I spent part of my Sunday this past weekend by relaxing and watching the replay of the Green Bay Packers second preseason football game against the Buffalo Bills at Lambeau Field on NFL Network. I followed the first half on my cell phone the night before, but was happy I got to watch the game in its entirety, especially as the starters on both sides of the ball played virtually the entire first half. The Packers won the game 31-21 to improve to 2-0 in preseason play. Aaron Rodger’s and the first team offense took over from where they left off a week earlier against Cleveland, scoring three touchdowns on five possessions. However, the offense was not what stood out to me the most. The Packer’s defense is what surprised me the most.
It has been well documented that with the hire of newly Defensive Coordinator, Dom Capers the Green Bay Packers will be making the transition from a 4-3 to the 3-4 defensive scheme. When I first heard of the Packer’s decision to hire Dom Capers and transition to the 3-4 defense, I was skeptical. Most probably because the biggest change in the new scheme involves moving Aaron Kampman from his DE position to OLB. Moving an all-pro player who has had 50.5 career sacks from the “rush end” position in the 4-3 defense, with 37 of those coming over the last three seasons to a “standing up” OLB in the 3-4 defense just sounds crazy. At first glance, I totally disagreed with the change. Moving Kampman from run only responsibility and then to run and pass coverage responsibilities in the 3-4 defense sounded like it will be too much. I was also not sure if Kampman would be a good enough athlete to be able to make the change.
However, after reading about the Packer’s first preseason game and watching the second, I now have a different outlook on the 3-4 scheme granted that this is only after two preseason games. Preseason play is nothing to get overly excited about and at the same time overly concerned about as well, but after watching the game it is evident that the change is moving in the right direction. I mean after last year’s season in which the Green Bay Packers finished with only their second losing season since 1992 at 6-10 and 20th in total defense in the NFL allowing 334.3 yards per game, why not make a change? They also ranked 26th in run defense and 12th against the pass. As stated before this is exactly what the Packers did when they hired Dom Capers. Also, Dom Capers has had a reputation for being an integral part of the formation of the 3-4 defense in the NFL. The defense first gained its popularity with the Pittsburg Steelers in the 90s, where Dom Capers served as an assistant coach and gave the team its reputation as “Blitzburgh.” Dom Capers success rate can be seen in his first years as Defensive Coordinator with his new team. He has a very goof track record. In 1998, Dom Capers took the Jacksonville Jaguars from 25th overall in total defense to 4th and in 2005 he took the Miami Dolphins from 18th overall in total defense to 4th as well under his first year. Hopefully this trend will continue with the Packers. Overall, I believe there are two main reasons as to why the Packer 3-4 defensive scheme will be successful. One, they have the right personnel to fit the scheme and secondly, the element of unfamiliarity.
The first main reason as to why I believe the Packers will be successful under the 3-4 defensive scheme is because they have the right players on their roster to fit the scheme. Basically, 3-4 defense uses three down lineman and four linebackers. The main strength is that it disguises blitzes, coverages, and to confuse QB’s and blockers with lots of movement. By shifting formations and having both the linebacker and secondary corps moving around constantly it can become a challenge for an opposing offense, especially if they have not seen much of the 3-4 defense. I am convinced the Packers have the right players to fit the scheme. The 3-4 is a very aggressive scheme. The 3-4 defense allows linebackers to “run free” and make reads, react, and then to fill gaps by using three down lineman to plug holes and take up space. The Packers have veteran NT Ryan Pickett and rookie first round draft pick B.J. Raji that are both capable of requiring two blockers and to blow up the middle of the line by penetrating into the backfield. At DE the Packers will have Cullen Jenkins, Johnny Jolly, and Michael Montgomery to hold up blockers as well. This defensive line will take up space, free up the Packers linebackers, and allow them to make plays which I believe is the Packers strongest unit overall closely ahead of the wide receivers. With linebackers Aaron Kampman, Nick Barnett, A.J. Hawk, Brady Poppinga, Brandon Chillar, Jeremy Thompson, Desmond Bishop, and their second overall first round pick Clay Matthews there is only reason to believe they will succeed in the 3-4 defense. Needless to say, all of these players are very capable of making plays on the field. Before I forget to mention it, the Packer’s secondary is also very capable of fitting into this system. With Al Harris and Charles Woodson at corner, pass defense has been a strength of the defense in years past. SS Nick Colins and FS Atari Bigby fit the scheme good as well in both man and zone coverages. So, this has been evident in the first two games of the preseason. I watched the replay of Saturday night’s games against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday with much excitement. The Packers first team defense was flying around the field making plays. Through two preseason games the Packers defense under the new 3-4 scheme has forced nine turnovers. Aaron Kampman, this player who has had to make the biggest role change seems to be playing good in both run and pass coverage responsibilities in the scheme. He does not necessarily need to “blanket” receiver in coverage. He only needs to get into passing lanes, cut routes, and stay close behind under the receivers so that the QB will be forced to put more air under the ball. This will allow the secondary to fly to the ball and make plays.
The second main reason as to why I believe the Packers will be successful under the 3-4 defensive scheme is the element of unfamiliarity. As stated before the 3-4 is not very relevant in the NFL. Only 13 teams total will use the 3-4 defense entering the 2009 season, with most notably the Pittsburgh Steelers, Baltimore Ravens, and Dallas Cowboys who year in and year out rank near the top in total defense. The Packers will also be only one of three teams in the NFC and the only team in the NFC North that will use the scheme. I believe that this will only help the Packers, because when week in and week out the opposing teams will be preparing for the more common 4-3 defensive scheme, they will find it difficult with only one week to prepare and then in a live game situation to make adjustments. With the Packers playing the NFC and then their divisional rivals unfamiliar with the scheme and also all three teams making major changes at the QB position(Vikings: Favre, Bears: Cutler, & Lions: Stafford), I only believe this will make the Packers defense successful and help the team improve from last year. As the preseason and regular season goes on the Packer’s players are only going to become more comfortable in their new 3-4 defensive scheme and I believe this is only going to be bad news for the Packer’s opponents and NFC North. GO PACK!!!
