[img_r]http://cmsimg.greenbaypressgazette.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Avis=U0&Dato=20081118&Kategori=PKR01&Lopenr=81118164&Ref=AR&MaxW=260&MaxH=201&Border=0[/img_r]Nick Collins played quarterback and running back in high school. Aaron Rouse played receiver and running back in high school. Charles Woodson won the Heisman Trophy in part because he was a playmaker on offense, too.
Perhaps that helps explain how those three Green Bay Packers defenders have been so proficient at turning defense into offense this season. Together, the trio of defensive backs has six of the team-record seven defensive touchdowns this season.
The other one belongs to defensive end Jason Hunter, who had the record-breaking touchdown on a fumble recovery that he returned 54 yards for a score in Sundays 37-3 victory over the Bears. Yet nothing in Hunters biography suggests he has any experience with a ball in his hands, unless high school basketball counts.
So there must be some greater explanation for why this Packers defense has found the end zone more than any other in team history. Hunters score helped break the previous Packers record held by the 1966 club, a team with a far greater legacy as the champs of Super Bowl I.
Maybe it goes back to training camp, when assistant head coach/linebackers coach Winston Moss runs the ball security/takeaway drills.
We have pursuit drills, Moss said. When those guys are catching the ball, its emphasized that everybody gets in front of those guys and make way.
"To be honest, those guys are feeling so confident and being so aggressive that they feel as though when they catch the ball that they can actually score. Since theyve had that early success, theyve fed off of that. Momentum takes over, and now theyre looking for it.
Anyone who has seen the Packers practice knows the team works on interception returns. Its quite the sight to see when a defensive player picks off a pass or scoops up a fumble. Not only do the other 10 defenders immediately look for someone to block but in addition to the 11 offensive players who try to stop him, other offensive players come off the sideline to try to do so as well.
Its all about the awareness of the football, Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. The most important thing about the game of football is the football, who has the football. Its an emphasis from an offensive standpoint. You want to sit there and tell your offense youre never going to give the ball away, but unfortunately that happens. So if you make a mistake, you dont want to make two. If we do turn the ball over, we want everybody covering the football.
On the other side of it, when the defense (has) the opportunity to get their hands on the football, you want everybody to get out front and block. Its a way to emphasize it.
The flood of returns for touchdowns began in the season opener against the Vikings when Will Blackmon returned a punt 76 yards for a touchdown.
In Week 2 at Detroit, Woodson and Collins sealed a 48-25 victory with back-to-back fourth-quarter interception returns for touchdowns.
Through 10 games, Collins has three interception returns for touchdowns, Woodson has two and Rouse one. Hunter has the lone fumble recovery for a score.
Throw in another punt return for a touchdown by Blackmon in the second meeting against the Vikings, and the Packers have nine touchdowns combined by the defense and special teams. That matches the number of offensive touchdowns by the Oakland Raiders.
Now, the Packers are eyeing the NFL record for defensive touchdowns. They need three more to match the record of 10 set by the 1998 Seattle Seahawks.
I cannot take credit for the takeaways, Moss said. Its just the back-end guys having a special year. They are very comfortable with what theyre doing. The job (cornerbacks coach) Lionel Washington and (safeties coach) Kurt Schottenheimer are doing with those guys is phenomenal. Theyre setting records. Theyre on a record pace from an interception standpoint. We emphasize it. Every coach on our defensive staff emphasizes it, so Im glad to see those guys enjoying that kind of success.
Even if the Packers dont come up with another defensive touchdown, they will go down in league annals. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the official statistical keeper for the NFL, only seven teams since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger have scored more defensive touchdowns than the 2008 Packers. Two teams have had nine the 1999 Kansas City Chiefs and 1998 New Orleans Saints. Four teams the 2007 Minnesota Vikings, 1999 St. Louis Rams, 1992 Chiefs and 1992 Vikings have had eight.
Still, defensive touchdowns arent necessarily the measure of a good team or even a good defense. Take that 1998 Seahawks team. It finished 27th in the NFL in total defense and had an 8-8 record despite ranking second in the league with 42 takeaways. The Packers rank 16th in total defense and have a 5-5 record despite a league-leading 16 interceptions.