Matt LaFleur didn’t mince words about his expectations for the Green Bay Packers’ defense against the New Orleans Saints this week. “We have to play better in order for us to have an opportunity to win against a team coming in here 2-0,” he said. “A really good football team.” The biggest challenge they’ll face on Sunday will be defending Chris Olave, New Orleans’ second-year receiver.
Olave scored his first NFL touchdown at Lambeau Field last preseason, and he’ll likely have a chance to do so again this upcoming weekend. Olave has started the season on a tear with 14 receptions for 198 receiving yards, leading the Saints in both categories. He’s been a primary weapon for Derek Carr, and New Orleans features him in a variety of roles on offense.
This season, Olave has logged 62 snaps out wide and 47 snaps in the slot. Most interestingly, he’s had three snaps out of the backfield in Week 1 against the Tennessee Titans. On one play in particular, the Saints motioned Olave from the slot to the backfield for him to run an angle route. He ended up one-on-one against a linebacker, allowing him to catch the ball in space and rack up yards after catch. Playing quarters zone coverage, the Titans do fairly well passing off the coverage. However, they end up in a bad matchup.
Expect the Saints to revisit this type of wrinkle against the Packers due to Green Bay’s inability to cover a similar type of concept against Bijan Robinson and the Atlanta Falcons. Similarly, the Packers are in quarters zone coverage in this play, and Quay Walker appears to be the defender who should crash down on Robinson’s wheel route. Instead, he opts to cover the receiver, creating a layup first down for the Falcons.
This concept, in particular, seems like it could be successful for the Saints to challenge Green Bay’s defense to adjust and pass off coverage responsibilities. While different, Olave is an equally respectable weapon compared to Robinson.
Olave is also a major threat outside. Against the Carolina Panthers last week, he had an Odell Beckham Jr.-esque one-handed grab against excellent coverage outside.
Whether in the slot, backfield, or outside, the Packers must respect Olave as a weapon. He should be first, second, and third on the priority list of what they need to take away to win on Sunday.
So, how should the Packers go about doing so? They have some options. In zone, they could rotate safety help over to Olave’s side of the field to have more coverage. Yet, that would likely leave fellow second-year wide receiver Rashid Shaheed, and his reported 4.3-second 40-yard dash time, one-on-one, which may also cause issues.
They could also opt to give Jaire Alexander the opportunity to travel one-on-one with Olave and opt to give extra safety help to Shaheed. That may help better defend against deep threats and explosive plays over the top of the defense. I’d imagine this may be the route the Packers go. However, Alexander has experienced challenges lately. Last Sunday, he allowed five receptions for 99 yards and gave up a perfect 158.3 passer rating to Desmond Ridder when targeted. The Saints game is an opportunity for Alexander to bounce back, and one I believe he’s ready to rise to the occasion.
Beyond coverage on the backend, the Packers need to get off the field on third and fourth down on defense. While Green Bay’s defense has generated an NFL-leading 61 total pressures on the season, they allowed the Falcons to go 6/15 on third down last week, and 3/4 on fourth down. Largely, that was due to Atlanta’s running game. Still, the Packers also were gassed in the fourth quarter with the Falcons leading time of possession.
The Packers will likely be facing a Saints team that will be without Jamaal Williams (injury) and Alvin Kamara (suspended), which will mean they will lean on rookie Kendre Miller, who will be making his NFL debut. While Miller is an unknown, I’d anticipate that Green Bay’s front will have an easier time against the run.
Provided the Packers limit Olave with a solid plan on coverage and continue their success with pressuring the quarterback, I see them having a bounce-back against the Saints this week.
