It is true that Capers did not cause this playoff exit.
I get that. Its just a little annoying and unoriginal to hear that exact same thing 2 straight years at the same time.
It is true that Capers did not cause this playoff exit.
It is true that Capers did not cause this playoff exit.
I get that. Its just a little annoying and unoriginal to hear that exact same thing 2 straight years at the same time.
Bernard Pollard has that.I think we're missing a core component in the leadership triangle. We have good steady the troops types in AJ Hawk and Ryan Pickett. We have a playmaker with a knack of producing momentum turning plays in Clay Matthews. But we're missing the vocal fire eater type to get the players pumped up before and during games. We're missing the Wayne Simmons, Nick Barnett Desmond Bishop type, the rage filled player who challenges and brings out the aggression and intensity in his teammates.
1 good game in the playoffs by the defense out of 3 does not exonerate Capers.
We play 2-4-5 because they want to keep two OLBs on the field whenever possible. the function is basically the same as a 4-2-5. I think the Perry hand on the dirt bit is overdone. When he's been playing, and healthy, he has been able to able to produce pressure and sacks standing up. It's just that he's much much better rushing the passer from the right side.
As for Datone Jones, I think Daniels played him onto the bench. Mike Daniels with his 6.5 sacks relegated Jones to the role of second pass rushing DE.
I think in the future that Dom will start using hybrid DE/OLBs. Guys who can put their hand in the dirt and hold up against the run on limited downs, and have the speed and agility to rush the passer or drop into coverage. I think the staff has Datone Jones come in lighter and faster. He'll be what Mike Neal was supposed to be, but you know, more of a man.
I think many of those points bear an unreasonable expectation as to player development. Most Defensive players, and most draft picks, take until their second and third year to really catch on. Collins took until his 4th season to breakout for instance.
The trouble is that we lost 3 great players to mix of age injury and sort of through FA. Nick Collins was one of the best FSs in the league, Woodson was tremendous in his free lance role and Jenkins was an outstanding DE at times. Jenkins may have left through FA but he hasn't done much since leaving GB and I actually think that his absence has helped Daniels develop faster.
What about the Super Bowl winning defense? Does that fall off the analysis?
Which was how many years ago? And tell me, how has the defense been since then?
The schedule was in their favor.What about the Super Bowl winning defense? Does that fall off the analysis?
The schedule was in their favor.
No Brees, Warner, Manning, Brady.
They got to face Vick, Ryan (before Julio Jones, and maybe Gonzalez?), Cutler, and Roethlisberger.
Some okay QBs but no prolific offenses like old Warner the year before which torched them.
A little bit of luck, but remember, that team had the veterans Woodson and Collins and even Peprah. For his limitations with speed, Peprah was smart. That matters.
And Bishop was a missing piece in the middle, and Cullen Jenkins, Raji, Pickett, and Matthews were all healthy.
The schedule was in their favor.
No Brees, Warner, Manning, Brady.
They got to face Vick, Ryan (before Julio Jones, and maybe Gonzalez?), Cutler, and Roethlisberger.
Some okay QBs but no prolific offenses like old Warner the year before which torched them.
A little bit of luck, but remember, that team had the veterans Woodson and Collins and even Peprah. For his limitations with speed, Peprah was smart. That matters.
And Bishop was a missing piece in the middle, and Cullen Jenkins, Raji, Pickett, and Matthews were all healthy.
He didn't make a lot of plays in the niners game but he held his gap against a very physical O-line front, and it did show up with a much more effective run defense. Did I defend Raji as a player, no I did not. He quit on his team following the Bears game, that's not the kind of player you want around. However, you're in error to say he didn't show a higher level of play in the final 2 games of the season.
Giving up 5 ypc against Forte is an improvement considering the level of play we saw from the run defense prior to that game. Remember Detroit? Or how about the career games had against us by Demarco Murray or Laveon Bell. Forte's performance against us was at least only slightly above his seasonal average. That is a sign of an improving run defense. Then holding Frank Gore to a 3.3ypc, .8 below his seasonal average. That again is a sign of improvement, and Raji holding the point was a big part in that reduction.
Michael Vick was a fraud though, as he proved that game and the next season.....The Eagles were third in the NFL in scoring in 2010 and second in yards. That was one of the elite offenses in the NFL that year. The Falcons were fifth in points in 2010. That's two of the top-5 scoring offenses in the NFL that our defense faced and we held them to well below their season averages. The Bears were actually the only below-average offense we faced during that Super Bowl run. You can't just focus on the QB, teams have other players too.
So Raji "emerged" when Rodgers returned because Forte "only" ran for 110 yards and 5.0 YPC vs. 5.9 YPC and 119 yards by Bush, or 7.6 YPC by Murray?
Yikes. I guess you can paint anyone in that light if you set the bar low enough. And you can't just count Gore on the rushing stats for the 49er game, because there was a lot more to it.
Raji made a total of 4 tackles in these 2 games. Are we really going to call that "emerging" just because he brought himself from a whopping 1 tackle per game up to 2? I wouldn't call that emerging. I would call that playing slightly less awful.
Well.... YES! The point is that Raji completely quit when Rodgers was unavailable and then began playing better. This isn't just me, a number of other analysts noted this as well. Did he produce big stats during those two games... not exactly. Did he start holding his gap, even against double teams? Yes.
As HRE pointed out during our losing streak Raji was getting flat out beat by singe blockers, during the Bears and 49ers games he was actually starting to beat his man and even holding his gap against double teams. He played well against a pro bowl guard against San Francisco.
You don't like him, I don't like him as a player either right now. The point is that his effort level has had a direct impact on the play of the Defense and the way we view Dom Capers.
I love BJ Raji. My fav player on that defense. ...but he sucked this year and there's no two ways around that.
I would agree and disagree. There were times this season where he was just awful. However there were other times when he was very physical stacking up the inside run. This has been the knock on him since College. That he's a physical freak but has an inconsistent motor. Raji was playing the run very well up until the beginning of November. During the time of Rodgers absence he quit on the team, before making a cameo appearance against Chicago and then playing a pretty good game against San Francisco. That's been the take of a number of Sports analysts, Bob McGinn who I don't even like rated Raji as a C- and noted that his motor ran hot and cold. McGinn also praised his play against San Francisco, among other Sports writers.
The problem is that some fans on here genuinely struggle with Grey area. A player is either good or he sucks, if a player has a down year then surely he must have sucked the whole season.
I watched him all year and I was honestly shocked how bad he was. I read a stat where he went somethingI would agree and disagree. There were times this season where he was just awful. However there were other times when he was very physical stacking up the inside run. This has been the knock on him since College. That he's a physical freak but has an inconsistent motor. Raji was playing the run very well up until the beginning of November. During the time of Rodgers absence he quit on the team, before making a cameo appearance against Chicago and then playing a pretty good game against San Francisco. That's been the take of a number of Sports analysts, Bob McGinn who I don't even like rated Raji as a C- and noted that his motor ran hot and cold. McGinn also praised his play against San Francisco, among other Sports writers.
The problem is that some fans on here genuinely struggle with Grey area. A player is either good or he sucks, if a player has a down year then surely he must have sucked the whole season.
I would agree and disagree. There were times this season where he was just awful. However there were other times when he was very physical stacking up the inside run. This has been the knock on him since College. That he's a physical freak but has an inconsistent motor. Raji was playing the run very well up until the beginning of November. During the time of Rodgers absence he quit on the team, before making a cameo appearance against Chicago and then playing a pretty good game against San Francisco. That's been the take of a number of Sports analysts, Bob McGinn who I don't even like rated Raji as a C- and noted that his motor ran hot and cold. McGinn also praised his play against San Francisco, among other Sports writers.
The problem is that some fans on here genuinely struggle with Grey area. A player is either good or he sucks, if a player has a down year then surely he must have sucked the whole season.
I watched him all year and I was honestly shocked how bad he was. I read a stat where he went something
No grey area here. He was brutal. Somebody can look it up... but I saw a stat last week about the number of snaps Raji took without a sack and it is staggering. I mean....for God's sake...a guy even sniffing the QB once in a while will fall into a sack once in a while!!!!!