NOT FAR FROM TRANSITION TO 3-4?

Pat Kirwan over at NFL.com started a short series of updates he will be giving on the Packers transition from 4-3 to 3-4. And the title of his first article is "Packers not far off from making 3-4 defensive conversion work." Kirwan talks about how it took Dallas nearly 2 years, New England three first round picks on the line, and the Jets a few years to get the right personnel in place for the 3-4, and he argues that the Packers may be much closer than most people think.

At nose tackle, Kirwan thinks Ryan Pickett is more than adequate to get the ball rolling, but he believes he needs a young backup to rotate in and give him some rest. As for the outside linebackers, Kirwan says that Aaron Kampman is even more suited for the switch from DE to OLB than Greg Ellis was for the Cowboys. He states that Kampman should be the least of the Packers' issues in the conversion." I'm not fully on board with that idea yet. Brady Poppinga and Brandon Chillar are currently slotted to fill the spot opposite Kampman, but Kirwan suggests the Pack might look towards the draft for this spot as well, citing the names of Larry English, Aaron Curry, Everette Brown, and Brian Orakpo (Brown and Orakpo would be converted DE's as well).

The defensive ends the Packers currently have for the 3-4 are Cullen Jenkins, who should fit in just fine, and Mike Montgomery, who is a question mark and has a lot to prove. Kirwan says that the Packers should make a play in free agency for the Cowboys' Chris Canty or the Chargers' Igor Olshansky. I guess he's not very optimistic about Julius Peppers coming to Lambeau. At strong inside linebacker, A.J. Hawk should excel, as long as Ryan Pickett can hold down the middle and keep demanding double teams. At weak ILB, Nick Barnett, as long as he recovers from his ACL injury, should be just fine.

Finally, in the secondary, this is where I truly question Kirwan. He says that there isn't much conversion from 4-3 to 3-4. It has been well documented that the Packers bump-and-run corners will need to learn to sluff off and play a lot more zone, something that Al Harris and Charles Woodson may struggle with. He believes that if the Packers make a free agent signing in the front 3 and draft a ready to play outside linebacker, they could make the transition in under one year. That is a VERY bold statement, and I'd like to see the green and gold make a few good moves and picks before I'm ready to jump to such a conclusion.