Green Bay Packers: Will Kyler Fackrell be ready for lift-off?
Last time we saw the Green Bay Packers’ defense in action, it had just finished giving up 42 points and 493 yards of offense to a Super Bowl-bound Falcons team that couldn’t be stopped on third down with Matt Ryan and company successfully converting on 10 of 13 of those situations.
Getting the other team off the field often boils down to the pass rush generating enough pressure on the opposing team to bring down the quarterback or force him to toss the ball away earlier than planned.
Green Bay’s defense could accomplish neither that afternoon, as Matty Ice strolled off the field with a clean uniform in what turned out to be an epic massacre for the guys in green and gold along with their legions of supporters.
The 2016 season amounted to a series of high and lows for a unit that actually ranked sixth overall in sacks (40), but heads into next season with more questions than answers at the outside linebacker position with expiring contracts and other imminent changes in the offing.
For one, the front office will likely part ways with 37-year-old Julius Peppers, who was both effective and versatile even in a reduced role that saw the 15-year veteran rank second on the team in sacks (7.5).
Similarly, both Nick Perry and Datone Jones are set to become free agents with the former expecting a big payday following an 11-sack breakout campaign and the latter being an expendable rotation piece that could easily wind up elsewhere.
But bringing Perry back into the fold doesn’t begin to address a potential lack of depth among Green Bay’s firepower off the edges since it took the 2012 first-round pick five seasons to finally start producing an adequate return on investment.
Prior to 2016, the USC product was an oft-injured performer that only sporadically provided glimpses of his vast potential.
Will Perry bring that same fire with life-changing guaranteed money in his coffers? Stay tuned.
The more confounding matter may be the declining contributions of Clay Matthews, who ended the season ranked 96th among NFL rushers with an abysmal 43.6 player rating, according to Pro Football Focus (PFF).
The artist formerly known as “The Claymaker” registered one tackle or less in nine games and predictably finished the year with a career-low five sacks.
Although Matthews arguably can’t perform any worse than he did in a year where he fought through debilitating shoulder and hamstring ailments that nullified his explosiveness, who is to say that we haven’t already seen the best of No. 52?
He is no stranger to injuries and eight seasons of banging around with offensive lineman that outweigh him by 50 or more pounds is bound to take its toll on even the most physically gifted pass rushers.
All of which begs the question: Wouldn’t Matthews be better served having his snaps reduced in hopes of keeping him fresh for another late-season Super Bowl run?
Enter Kyler Fackrell.
In his 2016 rookie campaign, the 6-foot-5, 244-pound linebacker impressed with some early flashes of playmaking ability in the preseason and during the early stages of the regular season.
Fackrell’s Week 5 outing versus the Giants saw the former third-round pick use his quickness to disengage from blockers and was also a factor defending the run.
All told, the Utah State product was credited with five tackles, one hurry and a decisive strip-sack on only 14 snaps that night.
Media members were taking notice, including PFF’s Nathan Jahnke, who highlighted the youngster’s efficiency by tweeting the fact that only Von Miller, Cornelius Carradine, John Simon and (Nick) Perry were more productive on 40-plus rushes among 3-4 outside linebackers than Fackrell.
But the contributions of the man affectionately known as “The Freak” during his time in Logan, UT, began to wane after an undoubtedly auspicious start.
The lowlights included Fackrell struggling to set the edge on a 26-yard Terron Ward run versus the Falcons in Week 8 and one sequence he’d rather forget in which the 25-year-old was absolutely obliterated by right tackle Morgan Moses on a 4-yard Rob Kelley touchdown in the closing moments of a Week 11 blowout loss to the Redskins.
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It was no surprise to see the former Aggie’s playing time dwindle. He wound up seeing action on 15.5 percent of the defense’s total number of snaps in 13 games in which he recorded 18 tackle and two sacks.
Coaches found out soon enough that Fackrell’s length can sometimes betray the pride of Mesa, AZ by causing him to get too high in his stance. In addition, he’ll also need to add muscle in order to win more hand battles particularly when the opposing tackle neutralizes his initial surge.
These improvements can be attained through hard work and proper coaching because what Fackrell does provide is the unique ability to bend and flatten once he penetrates the backfield.
A player blessed with his height, 33 1/4 arms and aforementioned agility should also be able to drop back and occasionally cover certain tight ends as he gains experience.
But for now, rushing the passer should be Fackrell’s primary area of focus.
Mike McCarthy, Dom Capers and the rest of Green Bay’s coaching staff will be counting heavily on his progress in the upcoming months.
The honeymoon period is over—it’s time for this young buck to sharpen his horns and fly.