Among all the other stuff that went on in the Green Bay Packers' wild Week 11 win over the Chicago Bears, one of the most encouraging aspects of the day was the performance of edge-rusher Brenton Cox Jr.
Getting consistent performances out of edge-rushers has been a bit of an issue for the Packers' defense this year, and Cox made the most of his first opportunity of the season (one sack, one QB hit, two tackles, two stops).
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And perhaps even more surprising than Cox's stats was the fact that he played almost the same amount of snaps as Lukas Van Ness (Cox 22, Van Ness 25). The 13th overall pick in last year's draft, it's been a rough start to Van Ness' career, as the edge-rusher only has one sack and 14 tackles in 10 starts this season.
When asked about the two during his Monday press conference, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur may have hinted that it could be Cox, not Van Ness, who would see more playing time going forward.
Matt LaFleur seems to imply that Brenton Cox Jr. is in line to replace Preston Smith
"I was really happy with his play," LaFleur said of Cox. "And happy for him. And I would expect to see more of him. Hopefully he'll continue to grow as a player ... he's had to earn everything he's got up to this point. I'm excited about him, and I think there's going to be more out there for him ... I think the better you do out there, the more opportunity you're going to get."
When asked about Van Ness?
"I'm sure there's a couple plays that come to mind that I think that he is capable of better, but we'll keep coaching him and I know he'll keep working," said LaFleur.
As far as coachspeak goes, this is pretty straightforward. It's becoming more and more rare to hear a coach talk so openly about the bad plays one of his guys is putting on tape, so it's probably safe to assume that Green Bay's coaches aren't particularly bullish on Van Ness' progression this season. Cox – who's already tied with Van Ness in sacks this year – certainly earned another start or two, and it's not like the Packers' edge-rushing depth chart is anywhere near set in stone.
A pessimist might look at LaFleur's quote and feel some sort of panic about Van Ness, but it's hard to be pessimistic after beating the Bears for the 11th straight time. For this week, it's all about Cox's arrival. There's always time to panic in January.