Packers defensive front shows Jeff Hafley's impact in joint practice against Ravens

GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Packers’ revamped defense under new coordinator Jeff Hafley remains somewhat of a mystery since we haven’t seen it yet in meaningful game action.

We’ve heard all about Hafley’s aggressive nature. About tackles for loss and sacks. About defensive linemen putting their hand in the dirt and wreaking havoc in the backfield. But it only means so much when Hafley’s defense — specifically the defensive front — is doing that against teammates. The hype train starts to pick up steam when the same havoc is inflicted upon another team.

It wasn’t a perfect performance during Thursday’s joint practice against the Ravens, but that Packers front showed against a team known for being physical up front why there’s plenty of reason for optimism this season.

“We know we got dogs up front,” cornerback Keisean Nixon said, “and we finally get to unleash them.”

Green Bay’s unrelenting nature on defense Thursday was evident early, even after a play was dead. During the first team period of practice, cornerback Jaire Alexander trailed tight end Charlie Kolar on a modest completion up the right side of the field. Kolar went out of bounds and that’s when Alexander punched the ball out. The Packers’ cornerback picked it up and, on his way back inbounds, chirped at Kolar to hold onto the ball well after the play, too.

The sides exchanged punches early — not literally — with the Ravens drawing first blood when reigning MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson hit wide receiver Zay Flowers for a nice gain up the right sideline with Nixon in coverage. Flowers might’ve had more yards after the catch in a real game because of the crisp cutback he executed. But on Jackson’s next attempt for a chunk play, a bomb down the left sideline to wide receiver Rashod Bateman, cornerback Eric Stokes and more so safety Xavier McKinney forced an incompletion. Defensive end Kinsgley Enagbare pressured backup quarterback Josh Johnson before he threw incomplete over the middle and defensive end Brenton Cox Jr. had a pressure/sack off play action. While the Packers’ backup defense jumped offsides once during the first team period, the Ravens starting and backup offense committed false starts.

Jaire Alexander said he always jokes with his college teammate Lamar Jackson that they haven’t yet met in the Super Bowl.

“I think the time is coming soon.” pic.twitter.com/X73EOejnJ8

— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) August 22, 2024

To start the next 11-on-11 period, defensive end Rashan Gary had a coverage “sack.” Multiple Packers defensive linemen then generated pressure before McKinney broke up Jackson’s pass over the middle. Jackson punched back, as you’d expect an MVP to do, with a nice completion over the middle to wideout Tylan Wallace with Stokes trailing and one to Anthony Miller with cornerback Corey Ballentine in tight coverage. The Ravens committed two more false starts during the second team period, failed to complete deep balls down the right side with cornerback Kalen King and linebacker Eric Wilson each covering their men well and allowed multiple pressures to end the period with defensive ends Lukas Van Ness, Preston Smith and others getting in the backfield. The Ravens got theirs, but the Packers made a point to not get humbled for a second straight joint practice (worth noting the Ravens were without injured Pro Bowl center Tyler Linderbaum).

“We know the Ravens are a smash-mouth team, so we already knew that coming in, that they were gonna maybe try and bully us,” Alexander said. “But I don’t think guys allowed that today, especially on our side of the ball.”

“I feel like Denver, we was kind of laggy,” Nixon said. “Altitude and then not really having a lot of time practicing there, that’ll catch you off guard, but today we’re in our own element, so we came to play.”

The Packers really asserted themselves on defense during a red-zone period. Defensive tackle T.J. Slaton had a run stuff of running back Derrick Henry, who in person looks like a linebacker instead of someone who carries the ball and would’ve surely had his fair share of effective runs if this had been a game. Smith had what might’ve been a sack (you never known with a quarterback like Jackson, but it was at least a pressure). Defensive lineman Devonte Wyatt, who continued his strong camp Thursday, had a TFL on a Justice Hill run. Defensive tackle Kenny Clark flushed Jackson out of the pocket and then Smith and defensive lineman Karl Brooks combined for a coverage “sack” on another play. Clark then had another “sack.” Jackson threw two touchdowns during the lengthy red-zone period, one to Kolar down the seam with nobody near him and one to Flowers in the back middle of the end zone, and wideout Devontez Walker also drew a defensive pass interference call on Nixon in the end zone. But the drill was highlighted by that relentless Packers defensive front, one that’s showing those performances against its own offense might not have only been a mirage.

Ravens coach John Harbaugh said he was pleased with the pocket formed by his offensive line for 90 percent of practice — he spent the day watching his offense — but perhaps he just didn’t want to throw his players into oncoming traffic. Jackson would’ve undoubtedly extended some of the plays on which the Packers applied pressure and maybe even turned them into explosive gains — he wasn’t quite looking to take off during Thursday’s practice — but Hafley had to be pleased with the action in the backfield.

“I thought it was a physical front,” Harbaugh said of the Packers defense. “I thought their bull rush was really good. Run defense was solid, strong. Looked like a bunch of big dudes who play hard. I was impressed with it.”

Packers safety Evan Williams cut off a question about their defensive front.

“Elite,” he exclaimed, before adding, “having that confidence that those guys are just gonna wreak havoc throughout the game is just a great feeling from a guy in the back end.”

The Ravens’ most successful session on offense came next during a move-the-ball drill, though they didn’t start off hot. Flowers couldn’t keep his feet inbounds for a catch up the left sideline with Stokes in coverage, Henry was stuffed by a swarm of Packers near the line of scrimmage and Enagbare and Smith pressured Jackson into a scramble. However, Jackson followed that stretch with a bomb touchdown to wide receiver Malik Cunningham down the right sideline over linebacker Isaiah McDuffie in coverage, though an eyewitness close to the end zone instead of far away on the sideline with reporters said Cunningham didn’t get his feet in. Baltimore’s backup offense found success, too, with Johnson hitting tight end Qadir Ismail down the seam for a big gain with Ballentine in coverage. But safety Anthony Johnson Jr. followed that by popping running back Owen Wright on a run near the line of scrimmage.

The Packers, who faded as practice progressed in Denver, fared well in the six two-minute drills to end practice.

Each scenario began as such: 1:30 remaining, ball on the offense’s own 30-yard line, 27-24 in favor of the defense, one timeout remaining.

During the first drive, quarterback Jordan Love hit wide receiver Jayden Reed for 15 yards over the middle and wide receiver Romeo Doubs for 42 deep down the middle before a screen to running back Josh Jacobs lost four yards. Two fades to wide receiver Dontayvion Wicks fell incomplete in the back-right corner of the end zone, the second thanks to a fantastic pass breakup by safety Ar’Darius Washington, who popped Wicks and prevented him from hauling in a beautifully thrown ball by Love. Anders Carlson’s 35-yard field goal tied the score.

To begin the drive for Green Bay’s starting defense, Wyatt sacked Jackson. Gary was asked after practice what Wyatt is capable of in Hafley’s scheme after yet another splash play from the 2022 first-round pick.

“Anything and everything,” Gary said. “He’s gotta come in. He know it. I challenge him to be the best he can be every day. He gotta come in, stay locked in and when he on his game, no one can block him. That simple. Nobody.”

The Ravens dinked and dunked their way into field-goal range, but kicker Justin Tucker missed a 62-yard field goal that would’ve tied the game. Rookie quarterback Michael Pratt operated the No. 2 two-minute drill instead of Sean Clifford and guided the Packers into field-goal range with completions to wide receiver Grant DuBose, tight end Ben Sims and wide receiver Samori Toure before kicker Greg Joseph tied the score with a 51-yarder. The Packers’ backup defense then responded with a takeaway, as Williams picked off Johnson over the middle. The Packers’ sideline flooded onto the field and celebrated with the rookie out of Oregon making a name for himself.

“I was just kinda dropping into interior zone, right, and had a strong side to my right and I’m allowed to kind of be a free player in that situation, kind of play off the quarterback, use my instincts in that sense,” Williams said. “No. 1 (receiver) kinda eliminated, so I knew routes were coming to my side from the front side and shifted over a little bit. Able to make a play, get down, just looked at my team. Everybody’s running on the field. It was a good moment, for sure.”

Rookie fourth-round safety Evan Williams got his fifth INT of camp today and is seemingly still in the running for a starting spot.

“It’s all great in the moment to be feeling like the man, but it doesn’t mean much if you can’t continue it.” pic.twitter.com/1bbMT88X20

— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) August 22, 2024

Clifford then hit fullback Henry Pearson for a big gain up the right sideline. Carlson hit a 51-yarder to tie the score for the No. 3 offense before Green Bay’s third-string defense forced a turnover on down against Baltimore’s No. 3 offense to finish practice.

Miraculously, the Packers made it through two joint practices this summer without getting into a fight with the Broncos or Ravens after doing so with both the Bengals and Patriots last year. It’s to be determined whether the work Green Bay got on Thursday was enough for head coach Matt LaFleur to rest starters on both sides of the ball Saturday for the second straight preseason game, but it sounds like one player, in particular, feels ready for the regular season.

“I definitely think having the two joint practices helped a lot, just being able to see the different defenses,” Love said. “Going against our defense all camp, we’ve got a really good defense, so it helped a lot … I like where we’re at offensively. I think we’re ready to go, get the season started.”

(Photo of Preston Smith: Tork Mason / USA Today)