Is Jeff Hafley finally going to get to play press man coverage? Not so fast

The Packers came into the season with cornerback as a question mark, but they're having their most success playing man coverage, the way their DC likes it.

When the Green Bay Packers hired Jeff Hafley, his love of press man coverage went viral. The mere thought of aggressive coverage schemes was enough to cleanse the memories of Joe Barry’s soft, off zone coverages. But in Year 1, the Packers barely played any. They had to start two rookies in the secondary, including Javon Bullard playing out of the position he’d spent all of the spring and summer learning. Jaire Alexander missed most of the year, and Keisean Nixon played out of position.

Still, they cobbled together a top-10 passing defense, thanks in large part to a coach who understood how to mix pressure packages and coverages. Hafley rarely rushed more than four, but beguile quarterbacks with simulated pressure, showing heavy blitzes and backing out. When only four came, the offense still wasn’t sure which four it would be.

To hide the cornerbacks and allow the safeties to shine, they played more Cover-2 than we’ve seen in Green Bay in a long time. This was hardly Monte Kiffin, but the Packers were not playing like most other teams that were living in Quarters coverages.

Last year, though, they had to trick up pressure because the four-man rush on its own wasn’t good enough. Micah Parsons changed all of that, despite not putting up gaudy sack totals. Green Bay is among the league leaders in pressures when only bringing four.

And early in the games, their defense is suffocating people, the best first-quarter defense in the NFL. But by the fourth quarter, when the Packers have had leads, Hafley’s group has struggled. In the fourth quarter and overtime, they’re 30th in EPA/play allowed. No team with this much talent should be that bad, especially when that defense’s inability to get stops cost the team a game in Dallas.