Zero2Cool
a year ago
Great read, thank you.

I thought this was an interesting article with some good points: IMHO, its far easier to play press man when you have great corners....other then Jaire, I am not sure we do.

Originally Posted by: Martha Careful 


I've read a lot about how our CB's are better for man and press than zone and off. How the heck does someone discern that if they're not seeing the player actually do it? Lol

As for playing man press. I would think it's easier with lesser talent because you're disrupting the timing, disrupting the WR route. This is providing they have that sticky speed to recover when they miss their chuck into WR.


"Towards the end of Barry’s tenure, it became an open secret LaFleur had involved himself in the defense to a greater degree than he had probably ever planned to, in an effort to turn around the struggling unit."
I bemoaned this a few times. The HC has a lot on his plate. Then add in he's play caller. Then add in babysitting defense?? It's why I wanted a DC that had huge personality rather than meek one like Joe Barry. A guy who is going ooze this is MY defensive room, I got this head coach. Then the HC can focus on his areas of expertise.
UserPostedImage
a year ago

1. Great read, thank you.

As for playing man press. I would think it's easier with lesser talent because you're disrupting the timing, disrupting the WR route. This is providing they have that sticky speed to recover when they miss their chuck into WR.

Originally Posted by: Zero2Cool 

1. You are welcome

2. Press man may be easier to play at times, but only when you believe you have help over the top. With a 4 man rush, 5 guys in man, with 2 over the top, it can be easier to play.

The problem is with 1 deep, you are on an island. Get faked out of you shoes, slipping, or just guessing wrong is more likely to result in 6pts vs. single high.

In listening to the interviews, I believe he said that he likes to mix in two high with a 1 high look, which is excellent strategy IMO. You have to keep the QB and receivers guessing.

Go Packers!!!!
buckeyepackfan
a year ago
I'm OK with this hire .
Of course I've always been a glass Hafley full kind of guy.😃😃
I was addicted to The Hokey Pokey, but I turned myself around!
beast
a year ago
I just want to make a couple of points

It's great that Boston College was so low in opponent passing yardage, but you have to remember one of the easiest ways to get low passing yardage for a defensive is to be absolutely horrible at stopping the run, as teams will just keep running it and stop passing it.

So looking at Boston College, and their run yards given up is almost as high as their pass yard given up, which is almost unheard of in today's game. So Boston College run stopping might of needed improving.


Also, I'd like to point out, the CB press does not nessarily mean man coverage. The Seahawks and the "Legion of Boom" are absolutely famous for press man into zone coverage, and Richard Sherman from them went to the 49ers and worked with Heflin, where he continued press into zone coverage.

And in an interview, Heflin talked about starting with a one high safety at the snap in college as you need more guys to watch for those designed QB runs, but dropping the Safety back into a two deep shell, which would be zone coverage.

So don't assume it's going to be man coverage, just because it's press. No one currently in the NFL runs man coverage over 50% of the time. I think the Lions and Patriots generally run man coverage, by far the most and they're usually only in the 45% range.
UserPostedImage
Zero2Cool
a year ago
I tried explaining this to someone on Tweeter.

Man Press
Man Zone
Off Press
Off Zone

It's like that!!
UserPostedImage
a year ago
This is a bit of a counter argument moderating the 'Aggressive' talking points:

https://www.si.com/nfl/packers/news/aggressive-packers-defensive-coordinator-jeff-hafley-heres-data 
Bill Huber wrote (with bold emphasis by MC):

'Aggressive’ Packers Defensive Coordinator Jeff Hafley? Here’s Data
Is new Packers defensive coordinator aggressive in terms of blitzing and coverage? Here is what the numbers say from his tenure at Boston College.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers hired Jeff Hafley as defensive coordinator. He purportedly will bring an “aggressive” approach to Green Bay.

Or, at least a “much, much more aggressive” scheme than the one directed by Joe Barry the previous three seasons.

The numbers, however, paint at least a slightly different picture.

Pro Football Focus sent a treasure trove of Hafley-related data to Packer Central, including numerous tendencies from the 2023 season in which Boston College finished with a 7-6 record and ranked 70th (out of 130 teams in FBS) in total defense, 96th in yards per play and 83rd in points allowed per play.

Here are some of those numbers and the rankings in the 14-team ACC over his four-year tenure as coach as well as in 2023:

• 9th in blitz rate on pass plays (38.8%)
• 2nd in blitz rate on third-down passes (55.5%)

In 2023, according to the PFF data, Boston College was:
• 7th in blitz rate on pass plays (36.4%)
• 5th in blitz rate on third-down passes (46.8%)

If you were to project based on those numbers, Hafley’s goal is to lean on his defensive front to make plays on first and second down, where they were 10th in blitz rate at 32.4 percent but fourth in defensive-line stunt rate at 24.6 percent, in hope of getting to third-and-long, where he will attack.

Blitzing, of course, isn’t the only way to measure aggressiveness. Indeed, by that measure, the Packers under Barry were one of the more aggressive defenses in the NFL. According to SportRadar, the Packers were No. 25 in blitz rate in 2021 but No. 5 in 2022 and No. 10 in 2023.

Another way is to look at coverage. With Barry, it was predominantly a two-shell zone defense meant take away the big play. It was a decidedly unaggressive way to play defense. This presumably will be the big change, with Hafley leaning heavily on single-high approaches.

According to PFF, Boston College played press coverage 45.0 percent of the time. Data is not available for Green Bay’s press-man reliance, but it certainly was not to that level. However, in the 14-team ACC, BC’s 45.0 percent ranked only ninth.

It’s that number that makes any projection a challenge. College football is a different game, starting with the quarterbacks. Put simply, most college quarterbacks aren’t accurate enough to consistently beat press-man coverage. So, most defenses play a lot of it, confident that their defensive backs will eventually make a play on a wayward throw.


Presumably, Packers coach Matt LaFleur hired Hafley to play with the same general style as at Boston College. However, like any good coach, Hafley will have to adjust and adapt to the realities on the ground.

Will he have the cornerbacks necessary to play a steady diet of press-man coverage against the high-quality quarterbacks and elite receivers that populate the NFL? Will he have the ground-covering safety necessary in order to put an extra man in the box to stop the run?

Hafley’s defenses at Boston College ranged from mediocre to bad. However, you’re only as good as your personnel, and schools like Boston College face an uphill climb in today’s NIL world to compete from a personnel perspective.

When the Packers were struggling on offense through the first half of the season, LaFleur preached process over results. The process was sound, so he thought the results would come. He was right.

That’s the bet with Hafley. LaFleur loves the process. We’ll see if the results will follow.

The net to me is that the guy mixes is up and plays more aggressive man in short yardage situations....works for me.

Also, given Hafley's style, I am no so certain Darnell Savage is gone, He is a decent man cover safety IMO
Go Packers!!!!
dfosterf
a year ago
Over at Lombardi Ave. they posted an article explaining how the Packers may have potentially screwed over the Vikings with this hire.
As you may have noticed, Boston College is now in the market for a head coach.
Brian Flores seems to be trending as the most desirable candidate.
I'm going to give this some credence, as he is suing the NFL, played there, the Vikings fans love him and don"t see this coming at all, and anything to screw over the Vikings I am in favor of.
beast
a year ago

Over at Lombardi Ave. they posted an article explaining how the Packers may have potentially screwed over the Vikings with this hire.
As you may have noticed, Boston College is now in the market for a head coach.
Brian Flores seems to be trending as the most desirable candidate.
I'm going to give this some credence, as he is suing the NFL, played there, the Vikings fans love him and don"t see this coming at all, and anything to screw over the Vikings I am in favor of.

Originally Posted by: dfosterf 


It's extremely interesting to think about, but I think NFL coordinator is the higher option over college head coach, especially since Boston College isn't exactly considered the top program.

And as Heflin and other head coaches have complained, college coaches are getting to coach less and less, and it's more and more about recruiting and the new transfers portals and new name and likeness contracts just made it so much more so about recruiting.

And from what I can see, he's never coach or had any part of college coaching or recruiting.

If he would pull the trigger, it'd have to be because he really really really wants a shot at being top dog and completely running the show, and thinks he has no shot at doing that again in the NFL.




UserPostedImage
Zero2Cool
a year ago
Super Bowl LVIII: 49ers safety sings praises of Packers DC Hafley. Tashaun Gipson had a career year under the tutelage of Jeff Hafley.


I just don't recall this stuff about Joe Barry from as many variant sources. That's likely one reason I'm optimistic haha
UserPostedImage
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