Green Bay Packers: Three burning offseason questions
Jan 18, 2015; Seattle, WA, USA; Green Bay Packers strong safety Morgan Burnett (42) celebrates his fourth quarter interception with Tramon Williams (38) against the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship Game at CenturyLink Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports
How can the Packers field a top 10 defense in 2015?
Head coach Mike McCarthy promised before the 2014 season that the defense would improve.
It sure did.
In 2013, the Packers finished twenty-fifth in total defense; twenty-fourth in pass defense and twenty-fifth in run defense. This past season, they improved those numbers to fifteenth, tenth and twenty-third, respectively.
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But how can the Packers become a top-10 defense next year?
It all starts up front by stopping the run. The pass defense took strides in 2014, but slowing down running backs remained an issue.
As we’ve established, the Packers need a run-stopping nose tackle to help suffocate running lanes.
They also need support from the linebackers, particularly inside.
A.J. Hawk and Brad Jones struggled at inside linebacker in 2014 -they’ve since been released.
In free agency, Brandon Spikes may be an affordable option later on. Spikes is a thumping tackler, who primarily plays two downs to stop the run.
The Packers will likely go early in the draft at the position. At the top of what is a thin draft class of inside linebackers are Benardrick McKinney, Eric Kendricks and Denzel Perryman.
Get familiar with those names, as it wouldn’t be surprising if one of them is lining up in green and gold next season.
If the Packers can improve their rush defense, it will subsequently help the pass defense fare better, too.
If the guys up front are taking care of the opposing run game, the secondary can focus on making life tough for the pass-catchers.
Thompson and McCarthy will be hoping for similar improvements to the defensive line and inside linebacker that we saw from the secondary in 2014.
We all know how dominant the offense can be. It’s even possible the unit will be even better in 2015.
If the defense can finally hold their end of the bargain and consistently rank among the top 10, this team will be incredibly tough to stop.
If they can do that, Aaron Rodgers might be leading the Packers into the Super Bowl for the second time of his career …