A Look At The Packers Eagle & Okie Alignments

Aaron takes a look at the different defensive line alignments and how the Packers are testing out their personnel in each one.

Back at the beginning of camp it was reported that the Packers were planning to move Ryan Pickett back to the nose tackle position that he had played back in 2009 and that they planned on moving B. J. Raji over to Cullen Jenkins' old spot at defensive end. I was excited for the move then and remain so, but I wanted to take a closer look at exactly what Capers has been experimenting with over the last few preseason games in regards to what he calls his Eagle and Okie alignments for his defensive line

Eagle is constituted as follows:

The end to the strong side is head-up on the tackle in a 5-technique, the nose tackle is in a shaded position just off the strong-side shoulder of the center, and the weak-side end is in a 3-technique position on the outside shoulder of the guard.

As the Packers are trying to do things, Mike Neal and/or C.J. Wilson are the strong side end, Ryan Pickett is the nose and B.J. Raji is the weak-side end.

Of course, NFL offenses rarely just break the huddle and set up anymore. Most of them feature some kind of motion or wholesale changes in formation prior to the snap of the ball. This is why you will sometimes see the defensive line shifting around along with the offense. The defensive line is waiting to see where the offense lines up so it can read which side is the "strong" side. (Traditionally this is the side where the tight end lines up, or the side where the fullback is sometimes offset) Once the strong side is set, the defensive line lines up according to the guidelines above if they are running Eagle. There was a perfect example of the Eagle alignment on the second play of the game against the Cardinals.

Notice how Raji and Wilson switch sides while Pickett changes which side of the center he is shading to.

The Packers want to allow Raji to work against guys in space, hoping to single him up in more one-on-ones, and allow him to shoot gaps when called upon. This is where he excels and I expect Raji to cause all sorts of problems for offenses from this position. I also like moving Pickett back to nose for one simple reason - he's a much better "two gapper" than Raji is. Raji's strength is in his quickness off the ball and his ability to get through gaps quickly and be disruptive, much like Cullen Jenkins. Pickett, on the other hand, is best suited to the traditional two gap responsibilities of a nose tackle.

What is two-gapping? Quite simply, it's where the defensive lineman are asked to play two gaps.  They are asked to engage with the offensive lineman, read where the play is going, get off the block and make the tackle. It's a very old-school way of playing defensive line in a 3-4 and its becoming rarer and rarer in today's NFL, which might be why Capers and company decided they were wasting Pickett at defensive end. It's almost criminal when you realize what a natural Pickett is at two-gapping. Now, the Packers don't ask their nose to two gap very often (in fact they rarely asked it of Raji) but when he's been asked to do it Pickett has excelled.

For a textbook example of this technique, take a look at the play below:

Notice how Pickett stands his man up, reads the back, disengages from the block and makes the tackle. Absolutely textbook.

That's not to say that Capers is keeping Pickett strictly at the nose. On at least one snap where the Packers ran their Okie alignment, Pickett was lined up at defensive end. In fact, it came on the play where he got the sack of Kolb.

Okie is constituted as follows:

Both ends play a 5-technique head-up over the tackles while the nose tackle is head-up on the center.

One would think that this would be more of a traditional run-stopping set, but notice how Capers sends a corner blitz. The alignments for the line are just an ingredient that goes in to each and every defensive play. There is the line's alignment, there's the coverage and there is the pressure aspect, if any is called for. Capers has literally hundreds of combos to play with in this regard and its why younger quarterbacks in particular have such trouble with his defense. Notice how Kolb keeps waiting for something to develop that never does. Most likely he's seeing something he never expected. (He completely misses Fitzgerald, who breaks off his route after he sees the blitz)

I have no doubt Capers and defensive line coach Mike Trgovac will look at several more combos as preseason goes on. (It's interesting to see Howard Green lined up at nose in the Okie front) The biggest beneficiary of the move, in my mind, will be the Packers run defense. While the Cardinals were able to make some hay on the ground, I think a lot of that was due to the Packers still trying things out up front (not to mention a couple of poor plays by Erik Walden on the outside where he completely lost contain) But having Pickett in the middle should really strengthen the heart of the run defense.

Overall, work remains to be done but I am very excited about the direction things are going on the defensive line.

 

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Comments (26)

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MIKE47SMITH's picture

August 22, 2011 at 09:52 pm

GOOD STUFF!

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Jmac34's picture

August 22, 2011 at 10:33 pm

I always enjoy these because the video makes the article so much easier to understand the break down of the schemes that you are talking about. Good job.

PS, how are you guys not credited by the Packers?

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Nate's picture

August 23, 2011 at 10:10 am

I agree with this...posting the video helps tremendously. I actually wish there was more and more of this.

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Jeremy's picture

August 22, 2011 at 10:42 pm

Thanks for this this. I've been watching in the game trying to pick this out and these videos will help.

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bogmon's picture

August 22, 2011 at 11:29 pm

Aaron pointing out the subtleties as usual. Learn something new every time.

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RockinRodgers's picture

August 22, 2011 at 11:30 pm

Real good stuff here. Thanks.

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Jay's picture

August 23, 2011 at 12:40 am

Aaron, how do you know Walden lost contain and didn't just have the spill responsibility?

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PackerAaron's picture

August 23, 2011 at 05:30 am

Because he admitted he messed up and lost contain.

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MarkinMadison's picture

August 23, 2011 at 07:31 am

I'm surprised that a newspaper with a good on-line presence hasn't made a bid for you guys yet. This kind of an innovative article is just something that old-school newspaper guys could only have dreamed about.

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lmills's picture

August 23, 2011 at 08:56 am

Can you explain what a 5 technique means now?

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PackerAaron's picture

August 23, 2011 at 09:52 am

In basic terms, "5 technique" relates to the gap the lineman is responsible for. The "5" aligns outside of the OT in a traditional set, but this can change from team to team, front to front, etc.

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PackersRS's picture

August 23, 2011 at 10:24 am

I've always had the notion that the Packers' D wasn't a traditional 3-4, like the Wade Phillips' 1 gap or the Patriots' 2 gap, that they used multiple philosophies depending on the player Capers' had, and this proves what I thought.

Great post, Aaron, and completely agree with the others that say you don't get this anywhere else. To the national media, the Packers need big and tall DEs because they play the 3-4, and the 3-4 is a run stopping formation...

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CSS's picture

August 23, 2011 at 10:28 am

It's what I love about Capers, he plays to the strengths of his core play-makers with no rigidity towards a specific philosophy. He knows the tape inside out on guys like Woodson and Raji, adjusts his formations to play to their strengths.

Phillips, while a great coordinator, is more rigid. He's always errs on the side of philosophy over personnel.

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CSS's picture

August 23, 2011 at 11:15 am

I don't get it....

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PackersRS's picture

August 23, 2011 at 03:55 pm

Really?

Bob Sanders... Cel Sanders... Ah forget it.

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packsmack25's picture

August 23, 2011 at 10:47 am

Aaron, it's too bad you don't have a son yet. You'd make a great coach. Explained perfectly. Thank you.

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MarkinMadison's picture

August 23, 2011 at 11:58 am

Is there a difference between the Packers' Okie and the traditional 3-4 Eagle (2 DL/5LB) alignment?

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MarkinMadison's picture

August 23, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Scratch that. I thought that the Okie front was the two DL front used last year. There are three DL in Okie. I can't remember the name of the two DL formation they used last year. I was wondering though if it was basically what used to be called a 3-4 Eagle.

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redlights's picture

August 25, 2011 at 09:52 am

I think that was Psycho. No?

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Bigfog's picture

August 23, 2011 at 02:16 pm

Aaron, remind me again why it is that you work in NYC when you should be coaching someplace? Because this is all gold man.

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PackersRS's picture

August 23, 2011 at 06:47 pm

It's one thing to recognize and understand techniques and etc...It's another thing to teach it.
Not saying Nagler wouldn't be able to do it, just saying that being smart about football doesn't necessarily translates to being a good coach.

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Jersey Al's picture

August 23, 2011 at 06:39 pm

Fantastic!

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FootballGods's picture

August 24, 2011 at 10:17 am

Who is #97 in the 2nd video?

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PackerAaron's picture

August 24, 2011 at 10:21 am

Johnny Jolly. That play is from the 2009 season.

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FootballGods's picture

August 24, 2011 at 04:52 pm

Ah, dur. Sure could use him, what a waste!

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