The Green Bay Packers have a lot to be excited about, not just the 2024 NFL Draft, but also the 2024 season. Just one offseason after dealing Aaron Rodgers, the Packers are one of the preseason favorites to make the playoffs and maybe advance beyond.
Since being chosen in 2016, Kenny Clark has been a mainstay of the Packers’ defense. He’s looking forward to doing something big next season.
After years of underperformance, will the Green Bay Packers’ defense attain its full potential? Yes, that is a valid question. Jeff Hafley, the new playcaller, will bring a radically different approach to the defense.
Head coach Matt LaFleur made the correct call in removing former defensive coordinator Joe Barry. This conservative, keep-everything-in-front-of-us strategy was not working for their defense. Rather than playing to the Packers’ strengths, Barry’s plan to prevent big plays backfired, as teams took advantage of easy yards and burned them after the catch.
Freddie Boston of FanSided summarized exactly what Clark said about the next season:
Clark is one of Green Bay’s most valuable defensive players. He met his new defensive coordinator during the Packers Tailgate Tour, and the three-time Pro Bowler is optimistic about the new-look defense and what Hafley offers to Green Bay.
“Fiery, his energy … he’s going to bring it,” Clark remarked, according to Mike Spofford of the club website. “He will challenge everyone to be exceptional. That is what you want from a coach. “You want them to hold the guys accountable.”
Clark stated that Hafley’s method will “allow us to be way more disruptive” on the defensive line.
It’s understandable that the guys are delighted. Barry’s strategy was all about keeping everything in front of them, which ultimately resulted in easy completions with the goal of crowding around the football and limiting significant gains.
Under Hafley, the Packers will take a more aggressive approach, attempting to disrupt the quarterback and get to the ball. It enhances the likelihood of huge plays and turnovers, even if it is a riskier approach.
“I’m heavy on technique and basics, but if a man can play at a high level, don’t attempt to transform him into what you think he should be. “Just get him better,” Hafley told the Wisconsin State Journal. “I constantly try to take things from players. I’ve always been into picking players’ brains and learning from them.
“I’ve learned as much from great players as I have from average players…” I try to go inside their heads to see what they think, how they do things, and how they view things, because they see things more clearly than I do. “I saw it on tape, but it’s different.”
Green Bay’s defensive scheme will change in 2024 under new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley.
At Boston College, Hafley used a 4-3 defensive scheme. Robert Saleh served as Hafley’s defensive coordinator during his final season in the NFL as the 49ers’ defensive backs coach. He used the same base strategy as the New York Jets did previous season.
Hafley has, however, worked in a number of defensive systems over his career, including a 3-4 with Tampa Bay and Cleveland.
It will be interesting to see what kind of defense Hafley employs, but one thing is certain: his teammates are eager to do battle with him.
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