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After several weeks of training camp practice, Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst is still convinced that his team found a “dynamic” upgrade for the middle of its defense with free-agent linebacker Christian Kirksey.
He also doesn’t mind sharing what he feels Kirksey brings to the defense that was “missing” during Blake Martinez’s time as a starter.
“Christian had an excellent camp,” Gutekunst said Sunday during a Zoom call with media. “I think the fun thing was how quickly he got up to speed and started leading that defense. He’s a very athletic player. He’s obviously proven a lot in this league, he’s healthy and I think he adds a little bit of dynamic ability that we’ve been missing for a while.”
The Packers went out and struck an affordable two-year, $13 million with Kirksey during the offseason, effectively allowing Martinez to walk and sign a much more lucrative deal (three years, $30.75 million) with the New York Giants. If the hype is real and Kirksey does turn out to be an upgrade, though, he could end up looking like a bargain by the end of 2020.
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Martinez, Packers Disagreed on His ILB Role
Martinez finished with 155 total tackles, second-most in the NFL, during his final season with the Packers in 2019, but the leading criticism of his four years as their defensive signal-caller was his inability to produce dynamic plays, not how well he could take people to the turf. Though his combined tackles over the past two years are one shy of 300, he has recorded just one interception, one forced fumble and five pass-breakups during that span.
Now with the New York Giants, Martinez has tried to clear up that “misconception” about his game and explained his lack of dynamic plays while in Green Bay boiled down to his role as “the clean-up crew guy” for the Packers defense.
He argued he was not given gap responsibilities in defensive coordinator Mike Pettine’s system and was often playing off the defensive line or star pass rushers Za’Darius Smith and Preston Smith, reasons he used to explain why he had so many tackles downfield (another popular critique of his game).
Naturally, Pettine disagreed with Martinez’s “impression” of his defense.
“That’s certainly not how we taught it last year,” Pettine told reporters in August. “Or how we’ve ever taught it in this system.”
Pettine Also Impressed with Kirksey’s Leadership
Kirksey began his tenure with the Packers similar to how Za’Darius Smith got started: by winning over the locker room with his personality and letting his game do the talking.
The biggest question about Kirksey during free agency was his health after he played in just nine games of his past two seasons with the Browns, so it was good for Pettine — who worked with Kirksey prior to his injuries in Cleveland — to see him looking restored and strong during camp this summer. Even with prior experience, though, Pettine was still impressed to see how quickly Kirksey took to his leadership role with the Packers defense.
“Kirko has been great, stepped into the leadership role right away,” Pettine said. “Guys gravitated to him. He’s a good communicator on the field, a good communicator off the field in the meeting room. He’s a take-charge kind of guy. … He looks good, he’s running around well and he’s what we expected when we signed him.”
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