This Defense has gotten better. Competition can do that. Don't worry about the depth. The starters got this. Clark got help. The ILB has been fixed. And the secondary is experienced. We now can take on any team in any direction.
We're stuck with LOVE. So why not hype him. Is he a diamond in the rough now? They're still a lot to process with him.
Warning: Love unwisely given, brings sorrow to the giver.
I don't think the packers need to go out and get anybody. Gutey does his best work picking up cast - offs.
Worry about the STs. Not the depth. The Special Teams have been the problem.

I would like to post this on a more "roster-prediction" article, but I'll be offline for a few days. Here’s PEO’s opening day roster—not who I think the Packers will keep, but who I personally would keep (plus some reasons):

QB 2: Rodgers, Love PS: Etling
RB 3: Jones, Dillon, Goodson, (Rodgers) PS: Taylor hopefully PUP: Hill
WR 8: Lazard, Watkins, Cobb, Doubs, Watson, Rodgers, Toure, Winfree
TE 4: Tonyan, Lewis, DeGuara, Davis
OL 10: Bakhtiari, Jenkins, Myers, Newman, Tom, Nijman, Runyan, Hanson, Rhyan, Jones
Total Offense: 27
DL 7: Clark, Reed, Lowry, Slaton, Wyatt, Heflin, Slayton
ILB 4: Campbell, Walker, McDuffie, Barnes
ED/OLB 4: Gary, Smith, Enagbare, Garvin
CB 5: Alexander, Stokes, Douglas, Nixon, Jean-Charles
S 3: Amos, Savage, Abernathy, (Douglas, Nixon, Jean-Charles) PS: Carpenter, Davis, Gaines
Total Defense: 23
ST 3: O’Donnell, Ahmed, Coco

Comments: Usually BG keeps the Offense and Defensive roster sizes equal—but I think this year we shouldn’t
I don’t keep 8 WRs because I have WR fever; I do it because I see us losing Watkins and Cobb as early as next year, and I believe Toure will be better than Rodgers or Winfree in a year. I also expect injuries at this position (Cobb, Watkins)
I only keep three safeties, because I think Douglas, Nixon, and Jean-Charles can all fill that role better than the other bottom-of-the-roster guys. Plus, we'd have several on the PS.
I keep 10 OL because I don’t trust Bakhtiari’s injury, and I believe Rhyan and Jones will be very good in two years. I’d be willing to cut Hanson if I think Jenkins might be the best backup to Myers (sliding others to his T/G slot if Myers went down). If I cut Hanson, I keep Patrick Taylor as a fourth RB.
I’d be looking at other team’s cuts for a great ST/OLB to replace Garvin… I also think Walker and Wyatt could serve as emergency EDGEs
Heflin and Slayton earned roster spots, and I don’t know that we’ll retain Lowry and Reed in a year.
Davis has disappointed, but he’s still probably the best #4 TE, unless another team’s cut replaces him.

I will feel more confident about the offense once Jenkins, at least, is ready to play. The sooner Bak can play the better as well. The OL can hold this team back if they are not effective.

My other concern is our STs, again, and as usual for several seasons now. The preseason did nothing to increase my confidence in our STs specifically our return and coverage units. At the least they are costing us the field position battle. At worst they will cost us games. Hopefully the preseason performances will turn out to mean nothing and execution will be better once the games count. Hoping for the best but I'm preparing for the worst.

Our receiving corps won't be great but they should be good enough. they may get off to a slow start but I see them improving as the season goes on.

If the defense remains healthy they could be a dominant unit. I will wait to see how we get through the next 2 weeks before I make a prediction on the season.

Thanks, Since '61

I haven't felt this excited about a Packers D since the start of the 1996 season.

In 1995 the Packers broke out of 3 consecutive 9-7 seasons to finish 11-5...led by Fritz Schumer's Defense. Santana Dotson arrived in '96 to join The Minister, The Gravedigger, and Jones. The preseason buzz was the Packers had the best DL in football. They did not disappoint.

Last season the Defense showed it could help win games...culminating in a inspiring performance vs SF in the playoffs good enough to win the game. So now comes J. Reed plus rooks Walker, and Wyatt to join the front of Gary, Smith, Clark, Lowry, Slaton, and Campbell...with Alexander back defending the air with a productive DB group.

It has been a while, but Packer D is back on the menu!

"Secondly, we learned that Jordan Love has gotten better. How much? I still don’t know. And neither do you."

"He showed that he can do some things. The game has slowed down for him."

"The best thing about Love is that he is not the starting quarterback. Which means, he is going to continue to get better"

"I really like Love’s arm talent. He has been largely inaccurate"

"If he can shoehorn the ball into tight windows 20-30 yards downfield, he will figure out how to be accurate on 7-10 yard passes"

When you put the two paragraphs about Love through the bs strainer, the above is what is left, and what you get is a total contradiction about Love's performance and growth, or simply and honestly, the truth that many DON'T WANT IT TO BE.

This article would have been just fine being about the Defense, and the need to include the unfiltered hogwash about Love takes away from the Defensive rave it deserves for it's over all play this preseason, and the quantifiable expected performance and ranking predicted for it.

We don't need word salad of indoctrination into the MUST-love Love camp at the expense of, and demeaning of the Defensive Unit, but in all fairness, placing such dibble in the same writing about the SPT's Unit would be a better application of the Love Indoctrination as the SPT's Unit does nothing but make Love to look like what all the many want to believe he is and could be.

I'm mainly relieved that we escaped the pre-season and training camp without any major injuries to key players (knock on wood).

Yes, the defense can be special, although as you noted Corey, the lack of depth at OLB is concerning. Too bad Whitney Mercilus retired, I would've liked to see him back on a 1 year deal to chase a ring.

My only concern is with Devonte Wyatt. He's going to need more time to develop than I thought. I was thinking he'd be a plug 'n play starter, but it looks like he'll just be a rotational guy this year at best, and hopefully the game will slow down for him over time.

If we are talking signings of known players I’d put Kevin King at the top. He’d improve S and CB depth and knows the system.

As to OLBs, I’d wait till cut downs. I don’t think Ford plays meaningful snaps with his back and he’s purely a DPR at this point. Maybe in Late season but not before. Klein was a good back up in Buffalo. He’d need to take a big drop in pay for us to be in the market I think. I suspect he doesn’t want to because he’s still out there, He could be a good option if he did.

My only real concern about this team is the O-line. I admit that of all my areas of non-expertise judging an offensive lineman is right up there, but they have not yet played well as a unit. I get it that the coaches are tying guys in different positions, evaluating, and experimenting, but we haven't seen a solid sequence-- a few good holes here and there, enough time for the QB some of the time-- but two critical pieces are still in non-contact drills and others are often playing in their second best postion.

I know there are good players there and that Stenovic did wonders last year, but the first series or two of 1s on 1s against KC did not inspire confidence.

Your article has me fired up Cory —gracias!!!

"This defense is going to be the fastest, most athletic unit you’ve seen wear green and gold in a long time. And the key to it all, is an impressive defensive line that will be able to generate pressure without the blitz."

Just like I feel the O-Line will be the key to how well the offense performs, I think the D-Line will be what REALLY sets this defense apart. It's not just Kenny Clark out there anymore. Lining Jaron Reed up with Clark and Lowry or Clark and Wyatt, or even Clark and Slaton WITH Reed is going to unleash the beast who wears 97, especially when you have two ILBs who can run AND have the length and size Walker and Campbell do.

Joe Barry is an ILB coaching guru. EVERYWHERE the man has gone his ILB is an All-Pro. I also think Gute will take a hard look at the available OLB once cutdowns start. But I also think Quay Walker is going to be blitzing quite a bit. The beautiful thing about this defense is the pressure can come from ANYWHERE and they can do it with just 4 players. But I think Barry and the Packers are counting on Walker to get pressure from time to time.

As concerned I am with the offense laying an egg in week one like last season, I'm even more confident this defense will dominate Cousins and the Vikings. Especially with a brand new scheme for the Vikings offense.

YES YES YES! I have been saying all along how the Packers need veteran depth at OLB. If you saw the last 2 preseason games, the Packers couldn’t put consistent pressure on the QB (and the backup Oline!) However, Ford/Klein are not the guys. Ford is too injury prone, and Klein is an ILB. Jason Pierre Paul would be the best option. Throughout his career, he’s been able to consistently pressure the QB. With a smaller workload as a backup OLB (he’s been a starter the last couple of years), the quality of his play will likely increase. Plus, when the Packers had a veteran presence at OLB last year (Whitney Mercilus) on the field, the overall play and performance of the defense was better (and Pierre Paul is better than Mercilus). Having Pierre Paul on the team would help in so many ways, and he’d be relatively cheap at this stage of his career. The Packers would probably afford him on a 1-year deal with the approx. 3m of cap space they have left.