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Many have called for the head of defensive coordinator Dom Capers (whose head ironically can’t be taken since his contract expired). However, some have argued that the problem goes deeper than just Dom Capers and really its that the 3-4 defense is inherently flawed and that the Packers should switch back to a 4-3 scheme.

This is actually a pretty interesting question: to put it another way, is the 3-4 defense something like the wildcat offense?  What I mean by that is the wildcat offense took the league by storm in 2009 with the Miami Dolphins, but when the rest of the league had proper time to analyze and defend against it properly it slowly faded back into obscurity (see Tim Tebow).  It could be argued that the “Blitzburgh” 3-4 defense run by both Dom Capers and Dick Lebeau took the league by storm when the Packers played the Steelers in the 2010 Super Bowl and perhaps the league has caught up and has finally figured a way to beat the 3-4 defense.  Read more... (735 words + 3 images, estimated 2:56 mins reading time)

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Lovie Smith and the 4-3 defense for the Packers? I don’t think so.

There has been a lot of talk among Green Bay Packers fans regarding Dom Capers and his future as the team’s defensive coordinator. Saturday’s postseason loss to the San Francisco 49ers was the anvil that broke the camel’s back after a 2011 season of defensive agony, despite their overall improvement in 2012.

Tangential to this discussion is the consideration of who would take Dom Capers’ place. Some people brought up Rob Ryan’s name, though apparently the St. Louis Rams have already snatched him up. There are other gurus of the 3-4 defense, though, that could still be candidates, as well as the option of “promoting from within,” which the Packers are fond of doing.

Meanwhile, some fans are calling for a complete overhaul of the defense. They’d rather see a return to the 4-3 scheme that Green Bay ran before hiring Capers. Names like Lovie Smith have been tossed around as options, and some have even offered up way to reposition the current players to fit the scheme.

And I just can’t help but be dumbfounded by these opinions.

I understand the desire for a change. (Really, I do.) But there are a number of reasons why switching back to the 4-3 or hiring a coach like Lovie Smith just won’t work for this Packers team. Here are a few major ones:

1) No More Clay Matthews  Read more... (933 words + 1 image, estimated 3:44 mins reading time)

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1) Profile:

Cameron Heyward

College: Ohio State

Position: DE (3-4), DE (4-3), DT (4-3)

Height: 6′5″   Weight: 295 lbs.

Born: May 6, 1989 From: Suwanee, GA

2) High School / College Highlights: In Heyward’s senior year of high school, he totaled over 100 tackles and 16 sacks. For his efforts, he was voted Georgia Class 5A Defensive Player of the Year.

Scout.com rated Heyward as their No. 20 defensive end and 15th best prospect in Georgia, and he was ranked No. 13 and 7th in those same categories on Rivals.com. Heyward was also a good high school basketball player and graduated with a 3.25 GPA.

Once at Ohio State, Heyward got right to work. He started eight games his freshman season and had 2.5 sacks, earning him freshman All-American and freshman All-Big Ten honors. He continued to start his sophomore year, but Heyward’s production leveled out. In 13 starts, he accumulated just 36 tackles and 3 sacks.

However, Heyward put his name on the draft map with a solid 2009 season. In 13 starts for the Rose Bowl Champions, Heyward had 6.5 sacks and 10 tackles for losses. He was a Lombardi Award nominee—given to the nation’s best defensive lineman or linebacker—and was voted Second Team All-Big Ten.  Read more... (822 words + 1 image, estimated 3:17 mins reading time)

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1) Profile:

Von Miller

College: Texas A&M

Position: Defensive End/ Weak Side Linebacker (Hybrid)

Height: 6′3″   Weight: 246 lbs.

Born: March 26^th, 1989 From: DeSoto, Texas

2) High School / College Highlights: Von Miller joined the Aggies in 2007 as the Rivals 29^th ranked weak side linebacker in high school but first saw action as a defensive end in the 4-2-5 defense and was voted Freshmen All-Big 12.

After a disastrous 2007 season lead by head coach Dennis Franchione which was headlined by a newsletter scandal and several crushing defeats, Franchione resigned midseason and subsequently former Green Bay Packers head coach Mike Sherman was hired.

Sherman installed a 4-3 defense and Miller was moved to weak side linebacker under defensive coordinator Joe Kines.  2009 was his break out season, where Miller played in all 12 games, leading the NCAA with 17 sacks and 21 tackles for a loss (4^th in the NCAA) and garnering First-team All-America and First-team All-Big 12 honors.

After 2009 Joe Kines retired and was replaced with Tim DeRuyter, who installed a 3-4 defense where Miller played the outside linebacker position.  Miller suffered a foot injury but still managed to record 10.5 sacks and 17.5 tackles for a loss as well as garnering First-team All America, First-team All-Big 12 and the Butkus award, given annually to the nation’s best collegiate linebacker.  Read more... (686 words + 1 image, estimated 2:45 mins reading time)

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