The Young Secondary

Pack won tonight due, in large part, to its secondary. Shields' return really seemed to solidify the back-end of our defense. Packers kept the most prolific (ranked 1st in passing yards per game) passing attack to just 250+ yards. The reason this is impressive to me is because they got absolutely zero help from the front-7. Stafford wasn't sacked once and he had little pressure applied for much of the night. And even still, he had difficulty attacking this secondary. Here's more: http://wp.me/p29VCs-dq

The most impressive young secondary member has been Hayward - obviously. One play stood out tonight: a run play he defended in the first half. He was lined up on the line of scrimmage, over the down-TE. Immediately at the snap, he read the play and slid down the line, under the blocking TE, and just barely missed a tackle for loss. It reminded me of Woodson. I know it's lofty to compare him to Woodson so soon. But, he has some tendencies that parallel Woodson. He's got a knack for the ball, is comfortable in the slot - due in part to his football smarts, and he's just a steady cover-corner. Capers has also started to use him off the edge on blitzes. Anyone else see these similarities or am I drinking the kool-aid a little too much with this take?

In any event, with Williams, Shields, Hayward, and House, the Packers secondary is in good position for the next several seasons.

So NOW will people finally agree with me that we definitely do NOT need to draft another CB? Because I've said it since last year.

Shields return was big.
House sucked early so Capers put Shields in his place, and after that 14-0 hole, things settled down.
TrayMon did a solid job on MegaTron.

Shields, I think, contract is up though.
Hayward played well again.

But remember this: We don't like missing Jordy, our #2 WR.

The Lions were without their #2, #3, and #4 WR tonight, and their #1 TE Pettigrew left right away with an ankle.

And we were without 3 Pro Bowl players and a slew of starters on both sides of the ball.

Thanks for reminding us Packer fans. We almost forgot.

It still would not hurt to draft a tall corner to beat up on these big receivers....

A corner 6 inches shorter than Megatron and B.Marshall shut them both down, and our shortest corner effectively covered a tight end. Your argument is invalid.

You're very welcome!

Johnson had 10 catches for 118 yards. He wasn't exactly shut down.

Granted, but it could have been much worse, and most of those "tall, physical corners" wouldn't keep up with him.

They played him 1 on 1 with tramon and tramon earned his keep tonight. CJ is a freak and Stafford had zero pressure so I would take this as a plus. Tramon got it done when it mattered too.

If it were invalid as you say Y do wegive up so many passing yards, and have so many passing records set against us,the D-backs played well against the LIONS but the Giants,49ers, but against elite passing teams they have givin up way to many big play yards, U just can't do that if U want to go deep in the play offs.....

Wasn't that last year? And if you bothered to notice what I pointed out, we actually do pretty well against tall receivers. Its the diminutive guys and dudes with average height that get us

U mean guys like Vernon Davis Randy moss Victor Cruz who we may face in the playoffs or NFC championship game?

Nice to see Williams finally looking like his 2010 self. Lots of press coverage on the big guy. Really a fine effort. He may not be that big, but he had a 42 inch vertical at the combine, and showed it on one pass defended.

I fail to understand why Shields is only recognized for his speed. Once again, for the umpteenth time, he demonstrated his outstanding ball recognition ability, and not just on the INT. I had the Lions 2-6 for 20 yards against him, with the INT and a shot at two other picks. Shields also made a nice play blowing up an end around. Most teams don't throw against him.

Around a 10 ypc for Megatron is pretty good for a defense. And he had some catches during garbage time. Preventing Megatron from making a huge impact on any game is a success.

You will eventually wake up to the fact that your big corners are a phase, a passing fad.

Also... Randy Moss?!?! He's been invisible for most of the season - except when he was covered by Jarrett Bush in the first game of the season. And VD has been next-to-invisible of late for some reason. Not that I disagree that the Packers will face better WR's in the playoffs, but there are far better examples than those two!

I would not disagree with that, but when I think of a guy being shut down, I think of him having few, if any, catches and only a handful of yards.

Completely agree I feel like he always has good positioning on the deep passes, gets himself between the receiver and the ball. His speed may be what allows him to do this but he knows where to be in relation to the receiver and the ball, that is a corner skill that is nice to have.

It seems like a simple thing, but it isn't...you need to know when to turn, look for the ball and not break stride when you do it. Whether it's reading the receivers eyes or some other cue, while having quick feet and hips, not many guys are as rarely caught with their back to the ball as Shields. Compare and contrast to the one-handed catch that 6'6" kid made on House. Great catch to be sure...but the DB was chasing, not defending...and that play sent House to the bench.

This is not a rap on House...he's a rookie for all intents and purposes. We don't know what he will eventually become. But Shields is the real deal right now.

I've agreed also! Sam Shields is one of my favorite players and doesn't anyone else notice that he always makes the big plays?

9.1 yards per target to Mega vs. 9.8 yard season average, with a long gain of 20. 46 of Mega's yards came in the 4th. quarter on 3 catches after we went to prevent with the 10 point lead. All in all, Mr. Williams had a nice game.

Fantasy stats often don't correlate to contributions to winning.

Here is an excellent chart on how the 2012 Packers were assembled. Lots of young talent as we know.

2012 How Assembled Charts