Interestingly, the one big lineup change--putting Raji at the nose and moving Pickett to DE--seems like a move that was made mainly to improve the run defense, by beefing up the line and protecting Brad Jones. I don't think Pickett will rush the passer quite as well as Jolly did.
"Greg C." wrote:
Actually, I see it as a move that could potentially help the pass defense. Raji is lining up at NT because of his ability to rush the passer. The NT is the closes defender to the QB, which means his path is the easiest. The best way to disrupt a passer is to penetrate up the middle. If Raji does that, the pass rush will improve.
Also, Pickett is a big space eater and Jones will get to play behind that. In theory, Pickett could take up two blockers, which will leave Jones in a lot of one on one situations. This will allow him to fly to the football a lot more and hopefully rush the passer.
For me, the best way to solve the pass defense is to develop a more consistent pass rush. I believe that's what the Packers are banking on with these two positional changes.
"porky88" wrote: