Our Strength Is Our Weakness and Vice Versa

[El Guapo]

Most fans and media seemed excited about the strength of our secondary, with Burnett firmly seated in the back and Dix coming on strong. With Shields and the addition of Randall and Rollins, the strength of our defense was surely in the secondary.

Vice versa, with the abrupt retirement of BJ Raji and suspension of Mike Pennel we were looking thin on the defensive line. Additionally, we were planning to start a rookie at ILB alongside a second year question mark in Jake Ryan. On the outside, we were gambling that Nick Perry could hold his side of the field with Mike Neal making a transition to OLB.

I think that it's apparent now that our front seven has been our strength but that it's our secondary, specifically Randalls and Rollins with Shield's concussion that has flipped our strength into our weakness.

 

[bigbubbatd]

Most fans and media seemed excited about the strength of our secondary, with Burnett firmly seated in the back and Dix coming on strong. With Shields and the addition of Randall and Rollins, the strength of our defense was surely in the secondary.

Vice versa, with the abrupt retirement of BJ Raji and suspension of Mike Pennel we were looking thin on the defensive line. Additionally, we were planning to start a rookie at ILB alongside a second year question mark in Jake Ryan. On the outside, we were gambling that Nick Perry could hold his side of the field with Mike Neal making a transition to OLB.

I think that it's apparent now that our front seven has been our strength but that it's our secondary, specifically Randalls and Rollins with Shield's concussion that has flipped our strength into our weakness.

The Shields injury is a big one as is the Burnett injury. You lost your best cb and the head coach of your secondary. Those two injuries would really hurt any secondary. That said, I have been disappointed with Rollins the whole season and Randall the last two weeks. I am not sure what happened to Randall after the Jax game but he has looked lost. Rollins graded out so well last year but hasnt looked good at all.

 

[XPack]

There was a quote by the commentator to the effect "Do people realize Marvin Jones Jr is playing for the Lions? He seems to have the field all to himself" or something to that effect.

First it was Diggs and now Marvin Jones Jr. And we are to face Odell Beckham coming week I have all 10 fingers crossed to avoid a blowout in the secondary.

Tbh, I'm pleasantly surprised by our new LBs. Pretty good at stopping the run. If only we could stop the pass, we'd have the SB in Lambeau for sure.

 

[El Guapo]

We seem to give opposing WRs a platform every so often. Remember Julio Jones had a career night in 2014 as he hauled in 11 passes for 259 yards and a TD:
http://www.nfl.com/videos/atlanta-falcons/0ap3000000441181/Week-14-Julio-Jones-highlights

 

[El Guapo]

A two week trend. Whomever plays the Packers gets their picture on the front page. This week it's Marvin Jones. Last week it was Stefon Diggs:

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[Pkrjones]

Well I say THAT trend ends this week!!

Unfortunately as bad as Randall has looked in man coverage the last 2 weeks GB has looked even worse playing zone, giving up big chunks of yardage regularly.

 

[OldSchool101]

First of all, let me say I have defended Dom on many occasions, but the responsibility was clearly and unequivocally his to expeditiously make appropriations when there is an area being exploited on a consistent basis. Even a layman could see the mismatch required direct safety help but yet we continued to play soft zone and let the receiver go uncontested off the LOS
Timing is everything in this game. If a particular player is "running loose", We have to disrupt the timing of the route by challenging our opponent within the first 5 yards with aggressive contact and bringing a Safety up for support. This is especially true on a "blitz" package because it diminishes the QB time until release. Many times that half second slow down combined with throwing a half second sooner becomes opportunistic for a good secondary. An accurate and experienced QB like Stafford, Brees, Rivers etc.. Can still make the play but it ends up being a 10 yard gain vs a 30 yarder.
I would love to hear Dom's reasoning because I respect his knowledge. But clearly whatever approach we implemented yielded very poor results.

 

[mongoosev]

Our D will be replenished and fully recovered after bye. No worries.

 

[bigbubbatd]

The only benefit of the doubt I will give the Packer's defense is that they were playing without 3 of the best players in Matthews, Shields, and Burnett not to mention Jones, Guion and Pennell. That is 5 of 11 guys who were supposed to start on defense and then a top backup. They still should be better than what they were but I would assume a lot defense would struggle a little missing half your starters right? Add that to a couple of the healthy guys underperforming and that is a perfectly awful recipe for what we saw Sunday.

 

[Packer Fan in SD]

I am surprised no one mentions Blake Martinez missing time in the second half with that huge gash on his beak needing to be patched. He has become a player for us, and IIRC he went to the locker room twice because of that. He only had 30 snaps in th game and I thought we were giving up much more yardage over the middle without him.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

The Shields injury is a big one as is the Burnett injury. You lost your best cb and the head coach of your secondary. Those two injuries would really hurt any secondary. That said, I have been disappointed with Rollins the whole season and Randall the last two weeks. I am not sure what happened to Randall after the Jax game but he has looked lost. Rollins graded out so well last year but hasnt looked good at all.

Rollins actually played pretty well in the slot over the first two weeks not allowing a single catch. He has struggled on the outside though. Randall played terrific at Jacksonville but for some reason has struggled since.

First of all, let me say I have defended Dom on many occasions, but the responsibility was clearly and unequivocally his to expeditiously make appropriations when there is an area being exploited on a consistent basis. Even a layman could see the mismatch required direct safety help but yet we continued to play soft zone and let the receiver go uncontested off the LOS
Timing is everything in this game. If a particular player is "running loose", We have to disrupt the timing of the route by challenging our opponent within the first 5 yards with aggressive contact and bringing a Safety up for support. This is especially true on a "blitz" package because it diminishes the QB time until release. Many times that half second slow down combined with throwing a half second sooner becomes opportunistic for a good secondary. An accurate and experienced QB like Stafford, Brees, Rivers etc.. Can still make the play but it ends up being a 10 yard gain vs a 30 yarder.
I would love to hear Dom's reasoning because I respect his knowledge. But clearly whatever approach we implemented yielded very poor results.

Capers provided the cornerbacks with safety help on both touchdown receptions by Jones but Brice and Hyde misread the plays. There's no reason to blame Capers for it.

 

[Half Empty]

Our D will be replenished and fully recovered after bye. No worries.

Thank you, Mike McCarthy. Glad to see you'll get that fixed.

 

[bigbubbatd]

Rollins actually played pretty well in the slot over the first two weeks not allowing a single catch. He has struggled on the outside though. Randall played terrific at Jacksonville but for some reason has struggled since.

Good to know Rollins has been better. I guess it really has been one receiver tearing us apart the last couple weeks as well as wide open TE's. It doesn't seem like Shields injury should be a big part of this unless they were able to give Randall some help week one and left Shields more on an island and now Randall is more on an island. I doubt that is the case but it would at least make sense.

I actually feel more bullish on our defense that I probably should. The run defense has been great. The pass rush is there. Rbs haven't killed us in the passing game. Cover TE's over the middle and don't let a wr go off against us and we will take a huge jump forward. The first is either scheme or miscommunication while the second is simply getting consistency at CB and Shields healthy

 

[El Guapo]

I read a better analysis of how Capers had to switch up the defense mid-game, but here is a similar analysis:

http://www.packersnews.com/story/sp...nsider-thumbs-up-perry-down-randall/91035128/

RANT: The Packers are generally a man-to-man team, but with the Lions trailing by 28 points and the defense missing two starters in the secondary, defensive coordinator Dom Capers decided to play a lot of zone coverage. He probably was influenced by the secondary and linebackers’ inability to cover Ebron and Jones one-on-one in the first half. Whatever the case, it didn’t work. Stafford ate the Packers up with perfectly thrown balls into holes in the zone.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

Good to know Rollins has been better. I guess it really has been one receiver tearing us apart the last couple weeks as well as wide open TE's. It doesn't seem like Shields injury should be a big part of this unless they were able to give Randall some help week one and left Shields more on an island and now Randall is more on an island. I doubt that is the case but it would at least make sense.

I actually feel more bullish on our defense that I probably should. The run defense has been great. The pass rush is there. Rbs haven't killed us in the passing game. Cover TE's over the middle and don't let a wr go off against us and we will take a huge jump forward. The first is either scheme or miscommunication while the second is simply getting consistency at CB and Shields healthy

The Packers absolutely need Shields back on the field to cover opposing #1 receivers as Randall hasn´t proven to be capable of doing it. Other than that the defense has played pretty well.

 

[bigbubbatd]

The Packers absolutely need Shields back on the field to cover opposing #1 receivers as Randall hasn´t proven to be capable of doing it. Other than that the defense has played pretty well.

It really has. Although it is funny because didn't Randall spend a lot of time on Allen Robinson in game one? He is better than the two guys who Randall struggled with the next two weeks. I did read that Randall was very sick Sunday and that he almost didn't play. One of the beat reporters said that he probably should not have played but Randall knew they needed another guy out there

I think TE coverage is the other worry. Or simply the middle of the field. If they can shore these two issues up over the bye I like where the defense is at

 

[Deleted member 6794]

It really has. Although it is funny because didn't Randall spend a lot of time on Allen Robinson in game one? He is better than the two guys who Randall struggled with the next two weeks. I did read that Randall was very sick Sunday and that he almost didn't play. One of the beat reporters said that he probably should not have played but Randall knew they needed another guy out there

I think TE coverage is the other worry. Or simply the middle of the field. If they can shore these two issues up over the bye I like where the defense is at

I heard about Randall being sick on Sunday as well but that doesn´t explain him struggling covering Diggs though. The defense has to do a better job of defending tight ends, ranking 26th in the league in yards allowed.

 

[bigbubbatd]

I heard about Randall being sick on Sunday as well but that doesn´t explain him struggling covering Diggs though. The defense has to do a better job of defending tight ends, ranking 26th in the league in yards allowed.

I completely agree. I honestly think the defense looked surprised by the Vikings passing game. It makes me wonder if they will have a significantly different game plan next time. Carolina didnt seem surprised and actually held the Vikings offense at bay much of the game but they too struggled with the te in that game.

 

[PackerDNA]

I heard about Randall being sick on Sunday as well but that doesn´t explain him struggling covering Diggs though. The defense has to do a better job of defending tight ends, ranking 26th in the league in yards allowed.

TE's have been giving this defense fits for years.

 

[bigbubbatd]

TE's have been giving this defense fits for years.

This year feels like a scheme thing more than just a personnel thing. TEs are not even covered over the middle of the field

 

[C-Lee]

They gotta step up and play better.