After a slow start to the season, Rashan Gary is getting closer to opposing quarterbacks. The results should be soon to follow
Rashan Gary entered Sunday's game against the Houston Texans with one sack on the season.
There was one big asterisk next to it as well.
Yes, Gary took Jalen Hurts to the ground.
Yes, he had the awareness to get off the ball that Philadelphia's Lane Johnson did not have.
None the less, Gary did not beat Johnson's block on the play.
It was essentially a free run at the quarterback.
Even when he's not sacking the quarterback, we live in an age where disruption is considered production.
Sacks are not the only way to measure success for a pass rusher any longer.
The issue was that Gary was not disrupting opposing passers through the first five games of the year.
Through five games, he had six pressures.
Certainly not the type of production the Packers had in mind when they gave him a massive contract extension last year.
Questions about Gary's production, or lack thereof, were getting louder after he was shut out of Green Bay's 24-19 win over the Los Angeles Rams.
Some of those questions were quieted with Gary's three pressures coming against the Arizona Cardinals.
Keeping Kyler Murray in the pocket was paramount, and Gary was a big reason the Packers held Murray to just 14 yards on seven carries.
Gary's second sack of the season looked a lot like his first one.
This time, it came against the Houston Texans.
Tytus Howard tripped over his feet, falling to the ground, giving Gary a free run at CJ Stroud.
That was Gary's only sack of the game, but still his most encouraging performance of the season.
Green Bay's pass defense held Houston's CJ Stroud to less than 100 yards passing.
The pressure on Stroud was a big contributor that, and Gary led the way with six pressures in the game.
Hall of Fame Outside Linebacker, the late Kevin Greene used to taunt opposing quarterbacks when he'd get pressure on them.
As he began hunting quarterbacks, if he would just miss a sack, he'd tell them, "I'm getting closer."
If Gary were a baseball player, this would feel like a player in a slump, but is taking good swings in the box.
Gary's six pressures on Sunday gave him nine in the last two games.
One of those reasons is Jeff Hafley' moving him around the defensive line.
Mike Pettine used to move Za'Darius Smith all over the formation when he was Green Bay's defensive coordinator.
Hafley decided to take a note from one of his predecessors to add a wrinkle against a potent offense.
“A little splash here, a little splash there,” Gary said. “Just understanding our personnel and how people want to block our personnel. We added things, different package, trying to make the most of our defense and personnel.”
The results were positive.
It was necessary as well.
According to PFF, coming into Sunday's game, Gary had been chipped on 21 percent of his pass rushing attempts.
That was the third most in the NFL.
“Coming into the season, getting chipped a lot, finding ways to free up the top players, that’s something Coach Hafley has done since week 1,” Gary said. “Understand our personnel and how teams want to block us, especially me, it helps us as a team.”
Perhaps that understanding will help them even more with some high powered offenses on the schedule coming up.
