I love how he says Capers should get a raise because he improved the defense from the 32nd ranked unit and worst-ever against the pass defense that they were last year. Maybe I can apply that in my professional career. I'll turn in the worst performance in company history this quarter, and when I improve upon that in the 2nd quarter, I'll demand a raise.
What's your sense on his contract? I mean, Jennings' contract has been fulfilled, and he'll be a free agent. It seems like everyone's assumption is that means he's as good as gone. Caper' contract has also been fulfilled. Why don't we assume the same with Capers that we do with Jennings; that Capers is also as good as gone?
RG3 wend down with an injury because he puts himself out there more than both Kaepernick and Willson. (Vick is washed up so I'm not even going to bother to comment about him.) Too boot Shanahan basically put a desire to win it all now ahead of ensuring that the future of their organization wouldn't have to face the possibility of a career altering injury. Running QB's are getting smarter with their thought processes with regard to putting themselves in a position to brake out of contain while not taking hits. Couple that with coaches that know how to effectively utilize the Read-Option, or that at the very least are familiarized with it. I think that your statements will ultimately prove false over the next 5 - 10 years. We shall see though. I digress: Personally I don't want to switch schemes if it can be avoided, but I also can acknowledge that wanting to be able to select from a larger pool of DC candidates is a reasonable conclusion to make. Mostly I just don't think it makes a whole lot of sense to retool the Defensive side of the roster at this point since we are essentially still trying to build the base roster to run the 3-4. Looking for a new DC, even in house, is something I can sink my teeth into. Now before we all rehash again that players play, and coaches coach lets just all establish that we agree on that point; as, it ultimately is the very basic of definition for both job descriptions. Therefore we can acknowledge the contribution that players make to the season through their own personal motivations, game preparation, and playing time on the field. From that we can move on and talk specifically about Capers' job performance which I feel is the crux of the matter at hand. When talking about the possibility of him returning to the team. (Apparently his contract is up as of the end of the 2012 season, but I can't find a credible source to cite for that information.) Capers took over after the 08 season in which our D ended the season ranked 22nd overall - missing the playoffs with a 6-10 record. In 09 there was an instant up-tick in the D and the unit finished 7th overall, we made the playoffs with an 11-5 record and were none-and-done in the Wild-card Round. The game that year saw practically no Defense from either team practically. Along with that it seemed to me at after the loss, and even leading up to it I'd say in hindsight - the players believed way too much of their own hype but they were a young D then; gotta learn lessons the hard way sometimes. Then there was the magic of the 10 season - 2nd overall D squad, 10-6 record, team record set for turnover differential, Super Bowl Champs with the crazy IR roster we had that year as a Wild-card too boot. Onward to the 11 season and we got a 19th ranked D with a 15-1 record, and are none-and-done'd again in a rather lackluster performance from the whole team this time in the Divisional Round. Which brings us to the 12 season, an 11th ranked D, a 11-5 record, and we were one-and-done this time around in the Divisional Round. This time around it was just flat embarrassing to watch at times. If we didn't play so poorly in the playoffs three out of Capers' four with the team I'd probably be open to the idea of him coming back, however I think that resume is enough to warrant the Packers Organization to look elsewhere for a new DC. With respect to Capers' I know he has a stellar resume, however I really only care about what he's done with the Packers. Outside of 2009 and 2010 I've not been overly impressed with the unit, and the 09 loss was a huge letdown considering how poorly they played with respect to how well they were expected to show up.
Excellent post. I'd just add that we seem to be falling further behind when we go up against teams we know we are going to have to bypass if we are going to get further. We lost to the Giants the last two times we played them. Before anyone talks about the Giants season in 2012 how many here were dreading playing them in the playoffs? We lost to the 49er's the last two times we played them. I don't have confidence that Capers is going to get us past the really good teams we will have to face. Posters keep mentioning 2010. I really think offensive coordinators disected what he did. They caught up to him. The tricks like the psycho worked for that campaign. But he doesn't seem to have a return response. btw, your comment on RG III and how different he is playing the game vis a vis Kapernick and Wilson are right on. But RG III will probably by necessity have to play differently in the future. I don't think for a minute injuries will be the demise of that type of offense we are bound to face.
I still want to know why, though both their contracts are up, people assume Jennings is gone but that Capers is staying. I mean, I get that sense too and I don't know why. Serious question.
I know I`ve said it before but as much as Capers is at fault, and probably quite a bit, the players HAVE to stand up and shoulder the blame too. Even if 2nd and 3rd string players were used, they didn`t do the job. IMO
And it's here too. Are you surprised? Stuck like chuck. http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...capers-will-be-back-as-defensive-coordinator/
McCarthy: "I feel very confident that Dom Capers will be our defensive coordinator... Feel very secure Dom Capers is going to be our defensive coordinator, but I'm not doing my job if I don't evaluate everyone"
If McCarthy decides to keep Capers and we get destroyed by the same teams over and over again he needs to be in the hot seat for being a dumbass
You just know one of those "Should you Apologize" threads will be forthcoming if somehow Capers pulls his chestnuts out of the fire. As a Packer fan I'd eat crow instead of the alternative.
Dom Capers said he wants to coach for a long time and plans to be with Packers next season, if MM wants him, of course. Capers: "We have a young defense that is ascending. All of the statistics point to that. I feel awful about the way we played because you want to play your best game and we didn't. I accept responsibility for that."
The numbers we've given up in the playoffs over the last 4 seasons it's absolutely staggering. Capers cannot be blamed for everything. Players have to show up and make plays. But Capers has been running this defense for 4 seasons now. And our players still can't tackle and still can't do things like playing simple assignment football. Some of our players are unaware of the situation, get caught out of position, blown coverages, missed gap assignments. Now again, ultimately that comes down to the player to do all this on gameday. But it also reflects upon the coordinator because he's the one who has to instill these kinds of things in his players, he's the one who has to prepare them for the situations in games, he's the one who has to make adjustments. And he hasn't been doing that clearly. If a player isn't doing his job, then it should be on the coach/coordinator to find someone who can or at the very least hold said player accountable for playing like a bum. I think sometimes as an organization and as a fanbase too, that we cling on to nostalgia. We still look at Tramon Williams as a play maker who was on fire during our SB run in 201o and really has been god awful since then, but it's almost like everyone holds out hope that he's going to return to that form and play like that all the time. Same with James Starks. Tramon was an UDFA and usually, players go undrafted for a reason. Every player has the potential to breakout for a few games, but nobody cares about what a player can do for an organization for a few games, they care about consistency. We need better players just as much as we need a new coordinator. We need a coordinator and or a player on this defense that is going to bring discipline and accountability. If you ask me that's what is missing. Also slightly off topic, I really think our stance on Free Agency within this organization hurts us as well. Nobody wants to take a chance on a free agent that could potentially fill a hole and fix an issue that we have. We'd rather stay with our own players and hope they can fill the void or we try to do it through the draft.
