An Open Letter To Dom Capers

[HarveyWallbangers]

the thing thats starting to bug me is the zone coverage

we have maybe the best two man to man corners in the nfl, and another decent one in t-will

yet, in the zone they're playing 10 yards off the wr, and to make matters worse we end up with guys like kampman , chillar, hawk or barnett, covering guys like percy harvin. we're never gonna win that one

See. I don't think they exclusively blitz or not, play zone or not. They mix it up. That's what makes this defense hard to go against. The deception. You don't see James Harrison rushing every play. Traditionally, teams play more zone with this defense, but you can mix it up. I honestly have no issues with this defense. Our guys just have to do a better job with their assignment on each individual play. If they blitz, they better get home. If they are playing off coverage, they better know what they are supposed to do. Maybe we don't have the horses or experience yet to beat Minnesota. I'd like to see how they do the rest of the year to judge whether we have the right personnel for the scheme.

[HarveyWallbangers]

I believe Pittsburgh plays zone coverage on a overwhelming majority of the plays. Baltimore might mix it up a bit more--like we do.

[bobblehead]

I still tend to believe MM is reeling him in. Never has Dom played so conservative as he did in the second half of the first game and the first half of this game. He finally opened it up a bit in the second half and we got back in the game, but then we had some short fields and couldn't answer the bell.

[pbmax]

I still tend to believe MM is reeling him in. Never has Dom played so conservative as he did in the second half of the first game and the first half of this game. He finally opened it up a bit in the second half and we got back in the game, but then we had some short fields and couldn't answer the bell.

They allowed 21 points in the second half. The results do not seem to support your conclusion. The offense had a change in performance. And one of the only two pressures they got on him in the second half was on a four man rush.

By your theory, are you suggesting McCarthy has time to give his DC new marching orders at halftime? He has too many problems with his offense to do that. Capers would not work where he doesn't get to call his defense.

[Deputy Nutz]

I agree with Harvey. The Vikings were just better. When you can't get to the quarterback thats on the players, regardless of scheme it all comes down to whether or not you can beat the guy across from you. The Packers didn't.

I still don't get, if I told you before the game started that if the Packers hold Adrian Peterson under 4.0 yards per carry you all would be happy and like the Packers chances. Instead you focus on the scheme, and this and that. to be honest Favre was just money, his accuracy on completed passes was amazing, there were no break downs in coverage, he just threw a very tight ball into a small space over and over again.

I thought Harris had a good game. Woodson had an average game, he didn't factor really one way or another. So as far as the scheme in relation to Wood and Harris I don't know what Jenkins is talking about. Woodson is actually better roaming the field reading what is going on in front of him, so he is pretty much taylor made for this system. His blitzes are just timed wrong and are taking too much time to develop, especially against a QB as good as Favre, blitzing a corner is kind of a death sentence against #4.


Jenkins should just shut his mouth and do what he can do to get better because again, he is a big shot in the preseason yet a ghost in the regular season. At least until he gets hurt.

[mraynrand]

Favre was just money, his accuracy on completed passes was amazing, there were no break downs in coverage, he just threw a very tight ball into a small space over and over again.

QFT. And over and over Favre has the coverage and blitzes figured out before the play starts. Rodgers does now, from time to time, and he can exploit them. But Favre sees stuff coming on every play. There was a really effective play by the Vikings where they crossed Harvin and another W across Harris and Woodson in man coverage. Favre just patiently waited for Harvin to clear - and boom goes the dynamite. Packers ran Jones in motion and ran him underneath across the formation and Rodgers held the ball, even though Jones was his first read - was he looking for the TD shot? He got sacked. The ball has to come out - ZING - like that - especially against an aggressive defense. Favre had more time, and was on his game. Rodgers had less time and hesitated - especially in the first half. Game over.

[Deputy Nutz]

Favre was just money, his accuracy on completed passes was amazing, there were no break downs in coverage, he just threw a very tight ball into a small space over and over again.

QFT. And over and over Favre has the coverage and blitzes figured out before the play starts. Rodgers does now, from time to time, and he can exploit them. But Favre sees stuff coming on every play. There was a really effective play by the Vikings where they crossed Harvin and another W across Harris and Woodson in man coverage. Favre just patiently waited for Harvin to clear - and boom goes the dynamite. Packers ran Jones in motion and ran him underneath across the formation and Rodgers held the ball, even though Jones was his first read - was he looking for the TD shot? He got sacked. The ball has to come out - ZING - like that - especially against an aggressive defense. Favre had more time, and was on his game. Rodgers had less time and hesitated - especially in the first half. Game over.

Favre has always been special, but even he struggled with reads when he was young, he just had an unbelievable arm and could make throws late. Also Favre doesn't second guess himself he makes the read good or bad, and throws the damn football. Rodgers has a good arm, especially on deep balls but he doesn't have the arm of Brett Favre, that only comes around once or twice a generation.

I am not trying to blow Favre here, I just think the comparision need to be made to show where Rodgers is in his development. Right now he is one of the best QBs when his team is trailing for putting up stats.

Rodgers is still a Tedford QB, a progression guy that has to have thing go in a mechanical sequence. He needs to be more playmaker, it is unfortunate that he only waits until his team is down 21 and in the second half for him to cut loose. If Rodgers gets giggy with it right away this team could rebound in a big way.

[Packers4Ever]

jenkins is right and was referring to al and chuck. the second half was different because they played tight man to man a lot of the time...not all of the time but a lot.

Please forgive the lack of my knowledge here, gbg, but are

you saying man to man should be in more frequent use, or

only in certain situations? (I assume the former)

Thanx !

[mraynrand]

Favre was just money, his accuracy on completed passes was amazing, there were no break downs in coverage, he just threw a very tight ball into a small space over and over again.

QFT. And over and over Favre has the coverage and blitzes figured out before the play starts. Rodgers does now, from time to time, and he can exploit them. But Favre sees stuff coming on every play. There was a really effective play by the Vikings where they crossed Harvin and another W across Harris and Woodson in man coverage. Favre just patiently waited for Harvin to clear - and boom goes the dynamite. Packers ran Jones in motion and ran him underneath across the formation and Rodgers held the ball, even though Jones was his first read - was he looking for the TD shot? He got sacked. The ball has to come out - ZING - like that - especially against an aggressive defense. Favre had more time, and was on his game. Rodgers had less time and hesitated - especially in the first half. Game over.

Favre has always been special, but even he struggled with reads when he was young, he just had an unbelievable arm and could make throws late. Also Favre doesn't second guess himself he makes the read good or bad, and throws the damn football. Rodgers has a good arm, especially on deep balls but he doesn't have the arm of Brett Favre, that only comes around once or twice a generation.

I am not trying to blow Favre here, I just think the comparision need to be made to show where Rodgers is in his development. Right now he is one of the best QBs when his team is trailing for putting up stats.

Rodgers is still a Tedford QB, a progression guy that has to have thing go in a mechanical sequence. He needs to be more playmaker, it is unfortunate that he only waits until his team is down 21 and in the second half for him to cut loose. If Rodgers gets giggy with it right away this team could rebound in a big way.

Yes, Favre struggled with reads a lot - and progressed more slowly than Rodgers so far. I've argued in the past that one of the things that made Favre so tough to beat was that he very often could wait until he receiver got open/after a cut before delivering a ball. Most QBs have to time it up and/or throw to a spot. Favre would just wait until the last second and zip it in there. It's was a huge advantage for 12 years or so. In 2007, you could tell he hit the books and was reading coverages better. Like Rich Gannon, he was in total control. Compare Favre with empty backfield to Rodgers. Rodgers is just a step behind. I think he'll get there eventually. recall that last year they had him doing progression on one side of the field. Now he's looking over the whole filed. Next, he has to get ahead of the coverage and progressions pre-snap.

[Brandon494]

I don't buy it. Capers is good at what he does. Minnesota is just better, and they have a QB that has seen it all. I got the feeling that it didn't matter much what we did. We blitzed and got burned. We sat back and got burned. I thought he was way too conservative in the first game, but I thought he mixed it up well in this game.

OFT

The Vikings have the best RB the league has seen in awhile plus lets not forget Favre is one of the top 3 IMO the league has ever seen. You give him time like that in the pocket and he will burn you all day, we all know this. Vikings are a complete team and I believe they are the team to beat in the NFC, not the Saints.

[Brandon494]

Favre was just money, his accuracy on completed passes was amazing, there were no break downs in coverage, he just threw a very tight ball into a small space over and over again.

QFT. And over and over Favre has the coverage and blitzes figured out before the play starts. Rodgers does now, from time to time, and he can exploit them. But Favre sees stuff coming on every play. There was a really effective play by the Vikings where they crossed Harvin and another W across Harris and Woodson in man coverage. Favre just patiently waited for Harvin to clear - and boom goes the dynamite. Packers ran Jones in motion and ran him underneath across the formation and Rodgers held the ball, even though Jones was his first read - was he looking for the TD shot? He got sacked. The ball has to come out - ZING - like that - especially against an aggressive defense. Favre had more time, and was on his game. Rodgers had less time and hesitated - especially in the first half. Game over.

Favre has always been special, but even he struggled with reads when he was young, he just had an unbelievable arm and could make throws late. Also Favre doesn't second guess himself he makes the read good or bad, and throws the damn football. Rodgers has a good arm, especially on deep balls but he doesn't have the arm of Brett Favre, that only comes around once or twice a generation.

I am not trying to blow Favre here, I just think the comparision need to be made to show where Rodgers is in his development. Right now he is one of the best QBs when his team is trailing for putting up stats.

Rodgers is still a Tedford QB, a progression guy that has to have thing go in a mechanical sequence. He needs to be more playmaker, it is unfortunate that he only waits until his team is down 21 and in the second half for him to cut loose. If Rodgers gets giggy with it right away this team could rebound in a big way.

Yes, Favre struggled with reads a lot - and progressed more slowly than Rodgers so far. I've argued in the past that one of the things that made Favre so tough to beat was that he very often could wait until he receiver got open/after a cut before delivering a ball. Most QBs have to time it up and/or throw to a spot. Favre would just wait until the last second and zip it in there. It's was a huge advantage for 12 years or so. In 2007, you could tell he hit the books and was reading coverages better. Like Rich Gannon, he was in total control. Compare Favre with empty backfield to Rodgers. Rodgers is just a step behind. I think he'll get there eventually. recall that last year they had him doing progression on one side of the field. Now he's looking over the whole filed. Next, he has to get ahead of the coverage and progressions pre-snap.

Of course, Favre has 17 year of starting experience under this belt. Aaron Rodgers doesnt even have a year and a half yet. Aaron Rodgers is only 25, people are putting way too much pressure on him to win right away. He is only a year older than Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco. Even though those guys did lead their teams to the playoffs, one had the best running game in the league and the other the best defense. Right now Aaron Rodger has neither of those to go along with a horrible line. Season is not over yet but its time for TT to start giving ARod help.

[esoxx]

Vanilla Dom?

[retailguy]

Vanilla Dom?

Not even close. He's better than that. :P

Scheme changes take time. We knew, or should have known that. I'm trying to be patient.

Pressure on the DL is pissing me off, but I'm mostly fine with the rest of it.

[mraynrand]

Favre was just money, his accuracy on completed passes was amazing, there were no break downs in coverage, he just threw a very tight ball into a small space over and over again.

QFT. And over and over Favre has the coverage and blitzes figured out before the play starts. Rodgers does now, from time to time, and he can exploit them. But Favre sees stuff coming on every play. There was a really effective play by the Vikings where they crossed Harvin and another W across Harris and Woodson in man coverage. Favre just patiently waited for Harvin to clear - and boom goes the dynamite. Packers ran Jones in motion and ran him underneath across the formation and Rodgers held the ball, even though Jones was his first read - was he looking for the TD shot? He got sacked. The ball has to come out - ZING - like that - especially against an aggressive defense. Favre had more time, and was on his game. Rodgers had less time and hesitated - especially in the first half. Game over.

Favre has always been special, but even he struggled with reads when he was young, he just had an unbelievable arm and could make throws late. Also Favre doesn't second guess himself he makes the read good or bad, and throws the damn football. Rodgers has a good arm, especially on deep balls but he doesn't have the arm of Brett Favre, that only comes around once or twice a generation.

I am not trying to blow Favre here, I just think the comparision need to be made to show where Rodgers is in his development. Right now he is one of the best QBs when his team is trailing for putting up stats.

Rodgers is still a Tedford QB, a progression guy that has to have thing go in a mechanical sequence. He needs to be more playmaker, it is unfortunate that he only waits until his team is down 21 and in the second half for him to cut loose. If Rodgers gets giggy with it right away this team could rebound in a big way.

Yes, Favre struggled with reads a lot - and progressed more slowly than Rodgers so far. I've argued in the past that one of the things that made Favre so tough to beat was that he very often could wait until he receiver got open/after a cut before delivering a ball. Most QBs have to time it up and/or throw to a spot. Favre would just wait until the last second and zip it in there. It's was a huge advantage for 12 years or so. In 2007, you could tell he hit the books and was reading coverages better. Like Rich Gannon, he was in total control. Compare Favre with empty backfield to Rodgers. Rodgers is just a step behind. I think he'll get there eventually. recall that last year they had him doing progression on one side of the field. Now he's looking over the whole filed. Next, he has to get ahead of the coverage and progressions pre-snap.

Of course, Favre has 17 year of starting experience under this belt. Aaron Rodgers doesnt even have a year and a half yet. Aaron Rodgers is only 25, people are putting way too much pressure on him to win right away. He is only a year older than Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco. Even though those guys did lead their teams to the playoffs, one had the best running game in the league and the other the best defense. Right now Aaron Rodger has neither of those to go along with a horrible line. Season is not over yet but its time for TT to start giving ARod help.

I don't disagree with much of what you write. I think Rodgers is pretty good and will continue to improve. Except for raw throwing strength, he is further along in his career than Favre was after a similar number of starts. I don't think there is much Thompson can do to help Rodgers this year. But in the future, Ted has to get a lot better with the pro player aspect of GMing.

[pbmax]

Rodgers is still a Tedford QB, a progression guy that has to have thing go in a mechanical sequence. He needs to be more playmaker, it is unfortunate that he only waits until his team is down 21 and in the second half for him to cut loose. If Rodgers gets giggy with it right away this team could rebound in a big way.

I think he needs to be re-Tedfordized. McCarthy all but said Rodgers is skipping the progression and free-lancing when he is holding the ball after the Vikings game (the first one). At the time it was refusing to check down and looking to go deep. I have no idea what he was waiting for in the first half this go around.

I think he is hanging onto that ball TRYING to be a playmaker in the pocket. I would settle for mechanical and if those two or three reads are not open, run like the wind. You made a point earlier that he does not seem to be comfortable throwing to the middle. I had not noticed this before and he certainly goes deep to the middle, but its something to watch. Finley's injury might have had something to do with it.