although I started working on it at about noon, today, so we kind of tied.

you made pretty much the same points that I made in my post, but I’ll reiterate my main point of optimism: Dom Capers is a great guy to have around when making this change, and I’m hopeful that he can make it work.

and playing style to Aaron Kampman. At first I thought Kampman couldn’t be an outside rusher, but after remembering those two, I’ve changed my mind. He’s a football player.

Poppinga better bulk up a little and work on some pass rush moves. I think Barnett could play like a Larry Foote and Chillar would be pretty good inside too. AJ’s a little out of place though.

I suspect we changed to a 3-4 because of the coaches admiration for the playing ability of Cullen Jenkins who would be perfect as a 3-4 end.

Neither of those teams has a Julius Peppers type player at defensive end. It’s hard to name all six defensive players who start on the line for those two teams. Basically they both go with three defensive tackles. If the 2009 season started today, and everyone was healthy, it would probably be Harrell, Pickett and Jenkins.

That said, who knows if Harrell and Jenkins will be healthy. Harrell can’t stay healthy, and Jenkins suffered a serious labrum tear. It’s possible they can’t count on either of them. And Pickett took a huge step back last season. There were only a couple games when Pickett really did anything.

At the least, they need to replace Pickett. Unless he was really playing through some bad injuries last season and deserves another chance. Still, they have to bring in some more bodies on the D-line. Kampman and last year’s 4th round pick, Jeremy Thompson, will probably be converted into outside linebackers. Johnny Jolly deserves to be somewhere in the D-line rotation. And I don’t want to see anyone other than Jolly, Harrell, Jenkins, and (maybe) Pickett back.

By the way, your showing your (young) age there. I saw someone else mention it in another post that the Packers used to play a lot of 3-4. I started watching the Packers in 1980, and from 1980 until 1993 (or 1994), the Packers were almost exclusively a 3-4 team. I’m betting the Packers were mostly 3-4 before that time too.

In the 1980s, Mike Douglass and John Anderson were two of the constants at linebacker in the 3-4. Then in the late 1980s, early 1990s, Brian Noble and Johnny Holland were fan favorites.

Could even be an OLB in this scheme, along the lines of a Shawn Merriman or a Jason Taylor. His greatest attribute is his speed and quickness of the edge, so putting him at DE in a 3-4 would be a mistake. Additionally, he’s proved that he is a capable defender playing the pass. His 6’7" frame, long arms, and Tarheel hops could certainly shut down enormous passing lanes with ease. If he’s in a 3-4, he’ll play OLB.

The first game I remember is the 95/96 loss to the Cowboys in the NFC Championship, so I can’t really be faulted here.

I am a very big fan of the 3-4, but i am pessimistic about it working in Green Bay. I just don’t see our linemen getting pressure on the QB while rushing 4. We will have more problems when we only bring 3.
I love having the flexibility that an extra LB gives us. We certainly have the athletic linebackers(Barnett, Hawk) to run this. Unfortunately, we would have to bring up at least one linebacker on EVERY play. No Gilbert Brown to hold down the middle on a running play and no pass rush when bringing 3.
Capers is an accomplished coach and we have plenty of options, so at the end of the day, we gotta trust the guys paid to make the decision. I’ll respect what they go with, but this is the way I see it.