Can this defense be "dominating"?

Biggest ? marks:

 

1.) How long will CMIII hold up and will he be as effective as he was at ILB last season or now with film on him playing this position will offenses adapt and neutralize him?

 

2.) Still enough gas in the tank for Peppers in 2015?

 

3.) Will Hayward transition well into Tramon's position or do you keep him in the slot? If yes, then can Randall or Rollins step up into a starting role on the outside?

 

4.) Which version of Raji do we get? 2010 or 2011-2013?

I think the performance of the new CB's (both new starter opposite Shields and rooks) and ILB will determine a lot of that.  ILB may not be any better early on but it needs to improve as the season goes on.  Same for CB.  I think we'll see some flashes and mistakes at both as well.  All depends on how well the develop part develops and how quickly.

 

We definitely saw flashes of dominance last year and by playoff time I thought our D was playing lights out and more than well enough to win a championship.  They finally snapped because ST put them in a high pressure situation in the last couple minutes where they ultimately choked.  There is another wild card for you.  Can they win in crunch time?

A lot rides on Sam Shields and Casey Hayward to stay healthy and perform. We have pieces in place to be a dominant D...quality play from the Safetys once again, productive pass rush, size/power in the middle, and with Clay/Bam in the middle we have stability at ILB. If Shields/Hayward can do their jobs and provide vet leadership to the young guys then we will be set!

I said it before last year and I will say it again: Capers has the pieces once again for a championship D and there should be no excuses if the D fails. No more rookie UDFA or project players starting for us, we have quality starters with some solid depth behind them (I'm counting Clay at ILB and Perry or Neal at OLB). Once again it's championship or bust, this is the best starting 22 in the NFL...young, very talented, and hungry with good vet leadership.

No, they can be good enough but they don't have the horses to be dominant.

 

The defensive backfield could be pretty good, depending on the outside CB position. Hayward is not working out due to injury again and who knows if anyone other than Shields can play outside. They have some guys to work with though.

 

The linebackers are a question. Peppers was good, Matthews is versatile (if he can stay healthy), but Perry, Neal and Barrington are just guys who can do well in spurts but haven't shown high-level consistency. Can Ryan earn some meaningful snaps?

 

Defensive line is a bunch of guys and an undersized disrupter. There's a whole lot of ifs and maybes for even solid play.

Save for the last 3 minutes of choketime (initiated by ST), the D was dominant in the playoffs.  

Hawk and Jones were monumental liabilities late last year. If you've got the stomach for it, watch the last 3 minutes of regulation of the Seattle game after Clay was spent and on the bench. Those two were a flashing green light that Seattle instantly targeted.

 

IMO, the guy that could have the singular biggest impact on this D is Ha Ha. This D has never been the same since the security blanket, I got this, just make plays and know I'll cover what you miss known as Nick Collins went down in 2011. Ha Ha needs to take a step forward and start being that guy. 

 

Raji could be a nice shot in the arm but that D line belongs to Daniels now. And that ain't bad. 

 

This D is a great NT and ILB from being dominant. No reason they shouldn't be really good this year though. 

Green Bay's Defense Rankings in 2014:

T-13th in Points per Game

15th in Yards

23rd in Rushing Yardage

10th in Passing Yardage

12th in Sacks

1st in Turnover Differential

T-7th in Interceptions

T-18th in Fumble Recoveries

T-8th in Total Takeaways

 

I would say there is room for improvement, but I would call a top-15 defense a downgrade, personally.

It's no secret that as Aaron goes, so does the team. Having said that, if he stays upright and healthy then the reality is they won't need to be dominate in order to win the NFC North, secure at least one home playoff game and once again make another push into the playoffs.

 

One more player to watch:

 

Ha-Ha Dix. I thought he really started coming along in the playoffs and had a great game in the NFCC. His leap from year 1 to 2 should be exciting to watch.

But the defense under Capers has a long history of collapsing when things start to go south. 

I've never seen a defense collapse when the QB went out of the game.  That was a new one.  

Just as concerned about Hayward's ability to stay on the field as I am his ability to play outside. He's moving close to acquiring the brittle label.

 

Packers went 15-1 with a horrible defense and if AR is healthy the defense can get by with just mediocre. Like the trending of the defense toward the end of last year with the exception of the total team failure to finish in Seattle.

Capers best defenses, ranked. 

 

1994 Steelers. Carnell Lake (S), Greg Lloyd (OLB), Kevin Greene (OLB), Chad Brown (ILB), Rod Woodson (CB)

 

2010 Packers. Nick Collins (FS), Clay Matthews (OLB), Desmond Bishop (ILB), Charles Woodson (CB). 

 

Dom does his best work back to front. First and foremost he needs safeties he trusts. OLBs that can get to the QB and cover if needed. Cover corners that can get to the QB (Rod Woodson had 3 sacks in 94, Charles 2 in 2010). 1994 Steelers were the best defense in football with Joel Steed playing NT. No one knows who the **** Joel Steed is. 

 

Big year for Ha Ha. Big year for Barrington. And a big reason I'm quietly excited for Randall and Rollins. Dom has his OLBs. I don't think Dom has ever fully trusted Morgan. He needs Ha Ha to step up. 

MM has said several times during this OTA period that this year's program is designed to get off to a fast start. To wit, in year's past they've gone slow in introducing plays/packages/adjustments in order to let the younger players get their feet under themselves. This year, the plan is to go with the PhD curriculum from the start and rely on the vets to get the kids up to speed.

Disagree. I think he trusted him too much. Problem was Burnett was playing with slugs like Doc Jennings and McMillan and found himself too far from the LOS to be effective. Downfield coverage is not his game.

 

Last season, with Ha Ha, Hyde and 4 cover corners Morgan was able to play a hell of a lot of snaps as a box safety (especially after MM's mid-season boot) and was damn good, no, great in run support. Watch the film. It was amazing how many times Burnett would walk up into the box and often make tackles at or within a couple of yards of the LOS.

 

I'd say moving Burnett into a quasi-LB role in a lot of packages shows trusting him to do what he can do best, if supported in the secondary with good cover guys. Which is why I'm excited to see if Rollins and Thomas succeed as cover guys who can also rove between corner and safety.

Morgan isn't sniffing 130 tackles unless he trusts Ha Ha. And if that combination lets Dom keep rolling pressure from all flanks and Randall and Rollins ramp up that pressure in the secondary then I'm all in. 

Since he has been drafted, Burnett has started every game he has played in. The only games he has missed were the ones caused by injury, mostly in his first two seasons.

 

Maybe it's AJ Hawk syndrome, maybe he's just responsible and accountable.

I don't want starters. I want playmakers. And I want them to start. 

 

Ulysses S Grant - 1864. 

"The trouble with quotes on the internet is that there is no way to tell if they're legitimate." - Abraham Lincoln

ChilliJon, I think Morgan Burnett is going to have one of his best seasons ever in GB. He looks fantastic, and you are right on his trust of Ha Ha, and I do think you will be all in because of him. Clinton-Dix looks like a pure stud back there so far in practice.

 

Personally, I think we will be a dominant defense. It might take a little time with some blown coverages while young, new players learn the NFL game, but by midseason, I suspect we will be dominant.

 

I believe our problems in the middle at LB will be completely solved by the halfway point this year, if not sooner, and our secondary will be loaded with ball hawks. I think we will see a ton of picks like we did in 2009-2010.

 

If we get good pressure up front, look out!

 

Our first 8 games looks like a murder's row. They will be learning, playing the best the NFL has out there. 2nd half of the season we will be primed, and playing nearly all of our division games.

Good analysis Trophies. I think Rollins wins the outside corner spot opposite Shields, makes mistakes as we expect, but like HaHa last year really grows into the position as the year moves on.

If everyone stays healthy and Peppers plays like he did last year, this is going to be a top 5 defense in 2015. Mark that down right now. The DL is going to surprise a lot of people.

Hope you're right, but I wouldn't be surprised if this was a top 5 defense in 2015. I'd be shocked.

If they were a top ten defense I would be as giddy as a school girl.

Are not you already Henry? 

I'm expecting big things from BJ Raji.

I think that pressure up front is the key.  When I watch old Packer games from the Lombardi era, turnovers followed pressure.  At least that seems to be the history. 

Can this defense be "dominatin...

 

NO! We'll win the whole damned thing anyway.

Good read on Mr. Peppers from back in December

Offers a little insight into how the Packers use him in various ways

Now, with a season under his belt it should come easier/faster for him

And I'd guess they will limit his snaps early in the season and keep him fresh

 

http://www.jsonline.com/sports...366z1-286939911.html

They better....he's practically eligible for social security.

This one is from a TV commercial:

 

"Even the brightest full moon has a dark side.  Your job is to find it."

The most interesting man in the world. 

 

If our defense could find a 'dark side' that would cause opponents to dread playing them - then that would be good.  Personally, I am not looking for a dark side - they usually find me. 

Yes sir!  Me likey.

... A year ago, the Green Bay Packers were quietly installing a "Quad" 4-3 defense they planned to unleash in a blaze of glory against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 1. 

That didn't work out.

This summer, players say Packers coaches have cut back on the number of plays in the playbook. They want young players picking up the scheme faster. Coach Mike McCarthy has been involved with the defense like never before, popping into various position meetings. And this addition of subtraction in the playbook could be one way the team is trying to get off to a faster start in 2015. 

“I feel like this off-season has been better than last year’s," cornerback Demetri Goodson said. "We’ve cut down on our plays just to clean up stuff. So when we’re going into the regular season, it’s not as sloppy. I feel like this off-season, everybody as a group knows what they’re doing.”

“Last year, we had a lot of plays that we didn’t call during the season. But you still had to learn them. This year, I feel like we’ve cut it down to where we’re going to run the plays that we’re running right now. So there’s no extra plays floating around in your head.”

So the Packers are taking a lesson from the late Vince Lombardi: Less is more...

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/307899481.html

 

 

Can the 2015 Packers shut down the run ?

They looked much better at the end of 2014....

 

Here's who they are facing this season:

 

Matt Forte

Marshawn Lynch

Jamaal Charles

Carlos Hyde / Reggie's Bush

 

Todd Gurley

Melvin Gordon

Montee Ball / CJ Anderson

Jonathan Stewart

 

Joique Bell/ Ameer Abdullah

Adrian Peterson

Matt Forte

Joique Bell/ Ameer Abdullah

 

McFadden/ Randall

Raiders bunch of dudes

Andre Ellington/ Stepfan Taylor

Adrian Peterson

Oh, man! I am so glad you brought this up. Last year, we suffered greatly, early, against top RBs. Thinking we will be better with younger, better players at ILB. 

It all starts with stopping the run...early and often

Packers got much better in the 2nd half of the season - but they need to come out in 2015 with a better result early. They also committed a lot of resources to that effort, opening up passing lanes on occasion

 

Adding Raji and having Guion with a year in the system helps. Maybe Pennel too

Adding ILBs like Ryan and Bradford to Barrington should help

They opted for Hyde over Hayward in the slot to bolster the run support, will they go with Hyde again over Rollins ? Early on, its likely, especially on early downs

 

Using Clay as a mainstay at ILB isn't the best use of resources going forward.

GB needs somebody to step up at ILB and maybe a couple of somebodies

 

Is Winston Moss up for the job of getting his dudes ready to roll ?

Fix the ILBs and the rest of the crew is plenty good enough to be dominating by Thanksgiving

 

Dominate on 3!

 

1-2-3 DOMINATE!!

Worth a read again...McGinn talks about all the changes in the Packers defense over the 2nd half of the 2104 season - and some of the results

 

http://www.jsonline.com/sports...753z1-287430621.html

 

 

I'm anxious to see how Neal and Perry play out this year. Perry especially in a contract year, could light up the stat board.
Theres a lot of guys on the D either in contract years, or looking for extensions, and there's no better motivator than money.
I hope they find a way to keep Hyde on the field. This is the first year in a long time where I see, literally only 3 players heading into camp not competing to start (Clay, HHCD, and Shields.) Perry or Neal could push JP.

I'd advise you to manage your expectations as far as lighting up a stat board.

What role does Perry play for the Packers ? He's the 3rd OLB and one that plays the crash position on run plays. His job is to hold the edge, crash into any blockers and allow the rest of the defense to flow to the ball. That isn't a stat-producing role

 

I think he's a good player and as he hones his craft, he'll refine his counter moves

He already has a very powerful bull-rush and as OTs prepare for that they are wont to drop anchor - leaving an opening for Perry on a counter move.

 

I agree Perry will have a good season and his contract status adds motivation- but we may or may not see his stats rise given his job doing the dirty work and the very real battle for snaps at the LB position. Packers will try to rest Peppers early on, so that offers an opening for somebody to seize the moment

 

Perry, Neal, Elliott, Mulumba and Hubbard all fighting for reps in TC

I agree with your comments, but am compelled to add replacing Hawk and Jones inside should yield immediate results. 
If Guion happens to play at DE, we'll need another big boy or 2 for the middle. And we added some much-needed team speed on defense, especially at LB. I still expect the defense will lean more on the LBs and Ss for run support as opposed to depending on the D-line, and having the speed to do that should help.