Packers Defensive Coach Out vs. Lions Due to COVID Rules

The Green Bay Packers’ coaching staff will have fewer hands on deck during Monday Night Football against the Detroit Lions.

The Packers have announced that defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery will be forced to miss Week 2’s home opener against the Lions due to the league’s COVID protocols. Additionally, they explained his “responsibilities will be divided among defensive quality control coach Wendel Davis, inside linebackers coach Kirk Olivadotti and outside linebackers coach Mike Smith” for the game.

The news comes after Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported earlier this week that Montgomery had tested positive for COVID-19. He added that while Montgomery is vaccinated, he would have needed to pass two tests within 24 hours to be eligible for return during Monday’s game.

The Packers’ defensive line had immense trouble getting the job done against the New Orleans Saints during the first game of the 2021 season. With the exception of Kenny Clark, none of their defensive linemen managed even a single pressure against Saints quarterback Jameis Winston, giving him plenty of time to pick apart their secondary. Now, they will have to attempt a bounce-back performance without the direct guidance of their position coach on Monday night.

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Will Anybody Help Kenny Clark vs. Lions?

The Packers had a wide array of issues in their season-opening loss against the Saints, but the defensive line was surely one of the biggest. While Clark finished with five solo tackles, three stops, three hurries and three pressures, the Saints stifled the rest of the unit and raised questions about whether Clark has the proper support around him — a question that has been getting asked for the past two seasons now.

Kingsley Keke, a 2019 fifth-round pick who was really beginning to come into his own last season before a concussion prematurely ended his year, looked like a shell of himself during his 31 defensive snaps in Week 1. He recorded just two total tackles and one stop and received one of the Packers’ lowest defensive grades (36.8) from Pro Football Focus, firmly clocking his first performance of Year 3 as a disappointment.

Then, there’s defensive end Dean Lowry. The Packers resisted the temptation to cut Lowry for cap relief this past offseason and instead restructured his deal to make him more affordable for the 2021 season, but he didn’t exactly make a veteran impact during the first week with just three solo tackles (and no stops) across 38 snaps. That will have to change — either for Lowry or for Keke — if the Packers are going to get success in their defensive trenches this year.