Packers defense must show proof of concept against an opponent it's built to stop

On paper, the Packers have the defensive approach and personnel to stop the Saints offense. Now, they have to prove that on the field.

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Late Green Bay Packers general manager Ted Thompson and former defensive coordinator Dom Capers failed to see eye-to-eye. Capers wanted to play a complicated, ever-changing defense that required veteran savvy and institutional knowledge. Thompson preferred roster churn and relying on rookies.

Conversely, the men currently occupying those roles -- Brian Gutekunst and Joe Barry, respectively -- couldn’t be more aligned with the way they view the game: attack the quarterback and defend the pass. Defending the run? That’s someone else’s problem.

But to date, that pesky run defense, undermines the rest of the plan. Facing an opponent struggling to run the ball and with issues protecting the quarterback like the New Orleans Saints, Green Bay faces an inflection point for the proof of concept with this defense.

After getting punked by the Atlanta Falcons’ running game, defenders of Barry (or people like me, who believe run defense matters far less than passing defense) will say, “Most teams can’t do what Bijan Robinson and Co. can.” And that’s true. The problem is that was true in 2019 and, to a lesser extent, 2021 when the San Francisco 49ers took the Packers for a jaunty dog walk in the playoffs.

Last year, the Packers didn’t really have one of their “oh my god, the run defense” games until they played the eventual NFC-champion Philadelphia Eagles who are still running it up and down the field on them somewhere in eastern Pennsylvania.

Want to compete in the NFC? Defending the run will probably matter.