The Green Bay Packers have turned the page on the Dom Capers era. The longtime defensive coordinator was shown the door after another poor showing by the Packers defense this season. Now, Packers head coach Mike McCarthy will turn to Mike Pettine, a disciple of former NFL head coach Rex Ryan, to lead his defense. Pettine has spent time as the defensive coordinator for the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills. He was also the head coach for the Cleveland Browns for two seasons. In this article, we ask high school football coach and contributor for Packtothefuture.com Ben Clubb to give us a better understanding of Pettine and the style of defense he will look to implement for the Packers.
A Coach’s Look at New Green Bay Packers Defensive Coordinator Mike Pettine
LWOS: Thanks for joining us again, Coach. As many readers know from our last discussion and your work at Packtothefuture.com, you were a big supporter of former Packers defensive coordinator Dom Capers, through the good times and the bad. Now that the Packers have hired Pettine to replace Capers, what have you seen in your game tape watching that Pettine does similar and differently compared to Capers?
Coach Clubb: First and foremost I’d like to say thank you for the opportunity to do chat with you again. LWOS puts out some great content and things that I read every week. You guys do a phenomenal job.
You’re right when you say that I supported Capers through the good and the bad. This year it felt as if most of it was bad. I was a big fan of his scheme and the way he utilized his personnel. I was a big believer that constant pressure by the defense is the way to go, so of course you are going to give up some big plays every now and then. In the end though, I think the Packers made the right move.
Let me start by saying that I think the Pettine hire was a good one. I think we were all a little surprised when we saw that he would be the one in charge of the Packers defense. One of the biggest differences in Capers and Pettine is the way that Pettine utilizes his base defense. Every front on defense stems from your base look. Capers base look was to have three-technique and five-technique ends, so both of them were shaded on the offensive linemen. Pettine, however, plays his base from what he calls an “odd” front. Both of the ends are head up on the tackle, known as a four-technique. He will slant those guys inside when bringing outside pressure, or send them out when blitzing an inside linebacker. I’m a big fan of this look. In this particular front, he uses a two-gap look, but that is not the case for all of his fronts. A big advantage of playing heads up is that the ends can get a bull rush on the tackle, making it difficult for the quarterback to see downfield. That is one thing I learned from the great Packers defensive coordinator Fritz Shurmur.
Another difference that I noticed in the two is that Pettine will utilize his outside linebackers in coverage much more than Capers would. Usually, Capers would run his sub package, so both outside linebackers were playing the edge, but Pettine runs much more base and places his outside linebackers on the slot receiver or a tight end, all depending on the coverage.
LWOS: In your most recent article at Packtothefuture.com, you talk about Pettine’s defense having a lot of flexibility. The Packers are expected to have a lot of turnover on their defense with Brian Gutekunst as their new general manager. But with the personnel the Packers should have returning, which Packers will benefit the most from Pettine’s flexible defense?
Coach Clubb: That is definitely what is so attractive about the 3-4 defense. You can go from your base look with guys head up, to an over or under 4 man front, to a 5 man front.
I am extremely excited to see how he utilizes Clay Matthews. This is a guy who has proven that he can play inside and outside linebacker. In a couple of fronts that Pettine runs, the outside linebacker will actually roll off of the line of scrimmage and read the tackle, much like a 4-3 outside linebacker. Capers ran this look as well, just not as much. I think Matthews could play inside linebacker if Pettine called for it and bump another player outside. I like the way Matthews rushes the quarterback, so I would hope he stays there. I know Pettine will utilize the strengths of every player.
I’m also excited to see what Josh Jones can do. Capers used him inside the box at times last year. I think he really held his own in run fits and playing underneath zones in coverage. He’s a hybrid guy who I think could be utilized in a lot of ways.
LWOS: Speaking of Matthews, he hasn’t registered a double digit sack season since 2014. It seems that playing outside linebacker has taken a toll on his body. Do you feel that Pettine can help Matthews get back to registering double digit sacks? If so, how?
Coach Clubb: I think so, yes. The variety of stunts that Pettine runs I think could really free up Matthews and give him a more clear path to the quarterback. I think one reason that Matthews had such low numbers is that, like I stated earlier, Capers would run so much nickel and dime defense with four-man pressure. He would stunt, but a lot of that came with an inside linebacker shooting the A/B gap head on. Say, for instance, that Pettine came out in his base defense with head up ends. If one end shot the A gap, an inside linebacker shoots the B gap, and Clay comes off the edge, that could potentially free him up if the tackle plays the B gap rush. That’s a very popular stunt, and is one of my favorites. I’m an optimist with Matthews, and feel that Pettine can get the best out of him.
LWOS: Injuries had a lot to do with the Packers poor secondary play last season, but still, when healthy, the secondary struggled. From what you have seen on tape, what can Pettine’s defense do to help make sure the secondary improves?
Coach Clubb: I cringe at times when watching the Packers secondary on tape, especially last season. I just think back to when the Detroit Lions came to Green Bay on Monday night. That was the low point. One of the biggest problems in the secondary is tackling. Let’s not beat around the bush; it was horrendous at times. A lot of this comes from guys implementing new tackling techniques that I don’t feel help at all. One of those methods is called the “Hawk tackle.” I saw this drill a lot at training camp this season when I visited Green Bay. Basically, the defensive back would run toward the bag, wrap up, and roll him to the ground. The idea of the hawk tackle is to attack the ball carrier with the nearest shoulder, wrap, and roll, much like a rugby tackle. The idea was to take the head out of the tackle. While the intentions are good, the quality of tackling has fallen. It is just basic fundamentals, even at the highest level. This group must tackle better.
Pettine also plays a number of different coverages. From what I have seen on tape, he runs a lot of cover 3, man, and cover 6. Cover 6 is a split field coverage where one side is playing cover 4 and the other side is playing cover 2. Capers ran a lot more 2 under defense and cover 3. Cover 3 is usually a base coverage for 3-4 teams because it fits well with what they run up front. I think Pettine will turn this group loose and let them cover aggressively, something Capers didn’t do.
LWOS: Safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix struggled mightily this past season and at times, looked uninterested in tackling. Is there something Pettine can do to help Clinton-Dix get back to the level he played at in the 2016-2017 season?
Coach Clubb: A lot of it comes back to, as I previously mentioned, adapting new fundamentals of tackling. Clinton-Dix had a bad season when it came to tackling. He really surprised me, because seasons prior he would always bring his best. I think as the Packers adapt to new tackling techniques that it will improve. Some of the poor tackling that we have seen also can fall blame on the NFL. I was shocked when I learned that NFL teams have such few full padded practices. I get that they are professionals, but even they need to practice the basics of the game. I also understand that they want to cut down on injuries, but with fewer full padded practices the tackling won’t be as sharp.
LWOS: Finally Coach, it seems the two standout pieces to the Packers defensive future is defensive linemen Mike Daniels and Kenny Clark. How do you expect Pettine to utilize the two of them?
Coach Clubb: This is one group that I am extremely excited to see. Pettine runs a number of different fronts that utilize two-gap and one-gap techniques. No one defense is strictly two-gap or one-gap, it all depends on the front. I have seen Pettine run a lot of what I call a ‘bear’ front. What he does is bring both ends in to three-techniques, or the outside shade of the guard, and the outside linebackers will bump slightly outside of the tackle. The nose will be tilted slightly over the center. Can you imagine trying to block Daniels in a three-technique? The thought alone should scare any offensive lineman to death. I think that is where he is at his best. His pure strength and athleticism is noticed up front around the league. With Clark, I think tilting him over the center will work great. Clark can ear smash that center, freeing up an inside linebacker. I think Clark still has untapped potential, and I’m confident that Pettine will discover it.
Coach Clubb will be a contributor for us throughout next season and will give us an even better understanding of how Pettine’s defense is holding up when the season kicks off.
For Packers fans who have been asking for a new voice on the defensive side of the ball, they are hoping Pettine can fix the issues that have troubled the defense for so long. If he does, and Aaron Rodgers continues to lead the Packers offense at a high level, there is no reason to doubt that the Packers not only will be back in the playoffs, but will have another shot at a Super Bowl appearance.
