Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Talking defense with Dom Capers
Well start with a six-pack of questions for Packers defensive coordinator Dom Capers:

1. How does the installation of this defense compare to other places youve coached?

Capers: I think theyre doing well. I like the attitude. I think weve got very professional guys. Theyve done a good job of concentrating in the meetings and trying to carry it out on the practice field. We certainly arent there yet. Im glad weve got training camp to go through. But weve made progress from when we first started.

2. Do you sense buy-in to the new defense by the players?

Capers: I like the aggressiveness I see out of our guys. One of the things I think you have to kind of measure is when things are going to change totally when we come back in here and put the pads on. You can only do so much as far as the physicality of the game right now. And over the years your opinions change in certain areas dramatically once guys put the pads on and you add the physical element of the game. Right now for what we can do in terms of learning the system, learning the techniques, the calls, communication, all those things, I think weve made progress.

3. Can you hit the ground running from the get-go, or will it take time for players to catch on to this defense?

Capers: I certainly dont want to use that as an excuse. I dont want our guys thinking its going to take us until mid-season to catch on. We expect to be ready to play when the time comes to play. Thats our job, thats everybodys job. We arent going to use the excuse that we arent going to be ready until midseason.

4. How has your staff adjusted to the new defensive scheme?

Capers: I couldnt be more pleased with this defensive staff. Weve got a great mixture. I think we have Very competent people at every position. I think the chemistry and composure of your staff is very important. I think weve got a good mix of guys that are very passionate and vocal that will bring things to the table that way. And I think we have an excellent teaching staff. I think these guys are very detailed. To me the No. 1 job we have as coaches, our job is to take as much of the gray area out of things as we can for the players. If theyre having problems then we have to evaluate, are we getting these things taught well enough to where they understand them, and if we arent we either have to cut back or have to do a better job of teaching them.

5. How are rookie first-round draft picks B.J. Raji and Clay Matthews fitting into the system?

Capers: I think theyre both talented guys. I think theyre both the right kind of guys. I think both of them want to be good. Thats the challenge in this day and age, all right, is to get the combination of guys that have talent and have the want to and willing to make commitment to do all the little extra things thats going to enable you to get an edge. I think those guys are mature enough to understand that.

6. How will you spend your down time in July?

Capers: I try to get away and relax a little bit. Ill take a pretty good box of things along with me. Probably not a day goes by that I dont spend a little bit of time thinking about this. I have a much better feel now than when we first started. Weve had to cover a lot of ground in terms of starting from scratch with the notebook, new staff, getting all the staff on the same page, getting the players together, getting them to try to understand what were wanting to get done. So we put in a lot of hours to this point in time. Well try to over the next four to five weeks get everything ready to where training camp can be as productive.