This article pumped me up.
GB Press Gazette link There are hundreds, maybe thousands of nuances to Dom Capers defense.
Yet one thing above all else is critical, the Green Bay Packers new defensive coordinator believes, to making his scheme work. So each time a new alignment, a new blitz or a new coverage is introduced, one word emblazons the top of its page in the playbook: Communication.
As Capers went about installing his system this spring, that word was never far from his mind.
Every defense we put in has communication in big, bold letters right on it, Capers said during this weeks minicamp. When were in the meeting room, when we look at film, we expect to have the same kind of communication in that meeting room as we do on the practice field. I can tell in a minute if we make a call, and I dont hear the proper communication, then we dont have it down, and we dont know it.
That, more than anything, might be the key to whether his 3-4 scheme will work for the Packers in 2009.
Breakdowns in communication hampered the Packers defense last season and ultimately helped lead to Bob Sanders demise as coordinator.
I would say that was a huge mishap on the whole defense last year, linebacker Brady Poppinga said. Just the lack of communication and not being as sharp as we needed to be.
In Sanders 4-3 defense, the middle linebacker was largely responsible for communicating the defensive call to the other 10 players on the field. Under Capers, a linebacker still will have the direct link to the coordinator via the speaker helmet, but from there, the rest of the players are required to relay things to each other.
Everybody has to communicate something, cornerback Tramon Williams said. So its now a defense where everybody is accountable for making the calls. Everybody has to know what to do, so basically you just keep focused in as a group so everybody knows they have the call. They know they have to look for something, a certain read or whatever, and you have to make your call. So basically it enables you to stay focused out there.
Even if its as simple as acknowledging that a player knows the call, he doesnt just nod his head or say yes. Instead, theres a word to repeat to make sure its correct.
The best defenses that Ive been around have been the best communicating defenses, Capers said. Theres going to be so many variables, and the most important thing is everybodys on the same page.
So how does Capers go about teaching a seemingly intangible thing such as communicating?
Hes very definitive, said outside linebackers coach Kevin Greene, who also played for Capers in Pittsburgh and Carolina. He takes the gray area out of everything. Hes very definitive on how to do everything. Hes very decisive and makes it very clear.
You have to continue to talk to your players about telling other people on the field different checks, different confirmations, different plays. Communication is critical because you all want to play on the same page and if you dont have communication, youre going to have 11 guys doing their own thing.
Its perhaps more critical in a 3-4 defense, which includes a variety of zone blitzes and zone coverages. Whereas in a predominantly man scheme, each player is responsible for matching up against one player, zone schemes require players to know when to let a player go.
Also, the 3-4 involves a large amount of pre-snap shifting in order to keep the offense guessing as to where the blitzes might be coming from. Offenses, too, are getting more complicated with their shifts and motions.
Theres so many adjustments you need to make in this day and age to formations, to shifting, to motions that the kind of job that you do communicating and the better the players get to know the system, then the more assertive and definite they are about making their calls, Capers said. You can always tell if guys arent sure because theres hesitation, and there cant be any hesitation because you dont have enough time. One group depends on the other, and if theyre late communicating, really its the guys up front who suffer because they dont have much time. Theyre right up there on the ball and have to hear that loud and clear.
Several players said this week that they like the system of communication because it creates a sense of importance for each position. Rather than having one player designated as the so-called quarterback of the defense, every player shares responsibility.
He always pounds the philosophy of no excuses, safety Jarrett Bush said of Capers. He says never point fingers when things are going wrong and just keep hounding and keep doing what youre doing. Were all coming together.