The recent trials and tribulations (maybe I'm jumping the gun on the term trials) of nose tackle Letroy Guion brings me to one of my favorite subjects, B.J. Raji.
I love him as a person and loved him as a high draft choice when I saw how much power he had to manhandle a center when crushing the pocket as a nose tackle. Now that is important to remember he was a great nose tackle coming out of Boston College and a good nose tackle his first two years in Green Bay.
Raji's first year was also the first year Dom Capers took over the defense. The Packers moved Aaron Kampman to outside linebacker (which turned out to be a disaster and basically ended Kampman's career) when Capers converted to the 3-4.
Raji made one start as a backup to Ryan Pickett at nose with Johnny Jolly at left end and Cullen Jenkins at right end. He played in 14 games and made 25 combined tackles with one sack. I think he had a good rookie season.
His second season Raji took over at nose tackle as Pickett was moved to left defensive end. It was also the year Jolly got in trouble and Jenkins had injury issues eventually giving way to Howard Green, who had a great game in the Super Bowl. But I digress, as I seem to do at times or maybe many times.
Raji came into his own during the Super Bowl season starting all 16 games at nose tackle with 39 combined tackles and 6.5 sacks. He intercepted a pass in the conference playoff game against the Bears (picking off Jay Cutler's replacement after he suffered the mysterious knee injury and sat out the remainder of the game. Typical Cutler response when he is having a bad game, but again, I digress) and scoring a touchdown where "The Raji" celebration dance was born. Check out the clip of his touchdown or his guest appearance on an Aaron Rodger's State Farm commercial. He's the man.
State Farm Commercial
The 2010 defense was great and was one of the reasons the Packers won the Super Bowl. In the Super Bowl the pass rush and/or pressure (especially by Howard Green on the Nick Collins' interception that went for a touchdown and later an interception by Jarrett Bush, of all people) was one of the reasons the game went well early.
However, in typical Dom Capers fashion the second half was another story, but the offense was more than a match to off-set the second half defensive problems (unlike this past season when both the offense and defense had second half collapses), but again I digress.
The next season, again in typical Dom Capers fashion, he couldn't leave well enough alone. Ryan Pickett had done a good job at defensive end, so it seemed to me there was no reason to make a change, but Capers keeps seeing problems where there are none. Raji was moved to defensive end and he is not suited to play out in space. He is a beast in close quarters, but lost out on the wing.
If Capers would have asked me or anyone with a pulse and a good eye what would happen when Raji was moved out of position, but he didn't what I at the time predicted happened. His play and stats fell off. He finished with 22 combined tackles and three sacks (all collected when he played nose at various times when Pickett rested). To be fair before anyone says I gloss over things Raji also suffered an ankle injury that bothered him all season.
The 2012 season he was still at left defensive end. He missed two games with an ankle injury and for the first time since he joined the Packers he didn't have a sack. The anti-Raji faction, of which there are legions, was coming out in force and anytime I would mention the change in position on various chat boards, I would be ignored as they began to say he was a high top 10 draft pick (#9) bust.
The 2013 season was even worse. He started all 16 games at left defensive end and finished with only 17 combined tackles and again no sacks giving him a 36-game streak of no sacks (since game 12 of the 2011 season against the Detroit Lions).
Last year he was a free agent and found no takers, so he signed a one-year contract to prove he still had it. Dom Capers (for some reason) helped his cause when he announced Raji was moving back to nose tackle and I couldn't have been more happy than finding our paper on the covered porch on a rainy day- that doesn't happen much here. But to prove the gods are fickle and B.J. Raji is snake bit he suffered a torn biceps in the preseason and was out for the season.
In his absence Letroy Guion (a rare veteran free agent pickup by Ted Thompson from the hated Minnesota Vikings reversing a trend of Packers signing with them, but more on that later) took over for him at nose tackle and did an excellent job. He started all 16 games finishing with 32 combined tackles, 3.5 sacks, a pass defensed and a forced fumble.
Guion kept getting better and better as the season progressed and it seemed Raji's days in Green Bay were over. But this time the gods were forgiving and he found some snake bite serum when Guion was arrested for pot possession a few weeks ago. Who would have thunk it?
With Guion's future with the Packers and the NFL in question B.J. Raji may have gotten a reprieve. There is no indication what Thompson wants to do about Raji's upcoming free agency, but if he asked me I would say sign him quickly. He won't garner much interest I guess and you could get him for a song if he wants to hard ball.
If he gets injured again or has a terrible year then I will admit three years playing defensive end has ruined him. I will be sad Dom Capers ruined his career and wish him well when he finds another job.
I don't know if any of you realize it when Ryan Pickett wasn't re-signed last season he found a job with the Houston Texans as their starting nose tackle. If Pickett could still play a much younger Raji should have something left in his tank. I would like to see him prove Capers wrong and have a good season, but I would rather him do it here. Like I said, I like B.J. Raji the player and the man.
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