THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Nose tackle Ryan Pickett played a bit of politics when he was asked Friday for a self-assessment on what he has meant to the ascension of the Green Bay Packers defence this season.
"That’s like a question like they ask the president — grade yourself?" Pickett said. "You’ll have to ask somebody else that. Whatever they say, I know I’ve just missed being out there playing with my teammates."
Pickett has been the anchor of a defence that ranks second in the NFL against the run and hasn’t allowed a 100-yard rusher in the last 10 games. He missed the last game with a hamstring injury, but he has a chance to be a factor again in Sunday’s game at Pittsburgh.
Coach Mike McCarthy said Pickett’s status will be determined Saturday.
"The feedback was positive, but we’re dealing with a hamstring," McCarthy said. "So, the day after the work will be the final hurdle."
The Packers listed Pickett as questionable for the game, but the veteran run stuffer is confident he will return to the starting lineup Sunday.
Coaches and teammates say Pickett has been integral to the success of the defence, which has flourished after some early growing pains in a new 3-4 scheme implemented by first-year co-ordinator Dom Capers.
The Packers are ranked second in the league for total defence this week after being No. 1 the previous two weeks.
Their stinginess in stopping the run — opponents are averaging only 85 yards per game — is a far cry from last season. Green Bay was gashed for an average of more than 131 rushing yards to rate 26th, the team’s worst ranking for run defence in 25 years.
"In this 3-4 defence, if you don’t have a D-line that’s playing the way that they’re playing, you can’t make any plays," linebacker Nick Barnett said. "Without those guys playing the way that they’re playing, us inside linebackers and outside linebackers can’t do the stuff that we want to do or we’re supposed to do. It all starts up front."
Pickett’s role in his fourth year with the Packers changed significantly when McCarthy scrapped the longstanding 4-3 scheme that wasn’t working. Accustomed to seasons of having 80 to 100-plus tackles, Pickett has just 46 tackles and is on pace for his lowest output in eight years as a pro starter.
"Numbers don’t tell nothing in this defence," Pickett said.
Instead of being a playmaker, the 340-pound Pickett is responsible for engaging multiple blockers to allow the teammates behind him to get to the football.
"You see people try to play a 3-4 defence and if they’ve got a little guy inside there, they have a hard time stopping the run," Capers said. "You’ve got be an unselfish guy. I think he’s played his role, for what we’ve asked him to, very well."
The modest statistics aside, Pickett considers this to be one of his better seasons in a nine-year career.
"I think I’ve been doing good, especially for my first year in this defence," he said. "I like it. I like the nose. I love it. I wish I could’ve been playing in this like the last eight years. I love this whole scheme."
Tackle Ryan Pickett playing politics
