React and Attack: A Football Blog

          Hey everyone! My "Ride the Lightning" blitz-analysis series is back after a few weeks' hiatus. In the first article  in the series, I took a look at a blitz the Packers ran in their exhibition match against the Buffalo Bills. Since then, the Packers have had a bit of an up-and-down start to the regular season. After getting curb-stomped by the New Orleans Saints in Week 1, they were able to bounce back with a win against the Lions in Week 2. Green Bay extended their nascent winning streak in Week 3 with a thrilling last-second victory against the San Francisco 49ers.          An important key to the Packers' victory was their ability to get pressure on defense. The first few weeks were lackluster in this department, but against the 49ers Green Bay was finally able to get to the quarterback on a fairly regular basis, racking up 4 sacks and 11 QB hits . Although an excellent game from Kenny Clark, Preston Smith, and Ras...

     Before we get started, I wanted to give a brief explanation about the origin of this article. Recently, I had been tossing around the idea of a semi-regular article series breaking down some aspect of each week's defensive performance. I had also been wanting to explore a blitz that the Packers called against the Bills during the final preseason game. A few days ago, these concepts coalesced into what you see before you. With the "Ride the Lightning" series, I'm planning to take a look at the different blitzes that the Packers run throughout the season. Ideally, I'd like to do this almost every week, but that may depend on what blitzes the Packers run each week, how interesting those playcalls are, and how much time I have between college and work.     As for the name? That came to me almost immediately after I had the idea for the article series. "Blitz" is German for "lightning," and as an avid Metallica fan, the association with their f...