I don't think there's much denying our MLB's will get eaten up in man coverage of tight ends, especially the good ones. I simply hope that he's not asked to do that much. The Packer's are mostly a zone team now. As long as Bishop can stay underneath receivers/tight ends in the middle with help over the top, he will be OK. The reason the zones were stretched so far last year is due to the pathetic pass rush. The holes will be a lot tighter when the QB has less time to throw.
With that being said, I don't care if they both are replaced in nickle packages, because neither are good in coverage. I think Bishop was left out to dry too often last year, mostly a result of poor defensive scheme. I remember thinking several times "why in the hell is Bishop left one-on-one with a player he obviously cannot stop??!" It reminded me of Bob Sander's defensive strategy in the 2007 NFL Championship game. GIVE THE MAN SOME HELP!! Caper's has to do a better job of getting players in position to succeed. I understand he was handicapped last season due to lack of pass rush and poor communication, but some of those calls were inexcusable. It seemed that regardless of how many times Bishop was beaten, Caper's continued to allow it to happen. If it's truly that bad and there's NOTHING he could do about it scheme wise (I believe there was more he could have done), than put another guy out there. It's rough to watch a player struggle like that.
I'm obviously high on Manning, especially as an NC State guy. I'm going to continue to hope he develops quickly and can see the field sooner rather than later, at least on passing downs.
Originally Posted by: doddpower