Former Louisville safety Calvin Pryor intercepts a pass against Central Florida in 2013. Pryor was the 18th pick in the NFL draft by the Jets last May. With the 21st selection, Green Bay chose Ha Ha Clinton-Dix. The two players meet Sunday. Credit: Getty Images

Green Bay — The New York Jets' makeshift secondary didn't yield a completion of more than 17 yards to Oakland rookie Derek Carr on Sunday before former Packer James Jones made a superlative catch for a 30-yard touchdown with 1½ minutes left.

"We emphasized to our DBs how we had to make sure we protected the vertical passing game," Jets coach Rex Ryan said Monday. "Then we had to come up and tackle well. I thought our guys did a great job."

Where once Ryan could call upon Darrelle Revis or Antonio Cromartie for consistent man coverage, defection and injury left him with converted safety Antonio Allen, free agent Darrin Walls and undersized Kyle Wilson as his top three cornerbacks.

Largely because of the matchup against Aaron Rodgers, the Jets find themselves as an eight-point underdog Sunday against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field.

"I think that Green Bay will be able to throw the ball on them and exploit that secondary," an AFC personnel man said. "I expect Aaron Rodgers, with that fast tempo, to give the Jets fits. I wouldn't be surprised if he put up some big numbers."

Ryan, the sixth-year coach with a 47-40 record, isn't one to give an opponent much of anything.

"Aaron Rodgers can make anybody look bad," said Ryan. "It's certainly going to be a different type of challenge. I think whoever we have out there will play well."

Ryan seemed hopeful that Dee Milliner, the ninth player drafted in 2013, would resume practice Wednesday for the first time since suffering a high-ankle sprain Aug. 10 and end up playing Sunday.

"It would help them big-time," the scout said. "They're playing a safety, Antonio Allen, right now. Milliner is a competitive corner."

Ryan, with his defense blitzing five or more on 39.5% of passes, limited Rodgers to a 59.7 passer rating and the Packers to 237 yards and just 2 of 14 on third down in an October 2010 game won by Green Bay, 9-0.

Just two Jets defenders — linebackers David Harris and Calvin Pace — remain four years later. Still, the Jets consider their rebuilt front seven the best in the NFL.

"The Jets have a pretty good defense," another AFC personnel man said. "But I can't see Green Bay's offense laying down for a second week in a row.

"The Seahawks are still the world champs...just ask Green Bay. Aaron Rodgers and that offense was knocked down and kicked around last week against one of the league's top defenses.

"The Packers are a bit beat up but still have enough healthy bodies to match up with the Jets. And I'm not sure the Jets' dysfunctional offense can score enough to keep pace with Green Bay in its bounce-back game."

The scouts called it for Green Bay, 24-10 and 30-17.

It will be the 94th league home opener for the Packers, always a festive occasion.

Since the football renaissance began in 1992, the Packers are 14-8 in their first home game. That 63.6% winning mark might be impressive but pales against their 77.6% winning rate (119-34-1) in other regular-season games from 1992-2013.

The Jets administered one of those season-opening defeats, winning as a 2½-point underdog, 20-16, in Mike Sherman's first game as coach in 2000. Vinny Testaverde bested Brett Favre.

OFFENSE

SCHEME

Second-year coordinator Marty Mornhinweg calls plays for a multiple, creative attack. The base is three-WR, one-RB, one-TE out of shotgun. There's a Michael Vick, twin-QB package; a three-RB, one-QB variation of the wishbone; and gadget plays galore. Mornhinweg loves screen passes, pre-snap shifting and pulling linemen in the run game.

RECEIVERS

Devoid of talent at WR, the Jets handed Eric Decker (6-3, 215) $15 million guaranteed March 12 to leave Denver. Decker, who dropped 18 passes in 2012-'13, is a smart, nifty route-runner with good but not great speed. He also isn't great against press coverage and can get muscled downfield. Former Bill David Nelson (6-5, 214) is a huge target with respectable straight-line speed but is more of a No. 4 than a No. 2. Jeremy Kerley (5-9½, 188) is a productive little slot with more quickness than speed. No. 4 Greg Salas (6-1, 210), with his fourth team in four years, dropped a TD pass against Oakland. TE Jeff Cumberland (6-4, 260) is a workmanlike three-year starter who played WR at Illinois and ran a 4.46-second 40 at 249 pounds in 2010. He doesn't play nearly to that speed these days but is a capable receiver and so-so blocker. Rookie TE Jace Amaro (6-5½, 265), a second-round pick, runs well enough (4.71) to threaten the seam but remains unrefined and a marginal blocker.

OFFENSIVE LINE

This is a veteran, capable, healthy unit. LT D'Brickashaw Ferguson (6-6, 310), a nine-year starter and two-time Pro Bowl pick, still uses his athleticism and long arms (35½ inches) to steer pass rushers and climb to the second level in the run game. A finesse player, he can get overpowered by speed-to-power rushers. C Nick Mangold (6-3½, 307), a nine-year starter and four-time Pro Bowl pick, has lost some of his great speed and agility. Still, he compensates with superb strength and mastery of the offense. One-time Packer RT Breno Giacomini (6-7, 320) departed Seattle in March for $7 million guaranteed. Despite sluggish feet, he has become a good player with proper technique, discipline and temperament. Both Giacomini and former Steeler RG Willie Colon (6-3, 315), with 79 starts, get after people. Slow-footed and penalty-ridden, Colon is thick and walls off defenders. LG Brian Winters (6-3½, 320), a third-round pick in '13, has improved after a shaky rookie season. A marginal athlete and bender, he's getting by on upper-body strength and bulk-based anchor.

QUARTERBACKS

Geno Smith (6-2½, 218), the 39th pick in '13, went 8-8 with a lowly 66.5 passer rating and 25 turnovers as a rookie. His increased level of comfort has been reflected in accuracy, poise in the pocket and faster reads. He has the arm to throw the deep out, a compact, high delivery and a tight spiral. Also, he scored 24 on the 50-question Wonderlic intelligence test and ran a 4.58 40. He fumbled 32 times at West Virginia and twice Sunday, due in part to small hands (9¼) and a rather reckless running style. Smith still has a long way to go as a leader, not throwing into traffic and performing better on the road (2-6 last year). The coaches encourage him to run and also to slide. In interviews, he has said the one QB he wishes to pattern himself after is Aaron Rodgers. Former Eagle-Falcon Michael Vick (6-0, 215), who is 1-4 against Green Bay, left the Eagles in March for one year and $4 million guaranteed. He's 34 with a passer rating of 80.9 and 36 rushing TDs. He played three snaps Sunday in a wildcat set. The Eagles wanted Vick back but he elected to reunite with Mornhinweg.

RUNNING BACKS

Chris Ivory (5-11½, 222) and Chris Johnson (5-11, 191) are 1-2 and tough guy Bilal Powell (5-10½, 204) plays an occasional third down. Ivory, a violent, super-charged ex-Saint, is a poor-man's Marshawn Lynch. A lousy receiver, Ivory seeks out contact, moves piles and has the speed (4.47) to go the distance. Giacomini compared him to "Beast Mode." Johnson, 28, can't run 4.26 anymore but still can fly and is dangerous on screens and sweeps. Powell, a 697-yard rusher in '13, runs hard and does nice work in the passing game.

DEFENSE

SCHEME

Dennis Thurman is the sixth-year coordinator but coach Rex Ryan designs and calls everything. The base is 3-4, but much like the Packers the Jets often convert to 4-3. Ryan loves overload blitzes, safety blitzes, double A gap deceptions and a one-gapping front. He prefers a one-deep shell combined with man coverage. Last week, he inserted WR Saalim Hakim (5-11, 188) twice on defense and tried to sneak him through on a blitz; half a dozen times he shifted WOLB Quinton Coples wide to bump a WR.

DEFENSIVE LINE

DE Muhammad Wilkerson (6-4, 315), NT Damon Harrison (6-2½, 350) and DT Sheldon Richardson (6-2½, 294) form a young, big and formidable front. Wilkerson, taken two picks (No. 30) before Green Bay drafted Derek Sherrod in 2011, rates a narrow edge. He wins using extremely long arms (35¼), excellent strength at the point, multiple pass-rush moves, balance and speed (4.97). Richardson, the NFL defensive rookie of the year as the 13th pick in '13, plays the three-technique. He runs fast (4.94), moves well laterally, gives all-out effort, has long arms (34½) and stacks the run when he keeps his pads down. Harrison, an undrafted rookie from Division II William Penn (Iowa) in '12, became a starter in '13 and is a bear to budge. He knifes through openings, stays square and is relentless in pursuit. Backup NT Kenrick Ellis (6-5, 330), a third-round pick in '11, is effective, too.

LINEBACKERS

SILB David Harris (6-2, 250), an eight-year starter, plays every down and runs the defense. He's physical taking on blocks and bulling blockers on blitzes. Although he lacks a little speed and some agility, he is a smart, consistent, tough player. Improving, emotional WILB Demario Davis (6-2, 235), a third-round pick in '12 from Arkansas State, uses great speed (4.53) to chase wide and cover. He is less effective on plays at him, and his anticipation is questionable. SOLB Calvin Pace (6-4, 265) has 52 sacks in 126 starts for the Jets and Cardinals. At 33, he has average speed, is limited in man coverage and will miss open-field tackles. Nevertheless, he has adequate rush get-off, gets his arms up and always seems to be hovering ready to clean up. Coples (6-5½, 281), the 16th pick in '12, is athletic enough to operate in space, is quick and has strength. He just doesn't try hard often enough. Energetic Jason Babin (6-2½, 260), 34 and with his seventh team, still has legitimate first-step quickness as a situational edge rusher.

SECONDARY

The best player, rookie FS Calvin Pryor (5-11, 207), is a devastating hitter. Ryan compared him to Raiders legendary hammer Jack Tatum. Pryor isn't fast (4.62) but, despite traces of excessive aggressiveness, has yet to be exploited deep. SS Dawan Landry (6-1, 210), a fifth-round pick by Baltimore in '06, has started 113 games for the Ravens, Jaguars and Jets. Teams don't want him because of his speed (4.7) or ball skills. Plus, he lacks short-area quickness and man-cover skills. But Landry is a strong leader and throws his body around supporting the run in the box. The Jets hope CB Dee Milliner (6-0, 201) will return from a month's hiatus (ankle) to play extensively outside. The ninth pick in '13, he struggled most of his rookie season. He does have burst (4.38) to close, shows patience in press and is an OK tackler. He also has terrible hands and isn't deft at the ball. On Sunday, it was ex-SS Antonio Allen (6-1½, 202) and Darrin Walls (6-0, 190) outside with veteran Kyle Wilson (5-10, 190) inside. Allen, who never played corner before mid-August, runs merely 4.59. Walls, a four-year backup, isn't explosive but has been steady. Wilson, the 29th pick in '10, has quick feet but isn't physical tackling or pressing.

SPECIAL TEAMS

K Nick Folk, an eight-year regular for the Cowboys and Jets, is reliable. Second-year P Ryan Quigley is below average. Rookie Jalen Saunders, a fourth-round pick, returns punts and Hakim, a speedster, is a threat returning kickoffs. ILB Nick Bellore, from Whitefish Bay, leads units coordinated for the first year by Thomas McGaughey.

GAME-BREAKER

Like the Packers, the Jets also have three solid running backs and play them all. The main threats are former Titan Chris Johnson (33 snaps in the opener) and former Saint Chris Ivory (30). Johnson isn't the dynamo that he was for Tennessee in 2009 with 2,006 yards but did score 10 touchdowns last year and had 91 total yards Sunday in a 19-14 victory over Oakland. Meanwhile, Ivory scored the winning TD on a 71-yard run in which he broke several tackles. His 10 carries were worth 102 yards as the Jets rushed for 212 in all (6.2-yard average).

WEAKEST LINK

When the Jets advanced to the AFC Championship Game in 2009 and 2010, coach Rex Ryan had a lockdown cornerback in Darrelle Revis to support his blitz scheme. Antonio Cromartie tried assuming that role the past three seasons. Revis wanted to return in March but the Jets paid him no heed even after releasing Cromartie on March 10. They made a push for Denver's Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie but he went to the Giants instead for $13.98 million guaranteed. So now GM John Idzik is sitting on $21.07 million of cap room and watching his pedestrian corners try to cover.

McGINN'S VIEW

Rookie FS Calvin Pryor played all 51 snaps Sunday in the Jets' victory over the Raiders. He had one jarring tackle, one pass defensed and one interception dropped that might have been returned for a touchdown.

In Seattle, rookie FS Ha Ha Clinton-Dix played 40 of 70 snaps in a rotation with Morgan Burnett and Micah Hyde. He made five tackles and missed three. He probably should have intercepted a long pass. He also reacted poorly on the Seahawks' two longest pass completions.

The Jets and Packers had a void at safety last season. With the 18th pick in May, New York selected Pryor. With the 21st selection, Green Bay chose Clinton-Dix.

There was disagreement over the top safety. Obviously, the Jets preferred Pryor. The Packers preferred Clinton-Dix but still probably would have taken Pryor at 21 if the Alabama product hadn't been available.

Neither safety has good speed, at least not when compared to their peers at the position.

You only need to watch Pryor for 10 minutes to detect his heat-seeking missile style of play. GM Ted Thompson admitted blow-up type safeties gave him pause because of injury, penalty and suspension.

Scouts said Clinton-Dix wouldn't hit like Pryor. They also said Clinton-Dix was the better athlete of the two.

Those two players will be linked by fans of the Packers and Jets. Their career paths will be monitored closely.