Packers defense will ‘throw our fastball’ against Bucs QB Tom Brady
For Mike Pettine and the Green Bay Packers defense, less time will be spent on fooling Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady and more on individual execution doing what they do in the NFC Championship Game.
Think more fastball than curveball.
“We’ve played some good defense this year,” Pettine said Thursday. “That’s gotten us here. There’s no sense straying away from that. We’re going to be who we are. We’re going to throw our fastball. Our guys have to understand, we’re not going to fool him, but we can out-execute him.”
Pettine said Brady is “detailed” and “doesn’t miss anything.” In the first meeting in October, the Bucs quarterback completed 17 passes for 166 yards and two touchdowns in the 38-10 victory over the Packers.
Pettine’s defense pressured him on just five of 27 dropbacks. And both of his touchdown passes came on third down.
Even at age 43, Brady threw for 4,633 yards and 40 touchdowns in 2020.
“Our guys have to be as on point as they’ve ever been on point,” Pettine said. “It’s important for our guys to understand, just the attention to detail and the urgency, just how important it is against a quarterback like this.”
Pettine said pre-snap disguise is important, but Brady is going to figure out defenses post-snap and individual execution within matchups is much more important.
Translation: the Packers aren’t going to try to reinvent the wheel before facing Brady. The players must execute within what Pettine and the defense have already built schematically.
Not only has the six-time Super Bowl winner seen everything in his career, but he’s throwing to what Pettine described as the deepest receiver group the Packers have faced, plus two good tight ends and a pair of capable running backs.
“This entire offensive unit is certainly our biggest challenge to date,” Pettine said.
The Packers held the Rams to just 244 total yards and three scoring drives in the NFC Divisional Round. Jared Goff was sacked four times, and the Rams had just one play of at least 20 yards.
Now, the Packers must pass their final test, and it’s a big one. Sunday will reveal whether the defense’s fastball is good enough to get Brady out.
“It’s a huge challenge,” Pettine said. “To go to the Super Bowl, we have to beat Tom Brady. Our guys are excited for the challenge, but we’ve stressed it all week knowing what they’re in for.”
