Packers: Adrian Amos and Darnell Savage deserve more recognition
Packers safeties Adrian Amos and Darnell Savage deserve more recognition.
The quietest and most underrated defensive backfield in all of the National Football League resides in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Over the last three seasons, Adrian Amos and Darnell Savage have grown to form an elite safety pairing.
They are the icing on the cake of an extremely talented defense headed by defensive coordinator Joe Barry. If you are a fan of pro football, a young player trying to set yourself up for a bright future, or even part of the media, you need to take notes on the duo they call “Smash and Savage”.
Just for the record, it is fair to say that the fact neither of these two players have been selected to the Pro Bowl or to an All-Pro squad is absurd.
Starting with Amos, ever since he came to Green Bay from Chicago in 2019, he has been a cornerstone piece of this Packers franchise.
He has consistently played at a high level year in, year out. Each season that he has been in Green Bay, he has improved in tackles, recorded multiple interceptions in each season, lowered the opponent QB’s completion percentage against him and just last season, he set a career high in sacks.
Amos is more of an in-the-box safety, meaning he is more likely to go up and stuff the running back than lock up the opposing offense’s No. 1 wide receiver.
MORE: Predicting every game on Packers’ 2022 schedule
However, he can perform well at whatever is asked of him. He is the Packers’ Swiss army knife on defense. He adds a versatile element to this Joe Barry defense that makes them even scarier to play against.
Darnell Savage is the center-field safety. In other words, he is the ball-hawk. If you want to try throwing at Savage deep, good luck.
He, like Amos, has also recorded at least two interceptions in each of his three seasons in Green Bay. The difference between Savage’s responsibilities compared to his counterpart’s is that Savage plays an important role in man coverage.
He spends less time in the box trying to stuff running backs than he does in the defensive backfield making sure no receivers get behind him. His explosiveness and ability to watch the opposing QB’s eyes are top-tier.
Savage has started each of the 46 career games that he has played in since he came from Maryland. His 4.3 speed makes it extremely difficult for any receiver to get away from him.
The combination of Amos and Savage deserves credit.
No. 31’s versatility combined with No. 26’s ability to be a lockdown center-fielder gives Barry plenty of options in terms of what kind of defense he wants to roll out.
They are solid year-in, year-out. They deserve way more credit than they get.
That is the theme of this Packers defense. Guys like Amos, Savage, Rashan Gary, Kenny Clark, and De’Vondre Campbell, deserve way more praise for what they do. But that lack of respect just adds more fuel to their fire.