3-4 Defense Brings Big Changes for Green Bay

CBS Sports recently asked NFL writers, "What do you envision as the biggest changes in your team's playbook due to shifts in team personnel and coaching staff?" Everyone knows the answer as it pertains to the Green Bay Packers. In response to a poor 2008 season in which seven fourth-quarter leads were blown by the defense, the Packers fired most of the defensive coaching staff and hired Dom Capers to install a 3-4 defense. The Packers are expected to become the ninth NFL team to run the 3-4. In 2008, four of the top-10 defenses ran the 3-4 scheme, including the top two: Pittsburgh and Baltimore. This is due in large part to the superior versatility of the alignment, with linebackers more able to drop into coverage or come from different angles on blitzes. Blocking assignments are more complicated and so are coverage schemes. Thus, while other teams may tweak their schemes for the new season, the Packers overhauled theirs. Usually, that means stark growing pains. For one thing, the 3-4 does struggle against the run--especially power running games--because the personnel are smaller. While Pittsburgh and Baltimore were second and third against the run (first and fifth in yards per carry), respectively, no other 3-4 defense finished in the top 10 against the run. That could be a problem for the Packers, facing last season's NFC North-winning Minnesota Vikings and Adrian Peterson twice in the season. However, in looking at the rest of the Packers schedule, despite facing Matt Forte twice and Frank Gore once (both very good backs), Green Bay faces only one team outside of the Vikings that finished in the top half of the league in 2008--the rebuilding Tampa Bay Buccaneers. And let's face it, the Packers run defense cannot be any worse than the injury-riddled 2008 unit against the run. That group was better than only six teams in total rushing yards (2105), average yards per carry (4.6), and first downs allowed (121); only five other teams allowed 20 or more rushing touchdowns. Yet the Packers were within one score in all but two of their losses. That is why team officials, players, and fans alike should have more optimism than pessimism. True, many players will be moved because of the scheme change and need to learn new responsibilities. But a healthy, more athletic, and more versatile defense should be much more capable of making plays in 2009, and the loss of size should really only hurt the team in two of their 14 games. Plus, it is actually better-suited for many of the players physically. For instance, Pro Bowl defensive end Aaron Kampman, one of the NFL's top sack producers of the past few seasons, was undersized for that position and relied on his speed to make plays. As an outside linebacker--a position he is not unfamiliar with, having played it on college--in a 3-4, he is bigger than normal. Moreover, it will be easier to move him over tackle or guard to get him beneficial matchups, on or off the line of scrimmage, in a two- or three-point stance, stunting, blitzing, or dropping into coverage. Nick Barnett, who was lost for almost half the season to injury, has trouble shedding blockers. But in the 3-4, with a wider spread of linebackers to account for, he can be a moving target that is harder to get a hat on. On passing downs, Capers can use Barnett's playmaking skills to both blitz and cover. A.J. Hawk is above average size and possesses good straight-line speed and is an excellent tackler. His lateral movement, however, was insufficient to play the weak side, and he actually performed better once he had to fill in for Barnett because of injury--he will have less ground to cover and can attack forward in the new system. In addition, with the bulk added on the line by drafting B.J. Raji and playing him on running downs at end, moving Johnny Jolly to end from tackle, and the return of a healthy Cullen Jenkins, it will be harder for opposing linemen to get to the next level. Thus, what was a thin spot for the Packers is deep now because of a return from injury, a draft pick, and removing one player from that unit by the scheme change. All of this should help a ball-hawking secondary make even more plays as quarterbacks are under duress from the variety of blitzes they will face. While they will have to play more zone in a 3-4 than they are accustomed to, their man-to-man experience will come in handy on the many blitzes Capers is expected to employ. Last season, the Packers dropped from 13th to 22nd in sacks, yet led the league in defensive scoring despite having all four original projected starters hurt. Only Charles Woodson played every game through his injury, but he was still accompanied by two teammates (corner Al Harris and safety Nick Collins) on the Pro Bowl list. Meanwhile, other secondary members, like cornerbacks Tramon Williams and Will Blackmon as well as safeties Atari Bigby and Aaron Rouse, gained valuable experience. This gives the Packers the deepest secondary in the league even without the addition of fleet-footed draft pick Brandon Underwood. Finally, Dom Capers has made huge turnarounds of the last two poor defenses he took over--Jacksonville went from 25th to fourth and Miami from 18th to fourth. So there is precedent and personnel to suggest that even an overhaul of the system will have more upside than downside for the Green and Gold.