Inside the NFL
Switch to 3-4 causing problems for two Packers
Published: October 24, 2009, 11:45 pm
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Making the switch from the 4-3 defense to the 3-4 defense comes with a lot of collateral damage, and it's not a one-year process.
It's hard for a lot of players who fit the 4-3 scheme to adapt to the three-man front, as is being evidenced in Green Bay this season.
Packers coach Mike McCarthy decided after a subpar defensive season last year that the 3-4 was his long-term preference. The defense of coach Dom Capers is off to a pretty good start. It ranks eighth in yards allowed, although the offensive competition has not been too tough through five games.
The downside so far is two of the Pack's better defenders look out of their element in the 3-4. Elite pass rusher Aaron Kampman and quality defensive end Cullen Jenkins aren't faring well.
Kampman had 37 sacks the previous three seasons rushing from a three-point stance at left end. He had to convert to outside rush linebacker this year. He has two sacks but is clearly not as effective. He's an outstanding technician who can beat offensive tackles to the punch with an array of moves in close combat. He's not nearly as comfortable rushing from farther away in a two-point stance.
Jenkins is a big end, at 305 pounds, who has the size to play end in the three-man front. But he's much better lining up wide than lining up head-up or inside of the offensive tackle.
Green Bay ranks tied for 23rd in sacks so far. Whether the Pack can manufacture enough pass rush the rest of the year with these two big defenders out of position will go a long way in determining whether it makes the playoffs.
Sacking Ben
Vikings sackmaster Jared Allen has 7½ sacks already and leads the NFL in sacks the past six years with 65. He will take aim at Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger today. Vikings coaches have been telling their defenders this week to make sure they try to tackle Big Ben's right arm first and go for the body second. Roethlisberger is famous for shrugging off pass rushers like flies and completing passes with people draped on his torso.
"You lick your chops when you see him sitting there holding it, but it's also a plus for them because he makes a lot of plays with those receivers staying active," defensive tackle Kevin Williams said. "You have to lock onto him and just get him to the ground when you have opportunities because he makes more plays after he scrambles than he does sitting in the pocket."
Colts run "D'
The Colts' run defense is a worry in the wake of the release of stout defensive tackle Ed Johnson. He's a terrific player who simply could not walk enough of a straight line to stay on the field. He had at least three off-field incidents at Penn State, which is probably why he didn't get drafted.
After a good rookie year in 2007, he was released last year after one game as a result of an arrest for marijuana possession. After getting run over by Miami in Week Two, the Colts' run defense has been decent. It's ranked 14th. But now Johnson is gone. He ran afoul of coaches for being overweight and who knows what else?
The Colts tried to beef up the run defense this year by bringing back Johnson and drafting Fili Moala and Terrance Taylor. Taylor, a fourth-rounder, got cut. The Colts are starting undrafted Kent State product Dan Muir and former Titans castoff Antonio Johnson at DT, with Moala the No. 3 man.
It's not exactly the Williams Wall. So it will be even more incumbent on the great Peyton Manning to control time of possession on offense. Of course, he has done it before. The fact he won the Super Bowl with the 32nd-ranked run defense is one of the great credits on his resume.
Seattle kinship
The best buddy of Washington coach Jim Zorn caused a commotion this week in the wake of the Redskins stripping the play-calling duties from Zorn.
Steve Largent, longtime teammate of Zorn and former congressman, told a Seattle radio station that 'Skins owner Dan Snyder was trying to get Zorn to resign by giving play-calling duties to Sherman Lewis. Largent claimed Zorn considered stepping down. Largent said handing the duties to Lewis, who has been out of football since 2004, was a joke.
I say good for Zorn. If he resigned, he would forfeit the rest of the money Snyder would owe him.
Onside kicks
• The Raiders' third straight home game will be blacked out today when the Jets visit the Black Hole. The Raiders have sold out just 25 of 88 regular-season games during their first 11 seasons since moving back to Oakland from Los Angeles.
• The Eagles' Andy Reid is a great coach but he has a tendency to get carried away with the pass. In last week's 13-9 loss to the Raiders, Reid called 54 pass plays and 12 runs, even though the Eagles never trailed by more than seven points.
• Atlanta has one of the best hang-time punters in the league in Michael Koenen. He can't wait for warm-ups today at Cowboys Stadium to see if he can hit the video board, which hangs 90 feet above the field. "If I accidentally hit it, I accidentally hit it," Koenen said. Koenen allowed an NFL-record-low 49 punt return yards last year but this year already has allowed 101.
• The Vikings are 6-0 and meet Pittsburgh and Green Bay before their Nov. 8 bye. The contract of coach Brad Childress is up after 2010. There is an expectation that he will get an extension during the bye week. Based on the Bills' midseason extension experience with Dick Jauron, maybe Vikes owner Ziggy Wilf should wait until the end of the season and risk having to kick in a little more money if the Vikes do well in the playoffs.
• The jury still is out, but the Chiefs' trade of Allen to the Vikings isn't looking great. In return, Kansas City received three draft picks they parlayed into Branden Albert, Jamaal Charles and DaJuan Morgan. All three still are trying to establish themselves. Allen was one of the top three pass rushers in the league when the Chiefs dealt him. You don't deal that kind of player in his prime.
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