Here's my problem: The defense is still a problem. Specifically, the play on the edges is the problem. I've read article after article and analysis after analysis saying that the defense played poorly in the middle. Yeah, it's true. AJ Hawk and Brad Jones kinda suck. However, I have images of Percy Harvin running around the end on a motion handoff time after time burned into my brain. Why are they burned into my brain? Nick Perry/Mike Neal/Clay Matthews/Julius Peppers repeatedly crashing down the line ALL THE WAY TO THE FREAKING CENTER biting on a fake hand off up the middle. This has been a consistent theme for Mike McCarthy's teams with the exception of the 2010 Super Bowl team.
I read a lot about sports. I read team websites, blogs, major sports sites, etc. One of the things that I read often on Packers.com is "Players, not plays" as stated by Vic Ketchman. I think this is interesting. I'm pretty quick to blame Dom Capers for a lot of the problems on defense because he continues to play a 2-4-5 defense, which is just plain stupid. That particular defensive alignment has NEVER worked, and NEVER will (don't give me the argument about two lineman standing up and it working... I'm talking a true 2-4-5, where there are only two DL on the field). However, at some point I have to just think that the players are either too stupid or too undisciplined to actually play the defense that is called. Maybe the players are to blame. But the flip-side is that the coaches are not focusing on this issue.
So, what do I actually think? Well... this issue, as I stated earlier, has spanned multiple "generations" of Packers players, suggesting that coaching is an issue. In addition, I think the types of players the Packers are choosing for their defense needs to be questioned. I don't really know what the answer is, but I'm sick and tired of the Packers I-AA (FCS, fml that I felt I needed to add that) defense. No more Super Bowls for Rodgers until that defense shows some freaking discipline.
I would say the defense is the biggest problem, they are missing some big bodies due to injuries. So i'd say it's a lack of depth, discipline and coaching. Take the niners as an example, my team, they were missing 2 defensive backs and one went down to an injury...they sent out 2 new backs who played well, same thing with the linebackers, no bowman, another player stepped up.
ReplyDeleteI have a hard time figuring out why some coaches get the reputation they do, and why that reputation follows them throughout their career. I always see the same plays run, with minimal creativety. It's 3rd and 2, lets run right up the 2 gap 9 out of 10 times. awesome. but yet, he a coach or coordinator is an genius...? i feel like mcCarthy his first few years with rodgers had a lot of weapons on offense and was so unique in his play calling and design that teams were caught off guard and they were able to exploit that and take up the slack for a shitty defense. I think a coach like a player is good for 5-7 years and than you need to move on.
I mean look belichick, many would argue he's the top coach in the nfl, he hasn't won a super bowl in what 8 years...? so what's the point of having him around? teams have caught up with his scheme and i GUARANTEE he won't win again. He won 3 or 4 years, shannahan won back to back in 97 and 98 and outside of that coaches don't win more than 1 and def don't win another years apart, gibbs in early 90s and for some goddamn reason tom coughlin are the exceptions. So as an organization hire a coach, after he wins one, give him an opportunity to work as an exectutive within the organization and hire someone else. these coaches all have a unique wrinkle or player that they are able to capitalize on and than the rest of the league catches up.
So with that said- fire mcCarthy. Rodgers is a top 3 qb and look how average he looks at this point, he did more check downs than matt ryan....boom.
Rodgers may have gone to Cal, but in the Thursday night intros he said he was from Butte Community College. I guess we could try to use that as the rationale for why he looked so tentative and unimpressive against Seattle--Butte QBs don't go on to the NFL, except maybe Rodgers, and Brett Ratliff (which is maybe only just short of Cal's Rodgers-Boller lineup). I don't know what the deal is with the offense. Rodgers is perfectly capable of moving a team down the field with short and efficient passes if that's the plan--that's how he cut up USC back in the day. It didn't work Thursday, though.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure how much of that is connected with the defense, which admittedly just sucked. They couldn't do much of anything. Seattle is good, granted, but that was too easy. I'd be curious what Brennan thinks about making the same argument for coordinators and other coaches, rather than for head coaches--thinking about Dom Capers there. Is turnover better than continuity with schemes? Maybe there is something to that--a guy with the same personnel doesn't necessarily have to adjust his scheme as long as his players stay the same, but as they age, get more injury prone, don't react as well, struggle to adapt to more innovative offenses, etc, his personnel no longer match his scheme as well. I'm just speculating here, but hey, that's why we don't get paid for this, eh?
Dom Capers definitely needs to go. I was pretty wishy-washy with my post on purpose... Capers continues to trot out a 2-4-5 in which there are literally two linemen. It's the worst form of nickel defense I've ever seen. Who wouldn't want to remove 1-2 down linemen and replace them with small fast guys who don't want to hit people? 3-3-5 and 4-2-5 make sense to me. 2-4-5 does not. I feel like Capers walks into the meeting from and says "I'm Dom Freaking Capers. A 2-4-5 works if I say it works!" and that's the end of it. To be honest, at this point, last year's Cal DC is sounding good to me...
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