Run defense has been shoddy

[img_r]http://media.jsonline.com/images/440*302/pack120708.jpg[/img_r]Green Bay - It's more than significant that the Green Bay Packers are on pace to finish with the fewest sacks they've had in a season since 1999.

Failing to get to quarterbacks has been an Achilles' heel the second half of this season.

But if you dig a little deeper into the numbers, consider how many interceptions the defense has made despite a weak pass rush and compare productivity with last season, it becomes apparent that an underlying reason for the Packers' disappointing 5-7 season is their inability to stop the run.

If they don't find a cure for it soon, starting today against the Houston Texans, it won't be the story of their season; it will be their obituary.

"The fastest way to die is to not stop the run," defensive tackles coach Robert Nunn said. "We have to keep working on that."

The collapse of the run defense from last season is startling.

Last year, the Packers ranked 14th in rushing yards allowed (102.9) and 11th in average yards per carry (3.9). This year they rank 27th in yards (141.8) and 29th in yards per carry (4.8).

The major difference is in the number of big plays they've allowed. Last year, they gave up seven runs of 20 or more yards, including four that were 40 or more. Through 12 games this year, they have allowed nearly double the amount of long runs, 13 of 20 or more, four of 40 or more.

You can recite numbers all day that reflect how poorly defensive coordinator Bob Sanders' unit is playing the run - how about allowing an average of 4.8 yards per carry on first down? - but all of it will be just cud to chew while watching the playoffs on TV if the Packers don't find a cure fast.

"We've got to do better," Nunn said. "It's amazing. You watch the tape and it's like you watch two different tapes at times. I don't know how many yards (Carolina) had, but most of them came on explosive gains. Those are the things that get you beat in this league.

"We've got to get the little things taken care of. It doesn't do any good to have 10 good snaps and one bad one. We have to come out every round ready to fight. We'll continue to work through it."

It could be that Sanders, Nunn and defensive ends coach Carl Hairston just don't have the manpower to get it done.


In-house help
[ul]After trading defensive lineman Corey Williams instead of paying him, general manager Ted Thompson decided to rely on his in-house talent to pick up the slack. He had spent a first-round pick on Justin Harrell the year before for exactly this kind of situation.

He drafted end Jeremy Thompson in the fourth round this year to help prepare for the eventual decline of end Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila, who was released last month, but otherwise he stood pat. He counted on Harrell (back) and Johnny Jolly (rotator cuff) to recover from injury and be productive players; he counted on Colin Cole to handle backup duties for nose tackle Ryan Pickett; and he had an ace card with Cullen Jenkins, a blossoming right end who also could play inside.

Perhaps his worst mistake was not seeing that the injury-prone Harrell wasn't going to be ready for the season, and that even if he were, an inactive off-season was going to make him mostly ineffective. He did not find another big body with run-stopping ability to make up for Williams' loss and subsequently the line was left short in numbers at the start of the season.

Early in the year, with Harrell on the physically-unable-to-perform list and Jenkins on injured reserve after tearing a pectoral muscle, Pickett and Jolly were playing more snaps than they should have been. Each was getting 40 to 50 instead of 25 to 35, and it took its toll.

"You play inside like that the way we play and you play high numbers, it's going to catch up to you," Nunn said. "You go back several games and they had to play a lot of snaps. But that's no excuse. Guys are healthy, as healthy as they can be. We just have to improve, and that's what we talk about daily."

It would be unfair to pin all the blame for the run defense's woes on the defensive line. The linebacker unit clearly has not performed to the level it did last year and bears plenty of responsibility. But with any defense, it starts up front, and with the way the Packers' scheme is set up stopping the run is the priority for that group.

Allowing teams so many yards on first down puts the entire defense in an unfavorable position. An offense facing second and 5 can run or pass; an offense facing second and 9 is likely to pass.

So far, opponents have had second and 5 yards or fewer roughly 28% of their plays. On those downs, the Packers have just two sacks and opponents are averaging about 6 yards per carry.[/ul]


Can't key on pass
[ul]If the Packers were stopping the run better, the defensive line would be able to tee off more often at the snap, knowing odds are a pass is coming.

"The run is the most important thing to stop," Cole said. "And then our assignments first and foremost, and then we work on getting some pass rush. A lot of times when guys play-action us, those guys can lock up on us and hold us just like they do. It makes it harder to get off and play pressure."

Overall, individual performance may be at the root of the decline.

Pickett missed all of training camp with a hamstring injury, and though he hasn't missed a game, it's highly unlikely the injury hasn't had an effect on his play. His tackle numbers are actually ahead of last year's pace, so the decline probably isn't too great.

"He came in ready to go and, boom, he tweaked something and it just sets you back and it seems like you're running in mud uphill the rest of the way," Nunn said. "It's frustrating, but it's no excuse."

Jolly, meanwhile, is playing through his first full season. He played sparingly in six games as a rookie and started seven of 10 games last year before suffering the rotator cuff tear. His tackle numbers are better than they were last year, but he doesn't have a sack.

"I'm always hard on myself," Jolly said. "But I actually think I'm playing better than last year now. Who knows? There are still four more games to go. I just try to leave it all on the field every game."

Cole has had his ups and downs this year but seems to have given the Packers the same as he did a year ago. Harrell came back at midseason and has been effective at times but never dominant.

"Last year, you saw flashes of good things," Nunn said of Harrell. "The thing that we've got to do is be more consistent. I'm not sure without a true off-season the story is going to be told."

As a group, the statistics would show a drop-off in play. Ted Thompson wasn't willing to acknowledge that yet.

"Let's wait until the season is over to do that," he said. "We've still got four games to go. That's something you look at when the season is over."

If there has been one constant throughout the season, it has been the big play. Of the 13 runs of 20 or more yards, seven have occurred on first and 10. There isn't a lot of rhyme or reason to the breakdowns other than they just keep happening.

At this point, the Packers' hopes depend on figuring it out.

"The thing is, effort and everything is there," Pickett said. "Our attention to detail isn't there. Last year, we didn't give up big plays in the run game. I can count on my hand how many big plays we had last year. This year, it's always, teams have two or three big plays against us a game.

"It's always the same thing - somebody's out of a gap, somebody's not here or there. That's kind of frustrating."[/ul]

The major difference is in the number of big plays they've allowed. Last year, they gave up seven runs of 20 or more yards, including four that were 40 or more. Through 12 games this year, they have allowed nearly double the amount of long runs, 13 of 20 or more, four of 40 or more.