very interesting! I would speculate there was some drama between coach and player that they are trying to cover up.
quote:Originally posted by BrainDed:
very interesting! I would speculate there was some drama between coach andplayerall the D players that they are trying to cover up.
FTFY
Hey everyone.I was a member years ago and now im back.Unless the Packers are on regular cable i drive 64 miles to a sports bar (to and from) to watch the packers so i am die hard but to get kicked around like that by SF was hard to watch.Capers has always been that way. Of course when he takes over a new defence thats at the bottom they move up and then the next few years he stinks.That why he goes from team to team. His time in GB has come to and end. Plus we are so soft of a team its pitiful. We scare no one. AR would have been sacked 75 to 80 times if not for his fleet of foot.We should have never given Driver all that bonus money just to stand on the side lines when we could have used that money foy line help.This years draft should be nothing but OL,DL and LBers. Nothing else. Hopefully one from Alabama's team.TT still cannot draft DL and OL. i think he gets to much credit. we have to bring in that nasty hard hitting DC. just wanted to get a few things off my chest. glad to be back.
quote:Originally posted by Fandame:
So, either Capers' D scheme is bad or he is more predictable than death and taxes. Maybe both. I guess I would not be sad to see someone new, or someone on the current staff who has some new ideas and new ways of doing things, take over. I appreciate everything Dom has done and he got us straightened out, but I think it's time that MM looks for a new piece.
The one that sticks out most in my memory from last year was from an opposing team's scout who said that it was basically a matter of predictability. That Capers has the kind of mind that always falls back on similar tendencies in similar situations. If you knew what he did last time someone did "X", then you know exactly what he'll do the next time he sees it. That if something he's doing isn't working, it takes him an unusually long time to realize that and even longer to figure out why it's not.
Made it sound as though the first year Capers is with a new team, people just build a book on him that they use for the rest of his tenure with the team. I tried not to put too much stock in it because they wouldn't say what team the guy was from, but I do remember thinking at the time that if it were true, it would sure explain a lot.
quote:Originally posted by mark:
Hey everyone.I was a member years ago and now im back.Unless the Packers are on regular cable i drive 64 miles to a sports bar (to and from) to watch the packers so i am die hard but to get kicked around like that by SF was hard to watch.Capers has always been that way. Of course when he takes over a new defence thats at the bottom they move up and then the next few years he stinks.That why he goes from team to team. His time in GB has come to and end. Plus we are so soft of a team its pitiful. We scare no one. AR would have been sacked 75 to 80 times if not for his fleet of foot.We should have never given Driver all that bonus money just to stand on the side lines when we could have used that money foy line help.This years draft should be nothing but OL,DL and LBers. Nothing else. Hopefully one from Alabama's team.TT still cannot draft DL and OL. i think he gets to much credit. we have to bring in that nasty hard hitting DC. just wanted to get a few things off my chest. glad to be back.
This is ridiculous, now Capers scheme is too predictable? Teams know exactly what he's going to run? Christ. Everyone has film on everyone. Everyone knows everyone's tendencies. It all comes down to execution. No one's scheme works if the players aren't executing. That's what it comes down to. Why did his scheme work in 2010 when teams already had a blueprint on how to beat him from the Arizona playoff game? How did the Packers win 47 games in the last 4 seasons if his scheme was so predictable that teams knew what he would call and when he would call it? It's all about the players executing. The players got beat by the 49ers, not the coach.
It's "welcome back snivelers" weekend.
And yet, here we are. In the last 2 weeks we've played 3 football games, and lost 2 of those 3 games. And after both of those losses, the other team's mediocre teenage quarterback boasted that their coaches told them what Green Bay's defense was going to do and all they had to do was listen to their coaches.
From the stories in the Wisconsin papers it seems something is up with Capers.
He may off lost the Locker room. MM is not saying much, we may know b the end of the week what the PAckers decide.
He may off lost the Locker room. MM is not saying much, we may know b the end of the week what the PAckers decide.
I think TT is tipping off opposing coaches.
quote:Originally posted by mark:
Hey everyone.I was a member years ago and now im back.Unless the Packers are on regular cable i drive 64 miles to a sports bar (to and from) to watch the packers so i am die hard but to get kicked around like that by SF was hard to watch.Capers has always been that way. Of course when he takes over a new defence thats at the bottom they move up and then the next few years he stinks.That why he goes from team to team. His time in GB has come to and end. Plus we are so soft of a team its pitiful. We scare no one. AR would have been sacked 75 to 80 times if not for his fleet of foot.We should have never given Driver all that bonus money just to stand on the side lines when we could have used that money foy line help.This years draft should be nothing but OL,DL and LBers. Nothing else. Hopefully one from Alabama's team.TT still cannot draft DL and OL. i think he gets to much credit. we have to bring in that nasty hard hitting DC. just wanted to get a few things off my chest. glad to be back.
That's a lot of dum for your first post. You'll fit right in.
quote:Originally posted by turnip blood:
From the stories in the Wisconsin papers it seems something is up with Capers.
He may off lost the Locker room. MM is not saying much, we may know b the end of the week what the PAckers decide.
Lovie! If you can't beat them, join them.
If the Packers have a different DC instead of Capers do they win last night? I don't think so. The amount of talent missing ran into a really good 22 man roster.
Clay, Shields, and Hayward are the only guys on D that would play for SF. Hawk, Walden, and Jones would never see the field. Those are our starters.
A better defensive scheme/plan/execution probably doesn't give up close to 600 yards. But there's only so much you can do given the limitations of a lot of guys that had to start for GB. IMO a different DC doesn't change the outcome.
Clay, Shields, and Hayward are the only guys on D that would play for SF. Hawk, Walden, and Jones would never see the field. Those are our starters.
A better defensive scheme/plan/execution probably doesn't give up close to 600 yards. But there's only so much you can do given the limitations of a lot of guys that had to start for GB. IMO a different DC doesn't change the outcome.
I think there are personnel issues, no doubt about it. That said, it was clear the defensive scheme wasn't even close to being prepared for the pistol offense. What's worse is that there weren't any adjustments during the game to try and stop it. It was like watching the same car wreck over and over again.
That, to me, is a coaching problem more than a player problem.
That, to me, is a coaching problem more than a player problem.
quote:Originally posted by Pakrz:
I think there are personnel issues, no doubt about it. That said, it was clear the defensive scheme wasn't even close to being prepared for the pistol offense. What's worse is that there weren't any adjustments during the game to try and stop it. It was like watching the same car wreck over and over again.
That, to me, is a coaching problem more than a player problem.
I completely agree with this post.
Obviously there are some personnel limitations, especially at LB. But that shouldn't excuse what seemed to be a completely ill prepared defense. While the 49ers were preparing to expand the Pistol offense, the Packers plan was to send pressure while playing man-to-man defense -- probably the worst way to contain CK. They continued to crash in on the edges giving CK huge areas of open territory. And worse yet, there was no adjustment. Woodson and Raji's comments were very telling.
This wasn't just a poor defensive game on Saturday night - it was a historically poor defensive performance, akin to what you see at the collegiate level. But what makes this so alarming is that it's hardly an outlier. You had the historically poor performance against Arizona in 2009, the historically bad season in 2011, and many other data points that suggest Capers just hasn't gotten the job done enough.
I certainly appreciate what he accomplished in 2010 and believe he earned a longer leash than we granted previous coordinators. But at this point, these are no longer one-off performance issues...it's become a trend. I think the book on Capers is clear -- he still has the goods to confuse lesser QBs, and certainly has the Chicago Bears figured out. But his teams have offered little resistance to good quarterbacks for the better part of four years. And those are the QBs you tend to meet in the post season, Joe Webb not withstanding.
Certainly it's becoming an offensive league, and perhaps the game will continue to evolve into video game shoot outs with limited defense. But I'd rather see someone else in this position -- someone who can inject some new schemes and certainly adjust better on the fly.
quote:Originally posted by titmfatied:
Packers' defense far from Super Bowl-ready
foxsportswisconsin.com
by Paul Imig
That's the bottom line as far as I'm concerned. The window for AR is beginning to close and the team needs to find a defense that's good enough to get to and win the big game. The defensive failure on Saturday was one of epic proportions and the record indicates to me that a new DC is needed.
@WesHod
Jeremy Ross said it was pretty much "a game-time" decision that he would be handling kickoffs and punt returns, says he'll remain confident
Jeremy Ross said it was pretty much "a game-time" decision that he would be handling kickoffs and punt returns, says he'll remain confident
With Frank Goreâs 119-yard effort on the ground and Michael Crabtreeâs nine-catch, 119-yard day through the air, the 49ers became the first NFL team to ever have two, 100-yard rushers and a 100-yard receiver in the same playoff game.
quote:Crabtree had 11 passes thrown his way -- which was more than twice as many as the next highest-targeted San Francisco player -- and caught nine of them for 119 yards and two touchdowns.
But this wasn't the first time this season that Green Bay allowed an opposing wide receiver to dominate. In Week 4, Marques Colston (New Orleans Saints) had nine catches, 153 yards and a touchdown. A week later, Reggie Wayne (Indianapolis Colts) had 13 receptions, 212 yards and a touchdown. Calvin Johnson (Detroit Lions) lit up the Packers' secondary in both meetings this season (143 receiving yards in Week 11; 118 receiving yards in Week 14). Even Cecil Shorts (Jacksonville Jaguars) had the best game of his season against Green Bay with eight catches for 116 yards. -foxsportswisconsin
quote:Originally posted by Grave Digger:
This is ridiculous, now Capers scheme is too predictable? Teams know exactly what he's going to run? Christ. Everyone has film on everyone. Everyone knows everyone's tendencies. It all comes down to execution. No one's scheme works if the players aren't executing. That's what it comes down to. Why did his scheme work in 2010 when teams already had a blueprint on how to beat him from the Arizona playoff game? How did the Packers win 47 games in the last 4 seasons if his scheme was so predictable that teams knew what he would call and when he would call it? It's all about the players executing. The players got beat by the 49ers, not the coach.
....as a coach myself, I've learned that I may have (what I think) is a great gameplan, however for what ever reason the players I have can not execute it....best to decide if they can BEFORE the game, or at least when it is obvious that they can't during the game, you adjust by going to a different defense. Yes, we have some physical limitations on defense, however with Kapernick's running, no one was there to attempt to tackle him, which leads one to believe it was the scheme, not the players....on Gore's runs it does appear we had players in the correct positions, they were just physically better than us.
Said this before, but I think but it's interesting how the Packers site cherry picked the quotes to shape the story that the players were solely responsible and game planning had nothing to do with the loss. Especially the way they used the two guys who spoke up about the game planning to do it.quote:Packers defense struggles to explain loss to 49ers
packers.com
by Mike Spofford
âWe just didnât play it the way it was supposed to be played,â Woodson said
B.J. Raji said. âObviously if you canât stop the run, thatâs football 101.â
âItâs tough,â Raji said. âIt never gets easy losing, especially when youâre a Green Bay Packer. A lot is expected of you.
continue
I wouldn't expect the Packers writing staff to question Capers on the site but it's also pretty crappy to misconstrue the players thoughts when it's evidently clear that the play calls and adjustments were lacking and they were under prepared. Doesn't absolve the players for their part in the mess but it also doesn't sound to my ears like they "struggled" to explain the loss. They came as close as you'll ever see an NFL player get to calling out the game plan and it's understandable to me if they're not being put in the best position to win.
quote:Originally posted by FLPACKER:
....as a coach myself, I've learned that I may have (what I think) is a great gameplan, however for what ever reason the players I have can not execute it....best to decide if they can BEFORE the game, or at least when it is obvious that they can't during the game, you adjust by going to a different defense. Yes, we have some physical limitations on defense, however with Kapernick's running, no one was there to attempt to tackle him, which leads one to believe it was the scheme, not the players....on Gore's runs it does appear we had players in the correct positions, they were just physically better than us.
What does that even mean? This isn't little league/junior high/high school football. If you can't use the gameplan you think is best because you don't think the players can or will execute it, then you have MAJOR personnel problems.
I'm hearing a lot of "Capers should have adjusted" or "Capers should have changed the gameplan", to what exactly? What was this great adjustment that he didn't do that would have saved the game? HE SHOULD HAVE ADJUSTED TO STOP KAEPERNICK! That's not an adjustment, that's something an a-hole says. When your opponent is getting production from their RB and running QB on the ground it's probably because you're trying to stop the big play down the field through the air. That's why Rodgers has had success running. When they tried to stop Kaep from running, he beat them through the air for big plays. Now what the heck do you do as a DC to stop that kind of threat? PUT A SPY ON KAEPERNICK! How do you know he didn't and that spy just failed? So you're going to take a DB, like Woodson for example, out of coverage, probably on Vernon Davis, and have him stand there and make sure Kaep doesn't run? So that means you put Hawk or Jones on Vernon Davis, meaning Davis will be wide open. Guess what people, that happened and Kaep burned us through the air.
Here's the reason we couldn't stop their offense:
1. Zero pressure on Kaep. From the edge and especially not from the middle. Kaep felt no pressure when wasn't running.
2. Poor coverage by Tramon. He couldn't keep up with Crabtree. Their best WR was whooping our best cover CB.
3. Terrible effort/technique by our ILBs. They couldn't shed OL, they couldn't stay with Kaep, they couldn't get home at all.
None of those things are Capers fault. Players can't win 1 on 1's, CBs can't cover, ILBs can't do their job. What possible adjustment could have been made to cover up those deficiencies?
And the only guy on our D fast enough to spy on CK is Shields. And I wouldn't take Shields out of corner because now he's our best cover/tackling corner.
So you overplay CK with a spy who's too slow to do the job? Lot's of good that would have done.
Geez, Nick Collins, we miss you.
So you overplay CK with a spy who's too slow to do the job? Lot's of good that would have done.
Geez, Nick Collins, we miss you.
Can't blame Capers for Saturday's loss.
In the first half, when the secondary seemed to play mostly man-to-man coverage (meaning their backs are to the line of scrimmage), the inside LBs (notably Brad Jones) failed to cover the gaps in the line, allowing gaping holes for Kaepernick to run through when he had no passing options or was pressured.
In the second half, Capers seemed to adjust by putting the secondary into more zone coverage, which the Packers have struggled with for years. The 49ers quickly adjusted to this by going with more of the "pistol" offense, which kept the Packers off-balance and caused them to over-pursue or get completely faked-out. When Kaepernick wasn't torching them with his legs, he used the Packers' zone against them (which QBs often do) by finding the holes in coverage due to either design or missed assignments.
It came down largely to personnel, not scheme, IMO, why the Packers couldn't keep up with the 49ers. The Packers' LBs and safeties weren't able to keep up.
In the first half, when the secondary seemed to play mostly man-to-man coverage (meaning their backs are to the line of scrimmage), the inside LBs (notably Brad Jones) failed to cover the gaps in the line, allowing gaping holes for Kaepernick to run through when he had no passing options or was pressured.
In the second half, Capers seemed to adjust by putting the secondary into more zone coverage, which the Packers have struggled with for years. The 49ers quickly adjusted to this by going with more of the "pistol" offense, which kept the Packers off-balance and caused them to over-pursue or get completely faked-out. When Kaepernick wasn't torching them with his legs, he used the Packers' zone against them (which QBs often do) by finding the holes in coverage due to either design or missed assignments.
It came down largely to personnel, not scheme, IMO, why the Packers couldn't keep up with the 49ers. The Packers' LBs and safeties weren't able to keep up.
quote:Originally posted by titmfatied:Said this before, but I think but it's interesting how the Packers site cherry picked the quotes to shape the story that the players were solely responsible and game planning had nothing to do with the loss. Especially the way they used the two guys who spoke up about the game planning to do it.quote:Packers defense struggles to explain loss to 49ers
packers.com
by Mike Spofford
âWe just didnât play it the way it was supposed to be played,â Woodson said
B.J. Raji said. âObviously if you canât stop the run, thatâs football 101.â
âItâs tough,â Raji said. âIt never gets easy losing, especially when youâre a Green Bay Packer. A lot is expected of you.
continue
I wouldn't expect the Packers writing staff to question Capers on the site but it's also pretty crappy to misconstrue the players thoughts when it's evidently clear that the play calls and adjustments were lacking and they were under prepared. Doesn't absolve the players for their part in the mess but it also doesn't sound to my ears like they "struggled" to explain the loss. They came as close as you'll ever see an NFL player get to calling out the game plan and it's understandable to me if they're not being put in the best position to win.
Truth be told, you are comparing Packers.com to a reporter that used to cover the vajeens and is probably spinning stuff himself.
Walden has shown time and time again he's either incapable of setting the edge or he simply doesn't want to. It's a big reason why AP kept bouncing the ball outside to his side when he gashed GB for 410 yards this year. That and horrible tackling.
On Kaep's 56 yard TD run. Walden once again jumped inside, got swallowed up by a FB... A FB!!!!... and then had absolutely zero idea where the ball was. The only reason I'm willing to give Capers a pass here is becasue Walden has a horrible habit of running himself out of position. His job is to set the edge then hold it. Period. When I hear players say changes should have been made, it's possible they are calling out Walden and getting someone else in the game without calling our Walden directly.
What's worse is on the TD run Kaep knew it would be there. He knew the odds of Walden collapsing down too far inside were probably pretty high. He was right.
It also didn't help that Tramon was pushed 10 yards downfield and never got off his block.
This is freaking tough to watch...
On Kaep's 56 yard TD run. Walden once again jumped inside, got swallowed up by a FB... A FB!!!!... and then had absolutely zero idea where the ball was. The only reason I'm willing to give Capers a pass here is becasue Walden has a horrible habit of running himself out of position. His job is to set the edge then hold it. Period. When I hear players say changes should have been made, it's possible they are calling out Walden and getting someone else in the game without calling our Walden directly.
What's worse is on the TD run Kaep knew it would be there. He knew the odds of Walden collapsing down too far inside were probably pretty high. He was right.
It also didn't help that Tramon was pushed 10 yards downfield and never got off his block.
This is freaking tough to watch...
Players and Coaches, lots of fault to go around.
Fumbled punt at your own 7. TD.
INT from your MVP QB returned to your 48. TD
No adjustments to Kaepernick and the read-option.
Down 31-24 in the 3rd QTR, no more runs... Harris had a very good game to that point (11 for 53) and keeping the ball from Kaepernick should have been the goal.
31-24 7:07 left in the 3rd:
Packers
Pass
Pass
Scramble
Pass
Pass
Pass
Punt
38-24 14:57 left in the game:
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Punt
Their D needed a rest, and the DC needed time for the cranial-rectitus to subside.
Fumbled punt at your own 7. TD.
INT from your MVP QB returned to your 48. TD
No adjustments to Kaepernick and the read-option.
Down 31-24 in the 3rd QTR, no more runs... Harris had a very good game to that point (11 for 53) and keeping the ball from Kaepernick should have been the goal.
31-24 7:07 left in the 3rd:
Packers
Pass
Pass
Scramble
Pass
Pass
Pass
Punt
38-24 14:57 left in the game:
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Punt
Their D needed a rest, and the DC needed time for the cranial-rectitus to subside.
I fault game plan, D-Cordinator, Players and GM for not having the "right" players. Bad game all around. That said more of the same type of stuff is coming. SF, NY Giants, Minnesota. Probably more teams are going to try to "out physical" the Pack. We need Bigger stronger linemen. Especially on D. The center from Alabama might be a great start. As great as AR is he can't score from the bench. KC set the standard a year ago and since then the plan is the same.
This team needs a new outlook. An attacking D-Cordinator to replace Capers may well be part of the solution. Health is also important. The TV announcer said SF and Vikes O-lines played every snap together this year. We have battled many injuries for a long time. They need to analize the strength and conditioning to see if that could improve and cause fewer injuries. Would a guy like Lovie Smith really come to GB? Would he be the answer? How would MM feel? I'd say it is doubtful that we have the players currently to win it all. Woodson, 37, no longer a turnover machine. Hawk always plays but plays slow. Walden? backup material. TT also has to rebuild his scouting office.
This team needs a new outlook. An attacking D-Cordinator to replace Capers may well be part of the solution. Health is also important. The TV announcer said SF and Vikes O-lines played every snap together this year. We have battled many injuries for a long time. They need to analize the strength and conditioning to see if that could improve and cause fewer injuries. Would a guy like Lovie Smith really come to GB? Would he be the answer? How would MM feel? I'd say it is doubtful that we have the players currently to win it all. Woodson, 37, no longer a turnover machine. Hawk always plays but plays slow. Walden? backup material. TT also has to rebuild his scouting office.
I'm just going to throw this out there (as others have): if Dom goes, does Lovie come north?
I wouldn't mind seeing what types of schemes he puts together. So long as he is completely detached and prevented from having anything to do with the offense... he might be a good fit.
I wouldn't mind seeing what types of schemes he puts together. So long as he is completely detached and prevented from having anything to do with the offense... he might be a good fit.
Kaepernick had 181 yards rushing. On one of the radio shows I was listening to this morning they said he had 178 yards before even getting touched.
Nick Perry is a much better run defender than Walden. I was really impressed with how he set the edge early in the season. That will be a big improvement. He has the upper body strength and the arm length to not allow Tackles to get into his body and redirect him. I think if they got him to drop 10-15 lbs. (he's a big 265 right now), I think he wouldn't look so heavy footed in coverage, which is his big negative in my opinion. Walden is better in coverage, but Perry is the better player overall and I think we will see a big improvement in the run D overall in 2013.
I think Capers needs to stay, but I do agree with some of you that we need to mix in some different looks up front. I'd like to see Perry and Clay with their hand down more often with a wider set (more like a wide 9) in passing situations. Bill Belichick does both of these things with his defense. I don't think Woodson needs to be at Safety either, he's a rover. That's his best position. Bring in a real Safety and Woodson will earn his keep.
I think Capers needs to stay, but I do agree with some of you that we need to mix in some different looks up front. I'd like to see Perry and Clay with their hand down more often with a wider set (more like a wide 9) in passing situations. Bill Belichick does both of these things with his defense. I don't think Woodson needs to be at Safety either, he's a rover. That's his best position. Bring in a real Safety and Woodson will earn his keep.
quote:Here's the reason we couldn't stop their offense:
1. Zero pressure on Kaep. From the edge and especially not from the middle. Kaep felt no pressure when wasn't running.
2. Poor coverage by Tramon. He couldn't keep up with Crabtree. Their best WR was whooping our best cover CB.
3. Terrible effort/technique by our ILBs. They couldn't shed OL, they couldn't stay with Kaep, they couldn't get home at all.
None of those things are Capers fault. Players can't win 1 on 1's, CBs can't cover, ILBs can't do their job. What possible adjustment could have been made to cover up those deficiencies?
No mention of the OLB's? Seemed to me most the yards on the ground came of the option. The only one who played it with any level of decency was Moses, IMO
Is it bad coaching, deficient personnel, or a combination of both?
While Capers deserves much of the blame for the team's defensive failures, he is in part being scapegoated. He's playing the hand that's dealt him personnel-wise, a hand given to him by Thompson. As pointed out in Silverstein's extensively quoted article in this thread Packers are facing a critical off-season:
"As the week goes on, McCarthy is going to have to decide whether Capers has lost his touch and no longer has the ability to keep up with the NFL's increasingly diverse offensive attacks or is a victim of Thompson's draft-only philosophy and neglect in acquiring the bruising linebackers and safeties it takes to compete with the physical offenses of NFC contenders San Francisco and the New York Giants."
I am not recommending that Capers be retained, but there is shared responsibility for the Packers' weaknesses/failures that were exposed for all the world to see on Saturday.
While Capers deserves much of the blame for the team's defensive failures, he is in part being scapegoated. He's playing the hand that's dealt him personnel-wise, a hand given to him by Thompson. As pointed out in Silverstein's extensively quoted article in this thread Packers are facing a critical off-season:
"As the week goes on, McCarthy is going to have to decide whether Capers has lost his touch and no longer has the ability to keep up with the NFL's increasingly diverse offensive attacks or is a victim of Thompson's draft-only philosophy and neglect in acquiring the bruising linebackers and safeties it takes to compete with the physical offenses of NFC contenders San Francisco and the New York Giants."
I am not recommending that Capers be retained, but there is shared responsibility for the Packers' weaknesses/failures that were exposed for all the world to see on Saturday.
quote:Originally posted by Grave Digger:quote:Originally posted by FLPACKER:
....as a coach myself, I've learned that I may have (what I think) is a great gameplan, however for what ever reason the players I have can not execute it....best to decide if they can BEFORE the game, or at least when it is obvious that they can't during the game, you adjust by going to a different defense. Yes, we have some physical limitations on defense, however with Kapernick's running, no one was there to attempt to tackle him, which leads one to believe it was the scheme, not the players....on Gore's runs it does appear we had players in the correct positions, they were just physically better than us.
What does that even mean? This isn't little league/junior high/high school football. If you can't use the gameplan you think is best because you don't think the players can or will execute it, then you have MAJOR personnel problems.
I'm hearing a lot of "Capers should have adjusted" or "Capers should have changed the gameplan", to what exactly? What was this great adjustment that he didn't do that would have saved the game? HE SHOULD HAVE ADJUSTED TO STOP KAEPERNICK! That's not an adjustment, that's something an a-hole says. When your opponent is getting production from their RB and running QB on the ground it's probably because you're trying to stop the big play down the field through the air. That's why Rodgers has had success running. When they tried to stop Kaep from running, he beat them through the air for big plays. Now what the heck do you do as a DC to stop that kind of threat? PUT A SPY ON KAEPERNICK! How do you know he didn't and that spy just failed? So you're going to take a DB, like Woodson for example, out of coverage, probably on Vernon Davis, and have him stand there and make sure Kaep doesn't run? So that means you put Hawk or Jones on Vernon Davis, meaning Davis will be wide open. Guess what people, that happened and Kaep burned us through the air.
Here's the reason we couldn't stop their offense:
1. Zero pressure on Kaep. From the edge and especially not from the middle. Kaep felt no pressure when wasn't running.
2. Poor coverage by Tramon. He couldn't keep up with Crabtree. Their best WR was whooping our best cover CB.
3. Terrible effort/technique by our ILBs. They couldn't shed OL, they couldn't stay with Kaep, they couldn't get home at all.
None of those things are Capers fault. Players can't win 1 on 1's, CBs can't cover, ILBs can't do their job. What possible adjustment could have been made to cover up those deficiencies?
When you have a future HOF football player in Charles Woodson that openly questions why the defense didn't make any adjustments, that speaks very loud to me. I think Raji said something similar too actually...
quote:Originally posted by BrainDed:
No mention of the OLB's? Seemed to me most the yards on the ground came of the option. The only one who played it with any level of decency was Moses, IMO
Depends on what the responsibilities are. Depends who is responsible for the Dive Man (Gore) and who is responsible for the Pitch Man (Kaep). Normally I think the OLB is responsible for the Pitch Man, so you're right it may very well be the OLBs fault. I don't know how that works in Capers scheme though.
When you have Charles Woodson who is too old to catch a QB.....
I really think we see a different game if we're as healthy as SF and we utilize Harris and Cobb more. Move the chains and keep the D off the field. Harris was 11 for 53, wasn't he? What the heck is wrong with that.
quote:Originally posted by Pakrz:
When you have a future HOF football player in Charles Woodson that openly questions why the defense didn't make any adjustments, that speaks very loud to me. I think Raji said something similar too actually...
Woodson also said the Packers are playing the right defense, it just didn't work. Raji said that everyone knew their assignments, they just didn't get it done. I'm not saying Capers deserves zero blame, but what do you expect him to do when he has 4-8 players on any given play missing their assignment. That's not something you can adjust to cover up. Maybe they could if it was just Hawk or just Walden, but not Hawk, Walden, Jones, Tramon, etc. all at the same time.
quote:Originally posted by Oldtimer:
"As the week goes on, McCarthy is going to have to decide whether Capers has lost his touch and no longer has the ability to keep up with the NFL's increasingly diverse offensive attacks or is a victim of Thompson's draft-only philosophy and neglect in acquiring the bruising linebackers and safeties it takes to compete with the physical offenses of NFC contenders San Francisco and the New York Giants."
I would agree with this if not for the fact TT drafted Desmond Bishop and Nick Collins. It's not TT fault neither were on the field Saturday night. Once TT knew Nick Collins was never coming back he drafted McMillian and Sean Richardson as an UDFA.
Could TT have gone out and tried to find a FA safety? Possibly. But essentially Silverstein is saying it's TT's fault for not finding Pro Bowl LB's and Safties in the draft on a regular basis in case one of them isn't available to play.