plus, there's no denying luck is a factor, too. The direction a ball gets tipped, or the way it bounces along the ground, can determine which side comes up with it.

But in the realm of controlling what's controllable, the Packers must get the ball loose, and secure it, more often. If they're to fulfill Gannon's vision of being "a fast, violent, physical team that takes the ball away," the opportunities can't keep slipping through the secondary's hands like they did last year.

"Let me say this, too: This is this year," Babich said. "Last year has nothing to do with this year. Nothing that has happened in the past has anything to do with this year coming up."