Packers Defense Studies the Read-Option

Hola Juanny.

As in most NFL games, my guess is that the 49ers will run some option read early to see how & if the Packers defend it. 

I think the Packers main focus will be on stopping SF's running game, whether it's read-option, zone, power, etc. I think they will want to force Kaepernick to beat them with his arm. I anticipate a spy on him at all times, much in the way the Packers did with Vick in 2010 by having Collins spy him. That will limit, not stop, but limit is productivity when scrambling. I don't think Kaep can win with his arm, not without Crabtree, and not with the way the Packers DBs are looking. Tramon, Hayward, and Shields will bait him like crazy and eat his lunch when he tries to burn them. 

My hope is that when we spy Kaepernick, we do it with someone faster than Eric Walden

screw spying him.  play sound defense and hit him hard if he tries to run.

plus, give him looks the rook has most likely not seen.  a confused QB is always fun on the grill.

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I anticipate a spy on him at all times, much in the way the Packers did with Vick in 2010 by having Collins spy him.

Yes, but the Packers don't have Collins any more. 

 

JUANNY ZAMBONI MERCEDES!!!  

 

 

 

Stupid, fat, big, slow, inbred, puppy molester . . . 

Did you just describe Terrell Owens??

All they need to stop the 49ers is Antuan Edwards in rounds one, two and three. iow, overreact. It would be mandy ross all over again.

John Madden on defending the read-option: "Every guy I've talked to is going to go after the quarterback" 

 

"That's going to be their answer. If you watch what they did last year, a lot of guys played the quarterback. If he pitches, get off him. If he keeps it, tackle him. Now, they're just going to go after him whether he pitches or not."

 

link

Doing a pretty good job IMHO.  Not over reacting to what Wilson is or is not doing.

I watched the Bengals vs  Redskins last season and the Bengals defense didn't care if Griffith  had the ball or not. They pounded him. Just the way a defense should.

 

If the QB makes a move towards the line of scrimmage like he is going to run he is free game!!!!!!

I think Capers has a good scheme to defend against it, but execution has been iffy. Losing containment when the play breaks down kills the initial effort.

Not for sure if it's a byproduct of the same scheme, but the 15-20 yard pass remains wide open. Wilson had no problem driving down the field on his initial series, but we either adjusted or performed better afterward.

"I think Capers has a good scheme to defend against it, but execution has been iffy. Losing containment when the play breaks down kills the initial effort."

 

 

He needs to quit going man to man on 3rd and long plays where the defense turns their backs and the QB scrambles or a draw or screen picks up the first down. He never adjusted to that last year against the Niners and I saw it again tonight in the 1st quarter. Needs to play zone and force a dump and then tackle.

Perhaps....but Tramon wasn't out there. With both Tramon & Shields outside, I expect full shutdown of 2 WR's. Where Seattle capitalized was the middle of the field because we don't have anyone in that position to cover a TE. It was the hot read & Wilson did a nice job hitting the TE accurately.

 

I like the man-to-man aggressiveness. Puts pressure on the offense to make a quick decision. Most offenses can't handle it.

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I like the man-to-man aggressiveness. Puts pressure on the offense to make a quick decision. Most offenses can't handle it.

In the playoffs, the Packers are likely to face a team that can handle it. 

...and three during the regular season (49ers, 'Skins, Iggles) that can as well. Put me in the camp that has major doubts that we will see much improvement from the defense when it counts this year. I really think they should have dumped Capers after another playoff debacle last year. If only for the reason having a new voice to be heard by the guys...

Oh ****.q -- Chickenboy is agreeing with me. 

If you have somebody hit the pitch man and somebody hit the QB on every option play you can defend the option pretty well.

Yes, unless he throws it to the zones the two guys hitting the Q and RB vacated.  Or anywhere else.

Your OLB is probably going to be on a pass rush anyway. He should be going in towards the QB regardless. Packers got burned last year when Walden tried to help make tackles on the dive RB. He should hit the QB every play. Forget the dive man.

 

You do have to commit another defender, either a S or an ILB to flow with the pitch man. That can leave a hole in pass coverage. Zone blitz and other schemes can be used to help fill the hole.

 

Mix it up. Just don't let the QB think he can run 10+ yards before contact every time he keeps the ball because nobody is assigned to hit him.

Sure, hit the Q.  Great idea.  I'm just really curious to see how refs are going to call that, re: will they consider him a runner or a passer on those plays.

Ravens did it pretty well in the SB. 

 

If the QB throws a pass, obviously he is a passer and normal contact rules apply just like they do for every pass play.

 

If the QB has the ball, hit him.

 

If the QB just handed the ball off or pitched it, bump him and let him know you are there and you are going to be there next time.

 

I am not saying you level the QB every time he hands off. I am saying you have to commit a defender to the QB. Physically or mentally force him to give the ball to a RB ASAP. That helps string out the play and reduces the decisions that defenders need to make.

And yet SF still scored over 30.  Surely we can't credit the RO to all those points but whether by direct result or by the threat of it, SF overcame BAL's adjustments.

Agree, SF can score on almost anybody without using the RO.

 

In fact I predict they won't use much RO in the season opener because the Packers should be ready for it this time.

 

What my real point was with my first post was that it shouldn't take an offseason trip to Texas to figure out a way to keep a RO QB from running wild on you. That is an adjustment you should be able to make during a game.  Its not rocket surgery.

100% agree.  Capers hasn't shown the ability to adjust on the fly.   Not only that, it just seems the game is passing him by.  

I think that SF will go with the RO plenty, until the Packers prove they can stop it.

 

Multiple teams went back to college to learn about the RO,including veteran DC Mike Nolan in Atlanta. Several squads hired Coach Ault from Nevada to teach them about the Pistol too. Many teams spent a significant portion of their offseason preparing to play against it( including the genius Patriots)

 

The tactics used by the Packers in that game included Gap Exchange or Scrape Exchange- one of the more successful strategies for defending it. Unfortunately the players didn't do a great job of executing it.

 

The reason Walden crashed down on the RB was to force the Keep- that was his job. Then Brad Jones or the Safety is supposed to cover the QB, but they didn't keep contain. 49ers also used TE Delanie Walker in a unique role of motion across the formation to block the view of the defenders so they couldn't see the ball

 

Surely the Packers could have done better in that game, little doubt there. But every other team would have suffered the same fate because none of them was expecting it after being used so little in the regular season.

 

It's about preparation and execution - neither of which is impacted by "halftime" adjustments. And given the man-hours, flight time and consulting gigs that happened across the league this season- I'd suggest you are vastly underselling the challenges these offensive wrinkles bring to the NFL game. Teams study film for hundreds of hours to prepare, but there wasn't much film on RO, so they couldn't focus on it

 

Another strategy employed by defenses to shut down the RO is to try and force the QB to become a pocket passer. Unfortunately, both RGIII , Kaperdick and Wilson show real talent when staying in the pocket- something college coaches rarely face so that leaves a defense with one less strategy to combat these hybrid players. The threat of a run also means the OLBs can't come screaming around the corner, they have to tone it down which buys the QB valuable time to throw

 

The Packers addressed their weaknesses as best they could- both by learning strategy and by changing personnel. I think part of the reason for a stand-up role for Mike Neal is that it gives the DL better vision of what's going on AND it allows GB to move Matthews around more

 

IMO, this is not "easily handled", its not a half -time adjustment and the actions of multiple NFL teams in the offseason lends credence to this point of view.

 

Let's try and cut the Packers a break over that playoff beating, its over and in the past

The only thing that matters now is what they do about it. I would think that a team willing to spend the time and resources to learn more would be applauded instead of jeered, but that's just me

 

" its not that you get knocked down, its that you keep getting up "

 

 

Very well put and I agree with a lot of what you said. I am simplifying things. Also, obviously I support efforts by the coaches to learn more about the RO and a trip to Texas is well worth it if it improves the team in the future.

 

But I am not buying that using Walden, the OLB, to crash in on the dive RB, who is running between the C and G in order to force the keep by the QB is a good strategy. Film shows that Walden rarely got to the dive RB. He did force the keep because he took himself out of the play and left a HUUUUUUUUUUUGE hole. If Jones or a safety is supposed to get the QB they need to find a way to get to him near the LOS, whether he has the ball or not. They need to be scraping right off of Waldon's backside. (I worked with 3rd and 4th grade LBs on this very technique last week )

 

The inside run was not hurting the Packers. It was the QB to the outside. That problem could be addressed during the game IMO. If your scrape man can't ever get to the QB you can adjust by telling your OLB to forget the inside RB and attack the QB. Just like the Ravens did in the SB. The man who used to be the scrape man is now responsible for the area INSIDE of the OLB instead of contain. It doesn't take a wholesale change of plan. It is the type of simply scheme variation that we even use with our 8 and 9 year old players. And yes, by that I do mean that I am a better DC than Dom Capers.  

...Gore rushed for 119 yards & averaged 5.2 yards per carry & if  recall correctly most of these were between the tackles. The announcers for the game commented that the SF OC did not think going into the game that he would be able to run between the tackles, so they were surprised by the 49ers ability to do so. An article using video review concluded that Raji played his worst game of the season & looked like he was on rollerskates. Yes, Ravens did a better job vs option, but as you know, when you make adjustments to defend one thing, it leaves you susceptible to other things. The Ravens gave up 468 total yards, their defense did not win the game for them. 

Right now it depends on how far back the QB has retreated in order to remove himself from the play. Once one the season ending leg injuries to these guys start to pile up (it's a question of "when", not "if"), you can rest assured that the NFL will crack down on this strategy with new rules. Of all the athletic, running QBs in the league now who can run the read option effectively, only Cam Newton (and the Panthers were smart by not utilizing it to any serious extent and encouraging Newton to pass) has the sort of stout body type that can withstand a beating. The rest are slim sprinter types (even Kaepernick, who in spite of his massive upper body, has the thinnest legs you'll ever see on an NFL player) that aren't going to last under the current rules.

Fair point FLPACKER.

 

I should have said The inside run was not the thing that was killing the Packers defense. 

Good stuff FS, thanks for the response

 

Any interesting prospects on your squad ? 

 

The Packers clearly weren't properly prepared, we'll see how the cat & mouse game plays out on September 8th

 

 

I've been saying that for months.  However, because we all know what a dick Harbaugh can be, I can see him running it to see if GB CAN stop it then sticking to it if we still can't.  Either way, coach hissyfit has a leg up in that GB has to dedicate time to defending the RO along with the rest of SF's playbook, which they have also proven to have success with.  It's going to be a very interesting and telling game.

"Either way, coach hissyfit has a leg up in that GB has to dedicate time to defending the RO along with the rest of SF's playbook,"

They have a huge playbook of running plays.  It's not just the RO that they need to prepare for.   Hate him all you want, hissyfit is a hell of a coach. 

Not only that, they're preparing for Washington the following week too.

I assure you, the Packers aren't preparing for ONLY the RO. If you've watched Kaepernick at all this pre-season, you know he's going through his progressions & hitting 2nd & 3rd WRs.

It will be a good test but I assure you, they won't be unprepared.

What will be interesting is to see how the Niners react if the Packers build a 17-21 point lead.

....so a coach is a "dick" if he tries to win the game??