Players Tried To Do Too Much

umair

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http://packers.com/news/stories/2006/12/04/1/


It wasn't that they weren't trying. But they may have been trying too hard.

In assessing the defensive struggles in the first half against the Jets, Head Coach Mike McCarthy on Monday said when he watched the film that he saw his players making "aggressive mistakes." By that he meant at times they were trying to make a big play and as a result lost focus on their assignments, leading to five consecutive scoring drives by New York.

"When it goes that sour for you, you see a lot of guys playing hard but really getting outside of themselves, outside of the scheme trying to make plays," McCarthy said. "And we had too much of that yesterday."

The defense made its share of mental mistakes too, which were more costly errors. But McCarthy said that one player being over-aggressive can get the whole defense out of its scheme, and with that repeatedly happening the Jets seemed to do no wrong the entire first half.

"If it was just one or two guys, trust me, we would have fixed it already," he said.
McCarthy felt the preparation and the effort were not the issues. He felt the team had a good week of practice and were prepared to handle all the pre-snap motions and shifting by the Jets offense.

"I think our players are making more aggressive mistakes because they are competing, and at times are trying to do too much," he said. "I don't see lack of effort, lack of emotion."

Potential changes
McCarthy didn't get into specifics, but he said he and the defensive staff are looking into changing some players' individual roles and will make any decisions in that regard before the team returns to practice on Wednesday.

"We will be looking at opportunities created for some of our other players, or how we use certain people," McCarthy said. "You have only so many options, and we are looking into them."

The only specific name that came up was that of backup defensive end Jason Hunter, who has been a mainstay on the special teams coverage units and could see an increased role on defense.

Also, McCarthy reported that nickelback Patrick Dendy sustained a concussion in Sunday's game, so a change in the secondary could result as well.

"We're evaluating everything right now," defensive coordinator Bob Sanders said. "Anyone who deserves an opportunity will get it."

Injury update
Right tackle Mark Tauscher (groin) and tight end David Martin (ribs) both appear doubtful for this week's game at San Francisco. McCarthy classified Tauscher, who has missed all three games during the current losing streak, as a "longshot" for this Sunday, and he added that Martin, who has missed the last two contests, hasn't gotten much better.

In addition to Dendy, the other injuries to come out of Sunday's game are all minor. Linebacker Nick Barnett injured his left hand (the one not wrapped in the club cast), running back Noah Herron sprained an ankle and defensive tackle Cullen Jenkins broke his nose, but McCarthy expects all of them to be fine.
 

packedhouse01

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When teams make the mistakes the Packers are making on defense it doens't have anything to do with trying to hard, it has to do with not mastering your assignment. How many times have we seen Nick Barnett over run a play. He has to be disciplined enough to know that he has to stay in his zone and make his assignment. I'm not picking on Barnett, just using him as an example. You can say the same thing about the safeties. Teams are running over Kabeer, so if you're going to keep playing him you have to give him some help. Teams are whopping up on Dendy, so you can't leave him alone, you have to give him some help. That kind of thing has nothing to do with trying to hard. It's bad coaching and bad playing.
 

dxbfan

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"Trying too hard" sounds like something that would be said of or said by Favre after he'd been picked off a few times. If its an excuse that doesnt work for him, I dont see how it should now work for the defense. Packedhouse called it - 'bad coaching, bad playing'
 

TOPackerFan

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That is the biggest load of crap I've ever read. Those guys, especially on defense, didn't even show up until the third quarter. They looked like would have rather been anywhere else (much like the fans).
 

warhawk

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I believe all he was saying was that guys were starting to take on more than they were supposed to and getting out of position trying to make a play.
The QB was playing dinky do and kept moving the chains and players started getting frustrated in attempting to make a stop. It's a discipline thing in staying within the role they are given.

The reverse is the ultimate challenge in discipline. They never work if the backside guys do what they are supposed to. They always work when they don't.

It's not a total surprise to see this being a little more prevelant when a team is losing and these guys are competitive in nature to begin with. It becomes harder to stay in a role yet not doing so contributes greatly because the opposing team will use that lack of discipline to hurt you.

It's not as easy to spot on any given play where the players have a given responsibility and they take themselves out of position trying to make a play.

Still, at the end of the day, I doubt a lot of this would be happening if we were getting the pressure on the QB needed to be successful in this league.

Players wouldn't feel compelled to go outside of what they are responsible for and trying to make plays if we were chasing the QB around back there more.

It's when the players don't have confidence in the pressure that problems with staying in the role occur. I can understand this. I'm sure they start saying to themselves "somebody has to make a play out here".

The problem is opposing teams will pick up on lack of discipline and let you kill yourself with the poison you choose to drink.
 

Buckeyepackfan

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"We're evaluating everything right now," defensive coordinator Bob Sanders said. "Anyone who deserves an opportunity will get it."


Hopefully this is true for the coaching staff also. Someone else needs a chance.
 

spardo62

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When teams make the mistakes the Packers are making on defense it doens't have anything to do with trying to hard, it has to do with not mastering your assignment. How many times have we seen Nick Barnett over run a play. He has to be disciplined enough to know that he has to stay in his zone and make his assignment. I'm not picking on Barnett, just using him as an example. You can say the same thing about the safeties. Teams are running over Kabeer, so if you're going to keep playing him you have to give him some help. Teams are whopping up on Dendy, so you can't leave him alone, you have to give him some help. That kind of thing has nothing to do with trying to hard. It's bad coaching and bad playing.

I think the 2 go hand in hand. Defense is about understandinig your responsibilities and staying within those parameters. I get the feeling that due to poor execution on the part of some players and poor coaching others are attempting to do more than their responsibility thus creating other problems.
 

retiredgrampa

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If this is really true, there is hope for this team. It means that the players are not ready to cash it in, to rest on their laurels, so to speak. It also points to lack of coaching and training.
 

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