Packers believe weekend film studies at Kenny Clark's home may produce more consistent pass rush

San Francisco Chronicle​

2 days ago

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Kenny Clark is hosting his fellow Green Bay Packers pass rushers for weekend offseason gatherings in hopes of producing more frequent get-togethers in opposing backfields each Sunday this fall.
The three-time Pro Bowl defensive lineman realizes Green Bay's pass rush can't afford a repeat of its inconsistent 2024 performance.
'It was on and off,' the three-time Pro Bowl defensive lineman said during organized team activities this week. 'Honestly, not good enough. Not good enough. Not good enough to win a championship, so we've got to be better.'
That's why Green Bay's pass rushers have been conducting regular offseason film sessions at Clark's home.
Rashan Gary, a Pro Bowl defensive lineman entering his seventh season in Green Bay, says this marks the first time they've had these types of weekend film studies at somebody's house this early in the year.
'KC's is the spot,' Gary said. 'KC's is the film study house. Everybody pulls up (to) KC. We might have pizza, wings, things like that, but we're getting together and we're locking in on details.'
Green Bay collected 45 sacks last season to tie for eighth place among all NFL teams, but more than half of those sacks came in just four games. The Packers had eight sacks against Tennessee, seven against Seattle, five against Miami and four against Houston.
In seven of their 17 games, the Packers had no more than one sack. They sacked Jalen Hurts twice in their 22-10 wild-card playoff loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Green Bay ranked 16th in pressure rate, which calculates the number of hurries, knockdowns and sacks for each team divided by an opponent's dropback attempts.
The Packers must find creative ways to improve because they didn't add proven pass rushers in the offseason. Their main free-agent move involving a player on the front seven was allowing T.J. Slaton to sign with the Cincinnati Bengals.
Green Bay did add three defensive linemen in the final day of the draft by selecting Texas' Barryn Sorrell in the fourth round, Oklahoma State's Collin Oliver in the fifth and Georgia's Warren Brinson in the sixth.
Perhaps their biggest offseason move to address the pass rush was the hiring of defensive line coach DeMarcus Covington to replace the fired Jason Rebrovich, who now is an assistant defensive line coach for the Buffalo Bills. Covington spent the last eight seasons in New England and was the Patriots' defensive coordinator in 2024.
'He's just a leader of men,' defensive lineman Lukas Van Ness said. 'We've started doing handshakes at the beginning of every meeting, just building that camaraderie. I think when you want to play for the guy next to you on the field, it's a brotherhood. Together when we're one, that's when we're the best.'
The Packers believe they can get more production from their returning players.
'There's a number of young players that are coming into their own and should play their best football in front of them,' general manager Brian Gutekunst said after the draft.
A couple of them were playing through injuries last year.
Clark injured his right foot during the Packers' season-opening loss to the Eagles in Brazil — he complained about the Corinthians Arena turf after the game — and underwent surgery in the offseason. Clark went from having a career-high 7 ½ sacks in 2023 to a career-low one in 2024.
'You're taking every step and the toe is busting,' Clark said. 'It's something you've got to deal with, but it is what it is. That's done. I got the surgery done, and yeah, we're moving forward.'
Van Ness, the 13th overall pick in the 2023 draft, said he wore a cast on his broken right thumb until about the 10th or 11th week of the 2024 season. Van Ness recorded three sacks last season, none after Thanksgiving.
'I don't know if any of you guys have ever broken a thumb or hand or anything, you kind of get a little bit of a mental block, and it's kind of taken me a little bit of time to gain some confidence again in utilizing my hand to its fullest extent,' Van Ness said.
The Packers expect to be healthier this year. They also should be more comfortable now that they've had time to adapt to second-year defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley and his 4-3 scheme.
They just need to be more dynamic on a week-in, week-out basis. They're hoping that improvement starts in Clark's home.
'The main thing is just getting the bonding. Just building as a team,' Clark said. 'We're going to need everybody, and need everybody to be playing at a high level to start the season, and so forth. So (we're) just make sure we're hitting on all cylinders.'
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