Ball In MM's Court?

[PackerfaninCarolina]

Well ... So it's the first time in 9 years that the team under MM has missed the playoffs, and at some point it was going to come to an end, more so this year with Rodgers sidelined 7 weeks. Now ... We look at next year. Rodgers isn't considering retirement yet, but now reaching his mid-30s the reality is it is coming much sooner now than we think. I mean age 40 is the age we'd all love to see him play to, but not every QB has made it to then including a certain one who was calling today's game.

So the dilemma with MM is kinda this. On the one hand, I'd say the players seem to have his back. Even Rodgers for all the talk of MM getting in his way doesn't appear to want him gone.

What's been frustrating is two 10-6 seasons dropping down from the 12-4 season, and now a season of at least 7 losses which one could argue that even with Rodgers's loss, they could have done better, so is the team under MM headed in the wrong direction?

Now, what I think MM really has to do is look at how Dom Capers has struggled, realize that unless he gets a roster that's as deep as 2011's that he won't be covering for his defensive coaches' (Whitt included) problems, and figure that now it is time to let them go. This is not 2010 anymore, MM needs to understand that that horse that helped him go all the way has seen its shelf life expire just as it did in Pittsburgh, New England, Carolina and Houston. Loyalty is good to a point, but in 2014 MM had the revelation that Slocum wasn't cutting it, and he needs to have one now that Capers is no longer cutting it. This is not a fire Capers thread, this is about the decision being MM's (as far as I know).

I feel right now and at the end of this season, it'd be the wrong time to fire MM. But before the critics start up, I'm also not letting him off the hook that easily. The ball is in his court to take a good look at his assistant coaches and understand that changes have to come. If he doesn't make some changes, I'm going to say us fans have good reason to start holding him more accountable for the team's failures.

 

[Mondio]

the only thing consistent with this defense, is confusion and in consistency. It is not championship caliber defense, and when MM says that's what he expects, I believe him. I think Caper's got somewhat of a pass for last year, and this was his year to do better without all the flux and injury. he hasn't

 

[Packer Brother]

Fire Capers, but is that suddenly going to make the players on D better? They stink!! Plain and simple!!

Why is Ted Thompson allowed to be the GM until he wants to? He's won one damm SB with two hof QB's. That's inexcusable!!!!

 

[PackerfaninCarolina]

Fire Capers, but is that suddenly going to make the players on D better? They stink!! Plain and simple!!

Why is Ted Thompson allowed to be the GM until he wants to? He's won one damm SB with two hof QB's. That's inexcusable!!!!

I agree in part and on the other hand disagree. I think as Mondio pointed out, we got better talent on that side of the ball than what we're seeing. It's not just Capers but Joe Whitt as well who is also losing his touch. At this point in the season, confusion should not be an issue in that unit.

Now as I said, I've got my own beef with the way TT has handled some things lately as well as his scouting. But you could probably put both Darell Revis and Josh Norman in their primes in this secondary and Capers and Whitt's bad coaching would make them look bad.

As I said though, Capers job rests in MM's hands. The ball is in his court to see that Capers and his minions are doing bad and Slocum them. If he wants a championship caliber defense, I suggest he get a championship caliber DC who's younger.

 

[ARPackFan]

It's troubling when you hear the announcer say "obviously a blown coverage" or "out of position" and there have been more collapses than I care to think about. Either the players are not talented, cannot be coached, or poorly coached and I doubt it is the first two as players have moved to other teams and been successful. Caper's has been given second, third and fourth chances. If McCarthy does not make a change then he also needs to go.

 

[OldSchool101]

We used to be the team that was superior at half time adjustments. We were also the team that yielded superior coaches from the Packer family in the not so distant past. Both qualities have diminished substantially under this current cast of coaches.
Our Defense in particular is now breaking records left and right for several key, worst team in the league stats. We are now nearing the bottom feeder 25% of D scoring. We have invested over a dozen “top 70 picks” in a handful of recent drafts that should have by this juncture parlayed into at minimum of a top 50% Defensive ranking. Instead we are getting worse by the week and those investments are near bankrupting our entire organization
Conversely, we have stripped the Offense of countless 1st and second day picks that would’ve created an absolute machine by now.
There is a dangerous cancer in this failing equation and unfortunately if we try to be modest with any changes it will spread across the whole body and cripple it for 4-5 more seasons at minimum. At that point, be prepared for an early exodus by a Hall of Fame, once in a generation QB. He’ll either retire or move on if his contract allows it. No major invester wants to invest in a failing mutual fund and few have more invested in this franchise than #12.
It’s the time to make a serious decision and decide if this is how we want to be remembered or if we have the guts to make the necessary changes to be Champions.
I appreciate what Ted Thompson has done for the organization he’s probably a very nice man and it’s a difficult to part ways with part of your family. As the GM it all starts with him because his staff gets the ball rolling and he’s buying the Stocks that are largely going defunct. He has as much to blame for the Defensive woes as Dom Capers. They both need to go and we need to clean house.

I’d keep MM he’s been largely successful and he had a great relationship with Aaron (you can see that even today) and that’s one good piece of continuity we can still save. There needs to be a clear message that this team is expected to perform better than 31 other teams. Most owners would not settle, and since we the fans are the owners.., it’s my vote to redirect and reinvigorate this Franchise with new blood before the infection sets in and kills us in our sleep.

 

[PackerfaninCarolina]

I sometimes wonder if MM is afraid that Capers will go to a team that knows him well and will scheme effectively against him. You can't deny either that Capers has sometimes put together units that had success in the short-term, but the trend of them going downward several years in has repeated itself again which is why he hasn't held a permanent DC position anywhere, let alone HC position.

 

[Packer Brother]

I sometimes wonder if MM is afraid that Capers will go to a team that knows him well and will scheme effectively against him. You can't deny either that Capers has sometimes put together units that had success in the short-term, but the trend of them going downward several years in has repeated itself again which is why he hasn't held a permanent DC position anywhere, let alone HC position.

Was Capers responsible for a great D in 2010? Or was it a case of having Woodson, prime Matthews, and others? I'm starting to think 2010 was the equivalent of a blind squirrel finding a nut.

 

[gbgary]

capers gone is a forgone conclusion.

 

[swhitset]

capers gone is a forgone conclusion.

I think many of us hope so.... but I will believe it when I see it.

 

[azrsx05]

Of all of McCarthys miscues. Another that really irritates me. We carry 2 FBs in this team. And we have not used them at all in any short situations. Then why the heck are you carrying 2 of them ?

 

[Deleted member 6794]

It's troubling when you hear the announcer say "obviously a blown coverage" or "out of position" and there have been more collapses than I care to think about. Either the players are not talented, cannot be coached, or poorly coached and I doubt it is the first two as players have moved to other teams and been successful. Caper's has been given second, third and fourth chances. If McCarthy does not make a change then he also needs to go.

It's difficult to evaluate the main reason for the defensive struggles over the past seven seasons as long as the Packers hold on to Thompson and Capers. I would prefer the team replacing both this offseason.

Was Capers responsible for a great D in 2010? Or was it a case of having Woodson, prime Matthews, and others? I'm starting to think 2010 was the equivalent of a blind squirrel finding a nut.

Capers has definitely been able to field several elite defenses over his tenure as a coach in the league.

 

[PackerfaninCarolina]

Was Capers responsible for a great D in 2010? Or was it a case of having Woodson, prime Matthews, and others? I'm starting to think 2010 was the equivalent of a blind squirrel finding a nut.

It's been one of the continual trends that's followed him around for his career. I think he's run a few schemes that back in the 90s, early 2000s and even in 2010 worked well. But it's been well documented that he's relied a lot on soft zone coverages and other outdated philosophies that just don't work against 2017 NFL offenses.

I think many of us hope so.... but I will believe it when I see it.

Hence why MM has to look at this and say "this downward trajectory goes beyond just me and my QB and if we're going to truly bust the league up and have the final touch to get AR at least one more SB, it's going to take a new DC."

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

I sometimes wonder if MM is afraid that Capers will go to a team that knows him well and will scheme effectively against him. You can't deny either that Capers has sometimes put together units that had success in the short-term, but the trend of them going downward several years in has repeated itself again which is why he hasn't held a permanent DC position anywhere, let alone HC position.

The Packers never play games against any of the teams in the Canadian Football League, so I think MM's "secrets" are safe

With the resume that Capers has built over the last seven years, I would be shocked if any NFL team hired him and if they did, I would think they would be more worried that MM would know Dom's 1 or 2 tricks and shred his defense even more than it currently gets shredded.

 

[RicFlairoftheNFL]

Fire Capers, but is that suddenly going to make the players on D better? They stink!! Plain and simple!!

Why is Ted Thompson allowed to be the GM until he wants to? He's won one damm SB with two hof QB's. That's inexcusable!!!!

In Ted's defense (yes I'm defending the clown) he only had Favre for what 4 years, and only had 1 real shot at the Superbowl in those 4 years.

 

[rmontro]

With the resume that Capers has built over the last seven years, I would be shocked if any NFL team hired him and if they did, I would think they would be more worried that MM would know Dom's 1 or 2 tricks and shred his defense even more than it currently gets shredded.

I agree that if we fire Capers, he's not going to be picked up by any other team in the NFL, not after his body of work with Green Bay. Not as defensive coordinator anyway.