The Defense - Again, the Defense :(

[pbmax]

The middle two guys in nickel (Daniels and Jones) for pass rush or for run D (Boyd and one of Guion/Daniels) are playing terrible. The Bears game was significant because even Daniels wasn't up to his normal level.

Add to that the ends and SAM linebacker taking terrible angles and abandoning gaps. Peppers has been the best at this, but Matthews, Lattimore, Neal, Jones and the safeties has been really loose in gap discipline. Outside of Peppers, the only guy steady on the end has been Perry which is why you keep seeing him in the second half when there is a lead. I have no idea why Burnett is close to the LOS and Ha Ha is deep.

Remember the jumbo formation the Packers would line up to guard against Peterson in 2012 (Raji, Pickett and Wilson)? It was terrible against him for two games and it wasn't for lack of size. Everyone was playing their own gap and nothing else. Some were penetrating, others were waiting. No one stayed in their gap and got off the block. Raji was in the backfield but whiffing. Despite talent and size, it was terrible run defense.

Same thing here. Someone is ALWAYS out of position and those interior D lineman are not helping, they are getting moved which gives the back space and time. Matthews is still getting used to being in the middle. He loves to react quickly and chase, but in the middle that is recipe for disaster.

Part of this is talent, the interior guys are not dominating players. But a lot of it is getting used to the scheme and knowing where their teammates are going to be. When to freelance and when to sit in a gap. It also doesn't help that the only guy in the backend who knows how to tackle is Ha-Ha.

[Carolina_Packer]

The middle two guys in nickel (Daniels and Jones) for pass rush or for run D (Boyd and one of Guion/Daniels) are playing terrible. The Bears game was significant because even Daniels wasn't up to his normal level.

Add to that the ends and SAM linebacker taking terrible angles and abandoning gaps. Peppers has been the best at this, but Matthews, Lattimore, Neal, Jones and the safeties has been really loose in gap discipline. Outside of Peppers, the only guy steady on the end has been Perry which is why you keep seeing him in the second half when there is a lead. I have no idea why Burnett is close to the LOS and Ha Ha is deep.

Remember the jumbo formation the Packers would line up to guard against Peterson in 2012 (Raji, Pickett and Wilson)? It was terrible against him for two games and it wasn't for lack of size. Everyone was playing their own gap and nothing else. Some were penetrating, others were waiting. No one stayed in their gap and got off the block. Raji was in the backfield but whiffing. Despite talent and size, it was terrible run defense.

Same thing here. Someone is ALWAYS out of position and those interior D lineman are not helping, they are getting moved which gives the back space and time. Matthews is still getting used to being in the middle. He loves to react quickly and chase, but in the middle that is recipe for disaster.

Part of this is talent, the interior guys are not dominating players. But a lot of it is getting used to the scheme and knowing where their teammates are going to be. When to freelance and when to sit in a gap. It also doesn't help that the only guy in the backend who knows how to tackle is Ha-Ha.

So gap discipline is critical to them being able to improve run defense. And, as you alluded to, I saw a lot of guys who were well blocked by Bears o-line, and not many consistently winning their one on one battle in their gap. When is the last time you remember the defense consistently swarming to the ball? Scheme may be important, but so is the ability to whip the guy in front of you. Is anyone seeing much of that?

If you are a Capers hater or not; fine, get someone else in here. I only care about the success of the Packers, not whether he is the DC. But tell me how another DC will take the same guys who can't win a one on one battle consistently, can't take good angles to the play consistently, can't wrap up and tackle consistently, can't diagnose plays pre-snap consistently and turn them into a capable defense? Is it really all about the wrong scheme? I do agree with MM that scheme is not a crutch. The ultimate success or failure is Capers fault, but it's always the players who have to execute what is called. Is it too simplistic to ask, "hey, whatever adjustments you made in the Jets game when you were getting gashed, where were those adjustments today in the Bears game?"