WESTFIELD, Ind. – Kenny Clark's leadership style has always been more by example than necessarily the spoken word.
Following a disappointing preseason opener against the New York Jets last Saturday, the Packers' 10th-year defensive lineman felt compelled to speak up in the postgame locker room, one of several team leaders to do so.
Because what Green Bay put on the field during that 30-10 loss to the Jets wasn't acceptable and corrections were needed entering Thursday's joint practice against the Indianapolis Colts.
Clark didn't want to get into the details of everything that was said, but the message apparently was heard loud and clear. For most of Thursday's two-hour practice, the defense took it to the Colts' offense in the competitive periods.
"We just had a point to prove," Clark said. "We didn't like how we played the Jets game. We knew we can dominate the team and dominate on our side of the ball. All of it is just doing our job and playing faster and more physical than our opponent and I think for the most part we did that today."
Looking to make a statement, the Packers' defense arrived with bad intentions at the Colts' practice facility. Whether it was Anthony Richardson or Daniel Jones at quarterback, the Packers' defensive front was in their face all afternoon.
Rashan Gary and Lukas Van Ness each had multiple sacks while rushing against Colts' starting tackles Bernhard Raimann and Braden Smith. The defense also gave Jonathan Taylor and Tyler Goodson little room to operate in the run game.
Defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley dialed up a few exotic looks that saw his inside linebackers rush the quarterback, leading to both 2024 draft picks Edgerrin Cooper and Ty'Ron Hopper arriving unabated to the quarterback.
Quay Walker and Isaiah Simmons made several plays against the run during practice while Devonte Wyatt, Colby Wooden and Karl Brooks regularly pushed the pocket alongside Clark.
The Colts ran 22 plays in the red-zone period midway through practice and only once found the end zone. Even on that play, Brooks was in the backfield.
An example of how things were trending, rookie fourth-round pick Barryn Sorrell forced Richardson to just dirt the ball entirely during the penultimate 11-on-11 period of practice.
"After last week, we wanted to come out fast and play hard," Van Ness said. "We came together collectively after the Jets game and knew we had to come out with a little more passion, a little more fight. I think we did today."
The defense picked off Richardson twice in team 11-on-11. Keisean Nixon corralled a ball that was batted up on an Adonai Mitchell drop. With Richardson rotating on the Colts' second-team offense, rookie Johnathan Baldwin flashed in front of a deep ball down the seam for an INT.
The No. 1 defense lamented Indianapolis reaching the end zone in two-minute at the end of practice, though Van Ness probably had a sack of Richardson on the two-point play.
The defense still finished on a high note when Simmons scored an impressive interception from Jones to end the second-team offense's two-minute period.
What made Thursday's performance especially satisfying is the defense didn't need a huge rallying cry from the coaches. To a man, the Packers knew where they came up short against the Jets and wanted to turn the tables against Indianapolis.
"I don't think we need the coaches to push us to come out fast," Van Ness said. "I think we recognized that as a group."
Another strong sign of progress came with how Green Bay's defense attacked the ball against the Colts. After Hafley lamented how the emphasis on forced fumbles didn't show up against the Jets, the Packers were punching at the football again.
On the play after Nixon's interception, safety Javon Bullard forced a fumble of Mitchell that Evan Williams picked up and ran back to the end zone.
"There were a few mistakes today, but I was proud of the effort we came out with, the intensity we came out with and really just being ball aware," Williams said. "We took the ball away a couple times and it felt good."
For Clark, the longest-tenured player on the team, he was pleased with how the defense responded. Obviously, it is just one day and whoever plays this Saturday against the Colts will have to maintain that momentum inside Lucas Oil Stadium.
However, the loss to the Jets served a purpose. It was a wake-up call and hard look in the mirror for a defense with exceedingly high expectations for itself this season.
"We played lights out today, did our job," Clark said. "Of course, there are mistakes that you're gonna have to clean up and all that stuff but we played fast, played physical, played with great effort the whole day. Got turnovers and did our job most of the day."
