Jaire Alexander owns his swagger in shutdown season

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Pettine, in his third season as Green Bay's defensive coordinator, knows a thing or two about how a lockdown cornerback can change the complexion of a defense.


He had one of the game's best, Darrelle Revis, for four seasons with the New York Jets. "Revis Island" was the Bermuda Triangle in Pettine's defense from 2009-12, erasing half the field for the opposing quarterback and leaving receivers disoriented.


Alexander is a different type of corner playing in a different era, but his level of play has enabled Pettine to be more flexible with how he utilizes safeties Adrian Amos and Darnell Savage on the back end, especially with Amos playing closer to the line of scrimmage to aid the run defense as of late.


"That's what's always nice about Jaire, where you know you always feel good about his area of the field," Pettine said. "If I know one side of the field's locked down, you can take that safety and put him somewhere else and you maybe have a lurker in the middle of the field as opposed to a guy who has to sit on the deep half.


"So he's playing at a high level and it's great as a coordinator when you have that. And the times that we haven't this year, I mean, it's definitely had an effect on our play."


Defensive backs coach Jerry Gray, a former four-time Pro Bowl cornerback in his own right, appreciates how the 23-year-old Alexander properly balances his confidence with understanding he's still not a finished product.


Coach and player worked ad nauseum this summer to round out Alexander's game, pushing the 5-foot-10, 196-pound corner past specializing in press-man coverage and learning how to integrate off-coverage into his game when the situation warrants it.


The expansion of Alexander's skillset contributed to him leading Green Bay in passes defensed (13) for the second straight year despite QBs targeting him 35 fewer times (104 in 2019 to 69), which can be a blessing a curse.