Rashan Gary has been on fire over the last five games, recording four sacks and 16 pressures, including a sack and two pressures against the Seattle Seahawks last week. It’s been a welcome development after a cold start to the season where Gary only had two sacks through the first eight weeks.
It’s been a tale of two seasons for Gary. After Week 5, his get-off time was noticeably down from past years from 0.85-0.87 seconds to 0.97 seconds. The slower get-off was concerning as it indicates speed-based rushes are more ineffective. However, according to Next Gen Stats, Gary’s get-off time is now 0.89 seconds, much more in line with his norm.
The sudden performance increase is a bit puzzling for a player who didn’t have any reported injury concerns throughout the year. However, we should give him some grace. The Green Bay Packers are in a new defensive scheme under Jeff Hafley, and there is some expectation that it could take a while to get comfortable with the scheme and play it as fast as possible.
Gary wasn’t worried after Green Bay’s bye week. “We’re just rushing, doing what we have to do,” he said, “The numbers are going to come. Numbers people get misconstrued, put on the tape. See how we’re playing. See how we’re setting edges. See how we’re putting pressure on quarterbacks. The numbers are going to come if we keep playing our fashion of ball.”
On the surface — and on tape — Gary appears to be peaking at the right time for the Packers approaching the playoffs. In addition to his improved get-off, part of the solution is better converting speed to power and playing with great leverage.
In the above play against Detroit Lions tackle Taylor Decker, Gary does a great job bullrushing him back into the quarterback and shedding the block for the sack. The low man wins here, Gary gets off quickly but maintains leverage to completely dominate the play.
However, the Packers also haven’t encountered a lot of elite offensive line play. According to Pro Football Focus, eight of Green Bay’s 14 games have been against teams in the bottom half of the league in pass blocking. The Packers’ next game against the New Orleans Saints will be more of the same. The Saints have the league’s third-worst pass-blocking unit and will start a backup quarterback because Derek Carr is out with a fractured hand.
This week’s matchup should be another opportunity for the Packers’ pass rushers to build momentum. I’ll be watching to see how the Green Bay edge rushers attack rookie Taliese Fuaga, who has been a lone bright spot for the Saints and is coming off the best game of his young career.
If Gary can get some pressure while facing Fuaga, it’ll be another sign that he is continuing to heat up as the Packers approach the playoffs. The Packers will need the real Rashan Gary to show himself down the playoff stretch to make a deep run.
