Any relevance from Packers Blog

[Fritz]

Here's what I think:

I think, first, given Gregg Williams's statement that Green Bay offered him the coordinator's job, it seems clear that McCarthy's greatest priority was getting a defensive coordinator who had both experience as a coordinator and a good reputation. Those qualities seem to have trumped all others - an up-and-comer, the advantage of youth, it has to be a guy who uses___(fill in the blank) defensive scheme.

So it seems not to have mattered much to MM whether the scheme was 3-4 or 4-3. He just wanted someone with an excellent reputation (of the four we know he interviewed, Capers and Williams had the highest reputations) and experience as a coordinator.

Secondly, those people who call McCarthy into question because Williams turned down the job are in my estimation way, way overboard. Why is it so difficult to accept the possibility that a guy with a family might ask his family where they'd like to be? If his youngest son is a hot prospect as one article suggested, it would make sense to live and go to college in the south. Why do people think southern schools produce so many high-ranking football teams so consistently? The weather is warmer, you can play more throughout the year. So I wish people would give it up and stop attacking Williams, McCarthy, Thompson, whoever. Maybe Williams's stated reason for going to New Orleans is simply the truth.

Third, after all the talk about defensive linemen who might now be linebackers in a 3-4 - Jason Hunter, Kampman, Jeremy Thompson - my belief is not that the Packers need to draft or sign a bunch of linebackers - they appear to have a whole boatload suddenly if the above-named are in fact about to become linebackers. Kampman, Hunter, Thompson, Lansanah, Bishop, Chillar, Poppinga, Barnett, Hawk. That's eight. My belief is that the Packers are in dire need of big defensive linemen. A nose tackle or two to share time with Pickett, and a couple of stout defensive ends. And given those numbers of potential linebackers, maybe the Pack will ask Kampman to pack on a few pounds and stay at DE.

And finally, is Mike Montgomery just going to be history very soon? I don't know that I've seen his name come up once on any thread. Even Colin Cole and Justin Harrell get mentioned more than he does.

Uh, that's nine. Oops.

[vince]

I missed mentioning Montgomery Fritz, but yes, my opinion is that he's in no man's land. Maybe he can be a passing down specialist at DE, but I think you have better available for that. I think he'd get run over at DE and I don't see him having the skills to play OLB. Gone.

[Fritz]

I missed mentioning Montgomery Fritz, but yes, my opinion is that he's in no man's land. Maybe he can be a passing down specialist at DE, but I think you have better available for that. I think he'd get run over at DE and I don't see him having the skills to play OLB. Gone.

Mikey, we hardly knew ye. And neither did opposing quarterbacks.

[texaspackerbacker]

A lot more wrong than right in the posts above.

First of all, I wouldn't automatically believe McCarthy offered the job to Williams just because Williams says so. That's the kind of self-serving thing you'd expect someone to say. I think McCarthy clearly wanted a 3-4 guy.

As for the lineup, you guys, in many cases, deviated far from the obvious.

A large part of the reason for going 3-4 IMO was the presence of two probably outstanding ILBs--Barnett and Hawk (in that order). I see some of the same old crap of disrespecting Barnett in this thread. That's just wrong. Hawk would seem clearly to be more of an ILB/MLB in any scheme than OLB. Bishop should be a more than adequate backup.

All the talk about weakness, inadequacy of personnel, etc. is just wrong. We have plenty of depth all around, partly due to injuries last season. I think Kampman will stay at DE, although I think he could handle OLB also. Another often disrespected--unjustifiably IMO--is Montgomery, who I see as backing up Kampman at DE. Jenkins should thrive in the 3-4. I see Jolly as backing him up with Harrell more likely to back up Pickett in the middle. Cole is another guy who played better than many give him credit for. I think he could be a decent backup at NT or even DE in run situations.

At OLB, Chillar was primarily a blitz LB with the Rams, and he played decent coverage with the Packers. Popinga would seem to be better suited for the 3-4 also, as he played DE occasionally in passing situations last year and improved to some extent (less than I thought he would) in coverage. Thompson, I believe, might have been an early tip-off when he was drafted, that they wanted to go 3-4. He seems to have the makings of a proto-type 3-4 OLB. Hunter, as was said, didn't quite have the strength to play 4-3 DE, but should also be ideal in the 3-4.

I wouldn't be surprised if we didn't get any immediate contributors from the draft or free agency, and were still very solid and deep in the front seven. And, of course, few teams have the quality and quantity the Packers have at DB.

The detractors can whine all they want about how bad our personnel is, but the fact is, this team was solid on D in '07. It is more solid now. They could have handled any scheme personnel-wise. I'm reasonably satisfied that McCarthy chose the 3-4, though, as long as they don't get too carried away with blitzing, and as long as they stick with mostly man coverage. Capers talked about disguising coverages; That's fine for a change of pace too.

Barring injuries, I'm expecting great D this season to go along with outstanding offense.

Now, I suppose we will hear a lot of crap about why the doom and gloom types think it won't happen that way. Whatever.

[Gunakor]

Agree 100% about Barnett. He is too valuable to this team to not find a way to get him into the starting lineup. He's the leader of that defense, and the defensive meltdown of '08 immediately following his injury proves that IMO. Barnett's a keeper, though I could easily see Capers moving him outside in a 3-4. He's probably better off there than as a ILB in a 3-4.

That said, I'd imagine TT would make an offer to at least one of Baltimore's LB's that are likely to hit the market. They have 3 of them whose contracts expire at the end of this season, and I don't think they have the cap space to resign all 3 of them. If they resign Lewis and Suggs, then I'd definitely make a play at Bart Scott. I think they might just decide to let Ray Lewis go and hold onto Scott and Suggs, and I'd make an offer to Lewis in a heartbeat. Lewis is on the decline at this point, but that fiery attitude and unmatched leadership ability he would bring would be well worth the money it takes to get him.

And I am less convinced about Pickett as a NT than most here. But I don't see any good NT's hitting the market, so IMO #9 has to be used on a young physical beast to at least spell him this year and eventually take over as the full time starter. Move up if you have to. Whatever it takes, because I am convinced beyond a doubt that Pickett will not last a full season taking that kind of punishment given his injury history. That IMO has to be the #1 priority for TT this offseason if we are going to make a successful transition this year.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Whatever it takes, because I am convinced beyond a doubt that Pickett will not last a full season taking that kind of punishment given his injury history.

I could see you arguing based on his age, but the dude has been a virtual iron man in recent years. He's missed seven games in eight seasons, and five of those games came in his rookie year. He's played all 16 games in six of his last seven seasons. He missed two games in the other season.

[Gunakor]

Whatever it takes, because I am convinced beyond a doubt that Pickett will not last a full season taking that kind of punishment given his injury history.

I could see you arguing based on his age, but the dude has been a virtual iron man in recent years. He's missed seven games in eight seasons, and five of those games came in his rookie year. He's played all 16 games in six of his last seven seasons. He missed two games in the other season.

He's a tough guy, but that doesn't mean he isn't hurting. He played most of last season with a nagging hip injury, and wouldn't have lasted as long as he did if he were playing the nose. That's a whole 'nother ballgame, and he's going to get hammered every snap. He won't last. Guaranteed.

[pbmax]

I don't think you are going to see Kampman and Poppinga manning the outside together. That is too big and too immobile for two spots. If we play with a weak side, I think its more likely to be Barnett or Chillar at the WOLB.

About the Blog:

Vikings guy has a professional interest in snickering at the Packers, I take this with a grain of salt as he may not have seen a 3-4 since he was in middle school. And everyone not associated with the team and not a defensive/personnel savant is going to mostly remember last season's results and likely predict that the Packers have very little on the D side for any scheme.

Randy Mueller is not the Ron Wolf of his generation, so I discount by that immediately. The 3-4 defense he built for Saban and Capers stunk out loud, so exactly what experience is he drawing on? Perhaps he ought to rethink his approach?

But the oddest point was the comment that said opinion on Capers ran the gamut. Apparently the gamut in this case is pretty limited. The positive comment was glowing, the negative comment was from an offensive assistant who said he thought "he was a little overrated". If that's the worst thing Bedard can find, we seem to have done well by reputation.

[pbmax]

Whatever it takes, because I am convinced beyond a doubt that Pickett will not last a full season taking that kind of punishment given his injury history.

I could see you arguing based on his age, but the dude has been a virtual iron man in recent years. He's missed seven games in eight seasons, and five of those games came in his rookie year. He's played all 16 games in six of his last seven seasons. He missed two games in the other season.

He will need relief, but he also had an arm injury that seemed to hamper him.

[Waldo]

Whatever it takes, because I am convinced beyond a doubt that Pickett will not last a full season taking that kind of punishment given his injury history.

I could see you arguing based on his age, but the dude has been a virtual iron man in recent years. He's missed seven games in eight seasons, and five of those games came in his rookie year. He's played all 16 games in six of his last seven seasons. He missed two games in the other season.

He's a tough guy, but that doesn't mean he isn't hurting. He played most of last season with a nagging hip injury, and wouldn't have lasted as long as he did if he were playing the nose. That's a whole 'nother ballgame, and he's going to get hammered every snap. He won't last. Guaranteed.

The difference between a 1 gap 3-4 NT and a 1 tech DT is virtually negligible. After the initial step a 1 gap 3-4 NT and a 1 tech DT are in the same location.

Capers isn't installing a 2 gap system like NE runs. Pickett will play in the gap between the C and G, same as always. IMO Pickett is better than half the 3-4 NT's in the NFL anyway.

[Gunakor]

Whatever it takes, because I am convinced beyond a doubt that Pickett will not last a full season taking that kind of punishment given his injury history.

I could see you arguing based on his age, but the dude has been a virtual iron man in recent years. He's missed seven games in eight seasons, and five of those games came in his rookie year. He's played all 16 games in six of his last seven seasons. He missed two games in the other season.

He's a tough guy, but that doesn't mean he isn't hurting. He played most of last season with a nagging hip injury, and wouldn't have lasted as long as he did if he were playing the nose. That's a whole 'nother ballgame, and he's going to get hammered every snap. He won't last. Guaranteed.

The difference between a 1 gap 3-4 NT and a 1 tech DT is virtually negligible. After the initial step a 1 gap 3-4 NT and a 1 tech DT are in the same location.

Capers isn't installing a 2 gap system like NE runs. Pickett will play in the gap between the C and G, same as always. IMO Pickett is better than half the 3-4 NT's in the NFL anyway.

That would be to Pickett's benefit. I was under the assumption that Capers preferred a 2 gap system. Even still, he's going to need someone to spell him from time to time. Harrell won't get it done, and with Jolly likely playing end in a 3-4 we need to bring someone new in regardless.

[pbmax]

Capers participated/ran 2-gap in New Orleans and Pittsburgh early with the Nose on the Center. But I don't remember what it was in Carolina or Jacksonville.

And even if Pickett is aligned off-center, he may still be responsible for controlling two gaps before trying to penetrate.

[ND72]

I only got so far, and started noticing how everyone had Barnett not on the roster. I think it's hilarious. Our best athlete at LB, and everyone is ready to cut him before we even see what Capers does with him. good god people, shut up and wait to see what we do or how capers does it before you drop the man.

[Waldo]

The Packers have enough time and a baseline of talent to make this switch very easily. The 3-4 that Capers runs is not a two-gap 3-4 and uses quickness and movement of the defensive line to make plays. Ryan Pickett would be the perfect nose tackle in this scheme and they have plenty of 3-4 ends to make this work. The nose is never in a two-gap mode, he can swing from A gap to A gap in the same fashion he did when Pickett played in the 4-3. Quickness is the key for this to work and the Packers, once they get healthy, will be able to fit the pieces into the scheme. They will need more outside backers because they will keep Hawk and Barnett inside. But time is on their side and they can find the pieces to make this work. The can also use the Steelers to study and learn from since the Steelers, under Mike Tomlin, incorporated his style of tight man to man into their defense. The Packers will be more versatile in coverage now with Capers but cannot lose their identity in coverage. They are best when they can play man to man, and it will be Capers’ job to blend the best of the Packers into the best of his scheme. That is the essence of coaching.

http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/2009/01/national-football-post-diner-news-89/

[Bossman641]

Does anyone know if Suggs will be franchised? Baltimore franchised him last year if I remember right, but I don't think there was any agreement reached then about only franchising him for one year. I'm under the assumption they will do the same this year.

Crap - meant to post this in the FA thread.