heroes and goats

[Guiness]

I know this dead horse has been beaten to a pile of flesh and hair and pulverized internal organs. But expecting Peterson to catch a Rodgers fast ball is like playing an athletic offensive lineman at linebacker. It's insulting to the receiving craft to think you can just do it skillfully in game situations without lots of practice.

+1, my thoughts as well. Not the fastball. I'll watch again, but I bet you can see his eyes go wide as he realizes how fast that thing is moving!

[Patler]

+1, my thoughts as well. Not the fastball. I'll watch again, but I bet you can see his eyes go wide as he realizes how fast that thing is moving!

From the mouths of the participants:

"We ran the slant, and he threw a fastball," Peppers said. "It was a little hot, so I couldn't get my hands up in time to snag it."

"It was a little harder than maybe he was expecting," Rodgers said of his pass. "Yeah, he ran a good route and got his chest on it. Pep's a talented guy. We've ran that play at practice a number of times and he's come down with it. That one was probably faster than he was used to."

[Maxie the Taxi]

They came out after halftime in single high safety to stop Ingram. The result was Graham going off and then the deep game got involved. So there were adjustments and they made the situation worse. What defensive alignment would you suggest that Capers deploy instead?

I don't know enough about the technical side of football to make a comment. I watch the game as a fan and am frustrated by the inability of a long-time, respected coach like Capers to devise a defense with the talent he has to shut down at least ONE aspect of the Saints' offense.

Ingram's performance was NOT Gale Sayers' like. He was running through mile-wide holes in our defense. And Brees had loads of time to throw.

I felt prior to the game that we had to pressure Brees to have any chance of winning. We didn't pressure Brees except on a handful of plays. To me it seemed like Capers couldn't commit to a game plan, kind of like a pro golfer who's not committed fully to a particular shot.

Did you watch the Pittsburgh/Indianapolis game? Dick LeBeau fully committed to pressuring Andrew Luck that game, no matter the consequences. He blitzed the house on most plays and Luck didn't have a prayer. LeBeau rushed so many people the Colts' RB's got hit by the traffic in the backfield, so their running game was stymied.

It seems football games are won in your opponents backfield. Nowadays pressure and penetration rule. I thought Dom initially brought that philosophy to Green Bay. Not now. Maybe we don't have the horses to get the job done.

[pbmax]

I don't know enough about the technical side of football to make a comment. I watch the game as a fan and am frustrated by the inability of a long-time, respected coach like Capers to devise a defense with the talent he has to shut down at least ONE aspect of the Saints' offense.

Ingram's performance was NOT Gale Sayers' like. He was running through mile-wide holes in our defense. And Brees had loads of time to throw.

I felt prior to the game that we had to pressure Brees to have any chance of winning. We didn't pressure Brees except on a handful of plays. To me it seemed like Capers couldn't commit to a game plan, kind of like a pro golfer who's not committed fully to a particular shot.

Did you watch the Pittsburgh/Indianapolis game? Dick LeBeau fully committed to pressuring Andrew Luck that game, no matter the consequences. He blitzed the house on most plays and Luck didn't have a prayer. LeBeau rushed so many people the Colts' RB's got hit by the traffic in the backfield, so their running game was stymied.

It seems football games are won in your opponents backfield. Nowadays pressure and penetration rule. I thought Dom initially brought that philosophy to Green Bay. Not now. Maybe we don't have the horses to get the job done.

I agree about pressure. ESPNWisconsin or someone referred to Pro Football Focus and said that the Packers blitzed on 10 of 35 Brees drop backs. He had a perfect passer rating on the throws without a blitz. I am a little dubious about that as I THINK Matthews caught him on a base pressure play (though there was no throw obviously).

But it goes without saying that if you go high pressure, you are going to get strafed by well timed runs with your pass rush unit out there. That is not really a threat with the Colts unless its Luck himself.

And that brings me around to the critical failure of this coach and this GM. They don't seem able to collect and develop the talent to get pass rush out of their base personnel. And as wist has pointed out, it becomes a tell. Now, if you can leverage it into favorable down and distance, then it doesn't matter. But as Capers said in the JSO writeup, without good tackling, it was too often 3rd and 2, not 3rd and 9.

[Guiness]

From the mouths of the participants:

Ya, that about makes sense. First time they did that one under the lights, and everyone got a little excited.

[Pugger]

I know this dead horse has been beaten to a pile of flesh and hair and pulverized internal organs. But expecting Peterson to catch a Rodgers fast ball is like playing an athletic offensive lineman at linebacker. It's insulting to the receiving craft to think you can just do it skillfully in game situations without lots of practice.

Does AR throw harder/faster in games? Evidently they have been practicing having Pep in this situation since TC.

[Pugger]

I don't know enough about the technical side of football to make a comment. I watch the game as a fan and am frustrated by the inability of a long-time, respected coach like Capers to devise a defense with the talent he has to shut down at least ONE aspect of the Saints' offense.

Ingram's performance was NOT Gale Sayers' like. He was running through mile-wide holes in our defense. And Brees had loads of time to throw.

I felt prior to the game that we had to pressure Brees to have any chance of winning. We didn't pressure Brees except on a handful of plays. To me it seemed like Capers couldn't commit to a game plan, kind of like a pro golfer who's not committed fully to a particular shot.

Did you watch the Pittsburgh/Indianapolis game? Dick LeBeau fully committed to pressuring Andrew Luck that game, no matter the consequences. He blitzed the house on most plays and Luck didn't have a prayer. LeBeau rushed so many people the Colts' RB's got hit by the traffic in the backfield, so their running game was stymied.

It seems football games are won in your opponents backfield. Nowadays pressure and penetration rule. I thought Dom initially brought that philosophy to Green Bay. Not now. Maybe we don't have the horses to get the job done.

Perhaps Dom was trying to get after Brees - running game be damned - but we just didn't get home? It seemed like we tried to utilize our new fangled NASCAR package and more DBs than LBers but when you allow a QB like Brees time you are gonna get burned like we did.

[Maxie the Taxi]

Perhaps Dom was trying to get after Brees - running game be damned - but we just didn't get home? It seemed like we tried to utilize our new fangled NASCAR package and more DBs than LBers but when you allow a QB like Brees time you are gonna get burned like we did.

You're probably right, although I never felt like Dom fully committed to rushing Brees. I remember when Dom first came on the scene and the only word the stuck in my mind as the key to his defense was "disruption." Nowadays the GB defense doesn't disrupt the opposing offense, it merely inconveniences it.

[George Cumby]

You're probably right, although I never felt like Dom fully committed to rushing Brees. I remember when Dom first came on the scene and the only word the stuck in my mind as the key to his defense was "disruption." Nowadays the GB defense doesn't disrupt the opposing offense, it merely inconveniences it.

Minorly.

[Striker]

I don't know enough about the technical side of football to make a comment. I watch the game as a fan and am frustrated by the inability of a long-time, respected coach like Capers to devise a defense with the talent he has to shut down at least ONE aspect of the Saints' offense.

Ingram's performance was NOT Gale Sayers' like. He was running through mile-wide holes in our defense. And Brees had loads of time to throw.

I felt prior to the game that we had to pressure Brees to have any chance of winning. We didn't pressure Brees except on a handful of plays. To me it seemed like Capers couldn't commit to a game plan, kind of like a pro golfer who's not committed fully to a particular shot.

Did you watch the Pittsburgh/Indianapolis game? Dick LeBeau fully committed to pressuring Andrew Luck that game, no matter the consequences. He blitzed the house on most plays and Luck didn't have a prayer. LeBeau rushed so many people the Colts' RB's got hit by the traffic in the backfield, so their running game was stymied.

It seems football games are won in your opponents backfield. Nowadays pressure and penetration rule. I thought Dom initially brought that philosophy to Green Bay. Not now. Maybe we don't have the horses to get the job done.

It's probably a split between personnel and philosophy. Capers contemporaries seem to adjust with varying levels of talent. The Patriots have had revolving doors at numerous positions but their defense seems to manage. The numerous mental mistakes, blown assignments, and sloppy play point more to coaching than talent.

At the same, they seemed to over correct heavily this year. McCarthy and Capers "wanted" to get faster and leaner along the line. So they dumped the big uglies up front except for Raji and now they'll get knocked around by power teams, especially on fast tracks.

[Cleft Crusty]

Perhaps Dom was trying to get after Brees - running game be damned - but we just didn't get home? It seemed like we tried to utilize our new fangled NASCAR package and more DBs than LBers but when you allow a QB like Brees time you are gonna get burned like we did.

Your assessment is spot on, but in New Orleans, Capers didn't have the horses to get it done. As I mentioned somewhere else, Packers needed that central core, right up the middle of D. Jones, Burnett, and Shields. Clearly the Packers value the speed of Burnett and Shields, as they shelled out some decent cash for those two. Like most teams, they can't afford to have three starters out, especially at high value positions, and on a defense that doesn't have much wiggle room for error.

[Harlan Huckleby]

D. Jones, Burnett, and Shields. Clearly the Packers value the speed of Burnett and Shields, as they shelled out some decent cash for those two. Like most teams, they can't afford to have three starters out, especially at high value positions, and on a defense that doesn't have much wiggle room for error.

As long as we are wallowing in self-pity, Raji makes 4. Guion is looking pretty decent, but the bullpen is weak.