Monday, January 19, 2009

Packers Change Defense

Good.

After being an admirer of the 3-4 defense for quite some time, Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy became an advocate of it Monday.

Not only will he allow newly hired defensive coordinator Dom Capers to run it next season, he will sell it to every one of the defensive players in his locker room.

Regardless of their roles in the 4-3 the past three years, he’s confident there is a place for them in the 3-4.

I’ve always preferred the 3-4 defense.  A three man rush can be very effective if you have three good guys.  And having four line backers provides you more opportunity for creative blitzes and a better screen for stopping the run.  The key is having the right personnel and I’m not confident the Packers have it right now, so this is probably an indication that they are certainly in a transition mode.

(7) Comments
Posted by Owen at 2323 hrs
Off-Duty

  1. You can’t generate a good pass rush with 3 guys. There’s 5 guys on the offense line - so that means you can double team two of them, and if you leave in the tight end you can double all of them.

    Any good QB in the NFL will always complete a pass if they have enough time. You can’t cover everyone on the field for very long.

    3-4 just sucks.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on January 20, 2009 at 0005 hrs


  2. I think that McCarthy just signed his own termination papers with that move, and maybe Thompson’s as well.  The players don’t like it, and most of the players we have right now don’t fit that scheme.

    That means either rebuilding the whole defensive personnel or putting players into a scheme that won’t work for them.  Next year will be another losing season.

    Posted by capper on January 20, 2009 at 0131 hrs


  3. This reminds me of the zone blocking scheme that McCarthy uses for the run. We had excellent straight blockers - big guys who could pass protect extremely well. They aren’t the guys that are nimble and quick like you need for zone blocking.

    Did Thompson even bother drafting offensive lineman that could do a better job in that scheme? No.

    7-9 for next year.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on January 20, 2009 at 0816 hrs


  4. As a VIKINGS fan i have to welcome the switch.
    i dont think you have the guys for a 3-4 scheme.
    and since mr thompson isnt big on finding guys in the free agency period he will have to draft players for the scheme.
    and that means more lean years for the pack until the players get ready.
    i cant wait.
    and by then they will fire mccarthy and thompson and that means another regime change.
    sorry for licking my chops in anticipation

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on January 20, 2009 at 1639 hrs


  5. Whatever the merits or demerits of the 3-4 defense coupled with present Packer personnel, it won’t be any worse than that with which they performed this past season.

    I expect that Capers will run it efficiently.

    Posted by Steve Burri on January 20, 2009 at 2045 hrs


  6. Hey Bill-

    Before you decide to shoot down the notion of a 3-4 Defense, I just checked with NFL.Com on the top 10 defenses in the league.  It is pretty even between 3-4 and 4-3 D’s.  Oh and a few of those defenses like the Ravens, Steelers and Chargers have in recent memory made repeat visits to the top 10 under a 3-4 system.  Your notion that, “You can’t generate a good pass rush with 3 guys. There’s 5 guys on the offense line,” totally negates the fact that you have four linebackers who all don’t drop back into coverage. 

    I don’t know about you, but I think whatever the Steeler’s are doing with a 3-4 seems to keep putting QB’s on their asses.  I’m not saying I favor one over the other - because it’s all about how you employ the right personnel to fit the schemes. 
    The real question will be as Bigdog stated, what happens with personnel to make this system work.  They need to make moves in free agency and if they don’t their D will look like crap again.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on January 21, 2009 at 0007 hrs


  7. “you have four linebackers who all don’t drop back into coverage.”

    Alas, if there’s one thing we know, 3 of the Packers top 4 linebackers lack coverage skills.  So it doesn’t help when the opponent always knows which LB is in coverage.  It’s guessing about which LB is blitzing that makes a 3-4 effective.

    And if Hawk has the Big Play skills for a 3-4 rushing LB, I have yet to see it.

    I remember about a Badgers coach from years back who was hired because he knew the Veer offense so well.  But the Badgers lacked the personnel, yet he ran it anyway.  And for 2 years he recruited Veer-able players.

    And by then his results were so poor he was fired.  And so the new coach had to try to get Veer players to play the Pro Set or something.  So his results were awful for years, too.

    Here we go again.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on January 21, 2009 at 1920 hrs


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