Capers’ presser impresses me

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.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 20th, 2009 at 10:34 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.

  • Mel e Mel

    Here Here Al! This was a man took the Expansion Panthers and beat the defending Super Bowl Cowboys the very next year. He was on the staff of the Saints first winning season. This guy knows how to bail out a ship taking on water. The NFC is very down right now so win the division and a Super Bowl run is not out of the question.

  • Pete H

    I like your general belief in Capers Al, but I think your assessment of Sanders is wrong. Sanders defense made several “big” plays in very desperate times. Sanders blew because of his teams complete lack of consistency. Never consistent pressure…awful against the run/good against the pass then reversed then just bad against both. His problem was that he, like MM did this past season was completely rely on a system as opposed to adjusting a system to what personel was there to play in it. This defense was a big play defense. you can’t say they didn’t make big plays when they set a team record for defensive TDs. What they were is a defense that could rarely keep a team with bad field position and seldom keep teams from scoring TDs in the red zone, and a defense that never made adjustments to an evolving situation, whether it be over a game, a 3 game stretch, or a season long pattern.

  • Packerpete

    Now that TT has a capable DC on board he is free to take that coveted WR with the 10th pick in the draft.

    I will believe progress when I see it on the field, talk is very, very cheap in Green Bay these days. Both TT and the M&M boys use the Fliesher school of spin-o-rama in thier empty verbiage.

  • Roy Jamison

    I see the big debate will be if the current players can adjust to this new scheme. TT will finally have to concentrate on really helping the defense instead of using scotch tape on it. This will be the make or break for him. Obviously, with the right moves made, TT will be hailed as a genius. If he slips, the village people will light their torches and run him out of Green Bay.

  • Maxaz1

    Sorry guys, Its about leadership. Capers could not get it done as a head coach. Head coaches going backwards has never worked. 6-10 again next year

  • JeffN

    I would agree there were some big plays on defense last season but I give player talent the credit for all of those. Sanders never put his players in a position to make plays so he doesn’t get any credit for any of the big plays that were made. My belief is there is a surplus of talent in the Linebacker core. AJ Hawk is an under achiever for example in the Sanders system. Sanders had a very flat and bland scheme and just dropped the linebackers into coverage all the time because he was unsure of what to do. Very lame.

    Capers being 58 years old, having been a head coach, his 20 plus years of experience, and the success to back all that up will make this job be fun and easy for him. I think Capers is saying to himself right now, I’ve got a lot of toys to play with, with these LBs and secondary players, just like MM has a lot of toys with A-Rodge and all those WRs.

    MM is purely an offensive guy and that’s fine for a head coach as long as you have a guy you can hand the defense over to and not have to worry/think abou it. Capers is that guy and Bob Sanders is not that guy.

  • JeffN

    Oh and agreed Capers does not have to be a miracle worker he just has to shore up this defense and like I said that will be easy for a guy like Capers.

  • Pete H

    You’re right JeffN, it was not Sanders’ scheme that got them big plays. Maxaz1, You mean like Bellicheck? It works probably more than you would think.

  • Pack4life

    Capers is a proven fix-it man. He helped build the Saints first winning seasons,built Carolina from scratch and Houston from scratch. His job will be simple in comparision to the massive overhauls he has had in the past. He does prefer veteran players, which over the long haul was a problem in Carolina and Houston. He is not in charge of that here though.

  • Roy Jamison

    I think it’s safe to say that simply changing schemes without changing players is really changing nothing.

  • Pete H

    Cmon now Roy, that completely depends on who you have. Changing a system can change everything. It doesn’t guarantee it, but it could change everything. Sometimes you change players to fit a scheme, sometiimes you change schemes to fit the players. Take a look at the Pack 2 seasons ago. MM wants to be a run first offense, but the first half of that season he couldn’t because he didn’t have the people and the people he had made an outstanding pass game. He changed schemes and everything changed. When Grant developed, he changed again and it worked again. That is what Sanders did not do.

  • JeffN

    Roy if you listened to the interviews Capers has done since he has been in town. He says he plans on changing the scheme to fit the best players on the team. The most wasted talent we have had during the Sanders years was at linebacker. I think you will see Capers change for and demand more production from guys like AJ Hawk.

    The Nose Tackle B.J. Raji from Boston College is starting to look really interesting for this years draft. The different mock drafts have him ranging in the 1st round anywhere from being picked at #12 to #24. After the combine I would expect him to slide up the draft board because that’s typically what happens with DTs. The Packers could take him if they want him. Now if someone like Peppers or Suggs really did want to play with Capers you are really looking at some upgrade action going on for D. Maybe it’s too early to dream I guess at this point about the draft.

  • Jeff

    I’m very happy with Capers’s stated willingness to scheme around the players he has and work towards the scheme he wants.

    Given that mindset and the fact that I just think he’s a higher quality coach/teacher than BS, an improvement on the D-line personnel might just put us in a very good place.

    (I still have O-line concerns. Hopefully they can be addressed with existing personnel or maybe we get lucky with a Tauscher-like draft pick.)

  • Boothie

    Looking into my Crystal Ball, I don’t see us getting Suggs and/or Peppers. I think that Suggs will either stay with the Ravens or go to some team interested in overpaying him.

    I have heard no mention of Peppers wanting to come to Green Bay. He doesn’t know Capers from Adam. I do think we’ll get some free-agent fodder. I would think that Capers would know the various players on the various teams that would be a good fit for his system.

    I have heard NOTHING but good things about Capers. He seems to be a very good DC and an excellent human being.

    I see an OT drafted high and a heavy emphasis on defensive line / linebackers.

  • Pack4life

    I saw BJ Raj Play in BC’s Bowl game he reminded me a lot of Gilbert. A 3-4 will put Bishop on the field. A 3-4 will help against Adrian Peterson and Matt Forte also.

  • Pete H

    Kyle Orton helps even more against Forte…

  • iccyfan

    Roy Jamison Says: January 21st, 2009 at 11:41 am
    “If he slips, the village people will light their torches and run him out of Green Bay.”

    Ted’s pallid complexion and your visual makes me think of an old vampire flick! Hopefully Dom’s scheme can keep Nosferatu prowling the halls of the Hutson Center for the next several years…

  • roy jamison

    Pete, Jeff and iccy,
    you all make my day! I am reminded what did not work here in Kansas City. Herm Edwards had Gunther Cunningham (a favorite of former GM Carl Peterson) as his DC. Now that the cats have escaped the bag (and gone to Detroit), that pairing was mixing oil and water. “Gun” likes to blitz and take chances…with a more veteran group. Herm choose to strip the wood bare and starting recoating. In other words, as many have mentioned before, everyone’s gotta be on the same page.

  • roy jamison

    Oh, I’m quite sure a lot of you know this but for those that don’t the boat captain responsible for rescuing a lot of those passengers in the Hudson is Vince Lombardi.
    part of the story…
    VINCE LOMBARDI, NEW YORK WATERWAY CAPTAIN: As I turned the boat around and started to pull up to the main channel, I looked up and said to my deck hand, that‘s an odd looking boat. He goes, “I think that‘s an airplane.” I said, “OK.”

    So, we get the man overboard equipment ready. We radioed the Coast Guard on VHF 16. And we got to it. Then we do what we do best.

    (END VIDEO CLIP

  • Roy Jamison

    With the Tampa Bay Bucs hiring of Jim Bates, we’ll see close up and personal how his defense works against the new Capers defense when the Pack goes on the road this fall. Wonder if Bob Sanders and Robert Nunn have been contacted by Bates?

  • Pete H

    Yep, he wanted to know how someone could F up his defense so bad.

  • JeffN

    Bates does a great job of running his defenses, I’ll give the guy credit for that. Should be a pretty interesting game by the time it rolls around.

  • Larry

    Re Kevin Greene. Coach, hell, suit ‘im up!!! Don’t know whats goin on up there, but I know I like it… I believe these are some significant moves which will put a totally different look on the field and fire in the locker room. Further, with the apparant attudinal change to work ethic, etc, I think FAs out there will want to come again like the early 90s. My two cents!

  • Roy Jamison

    That Kevin Greene hire can’t be anything but good. I always admired the intensity and enthusiasm that guy had for the game. I really think he will be able to translate that to the players. BTW, his head shape resembles number 50.

  • jeremiah

    lets hope the greene can instill some of that “it” into hawk. there is that somethig that all great pass rushers have, and “it” is usually something that most people would actually say is missing, or call the guy crazy. we have been waiting to see hawk become an effective blitzer, and while he will play may play one of the inside spots, hopefully coach greene gets into his ear, head, mind, and sense of being… AND JACKS HIM UP!

  • Jeff

    I’ve been as down on the Packer management as anybody, but I have to admit to liking these moves. I still wonder if we’re an underachieving team with solid talent last year or an overachieving team with fair to midlin talent in 2007, but real effort is clearly being made (and cash is being spent) to land coaches who will get the most from our players.

    Judge by the results, I suppose. Go get ‘em!

  • John

    Under Capers, Julius Peppers won the Defensive Player of the Year Award. I’d say we have a strong chance of him wanting to come to Green Bay. Think about it, Kampman and Peppers on the ends, Hawk and Barnett in the middle…that would be crazy good. Lets go draft a good Dline.

  • Larry

    Jeff, right on, we’re a combination of both I think. Hence, the push (and loosening the checkbook) to aquire the best motivators, schemers, and planners available. The FA market will really be a test of final commitment realizing, of course, fiscal responsibility as well. This is the first year in a long, long time that I’m not even looking forward to the draft. I truly feel we have mined the potential lode as much as we can so now its up to managing, properly, what we have and to supplement with a FA here and there even at a premium cost. Not the way I would have preferred (I’m a draft guy) but good management has to change with the times. This new D gives our now seasoned LBs their opportunity to be one hell of a dynamic force. They all showed it in college but seemed to be restrained in the 4-3 at the Pro level. Now they’ll be able to let loose and use their collective speed which I think has been wasted till now. I don’t think the right guy in the middle of the DL will be the problem, if there is one, I’m more concerned with having the right (2) guys on the edges to keep our LBs free.

  • Roy Jamison

    Larry, you are right. Jenkins and Jolly are not the kind of DEs that will put fear into many. And the jury’s still out on whether Pickett will be a serviceable nose guy. I think the draft will be who can develop the quickest as much as who is the “best” on the board. It looks like Kampman’s the tweener guy who can rush as the edge linebacker, but they need to revamp those three guys up front.

  • Larry

    Interesting story coming out of ARIZ. Fitz apparently willing to give back some dough to keep Bodin; ie, Bodin unhappy 2yrs into 4yr 22.8 contract and wants more. Fitz is one yr into 4yr, 10mil/yr, w/ 30mil gauranteed. How do you keep a team together for a dynasty with those kinds of numbers? I think the point is that you can get to the top (although it didnt work in WAS) spending that kind of $ in the short term but you cant maintain it. We might not make a SB every yr, but I like having a team playing for the Div title each year that I know will be in GB forever. Point being to be very careful how we spend our current surplus.