ChilliJon posted:His TD run is probably his longest run of the season. The only thing that stopped was the end zone. But your probably right. It's not indicative of anything. Just good defense beaten by a running QB.
So you're saying we should sign End Zone.
Dom Capers is the kind of guy who is constantly trying to get a pawn to the back row to make it a queen, only it never works.
Just another reason why RuPaul should be DC.
ChilliJon posted:His TD run is probably his longest run of the season. The only thing that stopped was the end zone. But your probably right. It's not indicative of anything. Just good defense beaten by a running QB.
But it wasn't his longest run of the season, I just said that. You make sense though, Peyton Manning's 33 yard career long run was the result of the defense playing 11 DTs most likely. Controversial formation. 
Grave Digger posted:Peyton Manning's 33 yard career long run was the result of the defense playing 11 DTs most likely. Controversial formation.
....and 10 of them fell down on the play
Henry posted:I'm looking forward to when NFL players are androids.
Grave Digger posted: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.
I agree with ya, though Ryan cant deliver to a wide open Jones if hes on his back. The best way to help out the secondary is a disruptive pass rush. We had neither and the Falcons stadium announcer quickly sounded like an auctioneer
the 3-4 has to be effective at bringing pressure and I dont feel like weve been successful there. I can buy the injury excuse only so much. Every year for the past 8 (yeah I know what happened in 2010) is getting old.
If we were keeping Dom, I was really hopeful they would look to bolster the pass rush either by free agency or the draft. Just seems to me we are addressing the symptoms in the secondary rather than the cause of the WRs running around free.
oh well fire up the pinball machine, keep #12 upright, keep plenty of scoreboard bulbs and hope the D can at least get turnovers to offset the lack of push.
Take a stopwatch & go back to video of the Falcons game. Almost every Falcon completed pass had Ryan releasing the ball in under 2.80 seconds, many in under 2.5. The NFL average time for sacks is 2.8-3.0 seconds. We were 6th in sacks & 11th in hurries last season. We are in much great need of DBs who can take away the QB's first read & give our pass rush time to get there, rather than the other way around.
We actually did get pressure (11 times out of 40 attempts) his completion rate dropped from 81% to 45%. Obviously didn't happen as often as necessary because we had to commit to many resources to try and cover up for the deficiencies at CB. When you rush 4 against a 5 man line then you're going to struggle to generate consistent pressure. We only blitzed 14 times out of 40 attempts, IMO, because there was such a mismatch in the secondary that we had to throw more bodies at the problem. Unfortunately when an injured Quentin Rollins is coming off the bench against Mohammed Sanu you're pretty much fukked regardless of what you do.
FLPACKER posted:Take a stopwatch & go back to video of the Falcons game. Almost every Falcon completed pass had Ryan releasing the ball in under 2.80 seconds, many in under 2.5. The NFL average time for sacks is 2.8-3.0 seconds. We were 6th in sacks & 11th in hurries last season. We are in much great need of DBs who can take away the QB's first read & give our pass rush time to get there, rather than the other way around.
And they way I see it is that the opposing receivers often had a nice big cushion at the LOS and that allowed for a quick release. Was it the defensive play calling? Perhaps it was. Or maybe it was out of necessity? My guess is that the DB's were too hurt or that their skill set were not up to the task. In any case the coaches have a lot of film to look at. Corrections need to be made or the same thing will happen this year.
That cushion was plumb stupid, beyond the first down marker at times.
I have been trying to forget the Falcons game but I do remember the one thing that stood out to me was the cushion. I think my old fat arse could have gotten open if you are given me 15 yards head start.
All kidding aside I agree with you Patrick that the DB's may have been so banged up and so over matched to begin with that they just weren't up to the challenge.
The Atlanta game is such a non issue for me. It's amazing they made it that far in the first place. Good post season entertainment but thinking they were going to making it to the Superb Owl with that MASH unit was entirely unrealistic.
Yes it was painful to watch. But sadly the Falcons game was not the only one in which it happened. Something has to explain the drop in coverage skills. For example the opposing QBR for Rollins went from 58.1 the year before to 133.8 last year! So either the injuries played a big role or the schemes did. Looking back at it, I guess maybe both did.
Banged up young guy with a year of film who isn't athletically dominant.
That's a tough row to hoe.
I blame Dom
I blame Dom for not changing, and for continuing to try to be a wizard when less was probably more.
PackerPatrick posted:Yes it was painful to watch. But sadly the Falcons game was not the only one in which it happened. Something has to explain the drop in coverage skills. For example the opposing QBR for Rollins went from 58.1 the year before to 133.8 last year! So either the injuries played a big role or the schemes did. Looking back at it, I guess maybe both did.
I'm not directing this all at you, but why can't people seem to accept that Randall and Rollins poor performance was 100% injury related? It was the same thing with Adams in 2015, the guy was hurt, tried to play through it, and just wasn't effective. It doesn't have to be more complicated than that. Based on the promise we saw in 2015 from Randall and Rollins, where they combined for 5 INT, 20 PDef, and allowed only 1 TD, I think we should wait and see what these young players can do when fully healthy and experienced.
WolfPack posted:The best way to help out the secondary is a disruptive pass rush.
A smothering coverage group really helps the pass rush.
WolfPack posted:We had neither and the Falcons stadium announcer quickly sounded like an auctioneer
I'm going to have to steal that one.
Nobody thought it be like it be. But it do.
Grave Digger posted:PackerPatrick posted:Yes it was painful to watch. But sadly the Falcons game was not the only one in which it happened. Something has to explain the drop in coverage skills. For example the opposing QBR for Rollins went from 58.1 the year before to 133.8 last year! So either the injuries played a big role or the schemes did. Looking back at it, I guess maybe both did.
I'm not directing this all at you, but why can't people seem to accept that Randall and Rollins poor performance was 100% injury related? It was the same thing with Adams in 2015, the guy was hurt, tried to play through it, and just wasn't effective. It doesn't have to be more complicated than that. Based on the promise we saw in 2015 from Randall and Rollins, where they combined for 5 INT, 20 PDef, and allowed only 1 TD, I think we should wait and see what these young players can do when fully healthy and experienced.
100%? Maybe. I really, really hope that is the case. But somebody called the defensive scheme that had them play 10+ yards off the ball. House struggled in Jacksonville with zone coverage as well. If our current players do better in press man coverage then I hope that is what is called this year.
IF it was 100% due to injuries then I expect a much better year. My guess it was also due to inexperience and scheme as well as to their injuries.
EDIT: In all fairness, I do remember seeing a great pick by Randall when he was in zone and flew to the ball like a centerfielder for the interception near the goal line.
“I’m not really up here to talk about scheme,” McCarthy said, via the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “One thing I always talk to our players about all the time is scheme is not a crutch."
Of course McCarthy was discussing the offense in this quote, but I think it plays here too.
This in no way is to say that Dom Capers sucks is just some unfounded internet meme.
A 31st ranked pass defense cannot be due simply to nagging injuries. We did ok with sacks, run defense and QB pressures even with Clays injuries and Perry's club. I like the addition of the DB players we drafted and the addition of House. I also like our stronger offense this year with the FA tight ends. That alone will give the defense less time on the field and less chances to give up points.
Everyone knows that any defensive coordinator worth his salt needs 10 years before anyone can make judgement about the quality of his work.
PackerPatrick posted:A 31st ranked pass defense cannot be due simply to nagging injuries.
Sure it can. When you're top CB is out for the season, you're #2 CB is limited with a groin injury starting in week 5 (which are historically pretty stubborn) which persists through 15 and then is plagued with a shoulder injury in weeks 16-17, and you're #3 CB is also limited with a groin injury starting in week 6 through week 12. So you're top 3 CBs are either out or playing with a lower body injury, which for a position that requires that amount of running, dramatically lowers effectiveness. So yeah the Packers were more or less playing with a group consisting of a #4 CB, #5 CB, #6 CB and spot duty from Safties more often than not. That is why we had a ranking of a 26th in Passer Rating, 29th in TDs, and 25th in Completion %. Something was going right though because we were 4th in INTs, and 6th in Sacks. We were also 6th overall in Turnover Differential which is the reason (other than our HOF QB) we were in the NFCC.
Grave Digger posted:PackerPatrick posted:Yes it was painful to watch. But sadly the Falcons game was not the only one in which it happened. Something has to explain the drop in coverage skills. For example the opposing QBR for Rollins went from 58.1 the year before to 133.8 last year! So either the injuries played a big role or the schemes did. Looking back at it, I guess maybe both did.
I'm not directing this all at you, but why can't people seem to accept that Randall and Rollins poor performance was 100% injury related? It was the same thing with Adams in 2015, the guy was hurt, tried to play through it, and just wasn't effective. It doesn't have to be more complicated than that. Based on the promise we saw in 2015 from Randall and Rollins, where they combined for 5 INT, 20 PDef, and allowed only 1 TD, I think we should wait and see what these young players can do when fully healthy and experienced.
I do have to wonder with Randall maybe he was that hurt all year. Please correct me if I am wrong but didn't he have groin surgery almost as soon as the season ended? It has to be impossible to play the position effectively with that injury.
I still am firmly on the fence on whether it was injuries on the defense, the scheme being stale, or whether it was the players not playing up to their potential on D that caused the porous D last year. Personally I think it was somewhere between Dom losing his edge and the injuries.
Its great that we did well in turnovers. Yet some of that masks the inability to cover for all the completed passes against the DB's. As far as injuries not one single member of the coaching staff blamed our pass defense on injuries. No replacement players were brought in so that tells me that the injuries themselves were not enough to pull them out of playing. Other teams had them as well and other teams had their own WR's playing injured. I agree that there is no one single reason for crappy play in the backfield. It is incumbent upon the coaching staff to fix this. Unless this is done we can only hope we can outscore our opponents.
Coaches don't ever blame injuries, McCarthy never blamed the 1-4-1 slump in 2013 on Aaron Rodgers injury, but that was the cause. Yeah Randall and Rollins definitely played, but they played hurt. It's the exact same situation as Davante Adams, it was painfully obvious that he was struggling in 2015 and it was 100% because of his lower leg injury. Nothing else. Maybe being hurt got in his head a little bit, but overall when you play a position requiring speed and quickness and injury makes you neither fast or quick, you're gonna struggle. Maybe Randall and Rollins shouldn't have been on the field, but what are the coaches going to do? Start Josh Hawkins and Demtri Goodson? Randall at 50% is still better than either of those scrubs. If the GM won't give them better players, they field the best 11 of they have. It was just the injuries.
“Not to make excuses, but obviously it was the injuries,” Randall said, according to Jason Wilde of ESPN. “I mean, I didn’t want to tackle nobody. Because I was afraid to tweak it, pull it, hurt it again. But we were low on numbers, so I had to do what I had to do to play in the games.”
"Somebody was calling a scheme that had the DB playing 10yds off the ball" because when you can't run or cut 100%, you have to decide whether to give up the big play or the small play. Playing 10 off kept everything in front of them. While it yielded a lot of completions, yards, and points. At the very least it took the opposing offense more plays and more time to make scores. It was the best they could with what they had left. The alternative was playing hurt corners close to where they're already trailing the WR after 3 steps because they can't flip their hips or accelerate.
Believe Randall was healthy when Diggs absolutely embarrassed him in the first Queen game last year. Regardless of whether it was a sophomore slump, injuries, a lack of confidence or a combination thereof both he and Rollins have a lot to prove this year.
Diggs embarrassed the entire back-end of the D.
He also had a really strong week 1 against the Jaguars, I didn't say he was an elite CB before he got hurt. 1 bad game is not indicative of a slump though, he doesn't have anything more to prove than any 1st rounder heading in to year 3. Same for Rollins, 2nd round picks should be producing by year 3. If we want to keep mirroring last offseason where people were bagging on Adams, we should discuss how it's probably certain that Randall and Rollins won't even make the roster this year.
If only there was a Janis equivalent at CB.
62%, 7%, 25%, 86%. Those are the snap counts for Casey Hayward in GB. Who's four year stint in GB is playing out like a carbon copy of Randall and Rollins thus far. Solid rookie year. Injured year two.
Casey was buried at dime corner year three and kicked ass on limited snaps. Then got the majority of snaps after House went to Jax. Then lost in FA. That year three is what San Diego focused on. Casey was really effing good when given limited snaps.
I have little hope this defensive staff is going to fix Randall and Rollins unless Randall and Rollins are smart enough to understand this year is a huge referendum on their future NFL earning potential.
Fix what? I think surgery fixed the only issues they've proven to have.
Give Dom another 5, maybe 6 years, he'll have this defense humming
Dom needs 8, so he can raise enough money for a new toupee.
