All-Time Packers Defense

By MJ Kasprzak | August 17th, 2008

My favourite Packer in my lifetime, LeRoy Butler, speaking at Ripon College

For my all-time Packers lineup, I have selected players based on a few standard criteria.

For one, I put special emphasis on the number of games they played for the organization. It matters less how great their career was with another team as it relates to this franchise, or how great they were for a couple years before injury or trade.

I also put an emphasis on those players who performed during the television era, so I could at least see recordings first-hand of their effectiveness. The only player from the pre-television era I could not deny a place on the roster is Don Hutson (featured in the second installment), who changed the game with his impact, and whose numbers still compare with a lot of receivers of this more pass-happy era.

Finally, I considered how they fared against their peers, not how they would physically match up. We know that modern players are bigger, stronger, faster, and more agile in general than their predecessors, but this excursion would be pointless for all teams if we could only consider todays more athletic specimens.

I have chosen the appropriate number of starters for a standard set for each position, plus one backup. Since defense wins championships, I will start with that unit. Since the units foundation is how it does in the trenches, I will start with the line:

DE: Willie Davis anchored Vince Lombardis vaunted defensive line and was a supreme pass rusher in an era when you had to be able to stop the run to even remain on the field. Defenses had to account for him on plays even to the opposite side.

DE: Reggie White has to top this list, even though he only spent about half his career in Green Bay. He brought the team legitimacy at a time when most free agents shunned major sports smallest town, and dominated against run and pass, despite drawing constant double-teams.

DE: Ezra Johnson was a fan favorite and dominant pass-rusher on a team that was competitive but not a playoff caliber team. I give him a narrow nod over Lionel Aldridge because unlike his forerunner, he did not have the other guy to draw the double teams.

DT: Henry Jordan anchored the interior for most of Lombardis tenure.

DT: Gilbert Brown was known as the Gravedigger because he was simply unblockable in the middle. He prevented ball carriers from cutting back (playing an instrumental role in a defense that once held Barry Sanders to -3 yards for an entire playoff game) or going up the middle, sometimes taking on as many as three blockers.

But what a lot of people do not realize is that in the first half of his time with the team, Big Gil had the athleticism to run down plays from the backside and force quarterbacks from the pocket.

DT: Bob Brown played opposite Jordan for most of his career, and managed to stick around until the first playoff appearance after Lombardi left.

LB: Ray Nitschke was among the most-feared players of all-time, with a blue-collar work ethic and a mean streak that kept opposing players heads on a swivel. He could play both the run and pass as well as anyone in his era not named Dick Butkus.

Plus, my brother had the last published interview with him before he died, writing for a small town paper in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan!

LB: John Anderson was one of the few bright spots on the defense of the 1980s, and could play run or pass with equal effectiveness. He also was the teams emergency kicker; I remember a field goal and subsequent kickoff in one game.

LB: Mike Mad Dog Douglass was often overlooked because the team never won more than eight games when he was playing, but he was a disruptive force against the run, and on the blitz, or hitting receivers coming across the middle.

LB: Brian Noble helped the Packers transition into the Mike Holmgren era and was especially potent as a pass rusher, good in coverage, and solid against the run.

CB: Herb Adderly was Lombardis best pass defender, and as with all the players under Vince, a reliable tackler who could not be exploited on running plays to the outside.

CB: Bob Jeter handled the side opposite Adderly, and was near his mates equal.

CB: Tim Lewis was one of the smartest (exemplified by his subsequent coaching of the defensive backfield for the Pittsburgh Steelers), most capable pass defenders ever to wear the Green and Gold, before his career was cut short by a neck injury.

He is on this list because the Packers are thin at this position, but also because he was that dominant when he did play.

S: LeRoy Butler is also incredibly smarthes coaching the Packers defensive backs nowand a tremendous leader. He had a nose for the ball, was a sure tackler, and arguably the best blitzing defensive back in league history. Moreover, he could move over into the slot and cover well in nickel and dime situations, virtually unheard of for a strong safety. He was the first to do the Lambeau Leap and remains my favorite all-time Packer.

S: Willie Wood was the career Packer leader in interceptions for over two decades and anchored a defensive backfield that saw more action than most teams in his time because of the deficits their opponents often worked with.

S: Darren Sharper said some pretty ugly things when the team did not re-sign him and was a bit of a hotdog, going for the SportsCenter highlight play over the safer, more responsible play at times. But no safety could make more of those plays when he was at his peak for the team: He was always among league leaders in interceptions and return yards. Moreover, he was as good in coverage as some teams starting corners and still a sure tackler.

I don't put Sharper there at all. Otherwise, nice list.

"PackOne" wrote:

Here  is his offensive lineup as well.

"gopackgo" wrote:

I'll take Starr over Favre. As for kicker Hornung had 162 points in that incredable season 1962 I think? And what about Don Chandler ?

I don't agree with Sharpe being there, either. The other WR's were fine with me.

"gopackgo" wrote:

Actually GraveDigga,

Bart had several very good seasons. Two that standout are 1964 and 1966.

1964......15TD's-4.. Int's.. 59.9%.. 2144yds.
1966......14TD's-3..Int's..62.2%..2257yds. 9.0yds per/play

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An Absolute Master Of The Craft And A True Professional


View Details For: 15 Regular Season and 1 Playoff TDs Scored / 152 Regular Season and 15 Playoff TDs Thrown

PassingGlossary ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), CSV PRE Playoffs 100/300/100
Year Age Tm Pos G GS QBrec Cmp Att Cmp% Yds TD TD% Int Int% Lng Y/A AY/A Y/C Y/G Rate Sk Yds NY/A ANY/A Sk%
1956 22 GNB 9 1 0-1-0 24 44 54.5 325 2 4.5 3 6.8 39 7.4 4.8 13.5 36.1 65.1
1957 23 GNB QB 12 11 3-8-0 117 215 54.4 1489 8 3.7 10 4.7 77 6.9 5.2 12.7 124.1 69.3
1958 24 GNB QB 12 8 0-6-1 78 157 49.7 875 3 1.9 12 7.6 55 5.6 2.3 11.2 72.9 41.2
1959 25 GNB qb 12 5 4-1-0 70 134 52.2 972 6 4.5 7 5.2 44 7.3 5.4 13.9 81.0 69.0
1960* 26 GNB QB 12 8 4-4-0 98 172 57.0 1358 4 2.3 8 4.7 91 7.9 6.0 13.9 113.2 70.8
1961* 27 GNB QB 14 14 11-3-0 172 295 58.3 2418 16 5.4 16 5.4 78 8.2 6.3 14.1 172.7 80.3
1962* 28 GNB QB 14 14 13-1-0 178 285 62.5 2438 12 4.2 9 3.2 83 8.6 7.6 13.7 174.1 90.7
1963 29 GNB QB 13 10 8-1-1 132 244 54.1 1855 15 6.1 10 4.1 53 7.6 6.4 14.1 142.7 82.3
1964 30 GNB QB 14 14 8-5-1 163 272 59.9 2144 15 5.5 4 1.5 73 7.9 7.8 13.2 153.1 97.1
1965 31 GNB QB 14 14 10-3-1 140 251 55.8 2055 16 6.4 9 3.6 77 8.2 7.2 14.7 146.8 89.0
1966*+ 32 GNB QB 14 13 11-2-0 156 251 62.2 2257 14 5.6 3 1.2 83 9.0 9.0 14.5 161.2 105.0
1967 33 GNB QB 14 12 8-3-1 115 210 54.8 1823 9 4.3 17 8.1 84 8.7 5.5 15.9 130.2 64.4
1968 34 GNB QB 12 9 4-5-0 109 171 63.7 1617 15 8.8 8 4.7 63 9.5 8.2 14.8 134.8 104.3
1969 35 GNB QB 12 9 4-5-0 92 148 62.2 1161 9 6.1 6 4.1 51 7.8 6.6 12.6 96.8 89.9 24 217 5.5 4.4 14.0
1970 36 GNB QB 14 13 6-7-0 140 255 54.9 1645 8 3.1 13 5.1 65 6.5 4.5 11.8 117.5 63.9 29 252 4.9 3.1 10.2
1971 37 GNB 4 3 0-2-1 24 45 53.3 286 0 0.0 3 6.7 31 6.4 3.4 11.9 71.5 45.2 6 64 4.4 1.7 11.8
Career 196 158 94-57-6 1808 3149 57.4 24718 152 4.8 138 4.4 91 7.8 6.4 13.7 126.1 80.5 59 533 7.5 6.1 1.8

Postseason record as starting QB: 1960: 0-1, 1961: 1-0, 1962: 1-0, 1965: 2-0, 1966: 2-0, 1967: 3-0.

"gopackgo" wrote: