The Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers will open their 2025 seasons in Lambeau Field this Sunday, in a key early-season divisional matchup. With the Lions facing off with the Packers twice a season, they’re very familiar with their offensive/defensive schemes and coaching staff, which saw no major changes this offseason.
“We’ve got a pretty good feel of them and they’ve got a pretty good feeling of us,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said on Tuesday. “We have new coordinators, but there’s things that we’re
going to do that we believe in and aren’t going to change that much. And certainly, we’re familiar with each other’s personnel.”
Last season, we broke down the Packers’ offensive and defensive schemes, while also providing background information on their coaching staff. For this updated look at their scheme/coaches, we will provide readers with an abridged version of what we previously learned, along with any relevant changes made to this year’s Packers team.
Packers’ head coach: Matt LaFleur
NFL coaching seasons: 17 seasons
Head coaching seasons: Seventh season as Packers head coach
Influences: Mike Shanahan, Kyle Shanahan, Sean McVay, and Mike McDaniel
Playcaller: LaFleur calls the offensive plays
Offensive coordinator: Adam Stenavich
NFL coaching seasons: Nine seasons
Offensive coordinator seasons: Fourth season as Packers OC
Influences: Kyle Shanahan, Brady Hoke
Key staff addition: Luke Getsy, Senior offensive assistant (former Raiders/Bears OC, Packers QB coach)
LaFleur’s West Coast offensive scheme
Passing game: West Coast
Running scheme: Wide zone/Shanahan system, introduced gap concepts in 2024
Staples of scheme:
- Primarily 11 (67.1%) and 12 (24.6%) personnel
- Early down play-action
- Pre-snap motion
- Bunch formations
- Spread the ball around
- Vertical attack, explosives
- Screens
- Chip blocks are used to slow pass rush
- Adaptability
Weaknesses:
- Quarterback decision-making is paramount
- Need to first establish intermediate routes to set up explosives
- Have they found a WR1?
Alterations:
Last season, quarterback Jordan Love’s multiple injuries led to them heavily leaning on Josh Jacobs and the run game. This offseason, the Packers’ investment in the offensive line suggests they don’t plan on moving away from the run; however, with Love healthy and two rookie wide receivers drafted in the top 100 picks, many analysts are predicting more passing plays and less of a focus on rushing. The actual answer is probably somewhere in the middle, as LeFleur’s willingness to be adaptable could mean they end up adjusting to their opponents more often in 2025.
Defensive coordinator: Jeff Hafley
NFL coaching seasons: Nine seasons
Defensive coordinator seasons: Second season as Packers DC
Influences: Kyle Shanahan, Robert Saleh, Mike Pettine, Greg Schiano
Key staff addition: DeMarcus Covington, DL coach (former Patriots DC)
Hafley’s 42-base defensive scheme
Base: 4-2, 1-gapping front
Coverage: Mainly zone, pre-snap 2-shell disguise
Staples of scheme:
- Live in subpackage looks – lots of safeties in the secondary
- Deploy a lot of Cover-1 and Cover-3 (Xavier McKinney in single-high)
- Safeties drop into the box to prevent light boxes
- Play fast and attack
- Defensive line stunts
- “Replacement” blitzing (blitz a linebacker, drop an edge into coverage)
- Traditional blitzing percentages are low and mainly on third downs
Weaknesses:
- Added athletes, shed bulk: vulnerable vs. power run game
- Cover-1 can be exposed by outside wide receiver speed
- Cover-3 can be exposed by crossers and intermediate routes
- Safeties in the slot don’t match up well with Lions personnel
- A significant portion of their success in 2024 was due to turnovers, but can that be repeated?
Alterations:
Hafley’s scheme prefers to get pressure by only rushing four defenders, but last year, they blitzed the Lions more than any other team they faced. The addition of position-versatile edge rusher Micah Parsons will certainly enhance their ability to feature more “replacement” blitzing, but will he have learned the scheme quickly enough to be used in that manner in Week 1?
”Certainly, we’ll have our eyes on that. We know what kind of player he is; he’s a really good player. But we’ll have a plan,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said of adjusting to the Packers’ acquisition of Parsons.
The loss of Kenny Clark, the Packers’ best run defender, will be difficult to overcome and could play a major factor in this game. The Packers’ scheme typically yields solid production against the run from their back-seven players, but they also benefited from Clark demanding double teams. With lower-level linemen occupying the middle of their defensive line, the Packers’ linebackers and defensive backs may no longer have free lanes to the ball carrier.
