Green Bay Packers

Another division crown is in the offing, but the defense must show it's championship caliber

By Josh Elliott

Team Page | Schedule | Depth chart | 2002 Stats | Predicted finish: 1st in NFC North

It was almost midnight last Jan. 5 when the effects of an emotionally wrenching month began to seem too much for Packers defensive end Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila. The night before, the Packers had lost a wild-card playoff game to the Falcons at Lambeau Field, the first postseason home defeat in the franchise's 84-year history. The loss came on the heels of the death of his mother, Bola, who was killed in a one-car accident in Los Angeles on Dec. 1 -- the same day his wife, Eileen, had given birth to the couple's first child, Abdul-Rashid -- and Gbaja-Biamila became distraught.

Gbaja-Biamila still must prove that he can stop the run, but he already knows how to flatten quarterbacks. Stephen Dunn/Getty Images

He got into his car and began tearing down the streets of Green Bay, running red light after red light. "I thought nothing mattered anymore," he says. "I know it was ridiculous, but I'd lost control." Green Bay being what it is, he soon ran out of intersections, and he returned home. There, he sat in his garage and cried.

Many nights with the Bible have since helped the devoutly Christian Gbaja-Biamila (pronounced BAH-jah BEE-ah-MIL-lah) right his ship. That's crucial because he's a key figure in fixing the weakness that haunted last year's Packers, who were not as strong as their 12-4 record might indicate. Green Bay buried its NFC North rivals by Halloween, but as the wins piled up, so did the injuries along the defensive line. The starting front four lost 23 games to injury; only twice did its best quartet suit up for the same game.

Though Green Bay's defense forced the most turnovers in the league, its attacking style, when executed by a patchwork line, too often resulted in uncovered gaps and blown assignments. As a result the Packers allowed 4.84 yards a carry (only the Seahawks were worse) and 124.9 rushing yards per game, their highest total since 1990. "Even after a win, as a D-line it felt like a loss," says defensive tackle Cletidus Hunt. "We just wore down."

Meanwhile the stunning 27-7 loss to the Falcons was just the final blow to Cheesehead Nation, which earlier had been shaken by quarterback Brett Favre's intimations that his retirement is nigh. Though he returns this season (looking as spry as ever), the time for a last push in the Favre era is now. To do that the team will count on a retooled, reinvigorated defensive front led by Gbaja-Biamila -- fitting for a man whose name in his parents' native Nigeria means "Big Man Come and Save Me." "Other teams don't want to see him on the field," says Packers defensive coordinator Ed Donatell. "With mobile QBs and constant substitution, you need a dominant, hybrid linebacker like Kabeer."

There's no question that Gbaja-Biamila, in his fourth year out of San Diego State, can be a disruptive force. Playing almost exclusively on passing downs in 2001, he had 13 1/2 sacks; pressed into full-time duty last season, he again led the team, with 12. He struggled with his presnap adjustments, though, and at 255 pounds he labored to shed blocks. "I was undisciplined," says Gbaja-Biamila, who has a new seven-year, $37.3 million deal. "Now I'm ready. Playing the run isn't just a skill, it's an attitude."

With Gbaja-Biamila entrenched at right end, Joe Johnson, last year's big free-agent acquisition who suffered a season-ending tear to his left triceps in Week 5, will replace the departed Vonnie Holliday at left end. Joining Hunt at tackle will be the ageless Gilbert Brown, returning for his 10th year. Rookie Nick Barnett, a first-round draft pick out of Oregon State, is being penciled in at middle linebacker, while All-Pro safety Darren Sharper leads the secondary. "We wanted to get faster on defense, and we did," coach Mike Sherman says. "We've won 24 games in the last two years. We'll be fine."

As for the other big question mark in Green Bay, Sherman made a trip to Hattiesburg, Miss., in March to visit Favre. Recalling the conversation during the early days of training camp, Sherman said the two talked "about everything." So Favre isn't retiring anytime soon? "Everything," repeated Sherman, who leaned hard into his chair with a smile that suggested it wouldn't be too soon.

Enemy Lines: An opposing scout's view

"I like what Mike Sherman is building. In Mark Hatley he's got a personnel guy he trusts, and his coaching and organizational skills have been great. Then again, a high school team could've gone 12-4 in the NFC North last year. ... If Brett Favre goes down, they're screwed. He's as good as they come, except in the playoffs. Then he seems to get a little erratic, like he's pressing. But he's the class of the league. ... Donald Driver shocked the hell out of me last year. He's always had the skill, but he got a lot better in traffic. ... Mike Flanagan making the move from center to tackle was as impressive as any performance in the league last season. But the line is still a big question mark. How healthy are those two tackles [Mark Tauscher and Chad Clifton]?... Maybe they overpaid Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila, but he's gotten better every year and will again. He's like a young Jason Taylor. ... The linebackers will be O.K., as will the secondary. But [safety] Marques Anderson fell off after a hot start last year. He made too many mental errors. ... They're still the class of the division. No one will challenge them. Until the playoffs, that is."

Under the Gun

It was a gruesome sight: Left tackle Chad Clifton was leveled on a block by Bucs defensive tackle Warren Sapp during an interception return last Nov. 24, then lay motionless with a severely sprained pelvis. No team relies more on a single player than the Pack does on Brett Favre; to help keep him upright, Clifton must play like a Pro Bowler.

Issue date: September 1, 2003