2017 Packer Defense

David Harris is getting cut from the Jets.

IMO he would be a huge upgrade at LB'er. 

I hope the Packer defense will be ok sooner than November. I also hope we don't miss Sam Shields as much as last season. 

Pressure on the QB would go a long way to helping out the young DBs. 

We were 6th in sacks & 11th in pressures last season, as Pack88 pointed out, if our DB's get beat within the first 2 seconds, pressure never comes into play. Think of the times when AR has looked bad. It is not pressure, but rather taking away his first target & keeping him in the pocket. 

The the biggest difference, to me, will be at CB. We had 3 sophomore players starting, 2/3 were slowed with injury most of the season, but all 3 were dealing with a bit of a slump. I expect all 3 to rebound in the same way Davante Adams did, with a fury to prove last season was a fluke. There is some veteran leadership in the meeting room now that wasn't there last year, someone is there to help these guys if they struggle. Shields was supposed to be our veteran leader in that group and it sounds like he bounced as soon as he got put on IR.

I expect we will start the season with House and Gunter in the outside, Randall in the slot, with Rollins and King coming off the bench as needed. By seasons end I expect King will supplant House in the lineup. 

I am cautiously optimistic.  I think when at full health, this defense might be pretty good, but with Matthews and Perry's histories, full health can never be assumed.  Looking forward to see what those 1st two rookies draft picks can do for the defense.

Really, all they need is for the defense to give them a fighting chance.  There were a good 3 or 4 games last year where they were so bad, it would have taken a perfect effort on offense just to stay in the game.  Games like the Titans, Redskins, Falcons where the D looked like they didn't show up at all just can't happen again this year. 

Pack88 posted:

Since the  bombardment in Atlanta the defense has been the focus of much handwringing and speculation by both the media and fans!  

 

I think the handwringing has been going much longer than that. 

If House, King and Gunter are the primary outside guys, I expect they will go back to more of a press scheme, with Randall/Rollins in the slot/safety role, whomever doesn't "start" being the primary backup to that spot and at least one of the "deep" safety spots. 

They'll still be as good as their pass rush. 

They've never really been anything but press under Capers except when injuries have forced them into zone (see 2016).

Yeah Capers prefers to have CBs on islands and let the other 7-9 players on D focus on stopping everything else. 

not wait a second, when has Capers ever had 7 (much less 9) guys focus on stopping anything?

Maybe all those years we went without a losing record, which is all of them. Defense has to do something right, just ask Drew Brees how much the QB can win without any defense at all. 

Just as AR how must the QB can win without any defense at all

He will say the defense is doing more than you think.

El-Kofi-Amichia posted:

not wait a second, when has Capers ever had 7 (much less 9) guys focus on stopping anything?

2010?  You had the magnificent 7 - Woodson, Matthews, Jenkins, Raji, T. Williams, D. Bishop, and Nick Collins.  Man would I love to get that group back together again and in their primes...  Other than the '96 Packers, that was the best Packers' defense I have seen in the 40 years I have been watching the NFL.

Oh and I know you were being sarcastic... but it did give us a chance to reminisce about one of the best defenses in Packers history, even Dom couldn't screw that up. 

...or even how much a QB can win without an offense. 

Timmy! posted:

...or even how much a QB can win without an offense. 

Dilfer, Trent.

I donno, I really think that this years defense will be better than last years. Perhaps not up to 2010 but better. I like the additions to the team and improved health and experience of last years players. I also expect the return to more of a press man coverage in the secondary. House does that well. I think that the  soft zone coverage was due to injury and inexperience in the secondary. I like Witt as a coach.

However, I am concerned over Capers playcalling. I watched too many games where players seemed out of position to make plays. The Zone Blitz relies on superior athletes covering for one another. We are good but hardly superior. I also think that the Zone Blitz doesn't fool offenses like it used to and we may not have the players with the right skill set for it. But I could be wrong about that but I know its not working like it used to.

Perry is very good against the run and improving his pass rush. Clay cannot win the leverage battle anymore and I think that banging against bigger linemen is self defeating. Moving him inside as a rover and outside on passing downs will prolong his effectiveness. Fackrell has put on weight and Elliot has flashed. Biegle has potential and has experience in a 3-4 type defense and may be a quick read. Using our safety's once in a while as hybrid linebackers will help against many pass happy offenses. Our ILB's are just OK and that may be good enough.

I like our D-line but think that Daniels could do better if allowed to play on 3rd down more. RJF, Guion and Clark add beef. Lowery was getting better as last season wore on.

But all in all I remain hopeful.

Pack88 posted:

Your thoughts.

I'm wondering what happened to the close parenthesis.

Grave Digger posted:

He will say the defense is doing more than you think.

duh, they cant  possibly be doing any less

Speed... that's the difference. If you improve team speed, your whole team scheme and outlook improve.

If there is anything that any holdover from last year's defense needs, its health. If they're healthy, the improvement in team speed with show through. 

Speed and health.  That is all.

Speed, health and talant.  Must have talant.

Kill the man with the ball

Average 40 time of Patriots DB group in 2016: 4.53

Average 40 time of Packers DB group in 2017: 4.51

The reigning SB champs should always be the measure of what is necessary to win. I think we are fine on speed, especially in the DB group. The average 40 time over our entire LB group is exactly the same as the average time of the Patriots 2016 LB group as well. Speed alone does not make a team better, it's one skill among many that players need. 

I think "speed" of a defense is more than 40 times

speed of execution is the key. that factors the mental preparation in with the physical. If Im slow to react because Im not sure who to cover, it doesnt matter if I run a 3.00 40 

Should have clarified I meant Speed of Foot rather than Speed of Brain. We could all stand to be more specific about what kind of speed we mean. 

Yes that is exactly my point, speed alone is not the deciding factor of a championship D. Instincts are critical, but are also just a piece of the puzzle.

Should have clarified I meant Speed of Foot rather than Speed of Brain.

Why did you have to bring Jeff Janis! into this thread? 

Speed of foot can impact speed of brain. Sometimes a good kick in the ass speeds things up.

Defense in the NFCCG was slow and lost. We can split hairs all day over kinds of  speed. This defense just needed to get faster. Hopefully they fix the "lost" part in camp. 

+HEALTH = +SPEED

I'm looking forward to when NFL players are androids.  

I still would like to bring Darelle Revis in.

You have someone in Green Bay you need assaulted?

ChilliJon posted:

Defense in the NFCCG was slow and lost. We can split hairs all day over kinds of  speed. This defense just needed to get faster. Hopefully they fix the "lost" part in camp. 

I disagree, I think Atlanta just executed better and took advantage of who GB had available. Julio Jones vs Ladarius Gunter is a mismatch, not only because Julio is faster. Sometimes it is just as simple as one team executing better. Dallas out-executed almost every team during the regular season, GB took care of business in the playoffs though. 

When Matt Ryan runs 14 yards untouched for a TD you are seriously deficient in the speed department. And lost. 

QBs take advantage of man coverage all the time. That wasn't even his longest run that season, he had an 18 yard run earlier that year. Ben Roethlisberger has a career long rush of 31 yards in his career, he's 50% body fat. Peyton Manning has a 33 yard run in his career, he runs like a 3 legged giraffe. Ryan's TD run isn't indicative of anything.

His TD run is probably his longest run of the season. The only thing that stopped him was the end zone. But your probably right. It's not indicative of anything. Just good defense beaten by a running QB. 

I see what you did there.