Packers LB Christian Kirksey Throws Shade at Blake Martinez for His Comments About Playmaking
The Green Bay Packers added linebacker Christian Kirksey this offseason as the the team looks to improve a defense that got dismantled in the NFC Championship against San Francisco. Kirksey comes over from the Cleveland Browns, and has experience playing under current Packers defensive coordinator Mike Pettine. That familiarity should help Kirksey succeed right away.
One man who isn't such a fan of Pettine's defensive philosophy, however, is Blake Martinez, who left the Packers to join the New York Giants this offseason. The linebacker made some recent comments partly blaming Pettine for his own lack of big plays last season. Right on cue, Kirksey casually threw some shade Martinez's way in response.
Kirksey on Blake Martinez saying he didn't feel like he was called upon to make big plays last year:
— Rob Demovsky (@RobDemovsky) June 10, 2020
"Looking at the playbook, I think there's plays out there for the MIKE, I think there's plays out there for a linebacker position." https://t.co/2EZNtZQmLW
Martinez had 155 tackles and three sacks last season, so it's not like he was invisible. Maybe he wanted to be called on to blitz more often? His comments just seem a bit out of place for someone who was a reasonable contributor.
#Packers LB Christian Kirksey says coming to Green Bay "is almost like a Cinderella story” after never having a winning season @#Browns, where he learned 4 schemes in 6 years, all at WILL linebacker. “Blake Martinez was top 5 in the league, but maybe I can bring more versatility" pic.twitter.com/3lf7OtRe6i
— Mike Clemens (@MikeClemensNFL) June 10, 2020
Martinez was content to move on, but Kirksey surely sounds thrilled to be in Green Bay. His past work in the Packers' chosen defensive scheme should only help him succeed -- and give fans a chance to see if Pettine was holding Martinez back or if it was the linebacker's own problem all along.