GREEN BAY, Wis. – The defense will rest.
The Green Bay Packers’ defense turned into a dominant summer. They dominated Aaron Rodgers. They dominated Jordan Love. They dominated the Saints. They dominated in the trenches. They dominated on the perimeter.
On Tuesday, coach Matt LaFleur said he’d rest most of his starters for Thursday’s preseason finale against the Kansas City Chiefs. The only defensive starter to play in the first two preseason games, rookie linebacker Quay Walker, didn’t take part in the scout-team reps at the end of practice. So, assuming he doesn’t play, Green Bay’s starting 12 (including base and nickel personnel) will begin looking ahead to Week 1 against the Vikings.
Green Bay’s defense, through 20 practices, anyway, has lived up to the hype.
“Us as a defense, we touch the field and we know our standard,” outside linebacker Rashan Gary said on Tuesday. “We know what we need to put on tape. We know the different techniques, different terminologies to use. We all know how things need to be played. Everybody’s having fun and making plays when they come their way. I’m not surprised by anything that we’ve seen.”
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This is a group that is feeling its potential greatness. On Monday, Rasul Douglas was talking trash a mile a minute and Rashan Gary was jumping up and down in the face of Aaron Rodgers after “sacking” the quarterback. That kind of bravado has been absent for years.
“Absolutely, but, at the end of the day, this is practice,” Gary said. “We’ve got a big opportunity: regular season, first game against the Vikings. We’re just trying to make sure we’re taking the right steps by getting better (and) we’re on each other about the small things. I feel like this is the standard that we hold for each other and understanding what it means to play defense for the Green Bay Packers.”
Importantly for Gary and everyone else, they know hype isn’t sacks. Words aren’t takeaways. Bravado isn’t three and out punts. Kirk Cousins, Dalvin Cook and Justin Jefferson will present an enormous challenge in about two-and-a-half weeks.
At some point, maybe the Rodgers-led offense will be able to carry some of the load. But, for now, it might be up to the defense to lead the way. A unit without a weakness in the starting lineup seems more than up to the task.
“Man, we’ve got talent everywhere. Talent everywhere,” Gary repeated. “Green Bay as an organization, we’re doing great putting pieces on the defense, drafting guys. You see the potential. Like I said, go back to our standard and understanding what it means to be a Green Bay Packer. Past postseasons, we ended how we didn’t want it to end. We’ve got to turn it up on the defense. Defense wins championships. That’s our mindset.”
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