Packers Name Jeff Hafley New Defensive Coordinator for 2024

The 2024 Packers defense made it into the " possibly" category for having a top 10 unit this season

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/...to-crack-the-top-10/

"...Green Bay desperately needed to upgrade its defensive backfield and went out and did just that by adding Xavier McKinney in free agency and then Javon Bullard in the draft. Edgerrin Cooper should hopefully help at linebacker, but the biggest addition here is Jeff Hafley at defensive coordinator, replacing Joe Barry, whose schemes were just not at all a good fit for the team's personnel. That's all enough to make this a wait-and-see type of thing, given the holdover talent on hand"

The only reason I posted it was so we can see what the national media is spewing from their mile- wide, inch- deep view of the league

CB snap leaders from 2023 are kind of surprising...

Keisean Nixon...  73 %
Carrington Valentine.. 63%
Corey Ballentine....  44%
Rasul Douglas....  43%
Jaire Alexander.... 40%
Eric Stokes...   10 %

Jaire & Stokes will lead the way this year

Obviously, Sul will be 0%

Can't wait to see where Kalen King fits in

.
from Ted Nguyen via The Athletic

"Since being hired, Hafley and Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur have made it clear they will be a spot drop team.

“More vision on the quarterback because he’s ultimately going to take you to where the ball is going to go,” LaFleur said. “And it’s hard to do that when you’re playing with your back to the quarterback … not to say that we won’t be that. There’s certainly going to be circumstances when you want to man up and play some match coverage. I would say a big part of what we’re going to do, especially from a coverage standpoint, is going to be have vision on the quarterback.”

Sources in the league say they expect Hafley’s defense to look more like the San Francisco 49ers and New York Jets defenses, which originated from Seattle’s Cover 3 system. Hafley was a defensive backs coach for then-coordinator Robert Saleh in San Francisco. He used more one-deep safety looks than colleges typically do, and he talked shortly before the Packers hired him on “The Next Up” podcast with Adam Breneman about how it’s the base of his system.

Ultimately, LaFleur is going away from Vic Fangio’s system that heavily trended around the league in the last few years and back to a Cover 3 system that was trending out of the league. The Packers struggled to defend against the run under former defensive coordinator Joe Barry, and Hafley’s system will naturally put the strong safety in the box more often, which should help shore up the Packers’ run defense.

The Seattle system fell out of favor because it could be predictable and requires an elite four-man pass rush to work. So how will Hafley complement Cover 3? What kind of coverages will he use? He could employ some of the split-safety looks he used at Boston College or maybe he’ll draw from his experience working with Mike Pettine, LaFleur’s first defensive coordinator with the Packers, and run more simulated pressures.

"We're gonna attack." 😤

Will be nice having the defensive equivalent of MLF...I dig smert coaches.

Stokes on Hafley via twitter

"Eric Stokes:
"Ooooooh, I love Hafley ... He just want you to go out there and have fun and just play 110 miles per hour and that's what I love about Hafley ... he always say, 'Imma go ahead and take the bullet. You just go out there and just have fun and you just play.'"

Alexander's attitude seems to be 100% better than it was pre-suspension.

You just go out there and just have fun and you just play.'"

I hope they play properly.  I mean, I could just go out there and just have fun and just play, but it would be an unmitigated disaster.

MLF said yesterday that Quay Walker will likely be wearing the green dot for starting defense.

Couple of quotes from Keisean Nixon on coach Hafley via CBS

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/...-green-bay-defender/

Keisean Nixon has seen a higher intensity level in practice from Green Bay's new DC

"I like Haf. Man, Haf is a cool dude," Nixon said smiling on "Up & Adams" with Kay Adams on Monday.
"Short guy, so he kind of got little man syndrome I think.
He is competitive as hell. He goes at [head coach] Matt LaFleur, which is something new for me. He brings the best out of us, and we like playing for him. This defense is ready to go for sure."

"He's not scared of a head coach being an offensive guy," Nixon said. "Some coaches compliment offensive coaches in practice and stuff like that, but Haf came in right away blitzing on third down, stuff like that. He was ready to go. Jeff is a very competitive guy. He is a defensive back coach also, so he brings that. I've never had that in the league. I've never had my DC be the DB guy too, so it's kind of running through the back end. I think it's a great idea. I think it's a great fit for me. I think it's a great decision.

Nixon was arguably the best Packer corner last year.

Nixon, IMHO, is a below average slot corner. Alexander, Ballentine, and Valentine were all better last season.  

@Brak posted:

Nixon was arguably the best Packer corner last year.

Hafley sat down with MLF to review defensive film and the next thing that happened... was signing Nixon to a 3 yr deal. To start on defense in addition to KR duties. Seems like Hafley really liked what he saw, including the remarkable INT off of Mahomes.

It reminded me of Rosul's INT vs ARZ last year.  Both were in critical spots too.

@Satori posted:

Hafley sat down with MLF to review defensive film and the next thing that happened... was signing Nixon to a 3 yr deal. To start on defense in addition to KR duties. Seems like Hafley really liked what he saw, including the remarkable INT off of Mahomes.

And Nixon repays the favor by calling him short. 

@Fedya posted:

And Nixon repays the favor by calling him short. 

I'm going to sit here with my popcorn and wait for the trade announcement.

No way Hafley is getting traded. I don’t care how short he is.

Came across this one at The Athletic

Its an article talking about how offenses attacked the 49ers D and how they have to adapt and overcome it.  Hafley plays a similar system so I thought you might like to see some of the challenges

Emphasis on connecting the front to the secondary

There seemed to be a disconnect last season between the front and secondary. One of the 49ers’ defensive staff’s biggest goals this offseason is to get them to play like a more connected unit against the run and pass.

A staple of the 49ers defense is a single-gap attacking defensive line that gets upfield. Last season, offenses came in with highly specialized game plans with runs like traps, crack tosses and fly sweeps that took advantage of that aggressiveness. The 49ers never were able to stabilize against those types of runs, but they’ve looked into it extensively this offseason.

“There are technical aspects that we have to look into to get better with it, especially the crack toss plays on the perimeter. We’ve always gotten traps just because of the nature of our defense, and I think (defensive tackle) Kevin Givens and some of our other dudes this year played the trap well,” 49ers defensive line coach Kris Kocurek said. “But then just the perimeter crack tosses, from a technical aspect and all levels of the defense, they’re small, minute things that we can see, recognize and try to put our guys in a better position technically to play that. And then there’s a schematics side of it also, recognizing the formation, being able to adjust to the formation that we’re seeing those perimeter runs out of and trying to get more population to the football on the perimeter.”

With perimeter runs, the front has to be able to disrupt the ball carrier and slow the ball down for the secondary to come up and help. And in some situations, members of the secondary are key parts of the run fit. “You gotta understand the front so you can understand your run fit at level two,” 49ers secondary coach Daniel Bullocks said

---------------------------------

This issue with getting the DBs to fully understand the DL calls is a challenge for a lot of teams. Hafley's background as a DB coach should be helpful in avoiding some of these pitfalls. Hafley brought his own DL coach with him, so I think GB is gonna be alright in getting 3 levels aligned.

Couple of quotes from Quay Walker on the rollout of the Hafley defense:

"Walker has enjoyed learning Jeff Hafley’s scheme, which he says is similar to what he ran as a member of the National Champion Georgia Bulldogs.

“It’s a lot of stuff that I did in college, and I think it translates very well for a lot of us,” said Walker. “It fits what we do, and not only that, I think Hafley has done a great job of putting us in the right position.

“I love it so far.”

In a similar spot to what the offense was experiencing a year ago, Green Bay still has a lot to iron out on the defensive side of things between now and the start of the regular season. That said, Walker told Larry McCarren of Packers.com that he thinks they are in a good spot.

“Mr. Larry, I’d be lying to you if I said we wasn’t because, honestly, I’ve been on a championship team and I understand that it’s college and this is the NFL, but the chemistry is there already. Anytime you have a team where the chemistry is there, that’s a good, good sign.”

Mr. Larry.  I love it.

He's afraid of Mr. Larry's pinkie.

Hope they don't come up short.

@Satori posted:

“Mr. Larry, I’d be lying to you if I said we wasn’t because, honestly, I’ve been on a championship team and I understand that it’s college and this is the NFL, but the chemistry is there already. Anytime you have a team where the chemistry is there, that’s a good, good sign.”

25-1 baby....25 to friggin 1

If they don't do it this year but get close.....you'll get 5-1 next year

Current odds below

@lovepack posted:

Hope they don't come up short.

It was a joke about Hafley's height folks. I haven't gotten that many thumbs down since my wedding night.

I hate it when they tell all their friends.

@Maynard posted:

Mr. Larry.  I love it.

Quay has always been very respectful of Larry.  I get the feeling their time talking isn't just during interviews.

@Chongo posted:

Will be nice having the defensive equivalent of MLF...I dig smert coaches.

The players do too - and that will be reflected in their play on the field.
His former pupils all raved about his in- depth preparation, insight and teaching ability to put them in the right spot

Ironically enough, Hafley is smart enough to realize that getting all 11 players on defense to see it the same, read it the same and react the same in... real time is a tough nut to crack.
So he doesn't ask them to read + think + adjust and then trigger.
They're going to play 100 miles an hour. And sometimes they'll get beat, but at least it won't be from standing there trying to decipher.

Do we have any chess players on the forum ? I seem to remember there's an old rule about the value in controlling the center squares ?

Well this defense is a little like that for the DL. They are trying to control the area between the guards on the opponents side of the LOS. That's the mesh point for many handoffs and that's where you'll often find the QB setting up to throw.

One more small advantage to this style of defense for the DL - because they are attacking as opposed to reading and holding their ground...its a lot harder for the opposing OL to hide their holding.

When the DL is 2-gapping, the OL can "hide" their holding- hands better. When a DL is attacking, its easier for the Refs to see how their penetration momentum is being hindered.

Go Packers

I am so hopeful that he will put the players in the right spot to be aggressive and not think but act and attack.  So often under Dingleberry players were passive and were chasing the offensive players instead of taking it to the offense.  And I do have this feeling the DBs won't be 12 yards off a receiver when they only need 2-3 yards for a first down.

Defensive pressure

This graphic shows the pressure rates from 2023 - both with blitz and without sending extra players

The Packers created pressure at about the same rate with and without sending extra players. Now look at the upper right quadrant where the SF , NYJ and Hou defenses reside... and that's how the Packers defense should look under Hafley

Pressure shortens time to throw, which shortens the time CBs need to cover

Lots of coaches talk about "simplifying things so guys can play fast."

Many say it, few do it.

The greatest defensive coordinator I have ever known on any level is a guy named Orlondo Steinauer. Dude is a CFL legend who spent one year as DC at Fresno State in 2017. He only stayed one year, but his impact was immediate, and he set the blueprint for success.

He truly lived "keep it simple, play fast."

Tedford hired him as his DC because he said it was the toughest defense he'd ever gone up against when he was coaching in the CFL. Orlondo thought he wanted to get into the college game, and so he left the Hamilton Ti-Cats to be our DC at Fresno State.

The previous two years under Tim DeRuyter, we were 116th and 83rd nationally in points allowed...don't remember the exact numbers on yards given up but I am sure they were equally as dismal. The next year under Orlondo, with the exact same players, we jumped to 10th in points allowed. He turned two walk-ons into first team all conference guys (LB George Helmuth and DT Jasad Haynes). Orlondo left after one season because he did not like the college game, and returned to the CFL as HC of the Ti-Cats. But he set up the blueprint, and they promoted LB coach Bert Watts to run the D. We jumped to 3rd in the country in points allowed in 2018. That doesn't happen at a Mountain West school...usually the best defense in the conference is Air Force because they run the option and control time of possession.

From everything I've read and heard Hafley say, he gives me serious Orlondo vibes.

@Boris posted:

25-1 baby....25 to friggin 1

If they don't do it this year but get close.....you'll get 5-1 next year

Current odds below

Got $5 on the same, took it as soon as they put it up on FanDuel.

@D J posted:

Got $5 on the same, took it as soon as they put it up on FanDuel.

Made the same $50 bet but by then much less, I only get $1,000....

Hafley's crew will be tested, early and often.

For the early  part, GB will be facing (2) running QBs with strong running games right out of the gate:

Game 1 - Philly has both Hurts and Saquan Barkely
Game 2 - Indy has Richardson and Jonathan Taylor

Under the previous regime, the Packers D did not handle the run very well and these 2 opponents will give him a chance to show what he's got in terms of talent schemes and playcalling to handle these multi-dimensional offenses.

One of the challenges in the passing game is when you have your DL penetrating and getting into the backfield - there is a potential for the running QBs to break free if the DL doesn't maintain their gaps. They will be tested.

I hope we now have quicker stronger LBs who can fill any gaps the DL misses.  No more tackles 7 yards from the line of scrimmage.

@Satori posted:

Hafley's crew will be tested, early and often.

Zero evidence other than my gut feel but I like the new guy a lot more than the old dumdum.

It's the modern NFL...it's designed to be friendly to the offenses. The days of holding most teams to 9 points and 200 total yards are long gone. Just gotta hope the new DC can slow teams down and give our O enough of a shot to outscore them.

But yes, we will be tested early and often.

Best way to slow down running QBs with complementary RBs is to score early and often, make them play from behind.