Q. What did you think of defensive coordinator Dom Capers' game plan to sit back in zone coverage against Brett Favre rather than pressure him with a lot of blitzes? It was almost as though he was daring Favre to beat him. But the Packers did hold Adrian Peterson to 55 yards. Did he make the right move?
[ul]A. You take Brett Favre over the years and even in the games he's played at the Metrodome and everyone blitzes Brett and forces him into mistakes. I think he could have at least combined everything. On first and second down, play your run defense and on third down you have to blitz him. You have to pressure Brett. That's his downfall, when you're able to come after him, especially on third down. At one point, they were 8 of 14 on third down and the Packers never tested him. There never was a Plan B. It just looked like they were too passive on third down. It was like a seven-on-seven drill. There was no pass rush and there was no aggressive style. Not to mention Dom Capers is 0-7 against Brett Favre. Maybe he doesn't know the formula against Brett Favre. I know one thing, he needs to figure it out by Nov. 1. The only thing he did was with the linebackers crossing in the middle. The timing just got so bad and it just got all distorted and all guys were doing was running into each other. To become an effective blitzing team, you have to do it a lot to become good at it. If you're going to rush three and drop eight, the quarterback is eventually going to get the ball to his receivers. I was disappointed with the game plan. I thought it would be way more aggressive.[/ul]
Q. On the one hand, they didn't get any pressure on Favre, but on the other hand they did shut down Peterson. Do you think you there has to be a tradeoff? You either stop one or the other?
[ul]A. No, I think if you want to be a top 5 defense you have to stop everybody. Maybe the Packers aren't striving for that kind of excellence. But to be an excellent defense you have to stop both of them. If you play off these guys, you're playing into their hand. The corners should have been playing bump-and-run and match their best receivers against Al Harris, Charles Woodson and Tramon Williams and then let the safeties rotate. Everybody else is going to the quarterback. You play the run on the way to the quarterback. You have guys like that, you have to be aggressive. The long touchdown pass (to Bernard Berrian), that was Brett Favre. If he sees any kind of communication problem or you're not lined up properly or you're not paying attention or your getting a call, he'll snap the ball and throw it. That's vintage Brett Favre. He saw Al talking to Derrick Martin and when Al looked up, Berrian was behind him. With Brett you have to be ready to play him.[/ul]
Q. Based on what you saw, what's your evaluation of these two teams? Are the Vikings the clear favorites to win the NFC North?
[ul]A. Oh yeah, no question about it. The Vikings are a team in a secondary division in the NFC behind New Orleans. They've separated themselves from the Packers because in big games they have a big-time quarterback and a big-time running back and a big-time defensive end who can take over games. I think the Packers had a lot of yards, but that doesn't count on the scoreboard. The Vikings had a very good game plan, they were very well-prepared, they were very well-coached, they had the enthusiasm and they knew what was at stake. That's why they won. The Packers are a little confused. There's confusion on 2-minute offense, confusion on 2-minute defense, and the offensive line is what we thought it would be. No one thought that they would hold that team under 3 or 4 sacks. But I don't put all the sacks on the offensive line. I put three or four on Aaron Rodgers. He has to get rid of the ball. It's a quarterback progression. If nothing's open, make something happen. You want to be an elite quarterback, don't turn the ball over.[/ul]
Q. Do you think Rodgers is having trouble pulling the trigger on some of these throws because he's been schooled for years never to throw an interception and not to take big chances? Do you think he won't take it unless he's sure it's there?
[ul]A. Rodgers has a big strong arm and he always wants to throw the ball down the field. He has to learn to take what the defense gives him. That's the West Coast offense, short passes to set up long passes. In this offense, the long passes set up the short passes. You have to be patient in the pocket, recognize when nothing is happening, throw the ball away or run. He can outrun most linebackers. Just run the ball instead of running around. If your first progression isn't there or your second progression isn't there, take off or get rid of it. You can't lose seven to 10 yards every time on a sack. Sacks are a part of the game, so are interceptions. But his interception, he already had his mind made up he was going to throw to Greg Jennings on an out route. He needs to go through his progression. When he looks out there, Antoine Winfield has outside leverage. If a guy has outside leverage and your guy has an out route, you come off it and go backside and see who else is open. If not, throw it away. There's always a checkdown. Most checkdowns are helping block. He hit a couple when he dumped it to DeShawn Wynn. The back, once he makes his block, turn around three yards across the line and dump it to him. Edgar Bennett made a living with the checkdowns. So did Dorsey Levens. And you have to play fast. An offensive line can't block everybody. And everybody isn't going to be running free. You can't always hit wide-open receivers. You have to put the ball on the money. At times he looked conflicted.[/ul]
Q. What do you think is a bigger problem for them going into the bye week, the offensive line or Rodgers' play?
[ul]A. Rodgers will be a Pro Bowl player in the future. He's not the problem. He had an off game with the two turnovers, but I wouldn't worry about him. My major concern is the offensive line. With that offensive line, anybody has a chance to get the quarterback. Any team that can sack the quarterback, five, six or seven times, any team, including Detroit, has a chance. Most of these teams aren't even blitzing. In fact, I'd say they pick up the blitz well. It's the straight three- or four-man rushes they're having trouble with. Unfortunately, this far along, it's kind of what you see is what you get. I'd think about bringing in anyone who is a veteran. You have to make a decision, are we going to make a run for this thing or are we going to just rebuild. If you're the youngest team in the league again, you are rebuilding. I would go for a free agent. They know what to do. That's why New England has won championships. They have a lot of work to do this bye week. It should almost be a training camp mentality. The personnel won't change. They have their hands full.[/ul]