Here's McGinn on the linebackers against Detroit
For the second consecutive Sunday, Christian Kirksey (59) played every snap. Although he did play for Mike Pettine in Cleveland for two years, Pettine’s scheme has evolved since then and so Kirksey has much to master. Some of his play is good, some of it isn’t. Although Kirksey is much smaller than his counterparts in Detroit, he’s no shrinking violet. On third and 1, he charged into his gap ready for what was to come. Instead of Kerryon Johnson, the ball carrier, it was RG Jonah Jackson, who gored Kirksey onto his back. Undeterred, Kirksey kept running around against the run and pass trying to be productive. There’s little doubt that better speed gives Kirksey a wide sphere of coverage than Blake Martinez possessed. On one route combination, he was able to sift through picking obstacles and cover TE T.J. Hockenson. Kirksey hasn’t made any crushing hits yet but Martinez seldom did, either. Credited with a game-high 12 tackles, he didn’t have a miss. On the 4-yard TD pass to Marvin Jones, Kirksey must get to that soft spot in the zone. Free-agent Krys Barnes (15) took the expected run-down snaps alongside Kirksey while Oren Burks was relegated to special teams only. Barnes seems instinctive. By adjusting the path of his only rush, he hurried Matthew Stafford. By reading and triggering fast, he drew a hold on LG Oday Aboushi.
On the outside, the snap totals were 56 (18 standing up, three with his hand down) for Za’Darius Smith, 55 for Preston Smith and 33 for Rashan Gary (four with his hand down). Gary had the best day, posting 3 ½ of the trio’s six pressures. For the second week in a row, it was Gary’s outstretched arms in the quarterback’s face that led to an interception. On Sunday, Adrian Peterson looked pathetic whiffing on the pickup of Gary that seconds later became a pick-six. Gary split a double-team by RT Tyrell Crosby and RB D’Andre Swift for a full sack in 2.7 seconds and then beat LT Taylor Decker inside for a half-sack in 3.5. The Lions double-teamed Za’Darius on 42.6 percent of passes, limiting him to two pressures. When the base defense springs leaks stopping the run, Pettine likes to stand Za’Darius up over the center in an attempt to mess up blocking combinations. From the outside, Za’Darius tends to guess and drift inside, and he was hooked twice on runs for substantial yardage. Preston probably dropped 10 times in coverage whereas Za’Darius dropped only once. The Packers miss athletic, heady Kyler Fackrell in that role; Preston is marginal in space. His rush has been slow to materialize, too. Preston loves anticipating the count, but his offside penalty just before the half almost cost three points. Rookie Jonathan Garvin got a two-play look in the second quarter.
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