Packers Notebook (Dec. 23)

By: 
Bill Huber
Correspondent

Z’s new role

Outside linebacker Za’Darius Smith has been dominant all season for the Green Bay Packers. This week, he was inexplicably left off the NFC Pro Bowl team despite having 10 sacks and ranking third in the NFL with 30 quarterback hits. Now, defensive coordinator Mike Pettine is putting even more on Smith’s plate.

The last two weeks, Smith has started to roam around just behind the defensive line as an inside linebacker. He played that position for nine snaps against Washington and 15 snaps against Chicago. It was incredibly effective — not so much for Smith, who had only one tackle and one quarterback hit against Chicago, but for everyone else.

“I know Chicago slid to him every snap,” defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery said. “That’s hard for a guy like Z. He’s getting two, maybe three, guys at him. Now, Kenny (Clark is) getting the legit one-on-ones and we don’t have to know where the slide’s going. We know.”

Smith has become a chess piece for Pettine’s defense, just like Clay Matthews was for so many years under former coordinator Dom Capers. When Smith’s at inside linebacker or on the defensive line, it means more snaps for Kyler Fackrell and Rashan Gary while allowing Smith to find matchups that allow him to create havoc.

“He’s got a good feel for the game, good feel for blocks,” outside linebackers coach Mike Smith said. “When you bring him inside, whether it’s run or pass, he understands leverage. He knows what run he’s going to get and he’s going to play to that. He’s that savvy-type person. I remember Clay doing that. Clay was good at that. It does take a certain athlete to do that. It’s been a great mix-up for us. He had a lot of production doing that. He’s giving these offensive linemen hell.”

Cook out?

Vikings running back Dalvin Cook, who is seventh in the NFL with 1,135 rushing yards and had a 75-yard touchdown run against Green Bay in Week 2, is “unlikely” to play n Monday, according to ESPN. Cook sustained a shoulder injury last week against the Chargers.

Cook’s backup, rookie Alexander Mattison, was inactive last week with an ankle injury. He has rushed for 462 yards and a 4.6-yard average.

The other backs are Mike Boone, who has rushed for 97 yards this season and had two touchdowns last week, and Ameer Abdullah, whose largest role has been as the team’s kickoff returner.

On Monday, Vikings coach Mike Zimmer spoke hopefully that the extra day would get Cook ready for the game. But he also spoke highly of the team’s depth. “We felt like we had some guys that were talented runners,” he said. “Ameer and Boone have been playing really good on special teams, so that helped them to stay, and once they got the opportunity, and I really felt like for a couple weeks, Boone’s been wanting to have a chip on his shoulder the way he’s been running, showing in practice and the things that he’s been doing.”

Mr. December

Because Minnesota’s running game has been effective regardless of who’s at running back, the play of defensive tackle Kenny Clark will be critical for the Packers. Clark had a quietly good season for the first three months. And then the calendar flipped to December.

Including two sacks last week against Chicago in which he benefited from Smith’s presence behind him, Clark has 3.5 sacks and five tackles for losses in three December games. For his career, eight of his 15.5 sacks have come in December.

“I don’t know,” Clark said in trying to explain his last-season success. “You’ve got to be playing your best football in December. I don’t know. I’m just trying to help the team win and make a big push.”

The team’s first-round pick in 2016, Clark is set to play the 2020 season under the team’s fifth-year option. He figures to be a priority for general manager Brian Gutekunst to sign to a long-term deal.

“It’s like I’ve been saying: He has been playing well,” Montgomery said. “He has a ton of pressures on the year but, when he was getting there, the ball was getting out. Now, he’s getting the opportunities to finish. I think he’s been playing well all year. Now, you’re seeing the sacks. When people see the sacks, it’s like, ‘OK.’ But if you look at his pressures on the year, the guy’s one of the top pressure guys inside in the league.”

The need to improve

Other than the trip to San Francisco, which resulted in a 37-8 loss, this might be the Packers’ toughest game of the season. Minnesota is scoring more points than the Packers, allowing fewer points than the Packers and is the NFL’s only undefeated team at home.

Thus, after three consecutive victories delivered via less-than-spectacular performances, coach Matt LaFleur is looking for his team to pick up the pace as it enters its biggest game of the season.

“I think it’s just the same thing that we’ve done all year long, and that’s focus on the game in front of us and making sure that we put together a good plan for these guys and that our preparation is on-point,” LaFleur said. “Because it’s not like there’s going to be any easy games the rest of the year. They’re all going to be tough.

“I think there are times (against Chicago) where I thought we played pretty well in stretches. You look at the first two drives of the second half, I’m talking from an offensive perspective, that’s what it’s supposed to look like. The last time I checked, the Bears had a pretty darn good defense. We’ll never make excuses for that. We have got to be better, there’s no doubt about it. You can’t just expect to win games being choppy. You’ve got to be more consistent.”

The Packers haven’t always played well on offense but they had been adept at putting together one last drive to close out wins. That was the case against Minnesota in Week 2, when the team drained all but the final 6 seconds with its final drive. That also was the case the week before against Washington, when the Packers ran 14 plays and devoured almost seven-and-a-half minutes to tack on a field goal. Against Chicago, though, its four fourth-quarter possessions failed to get even a single first down.

“I know this an entertaining game but we’re making it really entertaining for everybody watching,” LaFleur said. “We’ve got to do a better job of really closing people out.”

Red zone equals dead zone

One key on Monday night will be which team can punctuate its drives with touchdowns and which team has to settle for field goals.

Both teams have played superb red-zone defense. Minnesota is fourth in the league with a red-zone touchdown rate of 47.5 percent. Because of it, the Vikings are sixth in the league with 18.5 points allowed per game. Green Bay is fifth in red-zone defense with a touchdown rate of 46.7 percent. That’s been the saving grace for a unit that is 23rd in total defense but ninth in scoring with 20.2 points per game.