Sprint, pee, coach (in that order), then dominate

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers’ defense, coordinated by Jeff Hafley, ranks fifth in the NFL in second-half scoring. After a series of three straight wins after the break, they are in second place in terms of points scored. Since week one, only one team has given up fewer tries at halftime.

Hafley needs to make some incredible changes.

Actually, no.

A coach walking into the locker room and making game-changing changes is more fiction than fact.

There simply isn’t time, as Hafley quickly discovered.

“It’s crazy,” Hafley said after Thursday’s practice. “In the first pre-season game, I talked to the staff in detail, and then coach, for example, we had to go back up (stairs to the coach’s booth). I haven’t even seen the players yet. This is fast. Really fast.

In college, the break lasts 20 minutes. In the NFL it takes 13.

Not that Hafley spent 13 minutes talking to his players. During home games, he runs defense from the seventh floor of Lambeau Field, so getting to the locker room requires an elevator and quite a long golf cart ride.

“The golf cart drops us off at the elevator,” Hafley said. “We sprint more than I do all week because then I have to sprint to the locker room. You may need to use the bathroom because a lot of time has passed, so another period of time passes. I hate this description.

Yes, before any pattern magic happens in the locker room, there is a much-needed stop at the urinal.

“So,” Hafley continued. “you sit in a room and talk to the coaches you’ve been talking to on headphones the entire game, and then I go upstairs, draw something on the board, give them one message, and boom, you’re back on your feet.” It’s the fastest thing in the world.”

Hafley estimates that he spends “maximum” 2-3 minutes with players during halftime.

Hafley’s defense is developing into one of the better units in the NFL. This is especially visible in the second half of the match.

Heading into Week 7, the Packers rank fifth with 7.0 points per game in the second half. That includes third-place scoring in the fourth quarter at 3.1 points per game.

In week one, the Eagles scored 17 points in the second half – 14 in the third quarter and three in the fourth quarter.

Over the last six weeks, the Packers have allowed just three second-half touchdowns: one by Indianapolis with 1:47 left in Week 2, one by Tennessee in the third quarter of Week 3 and one by the Rams with 3:30 left in Week 5 .

In their fourth loss to the Vikings, the Packers allowed one field goal in the second half. During their three-game winning streak after the break, they gave up just 4.0 points per game – a six-point touchdown against the Rams, a field goal against the Cardinals and a field goal against the Texans.

“They’re usually not” dramatic changes, safety Xavier McKinney said. “It’s usually just a few little things that we clean up after and talk to each other and just make sure we’re ready for the second half. But there aren’t a million fixes. There are always a few things we didn’t do well in the first half, we fix them and get straight back on the pitch.

Generally, players talk while coaches gather at the start of halftime. Only at the end – after making a mad dash from the coaches’ box and going to the bathroom – does Hafley join them to make a few adjustments before returning upstairs to call the second half.

“Haf will come in there and draw out whatever he needs to write, whatever corrections he thinks are needed, and then maybe revise the decision,” McKinney said. “We might get a call, but then he can adjust it based on what the defense is doing.” And then we’ll break it down and get back out there.”

Defensive end Kenny Clark also downplayed the notion that coaches come in and make drastic changes that determine the outcome of a game.

“The coach comes and tells us what they are doing and what we need to stop. “Guys refocus, motivate each other and then get back on the field and do what they have to do,” Clark said.

Major changes may be needed “if they’re hitting us with something crazy (or) there’s a lot of big plays,” Clark said. Otherwise, it’s a matter of setting up or adjusting staff.

“We are still executing our game plan and what we need to do,” he said.

Last week against the Texans, Green Bay needed a strong defense in the second half. At halftime, Green Bay led 19-14. When Houston got the ball early in the third quarter, there was a sense of urgency in the game.

“I think the mentality was we had to stop,” McKinney said. – Coming out of the break, we were in the red. We just knew we had to stop. Every time we’re down and we know the opponent is getting the ball back, we say, “Okay, that’s a key possession.”

“Even before the last attack (in the first half), when we go on the field defensively and we know that they will get the ball back after the break, it will be a key moment. Obviously you don’t want them to score and then get the ball back right after half time. For us, mentality-wise, knowing that we have to stop, try to get the ball out as much as we can, try to pick, try to make the play, get a turnover on downs and get off the field. “

The Packers stopped last week and the offense ran down the field and scored the go-ahead touchdown.

However, the pressure did not fall off the defense’s shoulders. The game was tied for most of the second half, which meant the defense had little room for error. Houston’s first four possessions of the second half resulted in points. Green Bay allowed 35 total yards.

That’s a sign of a good defense, especially against a quality quarterback like C.J. Stroud, McKinney said.

“Any time you have to stop, and you can, regardless of the score, you have a good defense,” he said. “Any time in any game when you definitely need a break and you can stop it, then you have a good defense.

“Especially in this league where now we know it’s damn hard to stop the ball and it’s damn hard to stop teams from getting the ball. Whenever you can do it, when you need it most, you have a good defense.

So why was Green Bay’s defense so good in the second half? Last year, for example, it allowed for 11.7 points per game in the second half, eighth in the league.

Against the Houston Packers, they drove 76 yards after halftime and scored a late field goal.

Since their Week 1 loss to the Eagles, the Packers are first in second-half interceptions (five), first in fumbles (six) and second in sacks (14).

“We figure out how guys are attacking us and we just make plays,” Clark said. “Whether it’s putting pressure on the quarterback with tackles or all the disguises and things like that, we’re just getting into a rhythm.

“A lot of times they come out in the first 15 (plays) and stay spotless and therefore make some plays, but once we get to the bread and butter and they focus on their plan and we do that too, we focus on that and We are doing what we have prepared for.”

While half-time adjustments are overrated, in-game adjustments are crucial. On Sunday in Jacksonville, Hafley will adapt to the plays called by Jaguars offensive coordinator Press Taylor, and Taylor will adapt to the schemes developed by Hafley. It’s a constant tug of war for schematic dominance.

“There is no break in the NFL,” Hafley said. “You adapt after every set, you just go and adapt, go and adapt. I think that’s one of the benefits of actually being at the booth because I use my iPad and take notes between each series.

“How can we get them on the next third down? What do we need to do differently on the first or second shot? How will they attack us? What’s coming. It’s just constant communication and suddenly you’re back on your feet again.”

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