Capers the man

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people say the Packers’ linebackers can’t play it because all they’ve seen of the Packers’ linebackers has been the outdated Jim Bates’s scheme.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.

This entry was posted on Monday, January 19th, 2009 at 11:38 pm and is filed under Al Davis. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

  • http://www.scotrstone.com Scot

    Switching to the 3-4 will take a lot of work, but I think McCarthy’s right–all of the pieces are already there. I’d like to see TT draft Orakpo, Cushing or Jenkins with that first pick. I had no faith in Sanders when he was there, and groamed out loud when McCarthy chose him as the D coordinator. All the great defenses employ a 3-4 — Batimore, Pittsburgh, etc. And you’re seeing more and more teams switch over to it. I know Al Harris thinks he’s going to be traded, but I’m not so sure. A lot depends on what Thompson does with his first round pick. If it’s Jenkins, then he could get traded. It wouldn’t surprise, considering how TT likes to acquire draft picks. TT will need to give Capers more bodies to work with, though, throuh the draft AND free agency. I also think we need one more good tight end on the offense. But, clearly, the defense has been neglected long enough, which requires more attention to make the 3-4 successful this year. The players are going to have to put in longer hours to learn the new system for it to have an immediate impact. Free agents TT needs to look at are Haynesworth (even though he probably won’t get out of TN), Ray Lewis, and especially Suggs and Peppers. I say sign Suggs, then draft Jenkins.

  • Pete H

    I am in favor of the 3-4, but not all great defenses need to be a 3-4. Philly and the NYG don’t run a 3-4. Minn. doesn’t either. Running a 3-4 doesn’t make a defense better. Its all about having the personel. If the Lions ran a 3-4 they would still suck. I don’t know if we have the right guys in the front 7 or not, but we sure might. The problem with “all of the great defenses” running a 3-4 is that solving it will become more emphasized by offensive coordinators. Everything can be countered. If we are late on the draw to the change and getting the right personel in there then it will be fruitless.

  • Pete H

    I also think losing Al Harris would/will be a massive mistake and I will point this statement out come October.

  • Pack4life

    Signing Peppers to be opposite Kampman would go a long way to fix the pressure problems. Peppers is on record saying he wants to be an OLB in a 3-4 system. The O-line and run game need major work. Fix those 3 things and Hello Miami!

  • Pete H

    Thats alot fixing for one season

  • AATP

    First of all I’d like to say I’m glad to see this blog still up and running after all the hoopla over this last season… Second, I like this bold move – I think change was needed and this might be one of those things that gets this teams juices flowing. Our offense is great between the 20′s, now they just need to figure out how to put the ball in the end-zone more often instead of walking away with field goals. There are a lot of potential players coming available in FA and I like some of the draft picks coming up as well. With the money projected to be under the cap and a strong DC change we might have a chance this next year, provided the players respond and put the time in to learn the new defensive scheme.

  • Larry

    If the 3-4 does what its supposed to you guys will be damned glad to walk away with at least 3 everytime we’re in the Red. The old axiom still applies “Don’t leave their end of the field without some points”. How many of us remember the great 60s with those scores of 13-10, 21-17, 17-7, etc. Even with the relatively high scoring of today’s game, there are some mighty good teams making the playoffs without high output Os. We certainly are blessed to have the QB stable we have now, with the only way to go being up. Other than the need for some journeymen OL people we all seem to agree that this is the year for D, both in draft and FA. Appears to me that we’re only a gnats eyebrow away from the playoffs again, with a very young team overall.

  • Pack4life

    Atlanta,Arizona and Miami Had 100 more issues than the Pack And look where they are.

  • Dan

    I was never fond of MM’s staff when he first came here. Heard too much of how things should work from inexperienced coordinators.

    - Bates talked about the bend but don’t break defense. (Well it broke over and over).
    - Jagodzinski talked about the zone blocking scheme and said it only works if the coaches know how to teach it. Back then, he claimed the only way it will work if it’s taught precisely the way he learned it. After 1 year Jagodzinski was gone and the Packers zone blocking success has been mediocre at best.

    With the hire of Capers, I finally have hope that MM has gone from a coach who was in over his head. (See above for why I felt MM was in over his head when he came here.)

  • JeffN

    Pete, I totally agree that a 3-4 or a 4-3 defense can work. What I like about this switch tho is it’s easier to rush the passer because finding an interior D-tackle that can rush is nearly impossible. So personel for the 3-4 is just easier to acquire because you don’t really need an interior tackle that rushes the passer just stops the run which Picket can do. We already have 2 ends that can rush the passer assuming Jenkins is healthy next season. We have so much hidden talent in our line backing core it’s sick. All of our LBs in Sanders system just dropped into coverage and never were put in a position to make plays. This will all change with Capers. Capers is the real deal when it comes to veteran defensive coordinators just look at his record.

    AATP, I also agree that last off seasons drama got old and I’m glad to hear everyone talking about the Pack moving forward with this exciting news. Wow I agree with 2 people today amazing.

  • Pete H

    I agree JeffN that a 3-4 can be easier to staff, especially on the line. I just hope the linebackers can become a much more savvy and fundamentally sound group. They are really going to need to be sound in their gaps against the run and much more sure in their tackling. Since they are going to blitz more they will also need to KNOW where they are supposed to be and be there. As for earlier with Harris, I think a 3-4 switch makes him an absolute neccessity to keep. Please do not underestimate what he brings to the table. A 1st rounder or Tramon, as well as he showed flashes of last year, cannot do what Harris does yet. I am not saying that Tramon cannot ever become that, but stud CBs are so hard to find that you do not let one go when you have one until he is not a stud anymore. Ask the Pats how much not having Samuel cost them last year.

  • JeffN

    Yeah I would hang onto Harris at this point in time. It was Harris himself who speculated he would be traded and said he has had no conservations with the Packers about it. So hopefully no drama comes out of that and Harris stays put.

    Having Capers on staff I think makes Green Bay a more attractive place for a guy like Peppers or Suggs to come to. Sounds like a pretty good chance Peppers will become a FA. He has asked them not to put the franchise tag on him. Suggs tho IDK he might just resign with his own team. Top of the 2nd round where the Pack is drafting tho might find a good Nose Tackle to rotate with Picket. I don’t see Picket playing every down at a high level if he is nose tackle, but I think if he plays 2 downs 2 downs off he could maintain a high level of play at NT. Still Brian Orakpo looks attractive at the top of the first round as a DE or OL. I think it’s either going to be him or an OT.

  • http://www.packernet.com admin

    JeffN – you are exactly right, Capers could convince a guy to come to Green Bay who might otherwise not.

  • Pete H

    I have to agree with that, now lets get Jennings locked up here for the long term and we will well on the right track

  • Yoop

    They have a better fit for the LOLB all ready on the team. Jeremy Thompson, HE is the perfect fit for that postion. Just look at who is playing that postion now for Pittsburg, Lamar Woodley, Thompson is taller, Faster, Quicker, Better 40 time, better 10 yard time, better 20 yard time, better shuttle time, better 3 cone, same standing long jump.
    Thompson was used in coverage and played some OLB in college.