Dom Capers

That last drive certainly was awful, but I think most of us went into that game expecting SF to hang at least 35 on that defense.

I'm not sure why it's "time" for Datone to show something? Last year was his rookie year. He had a modest amount of success for a 34 DE...3.5 sacks isn't great, but for a rookie it's a good start. 

I want the defense to stay healthy

I want Peppers to have an influence on the young guys

I want the defense to be better than last year.

I want the safeties to intercept more than zero passes. 

 

This is what I ask. Which isn't much.

 

Don't need much from them. Just improve. This offense will do the rest. 

Yes and no, the dropoff in talent/experience plays a major role too. A player may know exactly what to do, but simply be incapable of doing it which is why they are 2nd string in the first place

 

Also, if you simplify the scheme too much then even Cutler will figure it out...

 

Everything you said about training the brain is true, however each week is a different challenge. Try some math. You have 12-15 guys playing on defense each week and each week has a different injury report, different opponent, different game plan and you have several different packages (base, nickel, dime, dollar etc)

Start multiplying the variables and you'll begin to understand the immensity of the challenge all teams face.

 

Its easy to say, "Plan for injuries". But which ones should you plan for ?

 

There simply isn't enough practice time to rep all the possibilities. Shields is out, but Hayward is in, or should we plan for Hayward out and Shields in, or maybe both out ? How does that impact base defense and how does that impact nickel ? Do we rep without Matthews & Neal or without Perry & Peppers ? What if Raji, Jones, Hyde and Dix are dinged ? Or should we plan for Daniels, Hawk, Burnett and Tramon to miss time?

 

And every rep you run with a new alignment takes one away from your preferred starters, which is counter to the idea of training the brain...so who should the Packers spend their limited reps on - the preferred starters or the guys who might play in the case of injury ?

 

And what happens when yet another guy goes down mid-game, blowing up the adjustments you just got finished practicing ?

 

And even if you rep the heck out of a play to make sure everybody can execute it, guess what ? Opposing offenses will take note and find a way to beat it, thus wiping out all the time and effort you just spent training their brains....

 

All teams face the same thing and any crack in their adjustments will be attacked mercilessly. When a player on defense gets hurt, the opponent will almost always attack the replacement guy right away. And that isn't because a scheme sucks or is too complex.

Its because the back- ups are back-ups for a reason.

 

The Packers players & coaches & schemes may or may not suck, I'm just trying to shed a little light on the very real challenges they face every Sunday.

 

* Simple is great for execution, but opponents will kill it

* Complex is great for winning games, but makes it more difficult on the players/coaches.

 

"Its a hard game"

Excellent post!  

 

The only real way to account for all the variables, is to not get injured, to do yoga, stretch more and eat better.  

Exactly, Satori.  I got a little simplistic at the end.  I didn't mean to place too much blame on Capers - he reminds me of Fritz Shurmer.  I meant more to underscore the drawback with complex schemes in the face of injuries or players with limited talent, as you pointed out.  I actually like Capers and want his schemes to work, but it's also a question of how much has he been able to trust the secondary to allow him to run the more exotic things up front?  I'm hoping that small improvements in the position groups across the board result in substantial improvement on the field.

Not entirely true. The GM of the Green Bay Packers has proven to be one step ahead of the majority of his competitors. Injuries and a few draft misses has hurt the end result in Green Bay recently, especially on defense. A few tweaks to the defensive scheme is one thing, but what seems apparent this year is how the defensive roster has been built. The depth is looking strong, not just from a potential standpoint, but I'm talking about guys that can play : safety 3-4 deep, CB 4-5 deep, OLB seems loaded and has some up-and-comers, DL changing to more athletic, youthful, gap variable scheme, etc....and even ILB is better if Barrington and Lattimore take that next step. Might just be August hyperbole, but the defensive DEPTH looks much stronger to me, and that should help if/when injuries occur. 

 

It's been a combo of injuries, poor drafting, etc....willing to give Capers a shot with this new and improved defensive roster. 

Got to see this play last night. Very nice, very nice indeed.

 

It is a drawback of having so much roster turnover. Younger players struggle with the complexity of the scheme, but it's the  complexity of the scheme that makes it successful. It's likely why guys like Hawk and Jones will hang on longer than folks would like. Having guys in the system who have been around long enough to learn the most have value that isn't just measured in statistics.

You made some great points Doc and the coaches did have to dial it back

Much of it stems from the new CBA- the players got hosed on the money side, but the owners let them "win" on the "less practice time" front.

In many respects, that is a huge detriment to a draft & develop team.

Silverstein did an article on it last year talking about how the Capers/LeBeau system worked really well with the vets who know the system. But Pitt held back the youngsters till they were ready, while GB was forced to play them due to injury.  Both the GM and the coaches have to adjust to less development time and MM talks all the time about re-doing his TC and OTA schedule to fit it all in.

 

The league/owners got their money, the players got less hitting and the fans get a watered down sport; but most of 'em don't care so long as their fantasy team(s) score lots of points. 

 

Go Packers

Excellent post, Satori!

 

That was a good read.

I remember that article, however if "knowing the system" is more important in this scheme, how does that explain that historically Dom's teams have peaked within the first 2 years of him installing the defense and then decline over time? 

Other teams figure out new wrinkles?

Teams are going to figure out the read-option if they haven't done so already, too.

I have high hopes for Datone.  He isn't Mario Williams, so I think it's a lot to expect from a new DL.  Look at Vonnie Holiday.  8 sacks his rookie year.  Really good, but not exactly replacing Reggie White like fans expected.  He still turned out okay.  Might just take some time.

In part because those teams/defenses get raided by free agency and age. Look at what happened to the Ravens after their latest Super Bowl. Did their staff suddenly forget how to coach last year?

It doesn't seem to happen to LeBeau, they have won SB's & his defense has been in top 10 for 7 of the past 10 years. 

Last time LeBeau and his defense were in the playoffs they gave up an 80 yard dagger to Tim Tebow. They haven't been back to the playoffs since. 

 

Hard to win in this league. Very hard to do it consistently. 

These are his defense's ranks in yards given up from 2004-2013

1

4

9

1

1

5

2

1

1

14

 

....I'd say that is pretty consistent. 

I prefer scoring:

1

3

11

2

1

12

1

1

6

14

 

It would be interesting to see the injuries/FA losses cross referenced with the years, especially for the anomolies (12, 14).

I'd be curious, from a pure numbers or statistics perspective, which side of the ball is harder to draft for... offense or defense?  Or would it be a draw?  Or regardless of which team would actually win, which team is easier to build through the draft... the passing team with a bend but don't break defense or the staunch defense with a run-first offense?  Maybe there's no difference.  I wish Joe Theismann or Jon Gruden was here to answer that.

I'd guess its more position-specific than Offense vs Defense.

 

Here's what Ron Wolf talked about and what TT does as well:

 

They draft the Offense so they can all grow together and then use FA and UDFA to patch the Defense. The defensive playbook is significantly easier to digest than the offensive one and if you look at both RW and TT histories, the majority of their FA's were on the defensive side of the ball.

 

RW: Reggie, Sean Jones, Eugene Robinson

TT: Woodson, Pickett, Peppers

Very interesting.  It also goes to the fact that PIT's D has had and above average number of high performing players of the last 10 years.  They have drafted D very well over that span but what is left of that group is ageing and they are at a turning point.   If they don't draft well 2012-2015 they are in trouble.  

Wolf traded for Robinson

IMO, there are two big reasons why Pittsburgh's defense is almost always very good. Their GM does a great job of drafting linebackers that fit a 3-4 and LeBeau > Dom.

Farrier, Harrison, Woodley, Foote at LB in their prime with Hampton and Kiesel in the middle backed by Polamalu. No secret why they were a good D for so long with that core group. Those 4 LBs were every bit as good as Smith, Bowman, Willis, and Brooks in SF. 

 

Green Bay is a much better D the past 3 years with Nick Collins playing his prime years. Hard to find a Pro Bowl talent like Nick. Very hard to have to find two of them. Ha Ha is already an upgrade over Doc and McMillian. Really hope he develops into another Collins. 

 

Hawk and Jones are accountable. And that pretty much sums them both up. 

To quote Kevin Greene--"It is time".....time to part ways with Capers.

 

As the old saying goes, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.  In this case, it's expecting a Dom Capers defense to win a crucial game in the playoffs.

 

The fact that the Packers stopped Seattle for much of the game isn't cause for celebration.  Seattle is a mediocre offense, scored more than 24 points once in their last 7 games. 

 

But, when it counted, the Packers defense gave up 3 TD on Seattle's last 3 drives.  Just like last year, when with 5 minutes left and the score tied, the 49ers went right down the field and scored.  Or, in 2012, when the 49ers ran the Packers out of the building.   Or, 2011, when the Giants beat the Packers in Lambeau with Manning carving up the Packers defense.  Or, 2009, when Kurt Warner absolutely torched the Packers.

It's been 5 playoff trips with Capers, and 4 absolute failures.  

 

We had only one siginifcant injury on defense this year- Raji--and Guion was very good replacing him once he got into game shape.  While I realize there is a gaping hole at MLB, I just can't accept that another defensive coordintor could not get more out of this talent. I don't think at this point it is knee jerk to fire Capers, he has had 6 years and his defense is no better today than it was in 2009.

 

 

The defense forces 4 TO's and gives the offense the ball in opponent's territory numerous times, & it is his fault we lost the game?....come on, this loss is on the special teams & offense. 

Slocum will be the scapegoat and Capers will remain. 

Every coach should take a beating on this one.  All three facets blew it at some point.  

Seattle is not a mediocre offense, at all. Top 10 by simple metrics, top 5 by Football Outsiders DVOA.

 

Is Dom Capers the best? Nope. Would I be sad to see him go? Not really. But is this loss on him? Not particularly. Between Dom, McStoopudFace, and Slowcum, Capers clearly did the best job of the bunch in that game.

MM did what every NFL coach does.....try to make the opponent burn their time outs, & run the clock. IMHO, that strategy is no longer sound. Offenses are so good with clock management, etc. that not having time outs is not as critical as it once was. Keeping possession of the ball is so much more important. BEFORE any of the last 4 minute miscues happened I was very uncomfortable with us just diving Lacy into the line three straight times....in today's NFL that is akin to playing "not to lose", rather than to win. 

Why, why, why did Peppers tell Morgan to get down after the pick? Why did Morgan do it? 5 minutes left. You can't think it's all wrapped up with 5 minutes left. 

 

The onside kick was another special teams CF. Bostick has been on the shelf for most of they year but he's out there for that play? And if it's actually his job to block don't you get someone that can actually block?

 

Once **** starts sliding away everyone kind of gets caught up in what's happening and simple **** gets missed. Even for the refs. On Lynchs 24 yd TD run Barrington got hooked by the RG and no one saw it. But again, by that time the game was spiraling out of control. 

 

Peppers telling Morgan to drop is the one that's sticking with me for a long ass time though. 

I am dreading the inevitable end zone view of Burnett's pick. Not saying he could have taken it to the house but doubtless there was a lot of green in front of him.

Last 4 minutes + OT

12 plays 

3 touchdowns

1 2 point conversion. 

 

 

Mental breakdown. I see no other reason for the collapse. 

I am no Capers fan--and watching his podium discussion this past week, instilled no confidence---but this was a nice game plan…Mostly Good pressure on Wilson without letting him break containment….They kept Lynch in check until they were gassed in the end…I was very pleased…..and yes…I lost my mind when Burnett dropped..5 minutes is an eternity.

H5?

 

Gypsy curse?

 

quote:

And if it's actually his job to block don't you get someone that can actually block?

Why did they cut Ryan Taylor and not Bostick?

 

This.  The definitive answer to the "defense didn't lose it"

Great point. Bostick was a completely useless roster spot based on potential.