Brady Poppinga

[HarveyWallbangers]

no, no. Lenon was nothing like Thomas. Lenon was consistent, just lacking in speed. He had a lot of good games last year. Thomas is out of the league, Lenon is now a starter.

Thomas plays for the Raiders. Lenon is starting because the Lions have two guys injured that would normally start over him. Teddy Lehman would be the starter--along with Boss Bailey and Ernie Sims. Lehman is out, and Lewis has been starting. Now, Lewis is injured. Really, he's the Lions 5th LB, but he's starting because of the two other injuries.

[Harlan Huckleby]

Thomas plays for the Raiders.

Oh, Robert Thomas, I thought KY was resurrecting Joey Thomas, a true bum.

Lenon got a lot of positive reviews last year from McGinn and others, game by game. Since he came into the league undrafted, and doesn't have speed of a great linebacker, he got labeled as a poor player by the fans, and the label stuck. I liked him for the same reason I like Kampman, he is assignment sure and gets better every year.

[Tony Oday]

Taylor can't play... I'll have to go back and look at the tape, but from what I watched of Poppinga in coverage, he was OK.

He'll never be able to stay with a WR, and when he is, that's not his fault, that's Bob Sanders fault...

Poppinga is a football player, and God knows the Packers need those type of guys on the field. It's up to Sanders to protect him against mismatches.

How often do you see Jeramiah Trotter covering WR's??? Trotter is just as big a liability in coverage as is Poppinga, but Philly's Def Coord is smart enough to make sure Trotter isn't exposed.

Poppinga hasn't shown the instincts I thought he would, but most of the blame, at least at this point, I think has to go to Sanders. The defense overall looks terrible, so until they begin to shore things up in all areas, I'm not ready to bench anybody.

Can we bench Sanders and Schottenheimer???

Pop had another terible game. He is not a good football player. He is a camp body that got by on energy and potential. He is terrible in pass coverage against TEs taht Grady Jackson could cover and cant diagnose a run play if he was in the offenses huddle. NOW his plusses are if you run RIGHT at him he can make a stop 75% of the time. The second he has to defend anything besides his rightful place on the bench he is lost.

Taylor should be out there he looked OK in the game but that is comparing him to Pop.

My question is why not use a 'big motor' guy to attack the line and chase down plays as a WLB and move Hawk into coverage? He seems like he can do it all.

[SkinBasket]

I liked him for the same reason I like Kampman, he is assignment sure and gets better every year.

Yeah. He knew his assignment. He just couldn't play for shit. That's the kind of guy I want around. Someone who knows what they're supposed to be doing, but doesn't have the ability to do it right.

Any way you slice it, Poppinga's been more of a liability that a contirbutor on defense. You can talk about what he can do all day long, but until he does it, it don't mean squat.

[wist43]

I'll try to look at the tape tonight...

One thing is for sure, teams are going to continue to target Poppinga on early downs, and Sanders has to figure out how to deal with it. I would expect Poppinga to improve over time, but I don't have much faith at all, that Sanders will be of any help.

I've never been a big fan of the scheme that they're running, and I'm beginning to look at the scheme as being unsound... This scheme is very passive at getting up the field with the LB'ers, and it is very, very vulnerable on the flanks and in the flats. I've come to hate the scheme.

Some people used to argue that Donatell's "slice coverage" was unsound, and I agreed with that to an extent, but what I'm seeing out of Sanders is painful to watch.

Not as bad as Slowik, but not far off... It would appear Sanders is in over his head.

[pbmax]

I thought Pop played better but we have to see the tape to know if he was the man responsible for each of those plays over 5 yards.

I doubt he was primary coverage on Az Hakim on one of his tackles.

If he was and held him to five yards, that's not bad.

[Partial]

I'll try to look at the tape tonight...

One thing is for sure, teams are going to continue to target Poppinga on early downs, and Sanders has to figure out how to deal with it. I would expect Poppinga to improve over time, but I don't have much faith at all, that Sanders will be of any help.

I've never been a big fan of the scheme that they're running, and I'm beginning to look at the scheme as being unsound... This scheme is very passive at getting up the field with the LB'ers, and it is very, very vulnerable on the flanks and in the flats. I've come to hate the scheme.

Some people used to argue that Donatell's "slice coverage" was unsound, and I agreed with that to an extent, but what I'm seeing out of Sanders is painful to watch.

Not as bad as Slowik, but not far off... It would appear Sanders is in over his head.

so if Wist43 is the head coach of the GBP, who is their new defensive coordinator next year and what scheme are they running?

[Fritz]

"he just looks really really lost in space"

Yes. He reminds me of Dr. Smith, particularly. Or maybe Penny.

[wist43]

I'll try to look at the tape tonight...

One thing is for sure, teams are going to continue to target Poppinga on early downs, and Sanders has to figure out how to deal with it. I would expect Poppinga to improve over time, but I don't have much faith at all, that Sanders will be of any help.

I've never been a big fan of the scheme that they're running, and I'm beginning to look at the scheme as being unsound... This scheme is very passive at getting up the field with the LB'ers, and it is very, very vulnerable on the flanks and in the flats. I've come to hate the scheme.

Some people used to argue that Donatell's "slice coverage" was unsound, and I agreed with that to an extent, but what I'm seeing out of Sanders is painful to watch.

Not as bad as Slowik, but not far off... It would appear Sanders is in over his head.

so if Wist43 is the head coach of the GBP, who is their new defensive coordinator next year and what scheme are they running?

The short and simple answer would be to go to a 3-4, but the Packers have an awful lot of $$$ tied up in their DE's, and they have virtually no personnel currently on the roster that would fit the 3-4.

I think the 3-4 offers up advantages both in terms of flexibility on the blitz, as well as with the salary cap. Top flight DE's cost big $$$ and are difficult to find. 6'2", 245 lb LB's are much easier to come by, and they're much cheaper. Give me Pittsburgh's or San Diego's defensive schemes over that bunch of junk the Packers are trotting out there.

The Packers are committed to their scheme, both in terms of financial committment and personnel, so I don't anticipate anything will be done anytime soon.

[KYPack]

Thomas plays for the Raiders.

Oh, Robert Thomas, I thought KY was resurrecting Joey Thomas, a true bum.

Lenon got a lot of positive reviews last year from McGinn and others, game by game. Since he came into the league undrafted, and doesn't have speed of a great linebacker, he got labeled as a poor player by the fans, and the label stuck. I liked him for the same reason I like Kampman, he is assignment sure and gets better every year.

Harlan,

You won't catch me singing the praises of Joey Thomas. Him & Hawkins were two of the worst "cover" people I've ever seen at the NFL level.

Lenon was a hustler without a lot of foot speed. R Thomas made few plays, but has NFL speed and an NFL body. Lenon will probably stick in the league for a good bit.

I'm happier with the new guys, but that's just me.

[run pMc]

so if Wist43 is the head coach of the GBP, who is their new defensive coordinator next year and what scheme are they running?

I'm not speaking for Wist43, but I'm not a big fan of the scheme, either. If GB resigns Barnett and gets another good LB, I'd consider bringing in more Tampa 2. That might make Hodge useless, since I'm not sure if he's quick enough. The coach would be someone well versed in it.

Other thoughts:
GB lacks the personnel for a 3-4, so switching over could be very painful.
Buddy Ryan sucks. Ditto (to a lesser extent) Wade Phillips.
Belichick's staff has been picked over.

I think the secondary coaching is a BIG concern...7 plays of 20+ last week, 9 plays vs. DET. That number should be going down, not up. If GB allows more than 5 vs. Philly, it's a sure L for them.

[SkinBasket]

If GB allows more than 5 vs. Philly, it's a sure L for them.

Westbrook is going to eat this defense alive. Unless we find a way to clone Hawk twice to fill the other two LB spots, find a vampire who can bring Reggie back from the dead, and teach Woodson how to play football in the next week, we're screwed.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Barnett has been solid in coverage. I wouldn't lump him in with Poppinga. Really, our deficiencies are the result of a sporadic pass rush, Poppinga covering RBs and TEs, and Manuel and Collins at times deep.

[Sparkey]

"he just looks really really lost in space"

Yes. He reminds me of Dr. Smith, particularly. Or maybe Penny.

WARNING! WARNING! DANGER, WILL ROBINSON... DANGER!

[Sparkey]

Barnett has been solid in coverage. I wouldn't lump him in with Poppinga. Really, our deficiencies are the result of a sporadic pass rush, Poppinga covering RBs and TEs, and Manuel and Collins at times deep.

Its not just the rass rush. Manuel was beaten in the middle when he failed to slide over and pickup the running back who came out of the flat on the same side the Packers blitzed. Barnett looked average on Sunday.

Poppinga, for all his physical gifts, does not have good instincts dropping back. Seems like he thinks too much on coverage and is always a step or two late because of it.

I loved Hawk though. He looked EXPLOSIVE on the dog.