The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1482097
62 THE WOLVERINE NOVEMBER 2022 BY CLAYTON SAYFIE F ormer Michigan defensive end and fourth-year Green Bay Packer Rashan Gary is off to a hot start to the 2022 campaign. He's been extremely disruptive for a defense that ranks fifth in the league in yards allowed per game (299.2). His 6 sacks are tied for second in the NFL and are a half-sack away from the league's lead. He's had at least 1 sack in all but one outing — a Week 5 loss to the New York Giants in which he suffered a toe injury — and has totaled 26 tackles, 7 stops for loss and 7 quarterback hits. Through Week 5, SportsBettingDime. com gave him the fifth-best odds to win the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year award (+1700), behind Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons (+100), San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa (+600), Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett (+1000) and Los Angeles Rams defensive lineman Aaron Donald (+1200). The Wolverines have had just one former player win the award, de- fensive back Charles Woodson with the Packers in 2009. Gary's breakout performance of the season came during a 27-24 overtime victory over the New England Patriots in Week 4. He registered 7 tackles (3 solo) with 2 sacks, including a strip sack and fumble recovery, and 2 other quarterback hits. "Rashan, the one thing you know you're going to get every time he lines up out there is, he's going to go 100 miles an hour," Packers head coach Matt LaFleur said after the win. "He's been pretty dis- ruptive. He was, obviously, our player of the game this past game. He made some key, key plays for us." He's beginning to draw more double teams and chip blocks from opposing offenses but is still playing the most pro- ductive football of his young career, after posting 9.5 sacks a year ago. "When you're an elite rusher, a lot of times they can't just let them go one- on-one," Packers defensive coordinator Joe Barry said in late September. "It's something that, I think, this is part of the Gary, whose 91.1 Pro Football Focus pass-rush grade in true pass sets ranks third in the NFL among edge defenders, is in contention for the NFL Defensive Player of the Year award. PHOTO BY EVAN SIEGLE/COURTESY GREEN BAY PACKERS MICHIGAN IN THE PROS Rashan Gary Is Off To A Hot Start For The Green Bay Packers