What the 3-4 Defense Needs

by Brandon on Jul 10, 2009 8:00 AM CDT in Looking Ahead to 2009 Comment 6 comments

More photos » by Jim Prisching - AP

Jamie Dukes is not my favorite NFL writer, but his five key ingredients needed for a 3-4 defense didn't sound crazy so I thought I would see if the Packers have got what Dukes thinks it takes:

1. Football IQ: The 3-4 requires players to have a reasonable football IQ, and it can’t be mastered overnight, even if the defensive coordinator knows the scheme like the back of his hand. The Tampa 2 was the last trendy defense to take the NFL by storm, but for all its wonderment, the byproduct was turning players into robots.

2. Elephant: This is the NFL’s equivalent of a hybrid. He is part defensive end, part linebacker, and is athletic enough to have limited coverage skills and physical enough to dominate an offensive tackle. DeMarcus Ware, Adalius Thomas, Terrell Suggs, Shawne Merriman and LaMarr Woodley are examples.

3. Sidekick: This is another outside linebacker (like Greg Ellis, Mike Vrabel, Shaun Phillips and James Harrison) who has coverage skills but also can dominate a running back and occasionally beat an offensive tackle.

4. Power pig: A 3-4 defense must have a nose guard who commands a double team on run plays. He has to be the master between the guards.

5. The 5 Techniques: You need two defensive ends who can control the line of scrimmage. They need to be able to beat one-on-one matchups on pass plays but must be dominant in stopping the run.

This is why defensive coordinator Dom Capers said FS Nick Collins should have attended all the voluntary offseason work. Although I expect he'll be just fine by the start of the season.
Elephant is the new role for LB Aaron Kampman. Obviously he can play like a defensive end, but we'll have to see if he's part linebacker too.
LB Clay Matthews was drafted to fill this role, but he missed most of the minicamp with a bad hamstring. LB Jeremy Thompson played in his place, but he's still working on the transition from defensive end. It's possible LB Brady Poppinga and rookie 7th round LB Brad Jones could compete for the job too. LB Brandon Chillar seems locked in as the top backup at middle linebacker.
Right now the Power Pig is NT Ryan Pickett, but Greg Bedard doesn't expect Pickett is in the team's plans long-term. The future is NT B.J. Raji, and he could become a great anchor in the middle of the line.
While the future for Raji is in the middle, his present is outside at defensive end, along with DE Cullen Jenkins. They both should be able to handle the duties of run stopper and effective pass rusher.

There are some question marks here. Will Collins learn the defense? Can Kampman make the transition? But all of the expected starters have either been successful (Collins, Kampman, Pickett) or are highly regarded rookies (Raji and Matthews). There are going to be bumps in the road, but the pieces are in place to make the 3-4 defense work.

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We'll be fine

I agree. Some bumps, but I think when Capers said that they’ll still mix some 4-3 in there, that gave me some assurance that things will go fine.

by Tim V on Jul 10, 2009 10:31 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Capers

I think Capers was the perfect hire, even better than Nolan, Williams or Haslett! Possible exception of Williams. He has the HC experience, but won’t be looking for that role in GB like maybe the others would. His 34 D is going to be a transition but I definitely think we have the players to make it work. Especially after the drafting of Raji and Matthews.

I even like the idea of the 2-4-5 defense… THink about it! You have Raji and Jenkins lining up as the DT, but you don’t have the other 1 or 2 traditional DE, what you do have is 4 LB and any combination of them could provide the other pass rushers and they could be coming from any angle or overloading any area of the OL. So while you have to commit the 3 interior OL to keep Raji and Jenkins out of the QB’s face, you still have any of 4 LB’s coming in any combination.

You could even make it an easy conversion to the 43 at the last second by having Kampman and the other OLB put their hands on the ground…

Capers is going to make this D very respectable this season, maybe not top 10 but very good and MUCH improved last year!

by Strohman on Jul 10, 2009 1:51 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

you better hope it gets better

cause that defense that showed up in 08 sure isnt gonna get you anywhere

sugar + water + purple

by Grape Drank on Jul 10, 2009 8:05 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Nope it's not

With an average D we would have won the division in 08’. In 07’ we were 11th in overall defense, which is a little above average. We didn’t lose anybody in 08’ and I don’t feel like any of our players play started to decline because of age. When we get all our guys back healthy, I don’t think there is any reason to think we won’t be at least average. When our D is healthy it’s one of the better ones in the league. The transition will be a tough one to make no doubt, but we have a lot of very skilled players on defense and I don’t think our D will be as bad as it was last year.

by packallday555 on Jul 11, 2009 1:05 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs