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.