Silverstein: Packers reach agreement with Dom Capers as DC

[Carolina_Packer]

Good solid hire. It was a good to see the Packers get such a guy at DC. As for Peppers, the Panthers now know that he doesn't want to be there, so he will probably get the Jared Allen treatment and be tagged, which means trading for him, which may be too high of a price to pay. Peppers is a great athlete and shows a lot of ability, but I question his drive and consistent intensity to make plays, and not take some off. You can't trade a guy for high draft picks, give him a lot of cash and then worry about his drive and intensity. Yes to the talent, no to the lack of consistent effort.

[BZnDallas]

i'm really really excited to see how Dom does with the players we have... alot of us have always thought that there were some decent players on the d side of the ball that just needed some good ole coaching... now they are going to get some... although that doesn't mean i don't want TT to bring in some new talent aswell...

[rbaloha1]

Great move -- maybe TT learned from the Randy Moss debacle.

A hybrid approach makes great sense due to personnel and opponents. A NE style defense is what the Packers require to be a playoff contender again.

My only concern is the players over thinking and not playing fast. At least we have a DC willing to take chances with blitzes. C'mon we we have shutdown corners which makes blitzing less risky.

[Patler]

Great move -- maybe TT learned from the Randy Moss debacle.

Huh??

[Pugger]

A lot of folks on Packers' internet forums were concerned about our ability to attract a good DC but not me. I'm sure Capers was attracted to the situation at 1265: full autonomy for the DC to run things as he likes, ability to pick his own assistants and no interference from the HC or a nosy owner!

[sheepshead]

Great move -- maybe TT learned from the Randy Moss debacle.

Huh??

LOL..I had the same reaction. That's a forehead slapper my man.

[Patler]

A lot of folks on Packers' internet forums were concerned about our ability to attract a good DC but not me. I'm sure Capers was attracted to the situation at 1265: full autonomy for the DC to run things as he likes, ability to pick his own assistants and no interference from the HC or a nosy owner!

How about a nosy "Assistant Head Coach" coaching your linebackers?
I wonder if Capers has any say about what Moss does?
I have always thought the idea of an "Assistant Head Coach" reporting to a coordinator, especially the one opposite to the head coaches expertise, made for a real weird relationship.

Moss is "Assistant HC" supposedly because he is head coach material.
Moss gets HC interviews.
Moss is a defensive coach.
Moss isn't good enough for MM to promote to DC.

Strange, very strange.
Maybe now MM will allow Moss to interview for DC openings. Supposedly he had denied Oakland's request, if rumors are to be believed. If he did, he can not now change his mind and allow Moss to interview for others, but since Oakland hasn't filled theirs, can he go back and allow Oakland and anyone else to consider Moss?

[gbgary]

Great move -- maybe TT learned from the Randy Moss debacle.

Huh??

LOL..I had the same reaction. That's a forehead slapper my man.

come on! you guys remember the Randy Moss debacle!

i think it's a good hire. maybe he can help convince tt to go get a high impact f-a.

[texaspackerbacker]

Well, assuming this one is true, all I can say is: it could have been worse, much worse. Given Thompson and McCarthy's background in the 3-4, it would seem likely we would go to that--little if any "hybrid", mostly a complete conversion.

I've come around to the point of view that 3-4 is OK. Overdoing the blitzing is far from an automatic thing, yet the option is there to bring it from a lot of different directions--I wouldn't even really consider sending one backer for a total of 4 going in to be blitzing, and the beauty of it is the offense never knows where the 4th man in will be coming from.

The 3-4 also does not automatically mean deviating from the highly successful man coverage of the Packers. Hopefully, they will stick with that. Does anybody know what New England ran last year--mostly man or mostly zone?

Assuming this rumor is true, I'm glad the mess is over. Hopefully, the Packers defense will approach the quality it had in 2007.

[BallHawk]

Great move -- maybe TT learned from the Randy Moss debacle.

Huh??

I think it's supposed to be like "TT wasn't wanted Randy but wasn't aggressive enough so he didn't get him. This time TT wanted a guy (Dom) and he got him."

That's my best guess.

[rbaloha1]

Great move -- maybe TT learned from the Randy Moss debacle.

Huh??

LOL..I had the same reaction. That's a forehead slapper my man.

come on! you guys remember the Randy Moss debacle!

i think it's a good hire. maybe he can help convince tt to go get a high impact f-a.

Guys, TT thought RM was a Packer. The next day the Patriots out "foxed" TT and stole RM.

Signing Capers pronto prevents another team from stealing Capers.

[Fosco33]

He's got a kickass first name :P

[cpk1994]

He's got a kickass first name :P

Yep. Dom Dom Dom Dom, Dom bee do be Dom.

[pbmax]

What exactly is your (rbaloha) definition of outfoxed?

Tex, if you read vince's post on Capers in another thread, an article about the then new DC of the Jaguars, Sam Mills (or Carnell Lake) has an interesting fact about his approach.

His first order of business, they said, is to stop the run. Not coverage, not blitz but stop the run on first and second down. This happens to jibe with Saban's and Belicheck's first order of business and one of the reasons they like the 3-4, is that it usually lends itself to stopping the run.

A site called Smart Football has their hands on Saban's playbook from LSU and he mentions this is his opening statements, his mission or vision of the defense. In addition he states that as part of stopping the run on 1st and 2nd down, they will usually play zone behind this. He doesn't explicitly state the reason for this, but the reason is likely to keep everyone's eyes on the LOS.

Then on passing downs, they will go to more man and find a way to pressure the QB. Smart Football maintains this is Belicheck's basic approach and that Saban had learned this during his time in Cleveland with Belicheck. Capers has now worked with both after himself been brought in to run 3-4 for Bill Cowher.

So my first guess is that you will see zone on 1st and 2nd down when they believe they will see a run, then man to man and blitzes on passing downs. Of course you have to tailor this to the opponent and their tendencies, but that is the best read on Saban/Belicheck I have found.

[rbaloha1]

What exactly is your (rbaloha) definition of outfoxed?

On Saturday night, TT went to bed thinking RM was a Packer. Sunday morning TT discovered RM was a Patriot.

If Capers left GB without a deal more than likely a similar scenario occurs.