Will Jeff Hafley 'let it rip' against Jalen Hurts, Eagles' deep-passing attack?

Jalen Hurts struggled against the blitz last year. Jeff Hafley loves to blitz. But are the potential big plays Green Bay could give up worth the reward?

Green Bay Packers corner Eric Stokes said the team does not want to put passivity on tape. In new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley’s scheme, the players will default to aggression and solve problems with violence. Hafley wants to regularly call man coverage with a single deep safety while bringing exotic pressures.

That could prove problematic for the Philadelphia Eagles. Their quarterback, Jalen Hurts, struggled more than most when facing pressure.

Release the dogs, right? Maybe. But in doing so, teams leave their defenses vulnerable to the deep ball, the only thing Philly offense could do well for most of 2023. So, do you play into the Eagles’ hands by attacking their biggest weakness if it means exposing yourself to their biggest strength?

If this season is about dictating terms as Hafley describes them, Green Bay has to set its intention from Week 1 and fire everything at Hurts and Philadelphia’s offense.

Back when Joe Barry served as the Packers’ DC, the game plan against the Eagles would be two deep safeties, putting a roof on the offense, not giving up big plays in zone coverage, and making the offense go 75 yards in 15 plays. Ironically, it was not the game plan he had back in 2022 when Hurts ran for 157 yards, many of those off scrambles because Barry played man coverage. The passing game for Philly with A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith didn’t beat Green Bay. In fact, Hurts averaged just 5.5 yards per attempt in a game the Eagles scored 40.

Giving up 363 yards on the ground alone will do that.

But this is the inherent problem with going the aggressive route and playing man coverage against the Eagles. Even if you cover their dangerous pass catchers, your players are turning and running away from the quarterback. Hurts’ reply is to say “thank you” and gobble up those yards with his legs.

If you’re able to contain Hurts in the pocket, he’ll throw a deep shot over your head even with pretty good coverage. It’s not a 50-50 ball throwing it to Brown or Smith; it’s more like 70-30 in favor of the offense.

And if you play two high safeties all night, they’ll serve you a heavy dose of ground and pound, ask for seconds, and thank you for serving it with a smile.

So, what do you do against the Eagles offense? You blitz them. You blitz them to the point Hurts is calling ex-New York Giants DC Wink Martindale to figure out how his defenses attacked Hurts so effectively and where he can get better. No, seriously. That actually happened.

Once opponents found that out last year, the Eagles' season fell apart. They had no answers. The team’s new offensive coordinator, Kellen Moore, has a mandate is to fix that. However, Week 1 is an awfully quick turnaround. At times last year, the only thing that worked offensively for Philadelphia was chucking it to Brown and Smith deep, an approach made easier against a defense playing man coverage.

Two things stand out over Hafley’s career: his love of press-man coverage and a fondness for bringing exotic pressures in high-leverage moments. Hafley played 43% of his total snaps in cover 1 at Boston College, more than any other coverage look. It’s who he wants to be. It was even more stark on third down when BC played man coverage on over 63% of third downs, second-most in college football and that’s without the recruits he was getting at Ohio State.