Raji's Going To Have To Earn It

[Brandon494]

Raji, Shields, Jones, Finley - hard to see how they can sign all of them.

Unless Finley has a break out season he is pretty much gone, same can be said for Tramon Williams contract. Rodgers new contract is huge but it is actually cap friendly, I could see us resigning 3 of the 4 without a problem.

[wist43]

It's all on Capers, not Raji... If he plays Raji 46,843 snaps, and most of them are on the nose, or that stupid 2-4 he runs, then Raji will have another pedestrian year, and he'll be playing somewhere else next year.

It doesn't make sense to sign anyone on defense... we could be playing a completely different scheme next year, and then we're right back where we were with Kampman. Pickett and Raji are the only fat guys we have, and both of them could be gone next year.

[RashanGary]

It's still up in the air. If Raji has a great year, the Packers have the franchise tag. He has potential to be more important than Jennings was to us and it's highly unlikely he'll command the same dollar amount. I don't think it's a given we lose him.

Let's see how he plays. I like Raji. I think he can be a big-time playmaker for us. He stops the run first, rushes 2nd. That's very different from a guy who gets to shoot gaps. It sounds like he's a little bit of improved hand-work away from getting sacks. Hand fighting, inside, takes a lot of experience and know-how. 3irty1 said it earlier, Raji plays a position where guys don't max out until later in their careers often times. Raji's best could still be to come.

If Raji has a so/so year, he's probably gone. The Packers truly don't play to his skillset like some teams will. If Raji takes yet another step and becomes a rare run stopping player who also gets sacks on his second effort, then he's probably worth top dollar to us too.

[wist43]

It's still up in the air. If Raji has a great year, the Packers have the franchise tag. He has potential to be more important than Jennings was to us and it's highly unlikely he'll command the same dollar amount. I don't think it's a given we lose him.

Let's see how he plays. I like Raji. I think he can be a big-time playmaker for us. He stops the run first, rushes 2nd. That's very different from a guy who gets to shoot gaps. It sounds like he's a little bit of improved hand-work away from getting sacks. Hand fighting, inside, takes a lot of experience and know-how. 3irty1 said it earlier, Raji plays a position where guys don't max out until later in their careers often times. Raji's best could still be to come.

If Raji has a so/so year, he's probably gone. The Packers truly don't play to his skillset like some teams will. If Raji takes yet another step and becomes a rare run stopping player who also gets sacks on his second effort, then he's probably worth top dollar to us too.

What are the odds that Capers changes anything he did from last year??

After the season, all of the comments from the coaching staff led me to believe they think the problems were the players. Making comments to the effect that we needed height and length at DE - viola!!, TT takes Jones in the 1st round, and then promptly does nothing else to help the defense. It's as head-scratching as when we first went to the 3-4, and TT couldn't even be bothered to spend a few draft picks on actual 3-4 players... instead, he throws Kampman out at LOLB, and pushes the "ON" button.

Again, TT says all the time... he doesn't care if a player fits a scheme or not, all he cares about is if he is a good football player. Raji could end up lining up at CB if Capers and TT have their way.

No, if I were Raji, or any defensive player, I'd be looking for the first bus out of town. I think one of the reasons Woodson was let go was b/c he was beginning to speak out about Capers and his idiotic game plans and play calling.

I'd like Raji to stay, but not if it means that Capers stays... and if Capers stays, anything we do on defense with respect to players is a moot point anyway.

[RashanGary]

Again, TT says all the time... he doesn't care if a player fits a scheme or not, all he cares about is if he is a good football player. Raji could end up lining up at CB if Capers and TT have their way.

I see what you're saying. Capers has coached a lot of good defenses with a lot of different types of personnel. The 2010 defense was a unique style defense. Matthews Woodson were his centerpieces. Capers only has one blue-chip defensive player. That's the problem IMO. That would be a problem for any DC.

Right now, envisioning a SB win, I envision our running game being better, Crosby being better and our defense getting a little better across the board. I'm not pinning it all on the defense. I hope the offense, defense and ST's all get a little better.

I'd love one more blue-chip defender to step forward. I don't know if that's going to happen though. We might have to win the SB with AR and Clay as our superstars and a lot of good players around them.

[rbaloha1]

26 tackles and 0 tackles against the niners -- enough said.

[wist43]

I see what you're saying. Capers has coached a lot of good defenses with a lot of different types of personnel. The 2010 defense was a unique style defense. Matthews Woodson were his centerpieces. Capers only has one blue-chip defensive player. That's the problem IMO. That would be a problem for any DC.

Right now, envisioning a SB win, I envision our running game being better, Crosby being better and our defense getting a little better across the board. I'm not pinning it all on the defense. I hope the offense, defense and ST's all get a little better.

Capers is perfectly capable of putting together a solid defense, and good week-in/week-out game plans - but seriously, at this stage of his coaching career (the bitter end) maybe he's searching for some sort of innovative genius immortality?? Playing traditional defenses isn't going to win him any innovation titles - "... let's try this; let's try lining up with 11 DB's; let's try rushing 1; let's try not covering anyone; on and on...

There's no rational explaination for why Capers has been playing the defenses he has - lack of talent notwithstanding.

Yes, I agree that TT, and the Packers have absolutely sucked at drafting defensive players, but playing sound, fundamental football is the remedy to a lack of talent - not trying to be creative and exotic... how many times have you been watching a game, and opposing receivers catch passes well downfield, without a single defender even on the screen??

The players walk off the field pointing fingers at each other... nobody knows what's going on out there - that's on Capers. The things he does are unsound.

I'd love one more blue-chip defender to step forward. I don't know if that's going to happen though. We might have to win the SB with AR and Clay as our superstars and a lot of good players around them.

I seriously doubt you'll be getting any blue chip players any time soon... Jones might be a blue chip player on another team, but certainly not for the Packers, having to play for Dom Capers. Were we 1 miscast DE away from being better than below average??

TT has had multiple chances to draft players that would go a long way to fixing the mess, but passes on good players that would shore up a weakness, for a chance at drafting bartenders that never turn out. When the dust settles, we still have the same mess - or worse, as in what happened in 2011.

We win the SB, but are a very flawed team. Any honest observer could tell that our front seven was a recipe for disaster going into the 2011 season - does TT do anything to help the defense in the 2011 draft?? Of course not... instead we got 2 1/2 players out of the entire draft - Cobb, House - and Green.

Everyone else was complete junk.

Our defense is completely dysfunctional - as it has been for quite a while. TT doesn't care, and Capers is senile... so we're stuck with the mess we have - at least for another year.

[RashanGary]

Capers is perfectly capable of putting together a solid defense, and good week-in/week-out game plans - but seriously, at this stage of his coaching career (the bitter end) maybe he's searching for some sort of innovative genius immortality?? Playing traditional defenses isn't going to win him any innovation titles - "... let's try this; let's try lining up with 11 DB's; let's try rushing 1; let's try not covering anyone; on and on...

Wist, I think people argue with you rather than agree because you're so black and white about things. A bunch of the time, I'm pretty sure you're joking, but you joke about things you're sometimes very serious about, so it's hard to tell the difference.

That said, I agree with this part of your post. MM and DC are big-picture, creative types. I think you are too, for what that's worth. They are certainly guilty of trying to out-clever people. Capers 2010 defense was very special. I think defenses started copying us with the all nickle, all the time defense. But yeah, I do think it's possible Capers is addicted to that power, being smarter than everyone power.

I'd say he keeps it in check, but I get the feeling it's a weakness of his. YOu know what though, every single person, no matter how successful (Hoodie, Lombardi, EVERYONE) have character/personality quirks that keep them from being perfect. What weaknesses are OK? Every guy will have some of them, and it WILL hurt their job. That's just a fact.

[wist43]

Wist, I think people argue with you rather than agree because you're so black and white about things. A bunch of the time, I'm pretty sure you're joking, but you joke about things you're sometimes very serious about, so it's hard to tell the difference.

That said, I agree with this part of your post. MM and DC are big-picture, creative types. I think you are too, for what that's worth. They are certainly guilty of trying to out-clever people. Capers 2010 defense was very special. I think defenses started copying us with the all nickle, all the time defense. But yeah, I do think it's possible Capers is addicted to that power, being smarter than everyone power.

I'd say he keeps it in check, but I get the feeling it's a weakness of his. YOu know what though, every single person, no matter how successful (Hoodie, Lombardi, EVERYONE) have character/personality quirks that keep them from being perfect. What weaknesses are OK? Every guy will have some of them, and it WILL hurt their job. That's just a fact.

I just see the situation on defense as utterly hopeless... we've been on this TT merry-go-round for years now. We got lucky and hot for that stretch of games that brought us a SB - but unless TT takes the blinders off, that really will be a one-fart wonder.

We're just not a very good football team after Rodgers and the receivers. I guess we're about average on defense - Capers drags us down to that. I like a lot of the players, but not all on the same roster, and not all attempting to play in that POS scheme Capers is putting out there. For whatever reason TT and the organization don't see it, or just don't care. I suspect they don't care.

Their focus is offensive football - and of course, inparticular, passing; that's what they strive to do well - everything else is incidental or a distraction. McCarthy has exactly nothing to do with the defense - nothing. It's all Dom. TT goes thru the entire 2011 draft, and only drafts 1 defensive player that has a shot to contribute (House).

How do you explain that?? Our defense was an obvious disaster waiting to happen - TT does nothing; our defense set league records for futility in '11 - McCarthy does nothing.

Then?? The silver-haired genius panics, and does an entire draft of defensive players that don't fit the scheme... WTF?? The defense again sucks major dick - McCarthy does nothing.

Then?? The silver-haired genius drafts another misfit toy in the first round, and ignores solutions to his defensive problems by trading back and taking more ballarina offensive linemen - again, WTF??

How do you explain any of that??

I have no idea how TT can look at his defense and do the things he does... call it ambivalence or indifference, I don't know what to call it. But TT certainly hasn't seemed too concerned about trotting an embarrassment of a defense out on the field.

I hate watch the Packers play defense as much as I hate watching the Patriots play offense - ick

[ThunderDan]

I just see the situation on defense as utterly hopeless... we've been on this TT merry-go-round for years now. We got lucky and hot for that stretch of games that brought us a SB - but unless TT takes the blinders off, that really will be a one-fart wonder.

Yeah, 19 in a row second most in NFL history to the Patriots 21.

[wist43]

Yeah, 19 in a row second most in NFL history to the Patriots 21.

Lucky and hot... yeah, that about sums it up. We're a completely QB and WR driven team - those guys took off and played at an All-World level for a stretch of games; and the rest of the team did just enough.

Everyone has come back down to earth, TT is back to his turtle routine, we can't run block, we can't pass block, we can't stop the run, we can't stop the pass, and our DC has spray painted hair.

I think that about sums up the past 3 seasons

[RashanGary]

Lucky and hot... yeah, that about sums it up. We're a completely QB and WR driven team - those guys took off and played at an All-World level for a stretch of games; and the rest of the team did just enough.

Everyone has come back down to earth, TT is back to his turtle routine, we can't run block, we can't pass block, we can't stop the run, we can't stop the pass, and our DC has spray painted hair.

I think that about sums up the past 3 seasons

We had the #2 scoring defense in the league, I think #2 in yards too that year. And we played some really complete football teams in the post-season/superbowl. We were more than just a WR/QB team. Starks had fresh legs and ran alright too. And our ST's was pretty good, especially during that stretch when our punter really hit his stride as a player.

A lot more than AR and the WR's went right in that stretch, Wist. And that defense was good for more than a 4 or 5 game stretch. They were an elite defense that whole year.

It's like you didn't even watch that 2010 football team. They were good, man. Really good. Sacks, interceptions, great run defense, everything. They were good in every way.

[NewsBruin]

If I were Raji, I'c be super-leery about playing for my next contract. It just seems that if he plays as instructed and structured in previous years of Capers' D, he's going to look like a plugger and space-eater, not the DL type that is going to get the best offers on the market. Also, there's the balance between not enough snaps to feature him and too many snaps to keep him effective.

I understand that MM, and theoretically, Dom Capers, keep the money side separate from the play-calling side, but I fear that someone (agent, family member, fellow NFLer) is going to get in his ear and tell him that he's not being used with 2014 in mind. I know as an overgeneralized group, we Rats take the "He should just shut up and celebrate anything he gets over veteran's minimum for the privilege to play for God's Favorite Athletic Club" for just about every free agent or free agent-to-be, but if it were me playing for next year's supper, that would be a heck of a mind game and a huge temptation to freelance if I thought it would pad my stats.

(Maybe he'll get a Dr's note from Dom Capers when he negotiates with other teams.)

Also, I'm below-skeptical whenever I read an athlete talk about "nutrition." Nutrition. Tauscher, please.

[rbaloha1]

Lucky and hot... yeah, that about sums it up. We're a completely QB and WR driven team - those guys took off and played at an All-World level for a stretch of games; and the rest of the team did just enough.

Everyone has come back down to earth, TT is back to his turtle routine, we can't run block, we can't pass block, we can't stop the run, we can't stop the pass, and our DC has spray painted hair.

I think that about sums up the past 3 seasons

Super Bowl year was a lot of luck with free agents like Howard Green, Zombo playing exceeding well.

[wist43]

Super Bowl year was a lot of luck with free agents like Howard Green, Zombo playing exceeding well.

Good grief, Bush had an interception, Zombo had a sack, and Green had the hurry, that led to the Collins pick and TD.

I'm gonna say those names again - Bush, Zombo, and Green. Do we even win that game without those 3?? And none of 'em is a legit, full time, from scrimmage player.

Lightning in a bottle.