I think it’s fair to call former Green Bay Packers’ defensive coordinator Dom Capers a hands-off coach. Capers was known as an X’s-and-O’s kind of guy. It was always about the scheme.
Capers didn’t really interact with players. During games, he sat up in the press box.
The Green Bay Packers’ new defensive coordinator, Mike Pettine, is the opposite kind of coach. He interacts with players and he gets in their faces when it’s warranted. He isn’t about a fancy scheme. Pettine’s defensive philosophy is to keep it simple so the players can play fast.
That difference became apparent to everyone this week when Pettine stopped a drill to ream out his defense. Could you see Capers ever doing that?
If you could, you have quite the imagination because it’s never happened.
“Dom was more quiet,” defensive lineman Kenny Clark said. “We had a lot of older guys (under Capers). I would say our defense is more younger. So Julius (Peppers) and Mike (Daniels) and Clay (Matthews) and all those guys, if we did get in one of those situations, I think Dom would let the leaders (handle it). It was just different coaches and different people, how they handle things.”
Veteran cornerback Tramon Williams, who has played for both Capers and Pettine, backed up that assertion.
“From Dom to Coach Pettine is totally different,” Williams said. “Two different personalities. Dom was just a laid-back guy. He commanded it with his experience and presence, but coach Pettine, he’s going to let you know. He’s going to let you know, but he’s been highly successful in this league with every team he’s been on. He has the resume to back it up, and you can see it in his attitude also.
“Coach Pettine believes in football stuff, not schematics stuff. As a player, that’s what you love in a coach. If he tells you to go out there and do what you do, that’s what you love to hear from a coach. That’s what coach Pettine is really about.”
That’s refreshing.
We’ve long discussed the lack of fire on the Packers’ defense in past years. Sometimes they just seemed to come out flat, with no passion. It’s like they didn’t want to be on the field.
We’ve long believed that came from the top. That Capers’ lack of fire and hands-off approach often trickled down to his players.
We’ve heard all about the lack of accountability under Capers.
Well, fools are being held accountable now.
“So Julius (Peppers) and Mike (Daniels) and Clay (Matthews) and all those guys, if we did get in one of those situations, I think Dom would let the leaders (handle it).”
Lol, Dom would do nothing and let the “leaders” handle it. Great formula, especially when TT valued veteran leadership as much as like the Cowboys. That means in Dom’s early years this defense was fueled by Charles Woodson and Kevin Greene because Capers sure as hell wasn’t having anything to do with it. Isn’t the D-coordinator suppose to be THE LEADER of the defense?
Let’s look at all those leaders. Peppers wasn’t even with the team last year. Matthews isn’t much of the leader type, and Daniels tries but clearly falls short when you have shitheads like HHCD and Randall (two underperformers) making comments about how they’re tired of his shtick. They clearly gave no authority to Daniels and that’s when it falls on the coordinator. Meanwhile Dom is up taking naps in the skybox while the defense is busy making back up quarterbacks look like Dan Marino.
So, is this something new?
Did we just realize that Capers isn’t a fire and brimstone kind of leader?
After the Super Bowl for 3 or 4 years, i blasted on Capers. but then during the last few years it dawned on me. It’s not entirely Capers fault. For what, wanting to keep his job?
Whose job is it to oversee the team? Whose job is it to make changes that are needed if the results aren’t there? How many of us through the years have said there is no accountability for the powers to be in Green Bay? Well McCarthy had years and years and years to make any fucking change he wanted to concerning Capers, and he always stated that the Capers was a great Coordinator, right up to the point when he fired him when a fall guy was needed.
So blast Capers all you want, but at the end of the day, who is responsible for this teams performance? It’s McCarthy, and all those years he elected to do nothing, ignored it.
Capers wasn’t going to fire himself.
All these observations, discussions, all these articles, are 3 or 4 years too late imo.
That’s on McCarthy.