Green Bay Packers: Nickel defense gets new look at training camp

The Green Bay Packers opened training camp on Thursday, and new defensive coordinator Mike Pettine seems to have implemented a new look on defense.

The Green Bay Packers kicked off 2018 training camp in their usual style on Thursday, continuing a longstanding tradition of riding bikes into practice. Players stay in the dorms at St. Norbert College in De Pere, WI and ride bicycles to Ray Nitschke Field on roads surrounded by fans.

The first day of training camp was rather eventful. Right tackle Bryan Bulaga was seen working out on the sidelines, Aaron Rodgers was picked off by Kevin King on his first throw of practice, Randall Cobb was out of his walking boot and rookie punter J.K. Scott had an excellent outing.

But possibly the most interesting detail was the new formation on the Packers nickel defense. Nickel packages have increasingly become a dominant for defenses around the NFL, and Green Bay’s philosophy has been no different. A nickel defense is defined by five defensive backs being on the field at one time — as opposed to a traditional base defense, which includes only four defensive backs.

Last season, former defensive coordinator Dom Capers implemented a 2-4-5 formation in his nickel package. That is, two defensive linemen, four linebackers (two outside linebackers and two inside linebackers) and five defensive backs. The package was a staple of the Packers defense.

However, the defense was in an unfamiliar formation yesterday when lining up with five DBs. New defensive coordinator Mike Pettine apparently sees the importance of the defensive line, and justifiably so. The nickel defense was lined up in a 3-3-5 style package.

New signing Muhammad Wilkerson was the main addition up front, along with the two starters from last season, Kenny Clark and Mike Daniels. But the biggest change was the fact that there was only one outside linebacker.

Kyler Fackrell was lined up outside of either Daniels or Wilkerson, with linebackers Blake Martinez and Jake Ryan lined up in the middle. Finally, the secondary consisted of Kevin King, Tramon Williams and Davon House at cornerback, with Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and Kentrell Brice at safety. Williams was the main man in the slot.

Of course, Fackrell won’t be the starter at outside linebacker come September, but having only one edge rusher on the outside may allow Green Bay to have a more consistent pass rush as games wear on. With Clay Matthews and Nick Perry rotating between drives/plays, the extra rest could mean more juice late into the fourth quarter.

A trio of Wilkerson, Clark and Daniels up front makes for one of the best defensive lines a coach could ask for. The subtraction of a pass rusher on the outside becomes less important due to Wilkerson’s addition — not to mention serviceable depth in Dean Lowry, Joey Mbu and Montravius Adams.

The Packers may not line up in a 3-3-5 formation every  time Pettine employs a nickel package. But the new look from yesterday’s practice could be indicative of plenty of more changes to come from Green Bay’s new defensive mastermind.