November 18th, 2008

4-4 Makes An Apperance

packeraaron in Brady Poppinga, Chalk Talk, Desmond Bishop

Great post by Brian over at Railbird regarding the use of the 4-4 formation on the play where Matt Forte was stuffed on a 3rd and 1 this past Sunday against the Bears. (I’ll admit; I was shocked they got the stop.)

Per Brian:

The defense used a 4-4 front including Desmond Bishop and Brady Poppinga in at linebacker. Forte was stuffed and the little used Bishop was in on the tackle.

One has to wonder whether the Packers will be using that grouping of players more often considering their troubles this season in defending against the run.

Number one, they get more run stuffing help up front. And number two, the defensive backs seem more than capable of fending for themselves despite less help in the secondary given their performance this year.


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November 4th, 2008

Sanders’ Blitzing Problem

packeraaron in A.J. Hawk, Bob Sanders, Brady Poppinga, Charles Woodson, Nick Barnett, Packer Defense

Looking at the game again last night, I confirmed something (in my mind, at least) that I had suspected after the Atlanta game.

Bob Sanders can’t design a quality defensive back pressure package. He CAN design a quality linebacker dog/blitz but doesn’t have any quality pass rushers at the linebacking position.

The worst offender is A.J. Hawk. He is simply dreadful when called upon to blitz from the line. If he comes free, he has a distant chance. If he is presented with any kind of resistance, forget it. He simply can not get around or shed any kind of block. He GIVES UP. Let me get this straight - he can’t cover. He can’t rush the quarterback. And we made him the 5th overall pick in the draft? Yikes.

Hawk is not alone, of course. For all the talk of Poppinga’s talent as a pass rusher, after all the puff pieces this summer about how the coaching staff was putting in new packages where Brady could show off his pass rushing prowess, we’ve gotten as much production from Poppinga in rushing the quarterback as we did last year. Namely - zippo. And don’t even get me started on Barnett, who has just forgotten how to play the game.

And then there are the defensive backs. Go back and watch the Atlanta game and then watch the Tennessee game again. Every time Sanders sends Woodson or Williams, a glaring hole is left in the coverage that both Matt Ryan and Kerry Collins easily exploit for big gains. It’s like Sanders just doesn’t take into consideration that offenses can adjust their routes on site. (Note to Bob: Ask your Head Coach about this. His offense does it all the time) I mean, pull up a seat and grab your popcorn when you see a Packer defensive back rushing the quarterback. It’s Amateur Hour!


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July 24th, 2008

Poppinga’s Deal

packeraaron in Bob Sanders, Brady Poppinga

The Packer’s announced today that they have given Brady Poppinga a four year contract extension, including a $4.3 million signing bonus.

This is great for both Poppinga and the Packers. Even with the signing of Brandon Chillar this offseason, I expected Poppinga to win the starting strong side linebacker job, and it would seem the Packers do as well. I know he has his weak points (see: Tight Ends, Covering Of…) but he really came on towards the end of last season and had just a stellar game against the Giants in the NFC Championship game. There have even been rumblings that Poppinga may be used a bit at defensive end on passing downs, which makes sense if Sanders swings Jenkins inside. I wouldn’t be surprised to see something along the lines of what the Giants were doing last season with 4 defensive ends on the field at one time, what they called their ‘Ace’ package.

Overall, it’s good to see the Packers keeping good players in the fold, especially ones that fit their scheme so well and that have proved loyal and willing to do whatever is asked of them for the betterment of the team. Remember, when Chillar was signed, Poppinga didn’t disparage the team or Chillar - he welcomed him into the fold and relished the competition. That’s the kind of guy you want in your locker room, and the Packers have ensured he’ll be in theirs for the next four years.


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June 2nd, 2008

The Good and the Bad (Waiting On Ugly…)

packeraaron in Aaron Rodgers, Atari Bigby, Brady Poppinga, Good Bad Ugly

It’s been awhile, but here in the depths of the worst, most boring part of the NFL offseason is my official ‘Good, Bad and Ugly’ - without the Ugly - from the latest Packer mini-camp report. (Yes, I am now reduced to observing and commenting on the observations of others for practices that the media doesn’t even get to see most of…)

The Good:

Aaron Rogers

Aaron Rodgers, for the most part, sounds like he’s delivering just what you’d expect. Some nice throws, some mistakes, but overall he’s being efficient with the football. Maybe the hope for Packer fans should simply be that points the Packers don’t score because of the loss of Favre’s brilliant playmaking are offset by Rodgers taking better care of the football, thereby giving the opposing offense fewer opportunities to score. Or something like that.

The Bad:

Defending the Tight End

It’s nice to read that Rodgers is throwing 16 yard touchdown passes, until you realize that he’s throwing them to the starting tight-end in double-coverage supplied by Atari Bigby and Brady Poppinga. Some things never change…


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March 19th, 2008

Chillar A Packer

packeraaron in Brady Poppinga, Ted Thompson

Right after I post about how smart Ted Thompson is for not signing any free agents - he signs a free agent.

Chillar is nice competition for Poppinga, but my gut feeling is Poppinga will beat him out in training camp.


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