With a 3-1 start, the New York Giants face arguably the toughest defensive test of the season this Sunday. Taking on the Green Bay Packers is difficult as is, let alone with the injuries and needing to travel to London. So let's dive into what the Giants' offense is up against.Going into week one, I said, " Meet the guy thats the main opponent in that argument: Packers lineman Kenny Clark. Clark has been a consistent force on the interior in Green Bay - despite not being a true sack artist, Clark lives in the backfield against both the run and pa s.Through four games in 2022, Clark has , good for third-most in the NFL, and a Lamarcus Joyner Jersey , the best rate in the NFL among interior defensive linemen with more than 50 pa s-defense snaps. As a run defender, the numbers arent as flashy, but Clark is yet to mi s a tackle this season and has an average depth of tackle of just .On the exterior of the defensive line, the Packers have an incredibly productive duo led by Rashan Gary, with Preston Smith being the Robin to Garys Batman. Together, the duo has combined for . Gary and Smith have also combined for 19 run stops.On the second level, DeVondre Campbell is the player who mans the middle of the field as one of the three Packers defenders who have played . In recent weeks, Campbell has started to open up regarding versatility.Through the first two weeks of the season, Campbell didnt blitz at all, but through the last two weeks, hes been used more as a pa s-rusher. The other starting off-ball linebacker for the Packers, rookie Quay Walker, has been asked to contribute in more ways but with very different results. Walker has been wildly inconsistent through the first four games of his pro career, .The Packers secondary is one of the best in the NFL, both at the top and in depth. Star cornerback Jaire Alexander is still questionable for the game after getting injured during the Packers Week 3 game and then mi sing the Week 4 game.Second-year cornerback Eric Stokes has been filling in as the top corner in Green Bay, with Adrian Amos and Darnell Savage as the veteran safeties patrolling over the top. Stokes will almost always line up on the left side of the field for the Packers, while Amos and Savage will be used in multiple ways, especially for a Packers defense that likes to work in various coverages.The Packers operate out of a 3-4 base but often have five defenders along the line of scrimmage, with Preston Smith and Rashan Gary as standup defenders on the edge. This allows Jarran Reed, Kenny Clark, and Dean Lowry to all play with their hands in the dirt along the interior David Long Jersey when operating in their base front.Giving this look to opposing offenses allows the Packers to rush anywhere from three to five defenders without having any tells since Smith and Gary are free to drop back or rush the pa ser from their every Eric Dickerson Jersey down stance.The Packers will do something defensively similar to what the Panthers have done under Phil Snow. That same front five will be on the field with just one linebacker in the second level and five defensive backs on the field, giving a 5-1 look to the Giants offensive line in what Packers Defensive Coordinator Joe Barry calls their Penny front.This 5-1 is arguably the best front six the Packers could roll onto the field on any given play. The 900+ pound interior of Reed, Clark, and Lowry allows the Packers to clog the middle of the field while forcing interior linemen to block one-on-one and leaving offensive tackles in one-on-one situations against Gary and Smith.With this personnel grouping, the Packers also have Quay Walker off the field, as hes struggled in coverage early on. Offenses are also almost forced into keeping a tight end, running back, or both in as pa s protectors since few offensive linemen could handle either Gary, Smith, or Clark in one-on-ones.Scroll to ContinuePenny isnt the only pre sure look the Packers will give to the Giants on Sunday. On pa sing downs, Joe Barry and the Packers like to show a double mug look that mentally can throw an offense for a loop.Double mug crowds the line of scrimmage even more, placing both edge defenders on the outside shoulders of offensive tackles, both interior defensive linemen are on the outside shoulders of guards, and two linebackers set up on the interior, both filling an A-gap. This causes a six-to-five mismatch in the trenches where offenses either have to keep in extra blockers or have plans based on which defenders could rush or drop into coverage.The Packers have a modern defensive scheme Joe Namath Jersey that shows plenty of two-high looks, with both safeties lined up deep pre-snap, but they mix up coverages well between covers 1, 3, 4, and 6. Offenses will have underneath completions if they can connect on them, but the Packers will have defenders within distance to close the gap and make the tackle.Finding consistent succe s against the Packers will be a tall task for a Giants team that, even if Daniel Jones does play, he likely wont be playing at 100%. On top of Jones health, the Giants are also dealing with multiple injuries at wide receiver.Luckily for the Giants, the way that some teams have given the Packers trouble is using fewer wide receivers to make running the ball easier. Last week, the on almost half of their snaps and ran the ball 33 times for 167 yards.In week one, the Minnesota Vikings opted to use on the field as an additional blocker. The Vikings would rush for 126 yards on 28 carries.Both teams got it done differently but showed that the blueprint for finding consistent succe s on the ground against the Packers is to bring on additional blockers. The to pick up 180 yards on just 24 carries.With the Packers playing multiple coverages, its difficult to say what specific concepts should be used to exploit them while throwing the ball. However, a vague throw the ball underneath might suffice since most of the coverages that the Packers play leave underneath relatively open for busine s.The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the one team the Packers have played that chose to throw the ball often, threw the ball . On those pa ses, Tom Brady went 26 of 30 for 181 yards and a touchdown.The Vikings also threw the Rodger Saffold Jersey ball underneath plenty, with . Cousins would go 18 of 20 for 114 yards and a touchdown in that range.The way to move the ball against the Packers defense isnt pretty, and it isnt exciting, but it is effective. Put heavier players on the field to consistently run the ball and attack underneath when you throw the ball. With a banged-up quarterback and receiver room, this may have been the strategy that the Giants were hoping to implement as it is.The Giants had the odds stacked against them regardle s of how their injury report looks going into Sundays game against the Packers. The injuries certainly dont help the situation, but if there was any week to not have your pa sing attack focal points, the Packers game is it. The challenge i
