Zero2Cool
15 years ago
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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]




I think he words what I wanted to say better than I knew I wanted to say it. Rodgers needs to take what's given to him instead of always trying to go deep.
UserPostedImage
CDNRodgersfan
15 years ago
Right now I just want Rodgers to stay alive. I sure gained repect for him when he put most of the blame on himself and pointed no fingers
gijoe82
15 years ago
Seems like everything is going wrong on offense. I dont mind MM taking shots down the field but it feels like rodgers is looking deep and holding the ball to long on every play. Call some freakin slants for heaven sakes.

Seriously what's with the Oline play? Its awful! No protection cant run and how many penalties?

It hits you in the freakin hands in the end zone and you drop it Dlee?!? (blame needs to be placed around lots of dropped balls so far)

I cant believe we we only lost by a dropped touchdown (the good news)
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PackFanWithTwins
15 years ago
Good interview. I blame Rodgers looking deep on MM. MM calls the plays. He could call a play with 5 WR all on slants and not give Rodgers that Deep routes.

Call plays with more short options, and get Rodgers back into the WCO thinking. He did early, and it worked than things went down hill.

Agree on the defense also. I think we went to far to stop Peterson and sacrificed the pass rush.
The world needs ditch diggers too Danny!!!
Rios39
15 years ago
Rodgers was setting up empty back-field with 5 wide sets and still held the ball too long. The first fumble of the game, the pocket was closing fast but Rodgers had Grant open right in front of him. That's on Rodgers.

Favre hits his check downs as fast as possible. Rodgers needs to learn o dump it off.
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PackFanWithTwins
15 years ago

Rodgers was setting up empty back-field with 5 wide sets and still held the ball too long. The first fumble of the game, the pocket was closing fast but Rodgers had Grant open right in front of him. That's on Rodgers.

Favre hits his check downs as fast as possible. Rodgers needs to learn o dump it off.

"Rios39" wrote:



When rodgers tried to break the pocket Grant was right in front of him alright. But with his back turned, or turning at that time. No chance of a completion.
The world needs ditch diggers too Danny!!!
Rios39
15 years ago

Rodgers was setting up empty back-field with 5 wide sets and still held the ball too long. The first fumble of the game, the pocket was closing fast but Rodgers had Grant open right in front of him. That's on Rodgers.

Favre hits his check downs as fast as possible. Rodgers needs to learn o dump it off.

"PackFanWithTwins" wrote:



When rodgers tried to break the pocket Grant was right in front of him alright. But with his back turned, or turning at that time. No chance of a completion.

"Rios39" wrote:



I'd rather hit him in the back then take a fumble. But ya, poor job by Grant.
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PackFanWithTwins
15 years ago

Rodgers was setting up empty back-field with 5 wide sets and still held the ball too long. The first fumble of the game, the pocket was closing fast but Rodgers had Grant open right in front of him. That's on Rodgers.

Favre hits his check downs as fast as possible. Rodgers needs to learn o dump it off.

"Rios39" wrote:



When rodgers tried to break the pocket Grant was right in front of him alright. But with his back turned, or turning at that time. No chance of a completion.

"PackFanWithTwins" wrote:



I'd rather hit him in the back then take a fumble. But ya, poor job by Grant.

"Rios39" wrote:



That would be nice, but with our luck right now, the ball would hit his back, then fall down and hit his heel, then fly up in the air for and INT.
The world needs ditch diggers too Danny!!!
all_about_da_packers
15 years ago

Good interview. I blame Rodgers looking deep on Mike McCarthy. Mike McCarthy calls the plays. He could call a play with 5 WR all on slants and not give Rodgers that Deep routes.

Call plays with more short options, and get Rodgers back into the WCO thinking. He did early, and it worked than things went down hill.

"PackFanWithTwins" wrote:




But the thing is, you can't always be calling short routes for all your WRs. That's just problematic, because this is a league where you need big plays to win.

Looking at the replays and highlights, on a lot of routes you have receivers running short routes and others going deeper. That's the WCO - it's not all WRs running slants and curls all the time. You have to have players stretch the field side by side with short routes. MM needs to get A-Rod right without moving away from the WCO system.


Personally, the more I watch Rodgers play the more I'm beginning to think the sorry excuse for an O-line has gotten to him. He's not stepping up, he's got happy feet, and quite frankly his rhythm and progression reads are not quite what they were last year. I think the hits and hurries have started to pile up.


As for the defense... not sure who mentioned it but the Safety play (by Martin in particular) was terrible last night. Capers has said that the key in this scheme is to put pressure and not let the QB find the soft areas - because there are some seeing as many players blitz. When you've got a DB who is not doing a good enough job, you do what you must: ensure your DB (Martin in this case) is not exposed.

To paraphrase Tom Silverstein: Capers decided to die a slow and painful death, instead of bringing blitzes and getting burned right away. This also explains C-Wood's comments about Smith - the DBs pretty much are aware of the communication breakdowns last night.
The NFL: Where Greg Jennings Happens.
Wade
  • Wade
  • Veteran Member
15 years ago
This is the piece that jumped out at me:

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.



My first reaction was, "I guess Butler has given up any lingering plans to be an assistant coach for GB."
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Romans 12:2 (NKJV)
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