I was going to post this in the WR set thread as part of a continuing discussion, but with the topic police policing the threads for off-topic posts, I'm starting this as a new thread. 😛

Found the below discussion on the old U-71 formation from PackersChatters. Ive adjusted it to who Id like to see playing the numbered roles (Greg Jennings at WR, and Howard Green in the TE/U-71 position).

Id love to see the defensive ends face the first time Green lined up opposite themas long as he didnt get a holding call, wed be sure to get at least a yard just by him falling forward lol

In reading the descriptions, I couldnt help picturing Jennings one-on-one on the left and Rodgers running the naked bootleg (hes GOT to be a more credible run threat than Favre was on this play).

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98 Toss Solid Buck

Packers Fans have seen this play many times. This is the power run the Packers use out of the U-71 formation. Mike Sherman diagramed and explained this play on Larry McCarren's TV show.


Mike Sherman says this play was the Packers signature play. "84", the Packers starting wide receiver Javon Walker, always lines up on the backside. If the D plays a safety over towards him, the run has a better chance. If the D plays one safety back in the center of the field and brings the other S up into the box, then Walker has man coverage and a pass is a great option. #71 is backup tackle Kevin Barry. At 335 lbs he outweighs every DE in the NFL. He has to knock the DE off the ball. The TE vs. the CB is another great match up. The TE has to "widen him" - he must push the CB to the outside and create space. The RT blocks down on the DT to his left. The RG pulls and "hopefully" cuts the LB ( B ) which makes the running back's decision easier. "Sometimes when you stay high on LBs, particularly at the point, the back doesn't know which way to go. We want that LB on the ground."

Flannigan, the Packer's center, takes an angle to block M, the middle linebacker. Clifton, the Packer's left tackle, has to take a great angle to get W, the weak side linebacker. The backside (left) OG has to cut the T off because he can chase the play down. Sometimes the FB goes in short motion, sometimes not. When he does go in motion hes "out of the way" and "creates a great picture for the back when he gets the football". Brett Favre turns and tosses the ball to the HB, then "does a naked bootleg" to hold the DE, which usually works because "we've thrown so many key passes". The FB "navigates" through the best run lane. The FB never "bypasses color (opponents) - if color shows, he'll block it but we're trying to work him to a secondary player (S). And if 84 is doubled, everyone can get blocked and it has a chance to go all the way."

"Ds have to stop this play. We don't worry about what they're doing; they have to worry about what we're doing."

The obvious strength of the play is the match ups at the point: Kevin Barry on the DE, the TE on the DB, and the RT has a great angle on the DT. The toughest blocks on the play are the "reach" blocks by the C, LG and LT. Theres no "leverage" there - it takes good athletes to make those blocks. Last year when one of the reach blocks against Chicago middle linebacker Brian Urlacher failed, he was able to hit Green hard enough to force a fumble and return the fumble 98 yards for a TD. It really is a "run to daylight" play - there's an obvious lane where the play should be - and usually is - run, but with a talented back like Green it doesn't have to go there to be successful.

What... you expect a brilliant mind like Mike McCarthy to add creativity to the run game and not just the pass game to exploit defenses.

Damn.. and our straight I formation runs work so well .. ;)

+1 for the very solid and thought out post.

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Thanks Macbob. I'll write up a response later, but this is a good thread. Wife is bugging me to take her for breakfast.

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Before Tauscher went on IR I had some hopes of Bulaga being on for similar formations. It is not a run formation only.

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From JSOnline.com, here's what Philbin had to say about it last year. It was a pretty weak response, imo:

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Offensive coordinator Joe Philbin squashed that idea at midweek, pointing out that it wouldn't mesh with coach Mike McCarthy's commitment to the zone-run scheme.

http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packers/65884642.html 

The scheme is great and all, but look at the personel they had and we have.



Walker vs Jennings.

Walker, in his prime, was one of the top WRs in the league. In 2004, he'd be drawing double coverages on every single play. While our WR group is a lot deeper than it was back then, we don't have as big as a stand out guy as Walker was.

O-line vs O-line

Clifton in his prime vs Clifton now. His pass blocking has been on par so far this season, but with his knees and at his age, his run blocking just isn't there anymore.

Wahle and Colledge.... Hah.

Flanagan and Wells. Wells has realy stepped it up in the pass protection department, but on screens and in the running game, I'll give the nod to Flanagan.

Rivera vs Sitton. Sitton is God.

Tauscher vs Bulaga. I really don't know at this point. I think that Bulaga is more physical in the run game than Tauscher ever was, but he makes some mental errors right now. I'll put this down as a tie.

Barry vs Green

Can't really say a whole lot about this. Only that Green has an extra 15 pounds on Barry. The guy's monstrous.

Franks vs Lee

Franks. Totally. Lee's a decent blocker, but nothing compares to Franks.

Henderson vs Hall/Johnson

Henderson was everything you'd want out of a fullback. Hall is average. Johnson is a great runblocker, but makes some mental mistakes and is very onesided.

Green vs Jackson/Kuhn

No contest. Very few playes even come close to Green in his prime.

Conclusion

I'd love to see something like this, but really, it's not that far removed from what we've already ran at one point last game. We subbed in Lang as our OL/TE guy. I don't know how much better Green would've been. We need some more than a run heavy formation with a DT subbed in to get this thing going.

I would agree with your assessments in general, with some caveats:

I agree that Sitton/Bulaga should be upgrades. Green would be a work-in-progress, and despite the weight advantage Im not sure hed be as good as Barry.

I like Jennings in a 1-on-1 matchup as the receiver in this formation. I dont think thats any drop off from Walker at all.

You left the QB out of your analysis. I like Rodgers rolling out and passing from this formation if the defense lines up with the safety in the box and the other safety 1-deep.

Philbin said in last years article that they were using the formation, but not running the play:

"I don't want to say it's a whole new offense, because it isn't," said Philbin. "We line up in some of that formation now. But it hasn't been a big thing of what we doIn the old days we used to run a down, down, kick-out," said Philbin. "Not that we don't have that in our package. We just haven't done it a lot out of that formation.

Finley would be great in the #1 WR spot in this formation.

Yeah, or even using him in the TE spot as a deep threat down the right side. If the safety's in the box against the run, he'd be 1-on-1 against the CB on that side, and the deep safety would have to pick his poison of who he was going to help out on, Jennings or Finley.

You beat me to it. I was going to say it yesterday but the Mrs was bugging me to take her out for breakfast.

I love Gregorious but apples and oranges vs Walker. Walker's a better jumper. Gregorious is better at YAC. For this formation, Walker would have been better than Gregorious. Finley however would = Walker.

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