Flexibility and the nickel defense

Satori"...going where the climate suits my clothes"

Does any of this make sense ?

In years' past GB has played a lot of 2-4-5 nickel which fits the DBs because it gets Shields, Tramon and Hayward ( woodson) all on the field

But on the LB/DL mix, GB didn't have a 3rd DL they wanted on the field more than the LBs and unfortunately teams were able to run on that alignment quite well. They also attacked Hawk & Bishop in the passing game while handling the 2- man DL rush

With the addition of Datone Jones and the training of Neal at OLB- it seems like GB could be better served with a 3-3-5 alignment

Neal-Raji-D.Jones at DL and you don't know for sure if Neal / Jones are rushing or dropping. Confusion is a good thing

Perry - B. Jones- Matthews at LB and again, you don't know who is rushing and who is dropping which was part of the Capers tactics with the original fire zones. You can also sub in a coverage safety like Richardson as the ILB on obvious passing downs- so the offense can't always target Brad Jones in coverage on a TE or RB

More DL might help shut down the run as well

Flexibility and uncertainty is a big part of what makes TEs so valuable in modern offenses- you don't know if they are blocking or catching on each play

I think its the same thing here- with flexible DL / LBs- an offense doesn't know what they are doing on each play and that confusion is what Capers has always been after in his multiple formations and schemes.

CJ Wilson wasn't a threat to drop or to rush the passer- but a versatile DL like Jones and now Neal is a problem for offensive coordinators to plan around. And Nick Perry fits the flexible mode as well because he can rush standing up or drop down onto the DL in a 3 point stance.

With the drafting of J.Worthy instead of Devon Still and Datone Jones instead of Sylvester Williams- it shows GB is moving away from the typical large-body 5 technique in favor of more versatile athletes on the DL

Blurring the lines of LB/DL seems like a valid defensive strategy IF you have the players to do it and I think GB does in 2013

Whaddya think ?

6/10/1311:53 AM

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BorisPerson Man Camera Dildo Shop - NFLFU®

I think it makes a lot of sense.

More athletes, more confusion should help keep opponents offense off-balance & keep their scoring under 20.

If we keep teams under 20, we should win a healthy amount of games & be happy come playoff time

6/10/1312:09 PM

Grave DiggerMember

I think Capers has the same philosophy on defense that McCarthy has on offense. He's not locked into one philosophy and he lets the game dictate which personnel he's going to use and how he's going to use them. McCarthy likes to have a lot of highly versatile toys to play with so that he has an answer for every conceivable scheme thrown at him. It's not a "we're going to run the ball right at you and make you stop us", it's a "oh so you're going to do that to try and stop us, okay then I'm going to do this to beat that and when you change to beat that I'm going to do this to beat that".

Capers is the same way I think. In 2010 he had a stocked cabinet of toys to play with...Jenkins could rush inside/outside/hand in the dirt/standing up, Woodson could play OLB/SS/FS/CB/NB/DB, Collins could do the same, Tramon was viciously attacking the ball, Clay could be anywhere, Raji and Pickett stuffed the run, etc. Since then Woodson has been limited and slowing down, Tramon has been injured, Collins is gone, Raji has been neutralized, Pickett's getting old, etc. Now he has some toys again and can really be creative...Neal is becoming more versatile, Datone can do almost anything, Perry can stuff the run and pressure the edge, Moses has ridiculous edge speed, Clay can still be everywhere, Hayward is locking guys down, etc. Hopefully these players can live up to their abilities and Capers can use his mad scientist brain that helped win us a SB. Whether it's 2-4-5 or a 3-3-5 or a 1-5-5 or any combination, I think if the players play up their abilities then the D will be successful.

6/10/1312:12 PM

Music CityMember

In 2010 they played that amoeba defense where one guy had his hand down, no one had their hand down... They haven't had the DL to mix that in for a couple years. I think now they may. It's gonna be a great year...

6/10/132:07 PM

phaedrusMember

quote:
Neal-Raji-D.Jones at DL and you don't know for sure if Neal / Jones are rushing or dropping. Confusion is a good thing

I have extremely fond memories of a play where the offense likely did not know Raji was dropping!

As to the overall thought - makes a lot of sense to me.

6/10/133:27 PM

DH13Member

That would also make an interesting spin on those who thought several players on the current D are better suited for the 4-3. I know it's not exactly the same argument but it is adjacent. Cappers doesn't want either/or, he wants both.

6/10/137:40 PM

CavetoadHuge Member

I agree and think this may be able to fall back in the playbook, it's always been there...

But, since I am posting here in reference to your reference here based on the Bishop cut... I thought for a time he was our best LB at coverage, especially in the middle. At least that's what the media and pundits said, and I agreed.

But, younger faster stronger... maybe a 4.5 million dollar man wasn't needed.

6/11/1310:05 PM

TdogProspective Member

OLBs

http://www.packersnews.com/art...ckers?nclick_check=1

quote:
He'll(Perry) continue wearing some form of a cast to protect his wrist, but can't wait to make up for lost time this season.

not a huge concern but really?? don't these guy heal any faster and better than this? I thought they were pros.

6/21/139:12 AM

FedyaMember

Obviously they don't stretch the right way.

6/21/1312:30 PM

bubbleboy789Member

Raji played mostly end last year, with Pickett at nose. It'll be interesting to see if they put him back at nose or keep him at end.

6/21/1312:41 PM

Satori"...going where the climate suits my clothes"

These are comments from JSO after last years' game versus the Saints:

"Coordinator Dom Capers stood up at the defensive meeting Wednesday and introduced a new "dollar" package in which safety Jerron McMillian would replace linebacker D.J. Smith in the dime to provide a speedier player covering Sproles out of the backfield."

So, they were already taking the slower ILBs off the field and using a safety like Jerron McMillian or Sean Richardson in that "ILB" spot last year...It also helps explain the cutting of Bishop too

In a 3-3-5 alignment, the middle LB spot can be handled with a big safety instead of a 'backer and that adds speed /coverage ability to the defense

Puts 3 CBs and 3 safety's on the field with 3 DL and 2 OLBs. Both McMillian and Hayward are solid around the LOS, giving Capers some of the playmaking ability GB lost with Woodson's departure

DL ..... Neal-Raji-Jones

LB...Perry- McMillian- Matthews

CB...Shields- Hayward- Williams

S......Jennings - Burnett

That's a good looking defense on 3rd and long

6/23/135:56 PM

BorisPerson Man Camera Dildo Shop - NFLFU®

I'm not much of a MD Jennings fan but it does look good (so far)

6/23/136:11 PM

Satori"...going where the climate suits my clothes"

He's pretty good in coverage, but vs the run he bounces off like a pinball.
hard to watch. Allegedly he beefed up this offseason

6/23/136:18 PM

ammoCheese Master

I think it's not only speed but also smarts at LB. If the San Fran playoff game had gone another quarter Walden would still have been crashing inside and letting Kaperdick run wild outside. The replacements better be smarter.

6/23/137:39 PM

CoachAt the head of the table

Arguably will go down as the least missed FA loss since Colin "Rollerskates" Cole signed with Seattle.

6/23/139:04 PM

Timmy!TIMMAAAAYYY!!

LOL, Coach!

That may inspire a new thread..."Least missed FAs".
Cole.
Colledge.
Sharper.
Bert?

6/24/131:23 AM

Satori"...going where the climate suits my clothes"

MM made some interesting comments in his presser today and we might be able to tease out some nuggets from him:

“Datone, very talented young man," McCarthy said. "His injury at the end of training camp set him back. There’s a number of packages that he was a big part of, a primary part of, and frankly we really didn’t get to a lot of them just because of the way the season went with our injuries. Getting him back in the offseason, I feel he’s one of those second year players who take a huge jump. "

"We have to do a better job of utilizing our personnel," McCarthy said. "We’ve had a situation with our defense where there’s a lot of change, a lot of moving parts and we have to do a better job of planning for that and training that way starting in April. At the end of the day, Datone Jones needs to be on the field and being utilized. We have a lot of creativity in our defense and a lot of scheme, but the reality is we didn’t get to a lot of it this past year.

MM notes that injuries prevented GB from using some of the packages they had planned and I'm going to offer a guess here based on the 3-3-5 info I had read about last offseason

GB wanted to line up Neal and Perry as the OLBs with Raji, Daniels and Datone as the down lineman and Clay Matthews at ILB doing his thing. That's a pretty impressive pass rush crew, but it never came to fruition due to all the LB injuries

MM wants to have more packages available for Datone this year so that if injuries do strike again, they aren't so hamstrung

Just conjecture on my part after reading comments about the 3-3-5 last offseason and MM's multiple comments about "not emptying the gun"

2/21/1412:35 PM

HenryYou rang?

I would interject the idea of vets = versatility. Neither for nor against but the statements from Packers (not sure if it's Capers) would suggest the lack of experience hampers Capers defensive play calling. Not earth shattering but again speaks to what's happening in Capers scheme vs. position coaching.

2/21/1412:48 PM

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