I am not sure what to say here , has Kenny just gotten old or is it the injury ? I did find the article on the site very interesting . Younger players ( when drafted ) don`t have a longer career they have the same length as other older ones ( when drafted ) statistically .

Clark was one of the guys supposed to thrive in a 4-3 alignment yet he has had a forgettable season to date. I have no idea why he hasn't been better but he is a high dollar, high snap count guy that has not been producing. He and Gary need to figure it out soon or they may be looking for new employment. With fat paychecks comes expectations to perform.

Prior to 2024, Kenny Clark was mostly a very good player for the Packers.

So far in 2024, Kenny has been a ghost. No positive impact at all.

I don't know if his lack of production this season is due to the switch from the 3-4 to the 4-3, injury, or because he got old fast and is washed.

I do know that the fact that Clark has joined Rashan Gary and Jaire Alexander as veterans whose productivity declined after getting the bag should cause Gutey to ponder why that has become the norm on the defensive side of the ball in Green Bay.

Actually there is an expectation for QB pressure and sacks if you've been defensive anchor like Clark has been over the years. Last season he recorded 7.5 sacks and 16 QB hits, but this year 0 sacks and only 2 hits. So something is wrong here: either the toe, difficulty with the new scheme, or maybe it's just wear and tear--he's accumulated over 6400 snaps in his career.

Everyone used to say, "Get Kenny Clark some help!", but this whole defensive line needs a ton of help. And Clark wasn't the only one not to record any stats; Van Ness was in the same club despite 25 snaps. We'll have some interesting decisions to make in the off-season to reconfigure this defense with the right personnel. Isn't it fun perpetually going around in circles trying to fix this side of the ball?

Of late, Clark needs to be a bit more stout on run plays, instead he shoots the gap and misses some tkls. When I look at very good run defenses, I see the whole line stalemating the blockers which leaves the LBs a clean lane to the ball carrier. It seems our pro bowl veterans including Jenkins are not performing to their expectations.

After watching the first eight games we could all see the D- Line & LB play were in trouble. Again our GM does nothing about it before the trading deadline. But Preston Smith had no trouble getting out of cheese land. He could see the problems the Packers were having and was happy to move out. And first round pick Luka VanNess what is he doing...? Not much, another great pick by a weak GM. I'll be shocked if the Packers beat the 49ers with this defense. The 49ers need this game much more then the Packers do.
Packers have to many holes on defense.... 49ers 30 Packers 21. I hope I'm wrong GPG.

A pig, that enemy year (snake) is a coming for Kenny Jan 29th. Ditto for Jenkins.

I don’t think Clark has been the same since he slimmed down. The change to the new system seemed like that finally might reanimate him. In fact, as you point out, he’s been largely non existent as a rusher and absent from the run game stats as well.

At some point, system adjustment becomes harder to swallow as an explanation. However, though Clark is perhaps the most surprising non beneficiary, no one has really thrived. Wyatt looked to be early, and perhaps he’s still not fully back. It could, of course, be poor fit or, as you seemed to imply, effort. Alternatively though, could it be that the way Hafley is having them play is also part of the problem? Is what he’s asking of them somehow neutering their potential?

I like the picture: three players to go with the three plays theme. Nicely done.

These clips are concerning, except for the first one by the goal line, where Clark seemed to clog things up pretty well. He has historically gotten better toward the end of the season, but I don't think he's ever been such a non-factor earlier in the season. All we can do at this point is hope something clicks. Clark can be a difference-maker when he gets rolling.

Well, I guess we're going to add Kenny Clark to the "not good enough'' list. I really hate that we do this.

The #10 scoring defense, despite guys who are never healthy enough to play (Alexander) and guys who aren't good enough. Nixon, Walker, VanNess, Gary, and now Kenny Clark. It's a miracle that every team in the NFL doesn't run it up to 40 against us.

That's what I've been getting at, Al. Kenny Clark has been doing some kind of Houdini act. Just completely disappears.

Clark's best position, the one where he turned the tables on opposing Offenses is NT. Slimming him down at DT has been a wrong turn from my perspective. Kenny Clark would benefit from beefing the F up and working in a rotation with Slaton at this point.

Thanks for digging those 3 plays up, Al. GB got rid of Preston Smith because he was mailing it in... as evidenced by a quick look at his stats. The year he signed his contract extension with GB, 2022, he had garnered an 80.8 DEF grade at PFF. Run D was 72.1. Pass Rush was 75.1 in 2021. Coverage was 78.0. His numbers today pale in comparison. 63.1 overall DEF grade. 68.8 RDEF. 56.5 PRSH. Smith had 31 and 32 STOPS in 2022 and 2023. He currently has 10. Sackk Totals were 10/9 20222-23. Today they stand at 3. 1 Qb Hit. 7 QB Hurries. There's more, but, I'm not going to dig further.

Preston Smith turned into dead weight on this Packers team, and I'm glad we traded him.

Kenny Clark? His Pass Rush numbers have dropped from 3 consecutive years in the mid-high 70s down to 57.8 this season. His Total DEF grade is 49.6, far and away the lowest of his career.

Clark had 16 QB Hits in 2023. This season he has 2. Clark had 7.5 sacks last season. This year he has 0.

Part of obtaining a big salary is scrutiny and follow-up. It's called a ROI-'Return on Investment' and it should be expected.
If we are honest, all 3: Jaire, Kenny and Rashan are heading towards being very poor investments and as a business, this trend needs to be investigated, there is too much $$$ draft capital @ stake.

The Green Bay Packers are a business and have every right to act as such.

I appreciate Al looking into this situation and using film to illustrate.

It's the second half of the season and there is plenty of tape on Hafley's new system now. Offenses will attack tendencies. Still, I expect the Defense will continue to improve.

The 7-3 record is a solid way to make the turn, and the D has helped to earn that record. Some of those early season turnovers would help!

I am surprised Hafley uncharacteristically did very little adjusting at halftime on Sunday. The Defense was on the field...a lot...like 65 plays or something crazy like that. And still held the bares to 19 pts.

I don't have a problem with Clark.
His sack totals are down.
But so are everyones.
The time to be concerned is
when he doesn't get double teamed.
As far as adjustments.
There's a saying that says-
Save it for later.

Clark has been double teamed at the 3rd highest rate among DTs this year. I focused on him a few times on Sunday and he was double teamed from both sides of the line. I was more disappointed in Slaton who had a sack but was handled by a single blocker in the run game every time i watched him. It's very disappointing Clark hasn't recorded a statistic but teams are still more worried about him than any of DT on the team, also very disappointing. What seemed like a two deep strength going into the season hasn't materialized at all.

Hi everyone
I haven't written in a long time, but I've never stopped reading Al and all the others. I have always thought that the good year for SB is 2025, but I believed that this year would still be very significant. To date (despite a positive record) the game is not good.
The worst part is that we have to be honest that the top 90% of the players (Love, Gary, Klark, Alexander and Jenkins) are absolutely not deserving of their money. I believe this requires serious reflection on the future, but above all on the work of management.
If next year (mainly in relation to the spending possibilities we will have) drastic and important choices are not made, I believe it will be a big mistake.
Last thing, I think MLF is in big confusion. The choice to go for a TD on a 4th and 6 with 13:30 left down by 5 points is just crazy!
And competent management should take it seriously.
Despite everything we all cheer together until the end (as always!)
Go Pack Go

Good article.
Regarding Kenny Clark I still believe it's injury related. He is one of my absolute favorit players on the team and I was happy, he got the extention.
Back to full strength, he will be a game changer on our way to New Orleans!
Go Kenny Go!

Al, do you or anyone have the previous year's stats to break down? If I remember right Kenny has always come on in the second half and late in the season and playoffs. I think that's where he's done his best. I could bring up that he didn't have Preston next to him for the first time, but I see in your videos what you were talking about and how it seemed he was just mailing it in.

might be time for you to get some new glasses because you can't see so good from the empire state building. on the first of your two "goal line" plays (which aren't really goal line) Clark was clearly double teamed, not "one on one" as you claim. on the second, he's shooting the gap which leaves you susceptible to being washed out from a side block. walker filled the hole so I would call this a coach's decision. I know Clark is not having a great campaign this season but I think your analysis is weak here.