Hall of Famer Reveals Secret to Green Bay Packers' Defensive Turnaround
LeRoy Butler Weighs in on Xavier McKinney's Impact and What is Powering Defensive Coordinator Jeff Haffley's Turnaround
The Green Bay Packers’ defense under Jeff Hafley is night and day from the maligned unit that saw Joe Barry fired as defensive coordinator last season, despite a run to the NFC Divisional Playoffs.
Through five weeks, the Packers are forcing just under three turnovers per game, holding opponents to 20.5 points per contest, and thanks in large part to wunderkind safety Xavier McKinney’s five interceptions thus far, are making the kind of plays that are setting Jordan Love and the offense up to change the course of games.
Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams, McKinney recovered a fumble and intercepted quarterback Matthew Stafford on consecutive possessions that Love and the offense converted into a pair of touchdowns in an eventual 24-19 comeback win.
Haffley has done a marvelous job of blending exotic and timely blitz concepts with varying coverages between Tampa-2 and Cover-3 looks in the secondary, calling a defense that is one of the youngest and fastest in the league right now.
“The bend but don’t break defense gets a negative overtone,” Hall of Fame safety LeRoy Butler said during an appearance on the Between The Hashmarks Podcast. “Or on offense, the way people talk about conservative, game-manager quarterbacks is negative, but those are positives.
“This defense is going to give up a first down here and there, or some yardage, but if teams keep throwing the ball, odds are they’re going to force a turnover.”
Turnovers have proven critical to the Packers’ resurgence.
Through five weeks, the Packers’ plus-seven turnover differential is tied with the Buffalo Bills atop the league, and as ESPN points out, have produced 49 quarterback pressures which is sixth-most in the NFL.
Overall, the Packers have leaped from finishing last season No. 27 in DVOA to currently sitting ranked 17th in the metric that calculates a team's success based on the down-and-distance of each play during the season.
Haffley, who is in his first year as an NFL defensive coordinator following a run of tremendous success at Boston College, is dialing up the pressure up front, and relying on a cast of playmakers in the secondary to make key stops and force turnovers in timely moments.
“This is the youngest team in the league,” Butler points out. “You need a guy [like Haffley] who is young enough, straight from college, to talk to what are really college players just one or two years removed.
“It’s the messaging; ‘effort, and be on time, and we’re going to have a great defense.’ That’s what we go by; points scored and takeaways. An interception is a takeaway, a tip is a giveaway. Haffley has just convinced everybody of their roles.”
Perhaps what’s most impressive about the TitleTown Turnaround is the fact that Haffley has made a major course correction and is seeing immediate success.
“Haffley has just convinced everybody of their role,” Butler explains. “Remember, they went from a 3-4 to a 4-3, so, some guys who normally stand up now need to put their hand on the ground.
“Now, I know, when they played Philly they weren’t getting any just rush on Jalen Hurts, they wanted to keep him in the pocket rather than let him run all over the place. Every week is going to be different. Maybe some weeks, Edgerine Cooper will be the spy.”
Xavier McKinney Proving Critical to Packers’ Success
For as much pressure as Haffley’s system puts on defensive backs to be the driving force, Xavier McKinney has exceeded every possible expectation and quickly developed into Green Bay’s cornerstone defensive building block.
Beyond his record-setting five interceptions through five games since signing a four-year deal worth $67 million, McKinney has been a wrecking ball up near the line of scrimmage while flashing elite ball-skills deep in coverage.
“When I’m in the deep part of the field and they throw the ball up there,” McKinney said. “Then, I feel disrespected. For me, every time the ball is in the air, I’m thinking it’s my ball and I’m trying to come down with it every time.”
With that kind of mentality, it’s no surprise that McKinney’s presence is causing chaos for opposing offenses.
McKinney has been so dominant that opposing quarterbacks are posting a minuscule 1.2 passer rating when targeting him, according to Pro Football Focus.
“You know Wolverine,” Butler said of McKinney. “You shoot him up and he comes back to life? That’s how X is. The offense will get a long pass, and everybody’s down, he’ll get a pick, and everybody’s up and excited. Somebody will miss a tackle, Xavier will make the next tackle and it just lifts everybody.
“Somebody was saying that he is the defensive MVP, I got offended, he’s the MVP. Who’s to say in five games, that he won’t get an interception every game? They have to throw the ball … "
McKinney's standout performances have been the catalyst for a broader defensive resurgence that has taken the league by storm.
His ability to create turnovers and lock down the secondary has not only elevated his own profile but also set the tone for the entire unit.
As McKinney continues to excel, his leadership and playmaking are driving the defense toward becoming one of the league's most feared, just as Butler envisions their potential peaking in the critical months ahead during what could be a playoff charge.
“I’m just excited for what this defense can be,” Butler says. “They’re not even through half a season yet. Imagine how good they’re going to be in November and December.”
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