GREEN BAY, Wis. — If you’re a religious person but unfamiliar with “Campy 3:16,” you’re probably not alone.
That’s because the Packers made it up.
Campy 3:16 is named after Packers first-year linebackers coach Anthony Campanile. What exactly does it mean?
“God loves those who run to the ball,” safety Evan Williams said. “I feel like when you run to the ball, good things happen … That’s something we definitely carry.”
Leading the NFL in takeaways requires more than just running to the ball, but that’s a good place to start. The Packers don’t just run to the ball. They have an insatiable appetite for it. Green Bay ranked 23rd in the NFL last season with 18 takeaways. Through six games this season, the Packers lead the NFL with 17, four more than any other team. According to ESPN Stats & Info, the Packers’ 17 takeaways are their most in the first six games since 2002 and the most for any team in the league since the Bears’ 17 in 2018.
The Packers’ three fumble recoveries in a 34-13 win over the Cardinals, two of which came off forced fumbles, embody new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley’s edict to hound the football. But it’s a combination of that elevated mindset under a new play-caller, upgraded personnel, playing with more vision (more later on what that means) and perhaps good fortune along the way that has Hafley’s guys drooling whenever brown pigskin is in their sight.
“We got so many turnovers, everybody itching to get one,” said defensive tackle Kenny Clark, who recovered a fumble against the Cardinals. “It’s contagious. Once we get one, man, they all just start coming out.”
Karl Brooks gets in on the turnover action 😤 pic.twitter.com/1RZV0mi4tu
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) October 14, 2024
The Packers’ incredible takeaway turnaround isn’t just a coincidence. For starters, head coach Matt LaFleur said the defense is playing with more vision. Does that mean former defensive coordinator Joe Barry had them playing with their eyes closed? Not quite, though at times it might’ve seemed like it.
LaFleur described playing with vision as keeping an eye on the quarterback so you can read his eyes. Simple as that. Or maybe not so much. In other words, if the Packers are playing man defense, two eyes may not be on the receiver or tight end anymore after the snap. That might make it more difficult to track them downfield, but following the pass catcher’s movement and quarterback’s eyes has paid off for defenders.
Vision increases the likelihood of interceptions when a quarterback makes a bad decision or airmails a ball, as the Colts’ Anthony Richardson did twice in Week 2 against the Packers. LaFleur pinpointed safety Xavier McKinney’s pick in that game as an example of using vision to create a takeaway.
“We ran a pressure, (linebacker) Quay (Walker) got in there. It was a play-action pass. It was a good call by Haf and the quarterback was kind of drifting back and Richardson just — he airmailed it,” LaFleur said.
Hafley said the key to being a good vision-based defense is rush plus coverage, meaning the pass rush has to speed up the quarterback to make life easier for the back end.
“We’ve got to be playing off him and anticipating the ball coming out quicker and being able to drive to the ball and hopefully we force the ball to be thrown in front of us and we’re able to drive and eliminate explosives that way,” Hafley said.
Linebacker Eric Wilson also intercepted Richardson that day. Wilson was the hook defender against wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. and Richardson tried to rip a seam throw around him with the pocket shrinking. Wilson basically ran the route for Pittman by reading Richardson.
“He was playing with vision on that,” Hafley said. “He kind of felt the route, he bent inside, the quarterback sped up and (Wilson) was able to make the play.”
Vision doesn’t only come into play before the ball is thrown. LaFleur said it’s a style of play when attacking the football. Not only getting multiple guys running to the ball but punching at it when they arrive. That’s how Williams forced a fumble against the Cardinals on Sunday. At the end of a 16-yard catch by wide receiver Greg Dortch, cornerback Jaire Alexander knocked Dortch off-balance by hitting his legs. With Dortch in mid-air, Williams punched at the ball and knocked it loose before Alexander recovered at the Packers’ 22-yard line. LaFleur called Williams’ punch out “clinic reel.”
Rookie fourth-round safety Evan Williams continued to impress, today adding a forced fumble on WR Greg Dortch to his ledger.
“Knew that (we) had a couple guys that were hitting him already and that I was gonna have a good chance to punch the ball out.” pic.twitter.com/As1V6N9tK1
— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) October 13, 2024
“Since OTAs, before the season started, throughout camp, that’s something that Coach Haf emphasized, just being a defense to get after the ball and playing with maximum effort,” defensive end Rashan Gary said. “As you’ve seen throughout the season, man, we’re attacking the ball, ripping at it … Every time we have a wrap-up tackle and the ball carrier’s not down, we’ve got to strip at the ball. We’ve got to punch at it. The more we’ve been doing that and giving the offense back the ball, the more opportunities they have to score.”
Added quarterback Jordan Love: “We’re always ready on the sideline over there because you never know when the defense is going to come away with a huge takeaway.”
The change in philosophy helps in taking the ball away, but the Packers needed personnel upgrades, too. Cornerback Keisean Nixon was asked what the difference is this season to go from 18 takeaways in 17 games to 17 in six games.
“We got Xavier McKinney,” Nixon quipped of the NFL’s interceptions leader, before continuing, “We really bought into what they was talking about with Haf and that’s really what it is. Haf said we was gonna lead the league in turnovers and he didn’t lie about it, so he called it right.”
The Packers, who lead the NFL with a plus-nine turnover differential, also hold a weekly meeting about the ball.
“Every week’s a little bit different,” LaFleur said. “This is not anything like crazy out of the ordinary. I’ve been other places where we would do this, but Haf wanted to have it happen this year consistently because we always kinda talk about it, show clips at the end of the week, typically on a Friday. (Assistant quarterbacks coach) Connor Lewis does a great job. He gets up and shows clips from around the league, whether it’s rules or different emphasis from officials and also just great clips of guys punching the ball out, whatever it may be.”
LaFleur said different coaches present each week with examples usually tailored to the Packers’ next opponent. He said it reinforces what they want the defense to do.
The Packers rank 18th in the league in yards allowed per game but ninth in scoring defense, largely because of these timely takeaways. Is it sustainable to rely on takeaways all season, even if they’re giving up plenty of yardage? Time will tell, but the Packers don’t plan on changing their revamped defense anytime soon. Alexander was asked Sunday if the Packers have to be careful not to rely too much on takeaways. His answer left little room for interpretation.
“I think we just gonna try to go 100 miles per hour every play and we’ll let everything figure itself out,” Alexander said. “But we’re gonna get after that ball.”
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(Photo of Eric Wilson celebrating an interception versus the Colts: Jeffrey Brown / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
