Just how impressive was Green Bay’s defensive performance on Sunday? Green Bay’s defense almost single handedly outscored Seattle’s offense on its own. Had Mike McCarthy managed the end of the 1st half better, Green Bay would have only allowed 6 points in this game. Meanwhile Mike Daniels’ strip sack lead to Green Bay getting the ball 1st and goal from the 8.
You could see on tape just how much energy and confidence this defense was playing with as players were flying to the football. I noted during the game that the defense looks 180 degrees different when Clay & Perry are healthy. The grades overall weren’t out of this world impressive, but the result was. Green Bay was faster, more aggressive, and had far fewer mental errors than usual. This was a winning performance all-around for Green Bay, led by two out of this world performances by Nick Perry and Mike Daniels.
The Packers week 1 defense in a nutshell: @Mike_Daniels76  dusrupt inside, @NickTheGreat8  terrorize off the edge. Meet at the QB. pic.twitter.com/0QWXwyv4oT 
— Andy Herman (@SconnieSports) September 15, 2017 
Top 3 Players
Nick Perry +3.20
Mike Daniels +3.15
Blake Martinez +0.7
Bottom 3 Players
Kentrell Brice -1.00
Quinten Rollins -0.55
Dean Lowry -0.30
Defensive Line
Mike Daniels +3.15
Kenny Clark +0.3
Ricky Jean Francois -0.1
Dean Lowry -0.3
What an absolutely amazing performance by Mike Daniels. Make no mistake about it, if it weren’t for Daniels and Perry, Green bay loses this game. There were so many highlight level plays from Daniels that he was a must-watch player anytime he was on the field. There wasn’t anyone on Seattle’s line that was going to be able to block Daniels one-on-one. This was an All-Pro level performance and the first step towards the Pro Bowl and All Pro honors that he unequivocally deserves.
Dean Lowry was a bit of a disappointment in this game and it’s easy to wonder if he’s still having lingering issues from his preseason injury. I may have been one of the few who was unsurprised by the release of Francois. Throughout the preseason and in the few snaps he played in week one he looked no more than a replacement level player at best.
Mike Daniels just does not quit. Keep an eye on big number 76 as he hustles for 11 seconds & finally makes the tackle. pic.twitter.com/7QFzy5TCTo 
— Andy Herman (@SconnieSports) September 15, 2017 
Edge
Nick Perry +3.2
Kyler Fackrell +0.5
Clay Matthews +0.3
Ahmad Brooks +0.0
As mentioned above, this was a dominant performance from Perry. Matthews provided just enough rush and speed on the opposite end to complement Perry. While Matthews looked fresh and healthy, he still lacked the ability to finish plays. It’s really tough to tell at this point exactly what’s holding Matthews back from becoming a top tier edge rusher again but he seems to lack the polish in the final stages of the play to consistently get the job done. Brooks and Fackrell were adequate enough during their time in the game and Fackrell looked like he was going to find the quarterback a couple times if it weren’t for a quick release from Wilson. With Brooks probably out this week we should get our first look at Chris Odom.
Lacy wants to try and hit that massive gap between Perry & Daniels. Only problem... it's Perry & Daniels. pic.twitter.com/tsuBQBhCs6 
— Andy Herman (@SconnieSports) September 15, 2017 
Linebackers
Blake Martinez +0.7
Morgan Burnett +0.65
Jake Ryan +0.4
Joe Thomas -0.1
Until proven differently I’m officially moving Morgan Burnett to linebacker. With Brice and HaHa manning the safety positions, there is no reason to label Burnett as anything other than a linebacker. Burnett didn’t grade out spectacularly, but what he provides Green Bay’s defense is invaluable. When was the last time Green Bay had a true linebacker that could spy a fast quarterback like Russell Wilson, cover an athletic tight end like Jimmy Graham, and hold up in the run game? Maybe Nick Barnett in his prime? Kudos to Green Bay for being fast adopters to the safety at linebacker trend and even more so for finding a starting caliber safety on the street in Kentrell Brice allowing Burnett to make the move.
Martinez was consistent throughout this game and held up in coverage and against the run. Martinez never seems to jump off the tape, but if he can maintain a solid/consistent level of play he will be a great complement to Burnett at linebacker.
Cornerbacks
Kevin King +0.35
LaDarius Gunter +0.0
Damarious Randall -0.25
Davon House -0.25
Quinten Rollins -0.55
Randall, House & Rollins were the primary corners throughout this game and for the most part they played well enough to win. While they all avoided giving up any big plays, there were opportunities available for Wilson to find big plays in the passing game had the pass rush not been as disruptive. The holes that I saw in coverage gave me some cause for concern going forward but the overall improvement in the defensive backfield was easily noticeable. Green Bay will get a much better chance to prove their cover skills in week two.
Safeties
HaHa Clinton-Dix +0.2
Kentrell Brice -1.0
Kentrell Brice’s rise to starting safety is complete and he is now a huge piece of Green Bay’s revamped defense. Yes, Brice graded at -1.0 and the lowest rated player on the team this week; but fret not, Brice not only looks the part, he plays with a speed and aggressiveness that partners perfectly on the back end with Clinton-Dix. Brice got himself into trouble by being slightly over-aggressive and not staying deep enough as the last line of defense. There was a play late in the game where he was playing the deep safety role and would have been beat badly on a deep post if the pressure didn’t get home. It would have been a huge game-changing play.
Clinton-Dix seemed a bit more tentative this game than usual but still played a solid overall game. The fact that Brice and HaHa can both play any role at safety and both play either side of the field is a huge asset and one that provides Dom with more opportunities to disguise his defenses.
This is just so beautiful. Clinton-Dix, King & Burnett all making sure this pass is not completed. #Packers  #SEAvsGB  pic.twitter.com/J3Qiim9j7C 
— Dusty (@DustyEvely) September 11, 2017 

While I’m hesitant to take anything away from the defense as a whole this week, this game was all about the dominance of Nick Perry and Mike Daniels. To be fair, Seattle’s offensive line is brutal so whether or not Green Bay can keep this level of pressure up remains to be seen. If, however, Green Bay can maintain this same type of pressure going forward, they are going to be a top 10 defense and have a real shot at a Super Bowl run. There’s simply no denying that the defense looked faster, stronger, and more aggressive than last year’s beat-up squad. 
How I Grade

Each player starts by getting a zero or neutral grade on a play. If they performed as expected on a play, their grade stays at zero.

For a slightly above or below average play, the player gets graded -0.1 or +0.1. The vast majority of grades on the vast majority of plays are graded -0.1, 0, or +0.1.

The highest and lowest grades on an individual play are +2.0 and -2.0 respectively. These would be large, game-changing plays.

I won’t grade a play negatively if I cannot tell which player was at fault.

Most of the time it’s impossible to tell the play, so I’m not grading on the execution of the play call as an NFL coach would.

The goal of this exercise is to grade every snap over the course of the season to get a long-term view of which performers are performing well and which are not meeting expectations. This is very similar to what Pro Football Focus tries to achieve. Is it perfect? No. But what you are getting is a consistent grader who is watching specifically Packer games and putting multiple hours into every week to breakdown film and assign grades.

Grades are for offense and defense only (including two point conversions). Special teams does not factor in.

Preseason does not have All-22 film which makes this exercise even more challenging than usual

Bigger plays in the game such as a 4th and 1 or a two-point conversion are weighted higher than say a normal 1st and 10 play to start the game.

Lastly, the grades do not necessarily reflect who the best players are on an overall basis. As an example, Morgan Burnett may grade almost two full points below Jermaine Whitehead. Does this mean that Whitehead is the superior player to Burnett? No. It means that given the opportunities each player was given, Whitehead performed at a higher level for this individual game.

Please feel free to ask questions or comment below!
Filed Under:[URL=/blog/category/featured" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="]Featured[/URL]NFL Categories:[URL=/taxonomy/term/12336" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="]Green Bay Packers[/URL]Tags:[URL=/tag/grading-the-pack-mike-daniels" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="]Grading the Pack; Mike Daniels[/URL][URL=/tag/nick-perry" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="]Nick Perry[/URL][URL=/tag/blake-martinez" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="]Blake Martinez[/URL][URL=/tag/morgan-burnett" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="]Morgan Burnett[/URL]
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