Players taking 'ownership' turned around Packers' defense, again

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The solution, as defensive coordinator Mike Pettine likes to say, was to become a "noisy defense." Holler out everything – every call, every check, every adjustment – every time. And if the ball still hasn't been snapped, holler it again.


Veteran cornerback Tramon Williams called it going "back to the drawing board" from a communication standpoint.


"We were giving up too many big plays, and it wasn't because we weren't capable of covering it, it was because the communication wasn't that great," Williams said. "We made that a focal point of communicating better, making sure we over-communicated, instead of assuming that guys knew what to do."


The right results have followed. From the start of October through the San Francisco game, the defense gave up roughly five plays of 20-plus yards per game, with an average of one of those big plays finding the end zone. The Packers allowed seven touchdowns of 20-plus yards in a seven-game span.


Over the last five regular-season games, the defense reduced its 20-plus plays to three per game, and only one was a touchdown the entire month of December. Against Seattle in the playoffs last week, the Packers allowed four plays of 20-plus, one of them a Russell Wilson scramble, and no TDs.


It's been a group effort, and Pettine said the entire process was "a big part of the growth of the room … we were all accountable." Head Coach Matt LaFleur credited the initiative of the players for getting the turnaround started.


"I think anytime the players take ownership," he said, "you've got a much better chance at changing something."


Big plays haven't been eliminated, of course. Offenses are going to make plays. It's part of the game. But the Packers realized in some instances how easy they were making it on opponents to take large chunks of yardage at a time by thinking, or hoping, everyone was on the same page when it wasn't true.