Since the firing of defensive coordinator Bob Sanders a week after the Packers’ 2008 season ended and following a long search for a new coordinator, the defensive staff head coach Mike McCarthy is putting together is starting to look pretty good. First Dom Capers takes the defensive coordinator job and this week he brought the additions of outside linebackers coach Kevin Greene and safeties coach Darren Perry. In the words of Pittsburgh Steelers’ defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau, Perry is “the best defensive back coach in the league” and “they’ve really got a great defensive staff.”

Now we will see what the staff can do with the players the Packers have and the ones they will acquire this offseason.  Speculation is running wild about who will play here and who will play there. I’m not going there just yet. For one, Capers said at his introductory press conference that we might not even see the 3-4 this year, he is going to play the defense his players can play and go from there.

I know Greene will bring intensity to the linebackers and my guess the defense in general. Perry will work with cornerbacks coach Joe Whitt Jr. to improve an already good secondary, but a secondary that can take it to another level as well. I don’t believe the thought that the Packers will move Charles Woodson to safety, but I guess anything is possible. It didn’t work all that well last year, though.

I am really looking forward to the minicamps and OTCs. This is going to be fun to watch and I believe the Packers defense will be better in 2009. How much better remains to be seen, but it will be new and it will be something the the other NFC North teams will not be used to seeing twice a year from the Packers, so for at least this year it will take more game-planning time. Even then, as the defense evolves it will probably be changing every week, making it even harder to prepare for.

So sit back and enjoy what should be an entertaining off-season. I’m going to chime in Friday or Saturday with my Super Bowl pick, I think the game has the makings of a classic, great storyline anyway with the Whisenhunt factor and all. More to come…

Judging from first impressions, I think it is safe to say the Green Bay Packers’ defense is in much more capable hands than the previous three years. Under Bob Sanders the Packers were trying to find a way to continue the limited success they had seen under previous coordinator Jim Bates. When Bates refused the position after being passed over for the head coaching job, head coach Mike McCarthy made the first major mistake of his head coaching career and hired Bob Sanders, who had no prior coordinator experience and only claim to fame was he would keep Bates’ system in tact. Huge mistake.

While the Packers’ defense was not awful until last season, it never could make the big play to win a game. Was it Sanders’ fault? Was it the scheme? I say it was 50-50. Sanders’ defenses never could make a play when they needed it most, always leaving it in the offense’s hands. Judging by the way Dom Capers introduced himself to the Green Bay media and Packer Nation today, things are about to change. Instead of forcing players into a scheme, Capers will scheme around the players. This is going to be fun to watch.

I know a lot of you, including Rookie on The Fan are saying Capers is not a miracle worker and won’t get the Packers’ defense into a top five defense. The Packers’ don’t need that. They just need a defense that can make a stop once in a while and compliment an offense that has the potential to be unstoppable. Last year the Packers were two Mason Crosby shanks away from an 8-8 record and probably lost four more games because their defense could not make a stop after the offense gave them a lead late.

Capers spoke today for 30 minutes at least and it seemed he was only asked a few questions. He harked back to 1997 when he lost the NFC Championship game as coach of the Carolina Panthers, he detailed the history of the zone blitz scheme, for which he has to be considered co-inventor at minimum. Capers answered all questions with answers that were the answers of somebody who has been around the NFL and knows what it takes to win in the league. He knows what he is doing.

I was also impressed with the way Capers praised the Packers’ organization from top to bottom. I know all coaches say the same thing but Capers has proved his word by his time in the league and you can bet if the Packers were a rinky-dink operation he would have said no way. Capers started two franchises from scratch, so he might know a thing or two about how they operate.

I do believe that McCarthy made a wise decision here. We don’t need top five Pittsburgh-slash-Baltimore type of defense in Green Bay, unlike those teams, the Packers have an offense. Granted, it would be nice to be like the Packers of 1996 and be number one in both offense and defense, but that doesn’t happen very often. Just give me a half-dozen big stops and I’ll be happy. Throw in a couple of three-and-outs and I will be ecstatic.

Green Bay Packers’ head coach Mike McCarthy followed the words of one of his mentors who said “hire slow” and in the end believes he got the man who is a perfect fit to lead the Green Bay Packers’ defense when he hired Dom Capers Sunday. To say I’m excited about the move would be an understatement. I think all Packers’ fans were looking for a proven defensive coordinator to get the job and in the end Capers might just be the best of the bunch. The Packers previously lost out on guys like Mike Nolan and Gregg Williams, although I doubt McCarthy offered either one the job.

Even though the Eagles lost Sunday it appears McCarthy had no interest in assistant Sean McDermott. McCarthy’s press conference today made that clear when he said he wanted experience and even more importantly the 3-4 defense. The hiring of Capers, I think, anyways, proves that McCarthy has some respect in NFL coaching circles. Of course it doesn’t hurt that the Packers apparently opened the check book for Capers. While he is still being paid by Miami from a couple of years ago making the Packers exact number not exactly sure in 2009, it is believed he will be paid over $2 million in 2010. When he was in Miami as defensive coordinator he was making $2.6 million and was the highest paid assistant coach along with new New Orleans Saints’ defensive coordinator Williams.

Capers turned into a hot item in recent days and the Packers were able to land him which I think says a lot about the Packers still being able to attract top ranked coaches and players. For McCarthy, this is huge. He gets a guy that he can turn the defense over to and not have to worry about. Even with last years’ crappy defense McCarthy’s offense had a 4,000 passer, two 1.000 yard receivers and a 1.000 yard rusher. No wonder Capers was interested in coming to Green Bay. With Aaron Rodgers proving he is a quarterback with a huge future barring injury, the job has to be at least a little attractive.

With Capers comes the 3-4 defense. I am most excited about that. I think people say the Packers’ linebackers can’t play it because all they’ve seen of the Packers’ linebackers has been the outdated Jim Bates’s scheme. I think Nick Barnett, A.J. Hawk and even Brady Poppinga, maybe Poppinga the most with his previous pass rushing skills from college, will really benefit from this switch. And I think Ryan Pickett is perfect for the nose tackle. He certainly was nothing special where he was at. McCarthy seemed to hint that Aaron Kampman might will be excited about the defense and seemed to insinuate he may play some linebacker. Interesting.

Going to be a fun offseason now. Let’s see what Ted Thompson can do to upgrade the talent and who Capers hires as assistant coaches. I’ll be in touch.

Reports yesterday and today seem to confirm that former 49ers coach Mike Nolan is heading to Denver. So who is McCarthy focusing on to be what will be the biggest decision of his head coaching career and may determine his future as a head coach in the NFL? Gregg Williams appears to be still in the running only because he hasn’t signed with anybody else yet. Eagles secondary coach Sean McDermott appears to be a front runner but what if the Eagles go to the Super Bowl as expected and you wait three more weeks and he says he happy where he is. Do the letters S.O.L. mean anything to you? If that were to happen McCarthy would have to give the job to Winston Moss and hire a good realtor.

I doubt the teams that have new coaches or defensive coordinator openings dilly-dally around much longer. I can see Williams being hired by Houston or New Orleans in the next day or so and now that Romeo Crennel is staying with the Browns, the prospects are getting thin if you are looking for a guy with experience, which McCarthy should be doing with only his career on the line.

I originally wanted Nolan, that’s gone. Now I want Williams, but I can’t see that happening, either. So lets hope the Packers make McDermott an offer he can’t refuse. There are other retreads out there that have been coordinators in the past but couldn’t land equivalent jobs since being fired from that position but if you are going to dig that deep you might as well just go with McDermott.

One thing about McCarthy, and maybe it is his flaw as a play-caller as well, and that is he can’t seem to make a quick decision. Maybe that isn’t even a flaw at all, but just once I’d like to see a big Mike Holmgren/Ron Wolf-like move. The Packers are not that far away and the with a quality young QB, the time to strike his now.

Here is a possibility that will set off the Ted Thompson haters big time if it happens. How about Texas Tech wide receiver Michael Crabtree going to the Packers with the ninth pick in the draft? If Crabtree is there, and there is a decent chance he will be, it would not shock me if Thompson took him. Best player available and all. In some ways it would make sense, Donald Driver won’t be around for ever, but then again you took Jordy Nelson last year, so taking Crabtree might mean they think Jordy is at best a third receiver.

One thing about a crappy record is it makes the draft more interesting. It will be fun watching it play out the next three months.

A new name emerged in the Packers’ defensive coordinator search and that is former Jacksonville defensive coordinator Gregg Williams. A day after interviewing Mike Nolan word was head coach Mike McCarthy was trying to coordinate a meeting with Williams. Both Nolan and Williams have plenty of experience but Williams’ defenses have had more success than Nolan’s have over the years. Williams’ defenses have almost always ranked in the top ten and his ability to devise schemes and be successful with  whatever talent he has  is his strong suit, which might make him a good fit in Green Bay.

I don’t know which way I’m leaning now other than against Winston Moss. I like Williams’ record better than Nolan’s but I wouldn’t mind seeing a 3-4 defense in Green Bay either, which is what Nolan would bring, maybe not right away but over time. Reports are Williams is a hot commodity and the Packers would have to move fast to get him, which kind of goes against McCarthy’s way of doing things, so while I think I would almost rather see Williams now, I think Nolan will still be the guy. And that is OK too.

You know, sometimes we all have to wonder about the qualifications of some of these TV/Radio/Internet NFL pundits, myself included. Yesterday I received my weekly Sports Illustrated and like I usually do I open it to the NFL articles first. Yesterday I went right to the “Inside the NFL” section first because I was short on time. This section is done by Peter King and this week it included his All-Pro team. Obviously, because I’m writing this, it raised a little ire in my soul.

All in all, his All-Pro team is not too bad, some players here and there could have been flip-flopped, but one position stood out like a sore thumb. That position is cornerback. Maybe this was some kind of joke, I don’t know, but one of King’s choices for All-Pro cornerback was the Oakland Raiders  Nnamdi Asomugha. OK, no problem, I have never heard of him really, but I’ll look him up. Not saying Charles Woodson should have been his choice, but being a Packers’ fan and considering the great year Woodson had, I thought I would compare Asomugha’s 2008 stats to Woodson, who we all know ended up second in the NFL with seven interceptions.

Here are the numbers:

Tackles:  Woodson 62, Asomugha 40.

Sacks:  Woodson 3, Asomugha 0.

Interceptions:  Woodson 7, Asomugha 1.

Passes defended:  Woodson 17, Asomugha 9.

Mr. King’s comment about Asomugha is this:  “Became the league’s best CB this year”.

I have to wonder if King watched any other cornerbacks this year. He probably saw one Raiders game and Asomugha dazzled him so ergo, he gets the vote. That is the problem with most of these guys, they don’t see very many actual games. Only the big games or prime-time games, so their opinions are based on a half-dozen glances at a player or team, or less. They don’t have the luxury of watching every game like I do with NFL Ticket because most of the time they are working at the time. So I can understand a little, but to pick a guy like Asomugha over Woodson or probably a dozen other corners is absolutely ludicrous. I’ve lost a little respect for Mr. King.

And let me make this clear, this rant is not just about Woodson, hell, Tramon Williams probably had as good of numbers as  Asomugha, in fact the other 31 teams all probably had a guy with better numbers than Asomugha. This is just about a guy getting paid a handsome sum to report on the NFL and obviously doesn’t do his homework or is being paid-off. I do think guys like King and Chris Mortensen of ESPN and Adam Schefter of NFL Network are always trying to one-up each other, at this point, and maybe because it is the NFL Network, Schefter has clearly become the top of the class. Schefter is usually the first to report and is always right. I would love to see his All-Pro team.

I don’t claim to be an expert by any means, but I know I see more games than most of these guys other than Shefter. So I think I know a little bit about the NFL, certainly not an expert but I certainly wouldn’t pick a guy like Asomugha to my All-Pro team, that is for sure. Most fans, when you think about it, see more different teams play than the network guys. A guy or gal who watches all the Packers games sees 10 different teams outside the usual six division games. My guess is a top-level network guy sees maybe half that many teams as they always following the top teams or games that are on their prime-time schedule. How many times have you heard an announcer group say “this is the fourth time we saw them this year and blah, blah, blah”, they focus on the big names and big teams only.

So the bottom line is don’t let these guys who don’t cover your team cause you any angst. They don’t know jack (I used to love that PC game). The opinions you get from the local guys from the Gazette and JS Online are much more realistic. Myself, I’m not a reporter, I’m not getting paid from anybody, I’m just a fan who loves to rant about my favorite team, and judging from your responses, you are too. If you look back at our rants over the past season, many of the things we thought needed to happen have now happened, whether it be during the season or since the season ended.

Who do you think is the most trusted or most despised columnist or reporter? P. King is moving up my despised list, obviously Schefter is on top of my trusted list. I also like Mortensen. Jay Glazer is also very good. Who do you trust?

Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy thought about it for a week then decided to fire pretty much the entire defensive coaching staff after a season that saw his defense fail him game after game. The Packers’ defense was a major disappointment this year when going into the season it was supposed to be the crutch, along with a strong running game, for first-year starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers. As it turned out, Rodgers was the only who played up to par.

Defensive coordinator Bob Sanders and all his position coaches except Winston Moss were fired. Sanders had a scheme that is outdated and unable to adjust to injuries and in the end even opponents offensive game plans. The Packers’ defense was at its worst when the pressure was on. Game after game against some of the best teams in the NFL Rodgers and the offense had the lead or was tied with four minutes to go. Not once could the defense come up with the big stop to win the game. Granted, Rodgers was given a chance to win some of those games, two of which ended with Mason Crosby missed field-goals, but in many cases the Packers used the clock and their final timeouts to take the lead and leave the game in the defense’s hands, crippling a late offensive drive that should never even occur. Big mistake.

Now the Packers have cleansed themselves from the Jim Bates era completely and once and for all. The early word is former San Francisco 49ers coach Mike Nolan is the front-runner to get the job of replacing Sanders. If that is true the Packers would probably become a 3-4 defense which I think is just great. The pundits say the Packers linebackers can’t play that scheme, but I think just the opposite is true. This is just what A.J. Hawk needs. A scheme that lets him just play football. Plus it will likely get Desmond Bishop on the field and his athleticism has never been questioned. I have always thought that the Packers’ current defensive scheme was too restrictive to players, there was too much thinking and not enough reacting meaning not enough playmaking, certainly not along the defensive line and linebackers.

My first choice was Rod Marinelli, but when you really think about it, how can you give a guy who went 0-16 a job as important as defensive coordinator? I would love it if Marinelli would take the job as defensive line coach, however. My second choice was Romeo Crennel, but it appears that is not going to happen. I also wouldn’t have minded seeing Eric Mangini, but Mangini would also have brought the 3-4 to town and appears headed to Cleveland as head coach.

I like the 3-4 because I think we have the players to play it, I think Hawk can be a playmaker and I think Poppinga can use his pass-rushing skills more and I like Bishop. Not to mention Nick Barnett. Four quality guys right there just waiting to make plays. I’m probably getting ahead of myself because PFT is not always right and my first guess is McCarthy disappoints us all and hires Winston Moss. I will be wild if that happens. If you have the quality candidates available that are available now and hire Moss instead, you might as well apply for unemployment now for 2010. Could McCarthy be that stupid? We are about to find out. One thing is sure, there is no way he can spin Winston Moss into a defensive coordinator. With four games to go in the 2008 season I called for Sanders to be fired and Moss to be given a four game job application. At the time I thought Moss would maybe fire up the defense down the stretch. But that didn’t happen and with the list of available coaches out there, there is no way Moss is more qualified than any of them and it would be a travesty if he got the job now.

One thing is sure, this is the biggest hire in McCarthy’s career to date. If he gives it to the unproven Moss, the Packers are doomed. I sure hope PFT is right this time.