2014 Green Bay Packers 7 Round Mock Draft

[pbmax]

I am starting to question Dom's committment/work ethic. His history of starting out gangbusters then stinking up the joint screams complacency.

I really don't think Capers record after a couple of years is that anomalous. That's opponent familiarity and film.

Later situations where he has succeeded probably have as much to do with player acquisition than work ethic. Like LeBeau, he has a scheme and wants to use it. And if it requires complex and tiny adjustments, he prefers that to alterations in scheme. So LeBeau and he prefer vets, but only LeBeau gets them.

But I do not mean to sell the adjustment he needs to make short. To change to a multiple player substitution scheme (more differentiated than base/nickel/dime) is a big step and maybe something he is not built to do.

[wist43]

I don't know if you agree, but I also look at what the players bring to the table. If a player is so good, then their talent will not hide in a system. Their talent will not hide in one on one battles. Good players "overcome" or transcend scheme. Average or system players may depend on it. To me, if some of these guy were so good, it would show out more consistently in one on one, or open field. That you can't lay at the feet of Capers.

That's absolutely not true.

The things asked of 3-4 personnel are far different than the things that are asked of 4-3 personnel.

Raji is the perfect example of that. Raji's natural position is a 3T in a 4-3 front, where his primary responsibility is 1 gap. If the defensive call is primarily designed to stop the run, his responsibility is still 1 gap. If the defensive call is a pass defense, his responsibility is 1-gap in conjunction with whatever stunt responsibilities he might have.

In a standard 3-4, Raji would okay at DE, but it would be a waste of his talent to play him there; and at NT he is a fish out of water b/c he simply is not a 2-gap player. He is not a 2-gap player, and everyone knew it when he was drafted.

Yet Capers has been not only using him as a 2-gap player, he has been using him as a 2-gap player in that idiotic 2-4!!! You might as well say that the 2 fat guys on the field each have 2 1/2 gaps, b/c no one else in the front six can take on blocks, shed, and get to the ball.

Then there is Perry. He didn't want to play OLB from the git-go, and said so before the draft - yet TT takes him anyway, and they immediately say they're going to play him at OLB. That experiment has not worked at all!!!

So instead of recognizing what Perry's strength is, and what Raji's strength is, and what Daniel's strength is, and what Datone Jones's strength is, etc; and using them accordingly, Capers keeps trying to shove those square pegs into round holes - and the results have been both dismal and predicatable.

Yes, it is Capers fault!!!

It does no good to blame Capers anyway. They are obviously choosing to stick with him, not seeing him as the problem. I'm sure he feels the pressure. Anyone choosing to do what they do for a living must have a lot of pride in doing a good job. Blaming never really fixed anything. That said, I think the patience for bottom line success is shorter with each passing year, and next year may be his last if the Packers don't make strides, healthy or not. I hope he can finally take what TT brings him, has brought him, leaves him with, and can shape it into a competitive defense to complement our offense.

I like a lot of the players in our defensive front - but as is obvious they are not a good fit for a 3-4.

Therein it is incumbent upon the DC to design a scheme that takes advantage of their strengths, and minimizes their weaknesses - Capers not only does not do that, he does the exact opposite of that, i.e. he plays them to their weaknesses!!!

The results have been awful for 3 years running - yet, the fault is not Capers, and he should not be held accountable??

[pbmax]

Capers does play Raji in a 3 tech in a front that is a 4-3 Under with an OLB at the wide DE position. Problem was not solved except maybe for part of 2011.

Raji was single blocked all year and rarely got off the block.

So you are not asking Capers to play a 4-3 (he is) and you are not asking for him to 1 gap Raji (he does a significant period of time, there are quotes from both Trgo and Raji on this). You are asking him to allow a Jet rush up the field on every down. You want to play a D like the Vikings did with Doleman and Millard. Please review Adrian Peterson's year in 2012 versus the Packers to see how Jetting up the field went.

Raji does one thing well and it doesn't fit the D. Why alter the D for one player who has ONE skill? Matthews would be out of place in a true 4-3 and he is a more valuable player.

[red]

When you list Wilson (who barely suited up) as a "best" guy and you list Raji (who plays a ton of snaps) as "haven't done so well" you lose a lot of credibility.

and the one who barely played was almost as productive as the one that played every snap.

most people can't wait for Raji to get his fat worthless ass out of town. wilson is one i wouldn't mind bringing back

fine take wilson out if you want. what about the rest?

raji played almost every snap for us, but was still not one of out top 3 or 4 linemen this year, and he wasn't last year either. i absolutely feel raji should be the the disappointments category, because he was out most disappointing lineman by far

[smuggler]

I'm doing a mock draft (as the Packers) on another FB site I frequent, and I'm possibly getting 30/94 and a 6th for our 21. What do you guys think about that? Seems pretty fair, but I'm not 100%.

[mraynrand]

Yet Capers has been not only using him as a 2-gap player, he has been using him as a 2-gap player in that idiotic 2-4!!! You might as well say that the 2 fat guys on the field each have 2 1/2 gaps, b/c no one else in the front six can take on blocks, shed, and get to the ball.

Except perhaps the two converted Des playing at OLB who are big enough to do just that.

[mraynrand]

The results have been awful for 3 years running - yet, the fault is not Capers, and he should not be held accountable??

I dunno, for some weird reason, the fact that TT drafted a bunch of defensive guys the past two years, and the Packers lost two all pro players to injury/age, and the fact that half the defense was injured this past year suggests to me that whatever Capers fault is, there are issues of personnel involved as well. For some strange reason, I can't see it as either all or none with respect to it being Caper's fault.

[Smeefers]

When you list Wilson (who barely suited up) as a "best" guy and you list Raji (who plays a ton of snaps) as "haven't done so well" you lose a lot of credibility.

I think CJ Wilson has far out shown Raji when given opportunity to play. The year he started for us, he was consistently ranked as a top run stopper on our D. Raji on the other hand had one good year and that was just about it.

[wist43]

I dunno, for some weird reason, the fact that TT drafted a bunch of defensive guys the past two years, and the Packers lost two all pro players to injury/age, and the fact that half the defense was injured this past year suggests to me that whatever Capers fault is, there are issues of personnel involved as well. For some strange reason, I can't see it as either all or none with respect to it being Caper's fault.

With the exception of Hawk and Brad Jones - who are both a waste of money and a waste of roster spots; there was still plenty of talent available to make use of in ways different than what Capers used.

Capers ran a 2-4 the vast majority of the time... hell, there were times when it was 3rd and 1, and he still had that idiotic 2-4 out there. I remember seeing the 2-4 on the field at 1st and goal from the 5; and again 1st and goal from the 1, lol... not surprisingly, both of those plays resulted in easy runs up the middle for TD's.

Our MLB's suck... that's on TT, but the rest of the front seven is arguably pretty talented - they just don't fit a 3-4, and they certainly don't fit a 2-4.

We've finished near the bottom of the league in just about every defensive catagory 2 out of the last 3 years, and the year we didn't, we had massive breakdowns b/c Mr. Spraypainted Hair was completely unprepared - wherein he admitted he had no idea what to do, lol...

No, Capers is a complete idiot and needs to be fired - he needed to be fired 2 years ago.... we're stuck with him though, and you can, to your heart's content, continue to make excuses for years to come.

[Patler]

and the one who barely played was almost as productive as the one that played every snap.

most people can't wait for Raji to get his fat worthless ass out of town. wilson is one i wouldn't mind bringing back

fine take wilson out if you want. what about the rest?

raji played almost every snap for us, but was still not one of out top 3 or 4 linemen this year, and he wasn't last year either. i absolutely feel raji should be the the disappointments category, because he was out most disappointing lineman by far

Their (non)use of Wilson this year was odd, to say the least. All they talked about in camp was that Wilson showed a lot more pass rush than he had in the past. He has always been solid and accountable against the run. I expected to see him play a lot. Instead, for the first half of the season he was mostly inactive.

[woodbuck27]

I think CJ Wilson has far out shown Raji when given opportunity to play. The year he started for us, he was consistently ranked as a top run stopper on our D. Raji on the other hand had one good year and that was just about it.

BJ Raji is a bust.

[bobblehead]

Capers does play Raji in a 3 tech in a front that is a 4-3 Under with an OLB at the wide DE position. Problem was not solved except maybe for part of 2011.

Raji was single blocked all year and rarely got off the block.

So you are not asking Capers to play a 4-3 (he is) and you are not asking for him to 1 gap Raji (he does a significant period of time, there are quotes from both Trgo and Raji on this). You are asking him to allow a Jet rush up the field on every down. You want to play a D like the Vikings did with Doleman and Millard. Please review Adrian Peterson's year in 2012 versus the Packers to see how Jetting up the field went.

Raji does one thing well and it doesn't fit the D. Why alter the D for one player who has ONE skill? Matthews would be out of place in a true 4-3 and he is a more valuable player.

Actually the jetting up the field worked against AP, the problem was that he would then bounce to the outsides and our edge guys weren't containing. We fixed it for exactly one game then did the same thing with Kaperdick.

[bobblehead]

and the one who barely played was almost as productive as the one that played every snap.

most people can't wait for Raji to get his fat worthless ass out of town. wilson is one i wouldn't mind bringing back

fine take wilson out if you want. what about the rest?

raji played almost every snap for us, but was still not one of out top 3 or 4 linemen this year, and he wasn't last year either. i absolutely feel raji should be the the disappointments category, because he was out most disappointing lineman by far

To be fair, I am the president of the CJ Wilson fan club and think he needs more snaps, I was merely pointing out that he didn't suit up about 12 of the games, and thus the rankings were a bit "manipulated". I do think you would make a great global warming scientist on the other hand.

[bobblehead]

I think CJ Wilson has far out shown Raji when given opportunity to play. The year he started for us, he was consistently ranked as a top run stopper on our D. Raji on the other hand had one good year and that was just about it.

Again, if you want my opinion of CJ, go back to the preseason threads and read up. But the fact is he barely got on the field and that limited his production. Hard to tackle from the sidelines unless you are coach of the steelers.

[bobblehead]

All they talked about in camp was that Wilson showed a lot more pass rush than he had in the past. He has always been solid and accountable against the run. .

I think you may have read my posts and mistaken them for newspaper content

[Joemailman]

Their (non)use of Wilson this year was odd, to say the least. All they talked about in camp was that Wilson showed a lot more pass rush than he had in the past. He has always been solid and accountable against the run. I expected to see him play a lot. Instead, for the first half of the season he was mostly inactive.

Basically he was replaced by Jolly who probably makes more plays. You had Raji, Pickett,, Daniels, Jolly and Datone Jones. Packers don't usually dress more than 5 D-Lineman, unless they're playing 49ers. He could be in the picture if the Packers don't sign Jolly.

[mraynrand]

With the exception of Hawk and Brad Jones - who are both a waste of money and a waste of roster spots; there was still plenty of talent available to make use of in ways different than what Capers used.

With all the young guys in the last two years and the injuries this year, I just disagree with you on the talent point. But I can't help but agree about Jones being a waste of a roster spot.

[pbmax]

Actually the jetting up the field worked against AP, the problem was that he would then bounce to the outsides and our edge guys weren't containing. We fixed it for exactly one game then did the same thing with Kaperdick.

I don't know about that. Jetting into the backfield did net Raji some hits on Peterson and a TFL or two. But more often Peterson had a choice of gaps, Raji's vacated one and outside. Contain wasn't only a problem when Raji jetted though. Raji, to his credit, tended to do this in the second half after it was clear that Plan A was not working.

The last game, playoffs, where they finally played a passel of professional run defense against him, they all clogged lanes the entire game with eight in a box.

I agree Kapernick gets the same openings from pass rushers getting out of lanes, but bull rushing hasn't proven to be the D's strength either. I had high hopes that Jones would solve the burst up the middle problem when he caught CK in the first game of the year after an attempt to scramble and held him to 0 yards. Didn't pan out that way though.

[Smeefers]

Basically he was replaced by Jolly who probably makes more plays. You had Raji, Pickett,, Daniels, Jolly and Datone Jones. Packers don't usually dress more than 5 D-Lineman, unless they're playing 49ers. He could be in the picture if the Packers don't sign Jolly.

I agree with this. It's a shame though, because in the end I don't think Jolly was as good as he once was. He got tired half way through the season and never really stepped up his game.

[3irty1]

I still don't buy that Raji's misused just that he's of little use. He does a poor job of controlling the man in front of him (2 gap) but he's also simply lacks the anchor that a player of his size and experience should have. Put him at 3-tech, you'll still end up with a 330 lb man who can get washed out vs the run. Even if he is a great pass rusher for a 330 lb guy, he's probably not the best option on your roster to play 3 tech on 3rd down.