Green Pay Packers: Why the Pack Should Focus on Run Defense in 2012 NFL Draft

The Packers had the worst defense in the NFL in 2011, allowing over 400 yards per game.

Much of the blame for this has been given to the pass defense, which gave up up just under 300 yards per game.

The defensive line and linebackers struggled to get to the quarterback, which exposed holes in the secondary, especially at safety with Charlie Peprah filling in for the injured Nick Collins, who may or may not be able to play football again.

Still, the Packers should focus on bolstering the run defense, which ranked 14th in the NFL in 2011 in yards per game but ranked much worse in yards per carry. It was 26th in the league in that category, allowing an entirely inadequate 4.7 yards per carry.

Even though the 2012 schedule will not be released until next month, the Packers’ opponents for the upcoming season have been announced, and the Pack will play more of the league’s top running backs than it will elite quarterbacks.

At home, they will play NFC North foes Chicago, Detroit and Minnesota, Arizona and San Francisco from the NFC West, Jacksonville and Tennessee from the AFC South, and New Orleans.

On the road, they’ll travel to Chicago, Detroit and Minnesota, Seattle and St. Louis from the NFC West, Houston and Indianapolis from the AFC South, and New York to play the Giants.

As you go through the teams, you’ll notice all of the quality running games they’ll play.

They’ll have to contend with the Bears’ Matt Forte twic; the Vikings’ Adrian Peterson twice (assuming he is able to return from a torn ACL and MCL in his knee, which the Vikings think he will); the Jaguars’ Maurice Jones-Drew; the 49ers’ Frank Gore; the Titans’ Chris Johnson; a Saints running game split between Mark Ingram, Chris Ivory, Darren Sproles and Pierre Thomas that 6th best in the NFL in 2011; the Rams’ Stephen Jackson; and the Texans’ Arian Foster.

That makes 10 games against quality running attacks the Packers can count on 2012.

The level of quarterbacks they will play, though, is not quite as high.

They’ll play the Bears’ Jay Cutler and the Lions’ Matthew Stafford twice each, the Saints’ Drew Brees, the Texans’ Matt Schaub, and the Giants’ Eli Manning.

That’s seven games against elite QBs the Packers should expect to play next year, and even if you count Matt Flynn and Sam Bradford as “elite” (which I don’t), that number is still lower than the number of quality running games they will play.

Therefore, to prepare for the upcoming season, the Packers should focus on run defense above pass defense through the rest of free agency and the NFL draft.

They should try to draft a quality defensive end or outside linebacker in the first round of the draft who can close running lanes and is a good tackler. If they can find someone who can do that and can get to the quarterback, great, but with the Pack drafting 28th in the first round this year, it’s unlikely they will be able to find both.

This is all not to say that they should ignore pass defense. Certainly, the pass defense is a major liability and needs to be addressed.

But with the run-heavy schedule the Packers will face in 2012, improving the run defense is more pressing than improving the pass defense.