Did Sam Shields turn the corner?

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Lost amid the disappointment in the season-opening loss to San Francisco was one minor breakthrough. Cornerback Sam Shields, too often on the wrong end of collisions last season, took on Frank Gore and won.

On third and 2 in the fourth quarter of that 30-22 loss, Shields led with his shoulder, hung on and wrapped up the running back short of the first-down marker along the sideline. A lot went wrong for Green Bay's defense that game, but defensive coordinator Dom Capers took note of this play.

"That guy’s hard to get down," Capers said. "He’s one of the better runners in the league. But I think he’s playing a more physical brand of football than what he has."

One week later, Shields was starting at cornerback ahead of Jarrett Bush and continued to build momentum. Capers said Friday that Shields' performance in Green Bay's 23-10 win over the Chicago Bears was one of his best games as a pro. With so much attention tilted toward wide receiver Brandon Marshall -- usually Tramon Williams and a safety -- the Packers trusted Shields to lock down rookie Alshon Jeffery alone.

A week after his breakout debut against Indianapolis, Jeffery went silent. The 6-foot-3, second-round pick out of South Carolina finished with one catch for seven yards. Jay Cutler only threw his way twice.

Shields' technique in coverage has been vastly improved through two games. Against Jeffery, he leveraged routes well and used his speed.


"He’s improved," Capers said. "I think you’re talking about now this is his third year with us and his first year, he had one year of playing corner. So it wasn’t like he had all the techniques down and that type of thing. He has worked extremely hard and I think he’ll continue to improve because he has the speed and quickness that we can’t give him."

Shields' problems in 2011 were two-fold. In coverage, he was caught looking into the backfield too much. This summer, Shields admitted that opposing teams probably saw this on film and looked to exploit it. At times, the former college wide receiver's make-up speed allowed him to compensate. But he also allowed nine pass plays of 20 yards or more.

On top of this, of course, were the tackling woes. No need to rehash. We've spent plenty of time talking about that in this space. Shields has maintained his tackling problems had nothing to do with effort or fear, insisting he needed more practice at it. Tackling remained new to him, he said. Growing up, he rarely ever played defense, period.

Capers does believe tackling and physical play are very teachable skills.

"I think it’s like anything," he said. "You get what you emphasize. If a guy has it or he doesn’t have it. Sam’s shown progress in that area. We’ll continue to emphasize it. Throughout the body of work there, like the San Francisco game, you saw him make that third-down stop."

So don't expect the Packers to mess with success.

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