new base 3-4 to make up for loss of cullen jenkins

ivo610

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Capers knows what he is doing.

I really really hope someone doesnt snag him after this season.
 

TJV

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So here comes the next trick up Dom's sleeve! This makes all kinds of sense because it maximizes Raji's talent and Pickett's in the base D. We should keep in mind that they weren't in the base D that often last season but when they are, Raji should be able to cause offenses as much, or more problems than Jenkins did. Instead of "catching" O linemen at NT and controlling the middle, he'll be shooting gaps more. And Pickett goes back to taking on double teams at NT, which is his strength. Raji becomes the pass rushing specialist on the DL and Neal takes over Pickett's spot at DE on the strong side. Pickett has done a great job vs. the run but he won't get the pass rush Raji did at NT. But what they lose there in pass rush they will gain IMO at both DE positions.
 

slaughter25

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I never really thought about this as an option this year, and hell i guess that's why Dom Capers is the defensive genius and I am here posting on a forum. But I love it. Raji getting to shoot a gap, be more instinctual in his pass rush rather than having to think, read, and choose a gap makes me not miss Jenkins so bad. Hopefully this big boys can cause some mayhem in the backfield on both passing and running down situations. And also i def agree we need to do whatever it takes ( huge contract, strippers, etc) to lock down Capers for as long as possible
 

GBPack2010

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I like this new formation. Pickett needs to be double teamed and it's tough for any lineman to go 1 on 1 with Raji. Neal will need to prove he's the real deal and he'll def. have the opportunities to do so.
 

totalpackers

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I don't necessarily think the defense is designed to make up for the loss of Jenkins because the coaching staff is very high on Mike Neal, who is going to start. It's more that Pickett plays better on the nose than at defensive end. And since B.J. Raji is a godd*m terror, they can pretty much put him anywhere on the line.
I see it as maximizing the players' strengths who are going to spend the most time on the field. I won't say Neal will have more sacks than Jenkins did last season, but I'll bet he has more tackles.
 

TJV

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I disagree a little bit totalpackers. Neal was going to start no matter what in the base (unless injured of course). I do think Raji replaces Jenkins pass rush potential but just in the base D. But again, they weren’t in the base more than one-third of the time last season so the Packers may still miss Jenkins when they go 2-4-5. We know what we can expect from Raji in the 2-man line – and he may be even better this season – but IMO it will be up to Neal in the two man line to replace Jenkins' pass rush. Of course the subs will rotate in, too. It will be interesting to see how this change affects Raji. Instead of going from the NT techniques in base to the 3- and 5-techniques in the 2-4-5, Raji will be playing the same techniques throughout the game. That's if Capers goes ahead with this plan. Who knows, even if he does we may still see Raji at NT occasionally.

I think/hope it’ll be retirement that will lure Capers away and I hope that doesn’t happen for a long, long time.
 

Future

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I wonder who we'll see as the DL in the Psycho package. Raji probably makes the most sense there.
 

Passepartout

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People are different. Some are for the 3-4 and some are not. It depends on whether you want to be a team player or not as well.
 

armand34

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I'm pretty sure that Raji is one of the most athletic men in the world at 340 pounds...it was evident for the whole world to see in the playoffs...I'm really curious to see if he meets all of our expectations when his number is called...of course it helps when you have some serious blitzing threats from the corner position off the same edge that Raji will be rushing....oh man, could be forcing them to throw TE's on the weakside to help block and leaves 52 one on one...oh man...this could be nutty!
 

GBPack2010

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Even if the sky falls down, I don't think anybody would leave 52 in 1 on 1 situation unless it's one of the top 5 OT in the League. Even then......would any coach risk their QB taking a direct hit by Matthews?
 

TJV

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Dude... does the psycho package ever work? It always ends in a 3rd n long conversion.
Does it ever work? YES. The Packers finished the 2010 season second in points allowed per game, fifth in passing yards allowed per game, and second in sacks. Of course psycho was used sparingly and while I couldn't find stats specifically related to the psycho defensive alignment, here are several examples of it working.

Here's a diagram of an INT vs. BUF using the psycho D.

Here's a great quote from a Madison.com story about that play: "Shortly before the Bills' third play from scrimmage, Edwards broke the huddle and was greeted with chaos as looked over the Packers' defense. Chaos actually has a name — "Psycho," a nickel package that includes one defensive lineman, five linebackers and five defensive backs.

CBS cameras zoomed in on Edwards, whose eyes were wide open. He looked confused and maybe even a little scared.
"You see his eye scanning," said Brandon Chillar, one of the five linebackers in the package. "He doesn't know where you are coming from."

The result was predictable. Less than four seconds after the ball was snapped to Edwards, he was on the ground with Clay Matthews on top of him — the first of three sacks for the outside linebacker during the Packers' 34-7 victory."

Here's a video of a sack from the psycho D vs. WAS that resulted in a 9-yard sack.

Here's an excerpt from a NY Post story before the Packers Jets game last season: "It's a tricky scheme," center Nick Mangold said. "It really makes you think and it tests whether or not the whole offensive line is on the same page along with the backs and quarterback. It's really going to be a test for us, because they can attack in many different ways."

Right guard Brandon Moore said playing against the Packers' psycho scheme is "more of a feel deal." "You've got to be able to switch guys with everyone being alert and play it out on the move," Moore said. "We've got it on film and have a plan for it. We've had variations with that dealing with our defense."

Here's a 2009 headline from USA Today: Packers 'psycho' defense confuses Cutler, Bears

Here's an excerpt from Madison.com story from that Bear game: "The genesis of the "Psycho" package dates to Capers' stint as a defensive coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars from 1999-2000. He unleashed it again last season — his first with the Packers — during a December meeting with the Bears in Chicago, and the results were fantastic. The Packers went "Psycho" on seven third-down plays during a 21-14 victory over Cutler and the Bears. Chicago converted only 1 of 6 third downs and was called for holding once against the package." (I added the emphasis.)

But hey, no scheme or alignment always works so here's a video from NFL Total Access. It's a discussion with Warren Sapp, Peprah, Bush, and Bishop. They show a sack against PIT from the psycho and a 25-yard completion vs. psycho.

Obviously this innovative formation from the mind of Dom Capers causes confusion and IMO works more often than not. At the very least, every team the Packers play have to prepare for it.
 

2411t

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Does it ever work? YES. The Packers finished the 2010 season second in points allowed per game, fifth in passing yards allowed per game, and second in sacks. Of course psycho was used sparingly and while I couldn't find stats specifically related to the psycho defensive alignment, here are several examples of it working.

Here's a diagram of an INT vs. BUF using the psycho D.

Here's a great quote from a Madison.com story about that play: "Shortly before the Bills' third play from scrimmage, Edwards broke the huddle and was greeted with chaos as looked over the Packers' defense. Chaos actually has a name — "Psycho," a nickel package that includes one defensive lineman, five linebackers and five defensive backs.

CBS cameras zoomed in on Edwards, whose eyes were wide open. He looked confused and maybe even a little scared.
"You see his eye scanning," said Brandon Chillar, one of the five linebackers in the package. "He doesn't know where you are coming from."

The result was predictable. Less than four seconds after the ball was snapped to Edwards, he was on the ground with Clay Matthews on top of him — the first of three sacks for the outside linebacker during the Packers' 34-7 victory."

Here's a video of a sack from the psycho D vs. WAS that resulted in a 9-yard sack.

Here's an excerpt from a NY Post story before the Packers Jets game last season: "It's a tricky scheme," center Nick Mangold said. "It really makes you think and it tests whether or not the whole offensive line is on the same page along with the backs and quarterback. It's really going to be a test for us, because they can attack in many different ways."

Right guard Brandon Moore said playing against the Packers' psycho scheme is "more of a feel deal." "You've got to be able to switch guys with everyone being alert and play it out on the move," Moore said. "We've got it on film and have a plan for it. We've had variations with that dealing with our defense."

Here's a 2009 headline from USA Today: Packers 'psycho' defense confuses Cutler, Bears

Here's an excerpt from Madison.com story from that Bear game: "The genesis of the "Psycho" package dates to Capers' stint as a defensive coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars from 1999-2000. He unleashed it again last season — his first with the Packers — during a December meeting with the Bears in Chicago, and the results were fantastic. The Packers went "Psycho" on seven third-down plays during a 21-14 victory over Cutler and the Bears. Chicago converted only 1 of 6 third downs and was called for holding once against the package." (I added the emphasis.)

But hey, no scheme or alignment always works so here's a video from NFL Total Access. It's a discussion with Warren Sapp, Peprah, Bush, and Bishop. They show a sack against PIT from the psycho and a 25-yard completion vs. psycho.

Obviously this innovative formation from the mind of Dom Capers causes confusion and IMO works more often than not. At the very least, every team the Packers play have to prepare for it.

Great info thanks! Also, "Packers 'psycho' defense confuses Cutler, Bears" <-- Great way to start my morning!
 

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Psycho works like a charm if the timing is right, but no huddle offenses will murder it.

It's too much movement and confusion, with a quick offense, is hard to settle.

Another thing that disrpupts it's time is a very, very slow snap count, like Favre did against us. It makes the D to tell what it's going to do.

So, it's a great D, but extremely risky, because the disguize and timing needs to be perfect.
 

mradtke66

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I don't buy the hype that no-huddle is the counter to the Psycho. If anything, I suspect that Psycho is the counter to no-huddle.

Consider: most defenses have a 'safe' call. Should the offense start doing something weird, the safe call is check to a base cover-2 or cover-3.

This is an advantage to the offense. If the quarterback can safely expect a basic defense, he wins. (I believe the Oregon Ducks did this for the 2010 season. Quick to the line, a snap every 18 seconds or something like that. Opposing defenses ran something vanilla, as defensive plays couldn't get called fast enough.)

What do you do? Personally, I'm not quite smart enough to be a defensive coordinator, but I'd have 6 'safe' checks 1 for 1st and 5-10, 1st and 1-5, 2nd and 5-10, 2 and 1-5, 3rd and 5-10, and 3rd and 1-5. A set of 6 new plays each quarter. Or more often, if your defense is on the field too much and the pattern is figured out.
 

PackersRS

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I don't buy the hype that no-huddle is the counter to the Psycho. If anything, I suspect that Psycho is the counter to no-huddle.

Consider: most defenses have a 'safe' call. Should the offense start doing something weird, the safe call is check to a base cover-2 or cover-3.

This is an advantage to the offense. If the quarterback can safely expect a basic defense, he wins. (I believe the Oregon Ducks did this for the 2010 season. Quick to the line, a snap every 18 seconds or something like that. Opposing defenses ran something vanilla, as defensive plays couldn't get called fast enough.)

What do you do? Personally, I'm not quite smart enough to be a defensive coordinator, but I'd have 6 'safe' checks 1 for 1st and 5-10, 1st and 1-5, 2nd and 5-10, 2 and 1-5, 3rd and 5-10, and 3rd and 1-5. A set of 6 new plays each quarter. Or more often, if your defense is on the field too much and the pattern is figured out.

I'm just passing along what Peyton Manning stated about it, seeing Tom Brady and Bill Bellichick use the no-huddle against Baltimore's psycho package.
 

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