Rssurection of the old Bears 46 Defense tonight?

[CaptainKickass]

Just heard on ESPN that Dom Capers and the Green Bay Packers may show some of the old Bears 46 defense against - The Bears of all teams - tonight on MNF.

There have been some past discussions of the pro's and con's of the 46 on here before, and I 'd like to know what y'all think.

Why would Dom do this (if true)?

What personnel would Dom use for this look? And -

What situations would you think he would use it in?

.

[hoosier]

Just heard on ESPN that Dom Capers and the Green Bay Packers may show some of the old Bears 46 defense against - The Bears of all teams - tonight on MNF.

There have been some past discussions of the pro's and con's of the 46 on here before, and I 'd like to know what y'all think.

Why would Dom do this (if true)?

What personnel would Dom use for this look? And -

What situations would you think he would use it in?

.

Hard to imagine them doing that. Do they even have four healthy DL right now? I suppose if Pickett is able to go they could use Wynn or Wilson at LE but then why would they do that when their LBs are clearly better than either of those guys and they seem to be generating sufficient pressure with the 3-4?

[CaptainKickass]

Just heard on ESPN that Dom Capers and the Green Bay Packers may show some of the old Bears 46 defense against - The Bears of all teams - tonight on MNF.

There have been some past discussions of the pro's and con's of the 46 on here before, and I 'd like to know what y'all think.

Why would Dom do this (if true)?

What personnel would Dom use for this look? And -

What situations would you think he would use it in?

.

Hard to imagine them doing that. Do they even have four healthy DL right now? I suppose if Pickett is able to go they could use Wynn or Wilson at LE but then why would they do that when their LBs are clearly better than either of those guys and they seem to be generating sufficient pressure with the 3-4?

No idea - these are more detailed reasons that provoked my questions.

Let's just assume it's true. Speculate on personnel, and what situations this might be effective?

[Lurker64]

Hard to imagine them doing that. Do they even have four healthy DL right now? I suppose if Pickett is able to go they could use Wynn or Wilson at LE but then why would they do that when their LBs are clearly better than either of those guys and they seem to be generating sufficient pressure with the 3-4?

Keep in mind that the 46 was designed for 4-3 personnel, constituting 2 big DL, and 2 smaller DL. The main feature of the defense is that you have both OLBs (4-3 OLBs) on the strong side, with the DL shifted and the SS and MLB on the weak side.

Wouldn't be surprised to see Capers whip out something based on the same principles. We wouldn't roll with 4 big men, but we could do 3 and an OLB or something playing an inside technique. The thing that obsoleted the 46 was that it was really vulnerable to super-quick passing attacks, and when the WCO was in vogue it became sort of unsupportable. Mike Martz has never been known for his love of short, quick passes.

It is, however, still good against the run and it's good at generating pressure. Which is why you see the Ryan boys (Rex and Rob) pull it out every once in a while. Though this may be filial piety, since the 46 was their daddy's defense. Simiarly, you see Wade running Bum Phillips' 3-4 (plus the zone blitzing concepts that Capers and LeBeau invented) down there in Dallas.

[HarveyWallbangers]

If they were going to do it, I doubt you'd hear about it ahead of time.

[CaptainKickass]

If they were going to do it, I doubt you'd hear about it ahead of time.

I agree - but it also wouldn't be the first time a new "look" or wrinkle was advertised before a game.

I heard it on ESPN radio dot com so whether there's any truth to it, I don't know.

I'm heading out to a friends house for the game - I'll try to keep tabs on this site during the game on my dumb-phone's browser - depending on my beer consumption of course.

[pbmax]

Its not actual news. Its news-like. Capers has been running a Bear front occasionally since last year. They ran it against Buffalo, for instance. The 2 OLBs on one side is just one way to implement it.

[pbmax]

From McGinn's end of season grades last year (http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:v_sJyqnJDMMJ:www.jsonline.com/sports/packers/81902587.html+%22bear+defense%22+site:jsonline.com/sports/packers&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us):


Brandon Chillar: Versatility led to four-year, $21 million contract extension in December. Played WILB and SS in base, played on the line in "Bear" defense and covered kicks. Highly athletic, runs well for his size and might be adequate at the point. Didn't produce on blitzes (six pressures in 72 shots) and short-circuited a surprising number of times in coverage. Might not be able to hold up physically if he had to start. Grade: C

[NewsBruin]

Coaches and players will let some stuff slip at the production meetings a few days before the game, under some agreement of what will and won't be spilled before the game.

I have no clue whether the "Bear" front is a component of the 46 or not. It makes me want to pick up a copy of Blood, Sweat, and Chalk (http://www.amazon.com/Sports-Illustrated-Blood-Sweat-Chalk/dp/1603200614/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1285639830&sr=1-1). It seems pretty informative, although after reading some of the critical reader reviews, it might not be as helpful as I hoped.