Head Coach Mike McCarthy has preached that the Green Bay Packers' identity needs to start with defense for the team to be successful.
So it's no surprise then that during the team's current three-game winning streak the defense has continued to climb in the league rankings, all the way to No. 1 as of Monday.
That's right, No. 1. The Packers rank first in the league in yards allowed per contest, surrendering just 281.5 on average. The last time the Packers ranked No. 1 in the league in total defense was following Week 3 of the 2001 season. The last time the team held the top spot this late in the season was at the end of 1996, a Super Bowl championship year.
No one is making any such bold predictions with five games remaining in 2009 and a wild-card playoff fight on Green Bay's hands the rest of the way. But if the defense continues to play at this level through December, the Packers like their chances of possibly making some noise.
"Being No. 1 in Week 12, 13, 14, really doesn't give you any merit," McCarthy said. "You want to be No. 1 at the end of the season. But I think our defense definitely is on the right pace to be the championship defense that we anticipate we'd have here."
It's been a gradual climb, beginning with the transition to the 3-4 scheme under defensive coordinator Dom Capers.
Packers.com wrote: