There are a thousand and one reasons to be concerned about the product that the Green Bay Packers put out there on the field this past Sunday. The offensive line (which was pretty downright offensive to watch) is probably the biggest reason.
But lost in the shuffle of Week 1 fallout is that the Packers' secondary, a major pressure point for Green Bay heading into this year, actually looked... good?
The safety trio of Xavier McKinney, Evan Williams and Javon Bullard took care of business on their end to allow only two explosive plays. Keisean Nixon, on the other side of the field, was a major force at the beginning of his contract year, with a couple of TFLs and an airmailed interception, courtesy of one Kyler Murray.
But rookie cornerback Brandon Cisse did his part too, and didn't look out of place either. Over the course of the game, Cisse allowed only one catch on two targets, per PFF, although that one reception was a 39-yard touchdown pass to Justin Jefferson off a free play. But let's put that aside for a second.
Packers rookie Brandon Cisse passed a daunting debut test vs. Vikings
Overall Grade: B+
Early in the game, Cisse showed off so much of what made him a tantalizing prospect in this past year's draft. In run support, he was aggressive, attacking vertically into the receivers trying to move him at the LOS, to good effect.
There's a play at 12:00 in the first quarter where Aaron Jones takes the handoff to Cisse's side and looks like he might break the corner for a second. But Cisse comes screaming down and forces the back inside for a minimal gain.
Cisse's calling card has always been his movement skills, and they were in full effect all game long. He stuck with Jordan Addison and Jauan Jennings on multiple occasions and, importantly, shut them down when the offense was trying to make something happen more creatively.
Before his unfortunate injury, Kyler Murray was able to escape the pocket multiple times, but Cisse never allowed a throw on the run in his direction.
Cisse was credited with one missed tackle on the day and no solo tackles. Technically, a 100 percent missed tackle rate! But especially in a rookie's debut game, being in the right position on the field and having an aggressive mentality is just as important.
Brandon Cisse has his coach's backing
On Monday, during his weekly press conference, new Packers defensive coordinator Johnathan Gannon spoke glowingly about the rookie.
"I thought he did some really good things. It was cool because – not to get too schematic – but we had to make some adjustments throughout the week and when you (do that) you want to see if your guys can take that to the grass," Gannon said.
"It could be as simple as where his alignment is or where his eyes are. That's different than kind of standard operating procedures and I thought our DB coaches did a really good job of getting our guys prepped with how we wanted to play. (On the TD) I just told him how he can find the ball and locate the ball a little bit better there … just by body position. I talked to him that night and then yesterday. He's wired the right way."
Gannon addresses the elephant in the room here, though, which is the long touchdown pass given up. Even if you ignore the fact that it's Justin Jefferson he had to go up against, there are certainly things that the rookie could have done better on that play.
His ball skills were an issue in college, and they reared their ugly head on this play. He lost the ball in the air when he got turned around, and Gannon is right that his body positioning could have been better.
It was Cisse's "Welcome to the NFL" moment, and against Jefferson, who does things like that to everyone he plays, it probably isn't something to nitpick.
Cisse did leave the game in the early fourth quarter, taken back to the locker room to be treated for cramps. The defense got much worse after he left, and Carrington Valentine surrendered two touchdowns during Minnesota's comeback.
According to Pro Football Focus, Cisse played 49 snaps on the day – 21 as a run defender and 27 in coverage. PFF gave him a 55.2 overall defensive grade for the game, slightly below average. I'd push back on that assessment, based on some of the things he was able to do in coverage.
But I also care so much about what the mentality of these players on the field is, and Cisse's aggression and passion was a breath of fresh air. Green Bay was desperately seeking someone like that on defense, and I think they found one.
The Packers hope that he and Keisean Nixon can continue to hold down the secondary while issues on the other side of the ball are fixed up, as best the team can.
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