THE DEFENSE

[Kiwon]

That's my biggest criticism of McCarthy. I don't know why this guy was re-hired here. If it continues, McCarthy better have the 'nads to can this guy this offseason.

Agreed on both points - the hiring of Schottenheimer and the moral integrity of MM's gonads.

[wist43]

I agree about Schottenheimer... you really have to question the quality of this defensive coaching staff.

I wouldn't even question the entire staff, just parts of it.

1. The D-line seems to be playing up to their abilities, and when taken lightly individuals have excelled (for example Kampman against a TE in pass rush) KGB is playing the run better. The tackles make occassional plays, and for the most past haven't been victimized. All you can ask is that the coaches get the best that a player has to offer, and I think that has happened in the D-line. You can't expect them to make stars out of players without star potential.

2. LBers - hard to tell, as the group has been totally revamped. Hawk seems to be coming along quite nicely and shows occassional flashes of what might come in the future. Playing linebacker appears very natural to him. I thought Barnett played very well last week, and was quiet this week. A mistake or two, but no one is perfect Poppinga is a major project; however, in fairness he looked better this week than last week. It will take several weeks more, in all likelihood, to see if he can be a player or not.

3. That leaves only the secondary. Does anyone think these players are playing up to their potential? Any of them? There has been confusion and disarray. Collins (and perhaps Carroll, too) appears to have regressed. Manual is not fitting in smoothly. These are not players like Poppinga, very inexperienced and still learning. Collins should be taking a step forward. The others (Manual, Harris, Woodson, Carroll) should already be there. Yet this is where the mistakes are coming from most often.

As a coordinator, Sanders is still learning. He'll make mistakes.

I agree with just about everything there, Patler...

The DL is playing well enough to win... Hawk played very well yesterday - much better than Barnett, and Poppinga was better in coverage - was exposed a couple of times. You guys know where I stand on Barnett... he was definitely a liability yesterday.

The secondary??? Wow, were they bad... Schottenheimer has to go. We're going to be seeing this all season though, b/c there's no way they'll get rid of him.

[Patler]

The secondary??? Wow, were they bad... Schottenheimer has to go. We're going to be seeing this all season though, b/c there's no way they'll get rid of him.

That is the really sad part. Unless they have gone down hill significantly, Harris and Woodson should be the heart and soul of the pass defense. They should take the two WRs right ot of the game, as Harris did the first 12 games last year. Collins should be stepping up and making plays of significance in pass defense, knocking balls down, intercepting passes, dislodging balls from receivers. He had the one nice tip on Harris' interception, but not another one comes to mind. Manual was brought in to be the "brains" in the backfield, bringing it all together. Carroll should be a very competant 3rd corner.

My only guess is that Schottenheimer does not encourage an aggressive style in the DBs, and the four starters should be aggressive style players.

[bbbffl66]

We had a defense?

[jack's smirking revenge]

We had a defense?

Once upon a time. I think the majority of it was sold when the Packers were selling off chunks of Lambeau turf.

tyler

[LaFours]

We had a defense?

My take was not that we "had a defense," but rather that we "had a defensive coordinator" that was able to get maximum effort from average talent. Bates' ability to get his players to play beyond their potential was, in my mind, the reason our defense played competently last year. Not only was he able to get a high level of output, but he was able to coordinate that output in a way that allowed the position groups to compliment one another very favorably. We lost that chemistry with the departure of Bates. Now all we have is average talent (with intermittent "above average" talent mixed in) and questionable coordination.