If anyone is a fan or supporter of Dom Capers, they should stand up immediately. Since the Green Bay Packers finally ditched Capers as their defensive coordinator, several players have been publicly critical of him.
Add cornerback Tramon Williams to that list. Williams told Jason Wilde the league caught up to Capers’ once unpredictable defense. That’s something most of us have seen for some time.
Here is the full Tramon Williams quote regarding the difference between Mike Pettine’s and Dom Capers’ defense… #Packers
Podcast coming soon to https://t.co/I2BrpxuPQU. pic.twitter.com/w4rNWPPuTR
— Wilde & Tausch (@WildeAndTausch) May 4, 2018
Over the years, those adjustments weren’t made.
That falls on Capers, but it also falls on coach Mike McCarthy. Although McCarthy, an offensive guy, has traditionally taken a hands-off approach to the defense, he also has way too much loyalty to his coaches.
How many years did it take him to fire special teams coach Shawn Slocum? The Capers’ situation is no different.
Both of those moves were long overdue.
How else can you get the nickname “The Teflon Dom?”
One of the things we know about McCarthy is he loves consistency. Keeping coaches around, regardless of whether their units underperform, keeps things consistent.
We don’t know that any players were critical of Capers when he was still around. However, several have been critical of him now that he’s gone.
On his way out the door, cornerback Damarious Randall took a shot at Capers, saying he didn’t hold anyone accountable. Linebacker Blake Martinez suggested the Packers’ defense wasn’t organized last season.
And now Williams, saying the scheme was outdated.
It really isn’t any wonder that Capers hasn’t gotten a new job since the Packers let him go. He’s what you would call a relic or a dinosaur in today’s NFL.
One thing I think we can all agree on is this. We are excited as hell for the Mike Pettine era to begin. The players seem to be too. We’re looking forward to seeing what Pettine will unleash.
You really can’t blame any players for not being openly critical before Capers was let go. We all saw what happened to guys like Josh Sitton when they spoke their mind. McCarthy can’t handle any criticism, especially aimed at the offense, his alleged forte.
The Packers need to remove themselves from McCarthy, that guy is simply bad juju. He isn’t innovative and as Monte already alluded to, his loyalty to his coaches conflicts with what is best for the Green Bay Packers as a team. Record be damned, as a highly successful head NFL football coach, he won’t repeat the success he had in Green Bay elsewhere, ever. It would be fun to watch him try and set up shop though. Cleveland might be a nice place to try and put the band back together! (Those fans have suffered enough, only kidding!)
Cleveland is a great football City with great football fans. Reminds me of the suffering that Packer fans went through before Bob Harlan and Ron Wolf saved the day. Cleveland suffers a disease, it’s called the Jimmy Haslam.
The Browns have only had 3 winning seasons since 1989. With the hiring of Dorsey i think Cleveland fans will have something to cheer about soon. If Haslam doesn’t put his fingerprints on it and f it up.
I am curious of your thoughts on Dorsey passing on Chubb and drafting Denzel Ward
You know me better than that Kato.
I can’t try to get into Dorsey’s head. Also, people who analyze college players for a living get it wrong on players a lot of the time.
I’m just not inclined or qualified, to dismiss, or hail a draft pick before they play. I’ve just never been that guy.
You know how i am….show me, don’t tell me.
Haha yeah I know. I tend to think very highly of Dorsey, his track record in Green Bay and KC speaks for itself. I just thought that decision was curious
Ward over Chubb was astute. Here is why:
1. Athletically, while both are great athletes, but Ward has even greater physical talent than does Chubb. For instance, a 4.32 40 by Ward is extraordinary (and his 1.47 10 yard split even more so) whereas Chubb’s 4.65 is very good for his position but not extraordinary. You can point to Ward being a little short at 5″11″, but you could say the same about Chubb’s DE size at 269 lb.
2. The Browns have great assets already at DE. They have a projected superstar in Myles Garrett and on the other side have both Ogbah and Nassib, both of which are very good. The upgrade from Ogbah to Chubb is much less than the upgrade of the #2 Browns CB to Ward.
Just in general, if you were forming a team from scratch, you should take Ward over Chubb. But in this particular case, as you look at the Browns team and strengths and weaknesses, it makes even more sense to take Ward over Chubb.
Everybody is an expert know it all….until their team get’s blown out and “gave up” in the NFCCG. Then all that is left is to discuss everything……except the queens.
The Lonely Boy also hailed Johnny Manzel as the next Joe Montana.
Nailed it!!
Not knocking Cleveland at all, they are due. I know Cleveland is a great football city, that’s why I said the fans have suffered enough, and they deserve better. I didn’t write it very clearly though. I should have said “just kidding, those fans have suffered enough” or “…only kidding, they deserve better than McCarthy” to make my intent clearer. The only reason I brought up Cleveland in the first place is because half the Packer staff moved there in the offseason. So naturally, if they are successful, McCarthy would probably want to take credit since those guys brought the “Packer Way” according to McCarthy’s version of the Packer Way with them…
An article in 2018 that places blame on Capers, directly on McCarthys shoulders where it belongs. The “do nothing” head coach.
Welcome to the party boys.
How great would it be if Pettine eventually replaces MM?
Pettine has stated he doesn’t want to be a head coach again
All GM’s and coaches want to provide as much quality competition for practice and training camps as possible, at each position group, and between the offensive and defensive players. Some teams have a hard time getting all the players needed to provide that quality competition, Packers included. When you do get that quality competition almost or completely across the board it makes a team stronger.
There have been several times in previous years that MM has said that he and Capers would sit down and go over schemes that they would employ against each other’s offense and defense. After the 2016 season, in the off season, MM claimed that the defensive coaches would breakdown each game of the Packers 2016 season and critique the offenses game plan and calls. The offensive coaches would do the same to the defense.
So you have a stale, outdated and predictable defensive coaching staff critiquing a stale, outdated and predictable offensive coaching staff, and vise versa, with a stubborn and predictable head coach in charge of the process. That is no way to make a football team stronger with quality competition.
likewise, with higher competition making team perform better…
new england, like other clubs, plays its division rivals twice per season.
it is therefore concluded that the higher talent level of the nfc east rivals leads due to that higher competition, that makes the patriots elite and be in and win superbowl.
the packers would have more playoff success like new england had its division games prepared it better. … but playing sucky bears, lions and vikings keeps them from reaching that next level. if only they played the dolphins jets and bills 2x / yr.
Um, those AFC east teams are just as shitty
LOL. Yeah.
Clearly quality practice better prepares than quality games.
Yet, you would not expect that.
I try to watch the open practices every year at least once up in Green Bay, and the practices I have seen under McCarthy do not look intense or game preparing,
It will be good if I live long enough to see a new head coach run peractice there.
Dead on. Unless your seeking Pad Level Nirvana.
Tramon was just stating what we fans have known for years. Since 2011 we’d watch Dum trot out the same old crap game after game. Oh, he’d change up the names (Psycho, NASCAR, etc.) but even we amateurs could tell it was the same, tired crap we’d seen forever. Everyone seemed to see that except Uncle Ted and McMuffin.
The article gets at least one thing wrong= It says McCarthy “also has way too much loyalty to his coaches”. That is a clear lie. He throws anyone and everyone under the bus if it serves him. Hell, he just wiped out most the staff as scapegoats after last year but has done that sort of thing in other years as well.
The only source of reluctance is not from loyalty — it is because he chose these people so it obviously reflects on him and new people will get new insight and perspective on him. Fear of change, not loyalty.
McCarthy has shown zero loyalty thus far. None.
This also goes the other way. Let’s not pretend the offense isn’t predictable under McCarthy.
Mike Pettine talked about “pre snap recognition”. Then, all of a sudden, McCarthy talks about pre snap recognition, coincidence? I don’t think so.
Next thing you know, McCarthy hires Philbin back, and announces that they are going to scrap the playbook, and rewrite the entire thing starting from scratch.
They got by as long as they did running McCarthy’s stale offense because of Rodgers. So we can blast Capers for his stale defense, but what makes McCarthy’s offense any different.
Now, what would be nice, is if Philbin called the plays, and McCarthy tried to be the head coach.
It seems every year Capers would come up with an update to this defense in response to what was happening around the league offensively, only to have a couple injuries force him back into his base/nickel defense. The defense also was dependent on him calling the fire zone blitz correctly, which he got right 2 out of 3 times, then the third time would get the offense a 40 yard play because his blitz vacated the wrong spot or some 260 pound outside linebacker was chasing a 180 pound receiver.
Honestly, I don’t know if Pettine’s defense is much different than Capers. I’ve not seen anything says “oh here’s the biggest differences”. Capers and Pettine seem to run a lot of similar things with Pettine’s defense being simpler and even being called out by their players as too simple as offenses easily figured it out.
The biggest thing I think that will help the defense is having a fired up coordinator on the sidelines.
Very good points. I also believe that the players reflect the attitude of the coach. Capers sat up in a skybox basically, never had any “feel” for the players, plays nor the game itself. How in the hell can you see if a player is not himself, or is playing a great game if you are way up in an enclosed box? Answer; you cannot at all! Every good DC that I have ever seen is down on the field engaged with the players and the game! Fuck Capers “metaview” approach . . . and fuck McGlurpy for allowing it all of those years.
Yep…as i’ve said, Capers was guilty of wanting to keep his job each year. McCarthy is guilty of……. doing nothing, each year.
But don’t forget…lol. This year is serious business, this year McCarthy slams his fist down on the podium saying the defense has to be better. That was “this” year. Past years? Didn’t care.