For the Green Bay Packers to make a Super Bowl run, they need the offense to lead the way and the defense to do enough. Nobody expects a championship-caliber, shutdown unit without Micah Parsons, but they need to make just enough plays to give the offense a chance.
Rashan Gary must be part of that. His production has completely disappeared, with zero sacks, QB hits, or tackles for loss since Week 8. It even raises questions about his future with the Packers.
Packers fans have been saying it for most of the season, and now franchise legend Mason Crosby has weighed in on Gary's disappointing performances.
"I wanted to give Rashan the benefit of the doubt," Crosby said on his show for the Wisconsin Sports Radio Network.
"But then it was the effort stuff. That's what got me. That stuff, you can't put it on film. It's like Micah Parsons comes around an edge and is sprinting as hard as he can, might not be catching him, and Rashan Gary is just kinda jogging behind him. It doesn't matter if you're going to get there. You've got to give the effort. That to me is something that just is inexcusable."
Mason Crosby says the quiet part out loud about Rashan Gary's 'inexcusable' performances
It's a great point. Crosby noted that early in the season, Gary was making sacks, stopping the run, and making enough plays alongside Parsons. He didn't need to be the guy, but rather play a supporting role.
But Gary's decline in production started well before the Packers lost their all-world pass-rusher for the season, and it has only become a bigger issue without Parsons. As Crosby says, it's the apparent lack of effort that's concerning.
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Parsons has still played 54 more snaps this season than Gary, despite being available for two fewer games and beginning the year on a pitch count. There was also a viral video from the loss to the Denver Broncos, where Parsons sprints after quarterback Bo Nix and overtakes Gary, who jogs behind him.
It's far easier to excuse a lack of production if a player is giving everything on each play, but Crosby is right to call out the concerns with effort.
The Packers need much more from their 2019 first-round pick, especially after an embarrassing performance from the entire defense in Week 17. The Baltimore Ravens scored 41 points and rushed for 307 yards against them. That can't happen in the playoffs.
It will take a collective effort for Green Bay's injury-hit defense to play its part in a deep postseason run, but this group also needs its leaders to step up. Gary must rediscover his form and once again become the game-changer this team needs.