Pickett And Raji Switch Positions

[pbmax]

According to Cover It Live blogger Greg A. Bedard of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Twitter, Greg_A_Bedard:
Both Raji and Pickett confirmed they have switched positions. Raji is now starting nose, Pickett at left end. It is permanent. #packers

[pbmax]

And Underwood has had himself cloned:

Greg_A_Bedard:
Underwood is at LC with Underwood on other side. Lee at nickel
Wednesday May 19, 2010 12:24

Greg_A_Bedard
12:24
Underwood is at LC with Underwood on other side. Lee at nickel

[hoosier]

Pickett and Raji switching surprises me. Hopefully that means Raji is starting to show signs of developing. I wonder if Johnny Jolly is starting to feel like the odd man out.

[Lurker64]

Well, I don't think who lines up as NT on the very first snap is kind of irrelevant. We'll rotate all over the DL, so Pickett and Raji may well both end up playing snaps at NT as the game progresses. I think all this really does signal is that they're not going to be lining up Raji at the 5 anymore, which is probably a good decision since his lack of length made him farm from ideal for that position.

This also likely signals that the Packers intend to play hardball with Jolly, since if the starting DL is Jenkins, Raji, Pickett we're not giving up that much without Jolly.

The only thing is, though, that I'd expect the Packers to substitute for Pickett a fair bit since he'll also be the backup at NT. Whether the first guy in is Jolly or Neal, it remains to be seen.

[Tony Oday]

This was the plan the entire time. We all talked about this last year adnaseum. Raji at End the 1st year then slide him over to NT and slide Pickett out.

[Lurker64]

And Underwood has had himself cloned:

Greg_A_Bedard:
Underwood is at LC with Underwood on other side. Lee at nickel
Wednesday May 19, 2010 12:24

Greg_A_Bedard
12:24
Underwood is at LC with Underwood on other side. Lee at nickel

Does this mean we can legally have 12 men on the field on defense, if two of them are the same person?

That would certainly help the pass defense.

[wist43]

This is Dom's idea of tweaking a unit that got slaughtered for 51 pts in the playoff loss???

I'm not thrilled with this move...

Pickett is a NT, period. Raji can play just about anywhere... but, I'd rather see him stay a fresher and used at DT/DE in obvious pass rushing situations.

Playing nose can only serve to beat Raji down and negate his pass rush... and, as I would think is obvious, Pickett isn't a DE in any scheme.

[RashanGary]

I'm surprised. Pickett seems like a nose and only a nose, but these guys know better than me.


It's going to be really interesting to see how this thing shakes out this year. We have quite a bit of talent on the DL. How it all gets divvied up, it's not nearly as cut and dry as last year when we had just enough lineman to go around. Now there will be choices. . . Who plays more, who plays where, I don't know. There are so many options, I could list scenario after scenario and eventually his something close to what happens. Last year, I hit it right on the head and was pretty sure I was right when I called it. This year, I have no clue. It could change matchup by matchup and will probably evolve over the course of the season. There aren't enough snaps to go around. We'll see how that rotation rounds out.

[Joemailman]

And Underwood has had himself cloned:

Greg_A_Bedard:
Underwood is at LC with Underwood on other side. Lee at nickel
Wednesday May 19, 2010 12:24

Greg_A_Bedard
12:24
Underwood is at LC with Underwood on other side. Lee at nickel

He hasn't cloned himself. He has great range!

[Lurker64]

This is Dom's idea of tweaking a unit that got slaughtered for 51 pts in the playoff loss???.

Yes.... since every single change to the defense over the offseason was unveiled by the second day of OTAs despite the fact that 3 guys who started a lot of games last year were not in attendance because they haven't signed their tenders.

Tomorrow in OTAs, McCarthy will demonstrate the entirety of his offensive playbook for the media.

[ThunderDan]

The only thing is, though, that I'd expect the Packers to substitute for Pickett a fair bit since he'll also be the backup at NT. Whether the first guy in is Jolly or Neal, it remains to be seen.

It's Harrell off the bench first, remember Justine Harrell.

[wist43]

This is Dom's idea of tweaking a unit that got slaughtered for 51 pts in the playoff loss???.

Yes.... since every single change to the defense over the offseason was unveiled by the second day of OTAs despite the fact that 3 guys who started a lot of games last year were not in attendance because they haven't signed their tenders.

Tomorrow in OTAs, McCarthy will demonstrate the entirety of his offensive playbook for the media.

The incredulity is born out of what should be obvious, i.e. Pickett is a NT - period; and, Raji has big upside as an interior pass rusher.

These 2 facts seem to have escaped Ernest Dominic

[bobblehead]

The only thing is, though, that I'd expect the Packers to substitute for Pickett a fair bit since he'll also be the backup at NT. Whether the first guy in is Jolly or Neal, it remains to be seen.

It's Harrell off the bench first, remember Justine Harrell.

Who??

I'll be honest though, I don't truly get this move. Pickett played pretty damn good at NT last year....Maybe they think Raji will be just as good and are preparing for a Jolly suspension or something.

[Joemailman]

(Ryan Pickett lined up at defensive end. Can you talk about the thinking there?)
Ryan's a true pro. He's played the nose, the three-technique, and he's played some end. The four-technique is a little different for him, and the five-technique. I think it just shows his flexibility. We're just, once again, in Year 2 of our defense, just like the other two phases, we've had a chance to go back and evaluate our schemes and concepts that we used last year, how we can better utilize our players, moving some players around to give us some flexibility to make sure we have those options throughout the course of a 16-game season, and that's definitely one of them, trying to get Ryan more on the field. I think it just says a lot about him as a person and his flexibility as a player. I think with Ryan being down in the trenches, sometimes people lose sight. He has exceptional foot quickness and he definitely has the ability to get out there and play a five-technique.

This doesn't sound like a situation where Raji is going to play NT all the time, and Pickett is going to play DE all the time. My guess is they feel Pickett may be able to do a better job at DE of occupying two blockers than Raji does, thereby freeing up the SOLB to make plays.

[Joemailman]

Speaking of position changes, when Will Blackmon returns from his knee rehabilitation, he will be at Safety. http://blogs.greenbaypressgazette.co...s/gpg/insider/