The Packer's Kryptonite: The Wide 9

As a Packer fan, I'm having serious doubts about the remainder of the season.  Injuries are mounting, but unlike the 2010 season where guys were able to step up, the 2012 crop is decimated.  One of the biggest injuries occurred back in 2011.  1st round pick Derrick Sherrod was finally starting to come into his own as the team's starting LT.  Marshall Newhouse was busy getting beat every play and the Packers desperately needed help.  Sherrod at 6'5" 321 pounds didn't lack the necessary skillset to play in the NFL, but he was having trouble with scheme.  He was starting to get the hang of things when a catastrophic leg injury ended his season last year as well as the entire 2012 season.

Why this particular injury hurts us so badly is because teams have employed the "wide-9" look against us.  In football, a defensive lineman's alignment on the offensive lineman is referred to as a "technique."  You may hear a defensive linemen during the draft referred to as a, "4-3 3-technique defensive tackle."  That is a guy who is lined up on the outside shoulder of the guard.  Here's a full list of alignments:

0 tech--head up on the center
1 tech--inside shoulder of guard
2 tech--head up on the guard
3 tech--outside shoulder of guard
4 tech--inside shoulder of tackle
5 tech--head up on the tackle
6 tech--outside shoulder of tackle
7 tech--inside shoulder of tight end
8 tech--head up on tight end
9 tech--outside shoulder of tight end
Wide 9 tech--far outside shoulder of tight end

Bear with me, this is all coming together.  The wide-9 is when a defensive player is lined up on the line of scrimmage completely away from the body of the TE or Tackle.  Here's an example of the Giants lined up in that formation vs Green Bay in the regular season meeting last year:

Notice how Jason Pierre Paul is lined up outside of Marshall Newhouse in the left of the picture and Mathias Kiwanuka is lined up outside of Bryan Bulaga on the right?  That's the wide-9.  Marshall Newhouse just cannot compete with this kind of pass rush from elite pass rushers.  In the next 5 games, he will have to face:

Jared Allen twice.
Kyle Vanden Bosch.
Kamerion Wimbley.
Julius Peppers.

I can guarantee that ALL of those guys will be lined up in the wide 9 technique frequently.  The point of the wide-9 tech is to get your speed rushers upfield in obvious passing situations.  It leaves you liable for some inside rushing between the A gaps thus it's not a viable alignment for all situations, but it's key when you get a one dimensional team like Green Bay.  The defensive ends shoot for an area about 8 yards deep in the backfield, that's where the QB typically ends his dropback.  A good example was from last Sunday's game between the Packers and the Giants.  The Packers have the ball at their own 39 so Osi Umenyiora, lined up in the wide 9 tech, is shooting for about the 31 yard line.  He gets a great step off the ball as Newhouse is basically flatfooted and barely gets touched.  Where does the hit occur?  At the 31 yard line as Rodgers is finishing up his dropback.

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/0ap2000000100865/Umenyiora-sack-fumble

This is where Sherrod comes in.  The best way to combat the wide-9 is to have an offensive tackle with long arms (35 3/8" for Sherrod) and a quick first step.  Sherrod possesses both of those.  The way it works in theory is to isolate the defender to the outside.  If your lineman is quick enough and can create separation, the defender will rush himself out of the play allowing your QB to step up into a clean pocket and complete the pass.

In a way, the OL was doomed before the season even began.  Without Sherrod, the Packers will continue to struggle because Newhouse struggles to get a quick first step and cannot consistently keep rushers outside.  Pair this along with the loss of Bryan Bulaga and you have Newhouse at LT and Evan Deitrich-Smith at LG and the left side of the line is a complete and utter liability.  With the loss of Cedric Benson, the Packers go into most games with no legitimate rushing threat thus teams can rush 4 men and drop 7 using 2 deep stafeties  to take away the big play and the result is a QB who doesn't have more than 2-3 seconds to make a decision in the pocket.  And you have the most sacked QB in the NFL, Aaron Rodgers.

I fear that this is too steep of an obstacle to overcome.  Most good NFL teams have an elite pass rusher and this problem will be amplified come January if the Packers make the playoffs.  I'm hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst.  I just hope Rodgers doesn't get hurt before the end of the year.

Grading the Packers Players Individually

Here's a little fun opinion piece I have for the Packers current roster.  Enjoy!

Quarterbacks:
Aaron Rodgers
Stats-
Passing: 238/354 67.2% 2,619 yards 27 TD 6 INT 7.4 YPA 107.3 QB rating
Rushing:  36 Att 156 Yards 0 TD 4.6 Y/A
Grade: A-
Rodgers started out extremely slowly but has quickly returned to 2011/2012 MVP form.  He's had a couple uncharacteristically bad throws, but he's on pace to have his 3rd sub 10 INT season in 5 years. 

Graham Harrell
Stats-
Passing: 0/0 0% 0 yards
Rushing: 1 attempt 0 yards
Grade: F
He would get an incomplete, but he had trouble handling a snap that almost killed the Packers.  Lost the ball inside the opponent's 5. 

Running Backs:
Cedric Benson
Stats-
Rushing: 71 Att. 248 yards 1 TD 3.5 Y/A
Receiving: 14 Rec 97 yards 0 TD 6.9 Y/R
Grade: B-
Ced's stats don't look amazing, but compare them with the stats of the past couple years of Green Bay rushing and he actually gave life to a dormant aspect of offense.

Alex Green
Stats-
Rushing: 87 Att 272 yards 0 TD 3.1 Y/A
Receiving: 11 Rec 90 yards 0 TD 8.2 Y/R
Grade: C
His stats are similar to Benson's, but Green struggled in pass protection and gaining short yardage.  He seemed hesitant at too many points.  Most of his yardage came on a 41 yard carry.  He averages just 2.7 yards a carry without that run. 

James Starks
Stats-
Rushing: 48 Att 154 Yards 0 TD 3.2 Y/A
Receiving: 2 Rec 15 yards 0 TD 7.5 Y/R
Grade: C-
He just escapes a D because of his performance yesterday.  He ran hard, but much of the season before that he was a healthy scratch.  That's a big fall considering that the 2 backs ahead of him are a 2nd year 3rd round pick coming off of a knee injury and the ancient Ced Benson. 

John Kuhn
Stats-
Rushing: 12 Att 38 yards 1 TD 3.2 Y/A
Receiving: 8 Rec 70 yards 0 TD 8.8 Y/R
Grade: B+
Kuhn continues to just be extremely versatile.  On offense, he is an excellent blocking fullback and he has good hands as a receiver.  He doesn't get the A because he's still not a great short yardage back, but he's getting there.

Johnny White
Stats-
Rushing: 0 Att 0 yards 0 TD 0 Y/A
Grade: INC
Hasn't seen action yet.

Brandon Saine
Stats-
Rushing: 0 Att 0 yards 0 TD 0 Y/A
Grade: INC
He had a productive period in 2011 where he gained 138 yards on 28 touches, but an injury has shelved Saine for the year in 2012.

Tight Ends
Jermichael Finley
Stats-
Receiving: 32 Rec 337 yards 2 TDs 10.5 Y/R
Grade: C-
His lack of production is inexcusable.  I'd say more, but I'd get too angry.

Tom Crabtree
Stats-
Receiving: 6 Rec 183 yards 3 TDs 30.5 Y/R
Grade: A
Crabtree was a surprise this season.  He was brought in specifically to be a blocking TE, but he's blossomed into a legitimate receiving threat.  He's not going to line up every down as a pass catching TE, but he's officially a threat.  That gives us some flexibility when we come out in 3 TE/2 RB formations.  He's an asset. 

DJ Williams
Stats-
Receiving: 4 Rec 37 yards 0 TD 9.3 Y/R
Grade: INC
He hasn't played enough to warrant a grade here.  He's pushing for playing time and has the ability, he just needs to put it together.

Andrew Quarless
Stats-
Receiving: 0 Rec 0 yards 0 TD 0 Y/R
Grade: INC
Started the year on PUP list, just starting to practice.

Ryan Taylor
Stats-
Receiving: 0 Rec 0 yards 0 TD 0 Y/R
Grade: B
 No stats and a B grade?  Yup.  Taylor is a special teams beast.  He's a big reason why the Packers have a huge return game with Randall Cobb.

Wide Receivers 
Randall Cobb
Stats-
Receiving: 54 Rec 574 yards 7 TDs 10.6 Y/R
Rushing: 8 Att 115 yards 0 TD 14.4 Y/A
Punt Returns:  19 Ret 211 yards 1 TD 11.5 Y/R
Kick Returns: 24 Ret 627 yards 0 TD 26.1 Y/R
Grade: A+
Cobb is one of the best players on the Packers and an example of how smart Ted Thompson can be.  He's racked up 1,527 all-purpose yards on just 105 touches.  This comes out to a whopping 14.5 yards per touch for Cobb.  He's scored 8 total TDs and is a huge part for the offensive success the Packers have seen.

Jordy Nelson
Stats-
Receiving: 43 Rec 577 yards 5 TDs 13.4 Y/R
Grade: A
Nelson started out slowly, but he's back to his old ways.  His big game came in week 6 when he racked up 122 yards and 3 TDs on 9 receptions.  He's been held back with an injury, but he continues to be a big play threat.

James Jones
Stats-
Receiving: 42 Rec 495 yards 8 TDs 11.8 Y/R
Grade: A
Jones hasn't dropped a ball all season.  Jones, whose name was synonymous with dropped-passes in Green Bay, has really stepped it up this season and is showing why he's back on track to return to the team in 2013.

Greg Jennings
Stats-
Receiving: 12 Rec 78 yards 1 TD 6.5 Y/R
Grade: INC
Jennings has been his old self this year when healthy...which has been just about never this season.  He had surgery and will hopefully be back soon.

Donald Driver
Stats-
Receiving: 8 Rec 77 yards 2 TDs 9.6 Y/R
Grade: C
Driver is getting up there in years, but that hasn't stopped him from making some key grabs.  He's been solid for the most part, but he's dropped a couple big catches. 

Jarrett Boykin
Stats-
Receiving: 3 Rec 16 yards 0 TD 5.3 Y/R
Grade: INC
Gotten in for a few plays and made a couple key snags.  Still young and raw.

Offensive Line

TJ Lang-B
Bryan Bulaga-A
Derrick Sherrod-INC
Josh Sitton-A
Evan Deitrich-Smith-C
Marshall Newhouse-C
Don Barclay-INC
Greg Van Roten-INC
Jeff Saturday-B

(Obviously it'd be boring to talk about who is the best run blocker vs pass blocker.  The scores speak for themselves.)

Defensive Line

Jerel Worthy
Stats-
2.0 Sacks 8 Tackles 1 Assist
Grade: C
As a rookie 2nd round pick, I expected a little more production, but I can't hate the guy too much.  He has gotten pressure and will only get better.

BJ Raji
Stats-
0.0 Sacks 1 PD 3 Tackles 7 Assists
Grade: D-
Gotta be hard on Raji.  Since the Super Bowl run, he's racked up 17 tackles 3 sacks, 3 passes defended, and 1 fumble recovery.  Embarrassing. 

Ryan Pickett
Stats-
0.0 Sacks 14 Tackles 17 Assists
Grade: B
Pickett has done an awesome job once again of being the thankless clog up the middle.  As Raji struggles to maintain any shred of his old self, Pickett has been old reliable.  Never amazing but never a liability.

Mike Daniels
Stats-
2.0 Sacks 1 Fumble Recovery 5 Tackles
Grade: C+
As a rookie, Daniels has contributed minimally.  He's gotten some pressure in limited action, but has been out of place several times.

CJ Wilson
Stats-
2.5 Sacks 1 Pass Defended 12 Tackles 7 Assists
Grade: C+
He's been unspectacular, but solid.  He gets blocked out of plays a lot, but has taken advantage of Clay Matthews taking attention away from him.  I think the Packers will be happy when they can replace him, but he's an experienced vet.

Mike Neal
Stats-2.0 Sacks 5 Tackles 1 Assist
Grade: D+
This will only go up if he continues his play.  He's coming off a suspension and a couple of seasons where he was injured for the year.  The jury is out, but there's no doubt he's talented.

Linebackers

AJ Hawk
Stats-
1.0 sacks 47 Tackles 29 Assists
Grade: B-
AJ Hawk is never going to wow anybody, but man is he just solid.  The guy is probably the most fundamentally sound player on defense.  No surprises with him, just hard nosed football.  In week 11 vs the Lions, he made some huge tackles and was in on a bunch of plays.  I'll take that kind of output every week.

DJ Smith
Stats-
2.0 Sacks 4 passes defended 29 tackles 10 assists
Grade: B
DJ Smith has been one of my favorite Ted Thompson draft picks.  Dude has racked up 53 tackles in just 9 starts and has been a stud.  Unfortunately, Smith is on injured reserve so we'll have to wait for 2013 to see him suit up again. 

Clay Matthews
Stats-
9.0 Sacks 1 PD 1 FF 21 Tackles 10 Assists
Grade: A
Clay has been hurt by another hamstring injury that's killed 1.5 games for him so far, but still he's back to his old self.  He's a sack machine again and that's huge.

Erik Walden
Stats-
3.0 Sacks 1 INT 3 PD 20 Tackles 12 Assists
Grade: B
Walden has been a stud in limited action.  The Packers have a ton of LBs, but due to injuries to DJ Smith, Desmond Bishop, and Nick Perry, many guys have gotten in.  Walden's play will be key for the Packer's success.

Brad Jones
Stats-
1.0 Sacks 1 FF 20 Tackles 7 Assists
Grade: C+
Jones has been limited for most of the year buried on the depth chart and moved to a new position.  Still, after 2 guys at his position were injured for the year, he hasn't been consistently good in replacement duty. 

Desmond Bishop
Stats-
None
Grade: Incomplete
Bishop's injury in preseason has disrupted the defense completely.  He's probably the most consistent player on the defense and his absence is easily noticed.

Nick Perry
Stats-
2.0 Sacks 1 PD 13 Tackles 5 Assists
Grade: C-
Perry had a few good flashes-aka the play where Andrew Luck basically died for a minute on the field-but other than that, he really struggled.  One key area I noticed Perry struggling in is pass coverage.  He was caught flatfooted a few times.  He's going to have to dedicate A LOT of time if he wants to be a starter.

Dezman Moses
Stats-
2.0 Sacks 1 PD 1 FF 3 Tackles 3 Assists 1 TD
Grade: B
His high grade for relatively low stats is based off of his high propensity for big plays in limited action.  He's been a pretty good special teams player, shown when he hustled to recover a blocked punt for a TD.  He had an excellent strip/sack of Matthew Stafford yesterday that prevented the Lions from taking a lead late in the 2nd quarter. 

Frank Zombo
Stats-
1 Assist
Grade: INC
Zombo has been a solid player over the years.  An injury has kept him out until this past week, but expect him to turn it up as the season goes on. 

Robert Francois
Stats-
NONE
Grade: D
He's a good special teamer, hence why he's on the roster still, but he hasn't done very well as a ILB.  He's had plenty of chances to move up, but an OLB moved to ILB is taking his spot.

Jamari Lattimore
Stats-
NONE
Grade: INC
Can't break into the lineup aside from special teams play.  Has been average there.

Vic So'oto
Stats-
NONE
Grade: INC
He's a pass rush specialist who struggles in all other areas of the game.  The Pack hopes to develop him into a starter one day.

Defensive Backs

Morgan Burnett
Stats-
2.0 Sacks 2 PD 1 FF 1 FR 52 Tackles 24 Assists
Grade: C
Burnett has played okay as a FS, but is not the ballhawk he was drafted to be and has been.  He racked up 3 INT last year, this year he has had 0.  He has been constantly out of position, has poor tackling form, and has let a couple INTs slip through his hands.  I admire his hustle, but that's about it.

Tramon Williams
Stats-
2 INTs 10 PD 37 Tackles 8 Assists
Grade: B+
Tramon is improving over his play last year.  The shoulder injury seems to be healed and he's back to playing shut down corner.  He dominated Brandon Marshall in week 2 and though Calvin Johnson had some big grabs vs him, the Packers definitely played a ton of zone with a safety over the top against Johnson.  This changed Williams' style of play.  The Pack was trying to avoid the big play.  It didn't work largely in part to a couple of poor defensive plays by Burnett and some luck.  Williams dominates in press-man coverage.

Charles Woodson
Stats-
1.5 Sacks 1 INT 5 PD 1 FF 25 Tackles 13 Assists
Grade: B
Woodson is aging quickly, yet he amassed those stats in just 7 games at a new position, Strong Safety.  He continues to make plays with his instincts/smarts rather than football ability.  He's solid for another couple years.

Casey Hayward
Stats-
5 INTs 14 PD 1 FF 24 Tackles 10 Assists
Grade: A+
The rookie out of Vanderbilt has been playing OUTSTANDING football.  Sure, he's hit some rookie bumps, but he's made some incredible plays and has good positional awareness.  He's in the running for DROY.

MD Jennings
Stats-
1 INT 2 PD 14 Tackles 10 Assists 1 TD
Grade: B
Jennings is still young, but he's made a few key plays.  He picked off Matthew Stafford and returned the ball 72 yards for a TD showing return skills as well as awareness when he made the play.  He's got a lot of room to improve, but he's started out well.

Sam Shields
Stats-
1 INT 3 PD 1 FR 15 Tackles 2 Assists
Grade: C-
Shields has played poorly since 2010.  He can't keep depending on his speed and has to become more fundamentally sound if he enjoys employment.

Davon House
Stats-
1.0 Sacks 3 PD 10 Tackles 5 Assists
Grade: C+
He's been injured but he's shown flashes of good play.  I'm a fan.

Jerron McMillian
Stats-
1 INT 5 PD 1 FR 9 Tackles 9 Assists
Grade: C-
He's a rookie, but with some opportunities handed to him early, he hasn't made the best of them all.  Still, he's a promising young player who will hopefully develop into a starter one day.

Jarrett Bush
Stats-
1 FR 4 Tackles
Grade: B
This grade is completely based on special teams play.  He has been absolutely dominant on special teams.

Sean Richardson
Stats-
1 Assist
Grade: INC
Burried behind 4 other guys.


Special Teams

Tim Masthay  
Stats-
48 Punts 2135 yards 1 Blocked 44.5 Y/P
Grade: A
What a wonderful feeling to have an excellent punter.  He's made some incredible kicks.

Mason Crosby
Stats-
FGM 11 FGA 18 61.1% 30/30 PAT
Grade: F
What happened, Mason?

Brett Goode
Stats-
NONE
Grade: A
Solid long snapper.  No issues and makes some good special teams plays.


My notes-

-Ted Thompson is an AMAZING GM.  For a team that went 15-1 last year, you'd think there wouldn't be much need for rookies to play, but that's not the case.  Rookies have accounted for: 6 (50%) of all INTs, 2 (66.6666%) of all defensive/ST touchdowns, 8 (24.2%) of all sacks, 2 (33.3333%) of all forced fumbles, and 62 (16%) of all tackles. 

-It's sad to see Woodson and Driver drop off.  Driver was a rookie in 1999 and got a starting gig in 2002 where he proceeded to snag 7 1,000 yard seasons.  He's had basically nothing this year.  Woodson has had at least 1 TD every season with the Packers.  He's in danger of breaking that streak.  He's still being actively used as a pass rusher, though.  1.5 is the lowest number since he recorded 0 in 2007, but it's still a lot for a 36 year old DB.  He's racked up 11.5 in 100 games with the Packers along with 38 INTs, 15 Forced fumbles, 6 fumble recoveries, and 10 total TDs

-Aaron Rodgers' last 100 yard runner?  October 10th, 2010.  Brandon Jackson ran for 115 yards on 10 carries thanks in large part to a 71 yard scamper vs the Washington Redskins.  Rodgers has had just 9 (including playoffs) games with a 100 yard rusher.

-Keeping on topic with Aaron Rodgers, Aaron Rodgers is 99th in passing yards, 92nd in pass completions, 113th in pass attempts, tied for 70th in passing TDs, 1st in career passer rating by almost 8 full points, tied for 234th in passes intercepted, 89th in times sacked, 4th in YPA, 1st in % of passes intercepted, 7th in percentage of passes gone for TDs.  Those are all-time numbers.

-Active numbers-19th in passing yards, 18th in passes completed, 19th in passes attempted, 15th in passing TDs (the youngest guy ahead of him is Ben Roethlisberger who has 50 more starts but only 23 more passing TDs), 1st in passer rating, tied for 35th in number of passes intercepted, 16th in times sacked, 1st in YPA, 1st in INT%, 1st in TD%.

-Jordy Nelson's 15 TD season in 2011 ranked as the 3rd best effort by a Packer WR.  Sterling Sharpe and Don Hutson are the only 2 with better numbers. 

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