Packers Coaches, Players Entering 2018 with Different Defensive Mindset

Early signs already indicate a change in defensive mindset from Packers players and coaches.

If you read the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel or Packersnews.com, you would have seen an article by Ryan Wood today with the headline “Mike McCarthy to Packers’ defense: ‘You’re not the stepchild.’”

The key quote from McCarthy:

“It’s got to be a mentality. I’m sick and tired of our defense feeling like the stepchild. I mean, how many times do you have to tell them, ‘You’re not the stepchild?’ That’s a blatant statement, and it’s not a cure-all. But it’s definitely a starting point.”

This is about as close as McCarthy’s come over the last five or six years of general defensive futility to clearly acknowledging that the defense has repeatedly let the team down.

In previous years, it would have been easy to respond to this quote with nothing more than an eyeroll. But this offseason, the Packers have made some big changes, most notably the firing of Dom Capers and hiring of Mike Pettine at defensive coordinator. And it’s not just McCarthy who’s alluding to an attitude change.

Consider the words of Mike Daniels, who said he “felt like it was Christmas Day” when he discovered the Packers had hired Pettine.

“I know that’s one thing Pettine is big on, is the accountability,” said Daniels. “He’s not afraid to hurt anybody’s feelings. I’m really looking forward to that. It should make for some interesting meetings. It’ll be a culture change. We need a culture change.”

First and foremost, this is about as damning an indictment on Capers’ ability to reach his players as any quote we’ve ever seen from a Packer defender.

The fact that Daniels, a vocal leader for the defense, felt like players weren’t being held accountable by the coaches and that it was damaging the “culture” of the defense and team as a result is a big eye opener. It’s the kind of thing a fan watching the team might have reasonably suspected when watching the defense continually make mistakes and blow it in big moments over recent years, but also the kind of thing that could never really be confirmed unless a coach or player (like Daniels) actually comes out and says it.

Daniels isn’t the only one to have made similar statement—Damarious Randall and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix both alluded to lack of accountability on the defense toward the end of the season—but his comments are certainly the most forceful and revealing, especially now that Capers is out the door and there’s a new coordinator in town.

I wrote about Mike Pettine’s attitude in his introductory press conference in late January being refreshing and a welcome change of pace from what we were used to out of Capers. He was engaging, intelligent and clearly eager to get his players to “play with great passion and great technique.”

Perhaps we’re already seeing the signs of the “culture shift” Daniels says the defense so sorely needs.

As McCarthy said, a change in mentality is only a “starting point.” But the turnaround has to begin somewhere, and before the Packers have had a chance to make any roster moves or bring the team back for offseason training activities, that sort of shift in mindset is as good a starting point as one can ask for.

 

PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO OUR CHEESEHEAD NATION WEEKLY NEWSLETTER HERE.

__________________________

Tim Backes is a lifelong Packer fan and a contributor to CheeseheadTV. Follow him on Twitter @timbackes for his Packer takes, random musings and Untappd beer check-ins.

__________________________

0 points
 

Comments (59)

Fan-Friendly This filter will hide comments which have ratio of 5 to 1 down-vote to up-vote.
NickPerry's picture

March 02, 2018 at 06:24 am

The turnaround needs to start with players like Martinez and Randall continuing to improve on what they did last season. It needs Clark to continue his rise to being the "Top Dog" on the Packers defensive line. It needs to get BIG jumps from King and Jones and anything from Adams and Biegel. I just posted on a different topic the Packers have had 34 draft picks since and including the 2014 draft. Of those 34 picks they've only gotten about 7 or 8 starters and maybe 2 difference makers.

A different mindset will definitely help. They need to feel they can come up with a key 3rd down stop or goal line stand when they absolutely have to. But at the end of the day, they'll need BIG jumps from the last 2 draft classes to accomplish it.

0 points
0
0
Hawg Hanner's picture

March 02, 2018 at 11:56 am

The observation that the Packers have had 34 draft picks since and including the 2014 draft and of those 34 picks they've only gotten about 7 or 8 starters and maybe 2 difference makers is eye opening. No business could survive such ineptitude for long. Thank God the changes were made.
For those who feel badly about losing Wolf and Highsmith, are not they accountable for the bad results? Did they all tell Thompson one thing and he rejected their advice across the board? There had to be a consensus to a great extent on picks. Those guys were not infallible by any means. Good riddance. Gutekunst in sharing his scouting reports with Murphy probably showed some workups that were more critical and on target about the past picks.

0 points
0
0
TKWorldWide's picture

March 02, 2018 at 07:00 pm

Great tackling will help.
So will getting off blocks, slashing into the backfield, stepping in front of a receiver, trashing the QB,...I could go on and on.
But “eagerly expecting improvement” sums it up.

0 points
0
0
RCPackerFan's picture

March 02, 2018 at 07:37 am

I am really looking forward to seeing the changes made by Pettine.

While they have to add more play makers to the defense, they have a good solid core of players already. Daniels, Clark, Lowry, Martinez, Perry, Mathews, King, Randall, Clinton-Dix, Jones are all guys Pettine can work with.
The obviously have to add players, but what I like most about Pettine is that he will take what he has and make it work.

Gutekunst talked about that at the Scouting Combine. That Pettine can take whatever players they give him and make it work. That to me is one of the best things about Pettine. He will take what he has find their strengths and use it.

This offseason is going to be fun to see what happens. With Gutekunst as the GM, we actually may see them go after some Free Agents. A guy like Muhammad Wilkerson might be an option now. Others as well.

The new Regime has started and it will be fun to watch what happens.

0 points
0
0
JDK52's picture

March 02, 2018 at 01:54 pm

"The obviously have to add players, but what I like most about Pettine is that he will take what he has and make it work."

Totally agree. That's what I'm most excited to see; how good are our guys? I'm definitely one of those saying what we saw last year was not an accurate picture of what this football team can do.

So much to be excited about.

0 points
0
0
Cubbygold's picture

March 03, 2018 at 08:38 am

Agree with both comments. One of the big questions during the Dom/TT years was 'why is dom running the most complex scheme with a bunch of rookies?'. Why wasn't ted supplying smart vets? Why wasn't dom making the system more simple so these young guys could rely on athleticism rather than scheme?

I hope Pettine is the end of that nonsense and we see a defense playing to its strengths. They aren't going to be dominant, but hopefully above average

0 points
0
0
Samson's picture

March 02, 2018 at 08:56 pm

You've listed ten players. --- Believe me, some of these need to go or the "D" will never improve no matter who the DC is.

Talent still rules in the NFL.

0 points
0
0
fthisJack's picture

March 02, 2018 at 07:38 am

in retrospect, Capers should have been fired after that playoff loss to Seattle. in essence , the Packers lost 3 years of Rodgers career watching a horrible defense flounder game after game.
a fresh start is exciting but with limited money for FA, Gute has to completely nail this draft. he has the capitol, so his evaluation of talent will be on the line. they need an impact player on defense plus a couple guys that can start right away and then fill in some much needed depth with guys that will develop.

0 points
0
0
RCPackerFan's picture

March 02, 2018 at 08:52 am

Problem with that was that the 2014 defense was playing really good defense then. And they didn't cost the team the win in that game. About 200 other things cost them the win.
Then the following year is when Shields got hurt, as well as Randall and Rollins were injured changing the defense.

Not necessarily Capers fault for those things.

0 points
0
0
Cubbygold's picture

March 02, 2018 at 09:14 am

Yup, the injuries muddied the water too much for an objective evaluation to take place. Would have been nice if health wasn't a factor. The defense would have either improved, or capers would have been the clear issue

0 points
0
0
DD's picture

March 02, 2018 at 11:35 am

Yeah, use the injury point. Thought in pre-season they had rhe besg depth ever? Explain that to me.

0 points
0
0
Thegreatreynoldo's picture

March 02, 2018 at 02:00 pm

Well, RC, we have two competing theories here. I made a series of comments suggesting that Capers didn't seem like the worst coach I've ever seen - that essentially he got out of this team about what the input suggested he should. Then we have the articles suggesting that the talent on defense is there (though the injury thing to Perry's hand, House's hammie and then back, King's shoulder, even Rollins, despite his abysmal play even before his Achilles rupture, is part of the issue) but just needed better coaching to "unleash" the potential. Hoping it is the latter, and/or that a few new draft picks can improve the input part of the equation.

Looking at it from at $ perspective:

Offense: $85.5M in cap space*, (50% of cap), 6th in NFL.
Offense: $104M by AAV, (57%), 3rd in NFL.
Offense: $92.5M by cash (52%), 5th in NFL.

Defense: $64.2M in cap space, (38%), 20th in the NFL.
Defense: $69M (38%) by AAV, 22nd in NFL.
Defense: $67.5M (38%) by cash, 23rd in NFL.

RESULTS:
Offense: 21st/26th pts/yards (but no AR Usually top 6)
Defense: 26th/22nd pts/yards

Conclusion: We got what we paid for. Mind, the point of a GM is a person with an eye for talent in the draft and a GM/Dir of Player Personnel with an eye for how some other team's player might play better for us than his old team, and coaching, both teaching (ASSTs mostly) and scheme (Coordinators mostly).

0 points
0
0
Samson's picture

March 02, 2018 at 09:00 pm

Please, RC. --- Quit rewriting history with your personal analysis. --- History can be simplified just by accepting it as it actually happened.

0 points
0
0
fastmoving's picture

March 02, 2018 at 12:33 pm

the problem is that in retrospect everything is easy and clear to evaluate. unfortunately its not the case with the future, even if some guys here act that way.........

0 points
0
0
John Kirk's picture

March 02, 2018 at 07:10 pm

There are certain people who said very unpopular (relative to the majority view of the base) things about Ted, Mike and Dom DURING the times many perceived as good. Those guys shouldn't be panned, they should be deferred to as having the vision that some didn't.

I believed Ted and Dom were holding this team back for years, and MM as well. I'm actually very surprised McCarthy made it through these rounds of changes. He shouldn't have. He along with Murphy are the two chief enablers in the organization playing their loyalty and buddy club cards to the point we are where we are now.

Pettine is like drafting Aaron Rodgers to me. It's one of those things you just can't believe happened for you. Hoping his old relationship with Wilkerson might coax Mo over here, if we can afford that.

Attitude is everything. I hope Pettine transcends the defense and permeates the entire roster and organization with his brash aggressiveness. Been a hard watch these last several seasons.

0 points
0
0
dobber's picture

March 02, 2018 at 07:48 am

I think we've all said it at one point or another, and that's that the Packers on the defensive side of the ball have been less than the sum of their parts for several years, and it finally reached a head last fall when they were just plain painful to watch.

A new coach who can get the defense to play at the level of its talent will make some gains with the current personnel. That's a small leap unto itself. If Pettine can get this roster group to play meaningfully better than the sum of its parts (which might take a little time), he'll have earned every penny he's paid and then some. I think that's what he's going to have to do...I don't see a star-studded cavalry coming this off-season to bail this unit out.

0 points
0
0
Thegreatreynoldo's picture

March 02, 2018 at 02:03 pm

See my post above. Question is whether what you just wrote is true.

0 points
0
0
dobber's picture

March 02, 2018 at 02:58 pm

???

0 points
0
0
Thegreatreynoldo's picture

March 02, 2018 at 03:28 pm

Sorry, from a money standpoint, our rankings by AAV, Cap, Cash devoted to defensive players corresponds closely to the results, if results equal our rankings for points allowed and yards allowed. So, Capers produced results in line with what the money rankings suggest he should have.

Not saying that is correct. Just trying to use an objective, quantifiable, measure and applying it to Capers. The point in a capped league is to get more than one pays for - surplus value. I concluded Capers got no surplus value by $ but didn't have much, if any, negative value. That would imply he was an average DC.

0 points
0
0
Thegreatreynoldo's picture

March 03, 2018 at 05:58 am

I couldn't agree more, Jonathan. My theory is missing a way to quantify draft capital and then convert it to money. Money is objective, quantifiable, a fact, but facts have varying analytical value. From 2009 when Dom was hired, he got 7 first rounders, 6 second rounders, and 4 third rounders (17 picks). The offense got 8 picks, with 2 firsts and 4 seconds, and 2 thirds.

IDK how to convert 7 firsts vs. 2 firsts for the offense. If the GM has any kind of an eye for Defensive talent (subjective opinion), then we can assume that Dom got more personnel and personnel with more talent than the offense did, and since they were all on rookie contracts, the AAV/Cap/Cash value of the defensive talent was artificially depressed.

Happy to reach a new conclusion: Given the above, Dom's defenses should have done better than the results we got. How much better is hard to quantify, and it depends on one's subjective opinion as to whether TT had an eye for defensive talent or simply drafted 17 guys who had talent deficits relative to their draft position.

0 points
0
0
dobber's picture

March 03, 2018 at 05:38 am

I have to side with Spader to a degree here, TGR. It's one thing to use salaries to talk about investment in talent. Salaries can show in a variety of ways how a team is providing at certain positions...but it's also skewed by age (rookie contracts) and experience. You can have a large number of very talented contributors on cheap deals who are going to push that AAV argument down.

The Packers have 3 big contracts on defense (Daniels, Perry, Matthews) and then Burnett's middling contract. After that? Mostly guys on rookie deals. The offense is a far more veteran group, and any team with a veteran QB will always skew the numbers toward offense. My question for you on this analysis is: how many teams are you going to look at? Is it just GB? What does a single data point tell you? It's possible that your analysis, even over several teams, may give you only a modest correlation.

I'll stand by my argument, though, by invoking the quasi-ambiguous 'eye-test'. This defense played like crap in 2017. There was more confusion than cohesion, and it failed to come together as the season progressed...it actually regressed. We can make game-flow and TOP arguments for that, but IMO this defense should have been more than it was.

0 points
0
0
Thegreatreynoldo's picture

March 03, 2018 at 06:03 am

I was writing my post above in which I agreed with Jonathan, and didn't see yours until now. Yes, the money standing alone certainly has shortcomings as an analytical tool, and GB happens to have a draft pattern that probably is more skewed than most.

0 points
0
0
flackcatcher's picture

March 03, 2018 at 07:33 pm

I agree with both of you on this thread. The missing factor is the influence of the head coach on that side of the ball. As we all know, McCarthy is loath to fire 'his guys'. The classic example is Moss, the current LB coach. Before that Slocum, the ST coach. As the season went on last year, the performance on both sides of the ball degraded, then fell off a cliff. And we all know MM has a nasty habit of not taken responsibility for the failure of his coaches. What happened to cause the collapse of the coaching staff is unknown to us, but inside 1265 they know. Not all the failures are the GM and front office fault.

0 points
0
0
freddisch's picture

March 02, 2018 at 07:52 am

What took MM so long to recognize that the defense was not holding up its end of the deal? Even the casual fan could see this was the case over the past few years. This lack of accountability lies squarely on MMs shoulders.

0 points
0
0
DD's picture

March 02, 2018 at 11:33 am

Has he changed the offense in 12 years? Enough said.

0 points
0
0
Samson's picture

March 02, 2018 at 09:04 pm

2018 is MM's year. --- If the Pack should fall even further with or without AR, MM is gone. --- My guess, 2018 is a continuation of 2017 and a new HC is introduced sometime in January, 2019.

0 points
0
0
4thand1's picture

March 02, 2018 at 07:56 am

I would like to see an edge rusher in FA. Then BAP in the draft. FA will stress the cap and draft picks won't, that's what Ball and Ted were all about. Trouble is you can miss on FA and the draft and FA miss hurts more IMO.

0 points
0
0
4thand1's picture

March 02, 2018 at 07:56 am

I would like to see an edge rusher in FA. Then BAP in the draft. FA will stress the cap and draft picks won't, that's what Ball and Ted were all about. Trouble is you can miss on FA and the draft and FA miss hurts more IMO.

0 points
0
0
dellis0540's picture

March 02, 2018 at 08:30 am

Quality ER's very hard to come by in FA. Most are tagged or extended.

I do think we could get an upgrade at CB and/or WR in FA though and not have to break the bank.

0 points
0
0
Community Guy's picture

March 02, 2018 at 08:31 am

all of this "stepchild" talk in context concerns me. the head coach is probably an elite offensive mind, he always has nothing but praise for his QB1, and, has admitted to spending weeks with his "new" OC this offseason to prepare.

outside of hiring a new DC and making suggestions in the media about the defense getting a new attitude, McCarthy seems to be doing nothing to support the improvement of the defense. how about doing more to support Pettine and how about developing closer relationships with a couple of defenders?

any culture change starts with the head coach.. the head coach is head of the whole team, not just the offense.

0 points
0
0
Cubbygold's picture

March 02, 2018 at 09:18 am

If MM has something of value to the defense, sure. But if he's an offensive minded coach, we prob want him to take a step back and allow pettine to work his majic. There's not much MM could have done this offseason to improve the defense besides fire capers and get a competant DC. If august rolls around and the defense hasn't recieved a few more weapons, then he'll deserve some criticism

0 points
0
0
DD's picture

March 02, 2018 at 11:30 am

Is he not the head coach? How long? Your logic doesn't make sense to me.

0 points
0
0
DD's picture

March 02, 2018 at 11:31 am

MM is a failure at change!

0 points
0
0
JDK52's picture

March 02, 2018 at 01:59 pm

What on Earth are you talking about? So hiring one of the most highly-regarded defensive coordinators available is doing nothing to support the defense? You also know nothing about his involvement with the players, so suggesting he acts like he's only coaching the offensive players is kind of...offensive.

0 points
0
0
Thegreatreynoldo's picture

March 02, 2018 at 02:05 pm

I don't think it is offensive. In truth, I'd suggest that it is the "house opinion." I don't know whether it is true, but I think it is widely accepted.

0 points
0
0
JDK52's picture

March 02, 2018 at 02:29 pm

Excuse my attempt at wordplay, but that's not really important.

"House opinion" isn't tied to anything other than perception, which is obviously without any basis in fact. Honestly I don't know why I engaged in that particular line of discussion simply because I get so sick of this constant harping on things not one of us fans can ever know; how any of these guys behave in their day to day jobs.

We can't know if he acts like he only coaches the offense. So using that baseless inference as a means to judge him is silly.

0 points
0
0
dobber's picture

March 03, 2018 at 10:40 am

Tom Clements, not EB, but point taken....that was the lost offensive season of 2015.

0 points
0
0
Thegreatreynoldo's picture

March 03, 2018 at 04:21 pm

Didn't MM say he was going to spend more time with STs as well? And didn't we have an uptick in our ST ranking from the guy in Dallas?

IDK, guess I thought it was common for a HC to be really in charge of either Offense or Defense, and have coordinators that essentially ran the other departments.

It seems like folks want to have these things every which way depending on whether it suits their narrative (but I could be conflating two different posters' opinions). I mean, if Philbin, Capers, and Slocum really ran the Offense, Defense, and STs with MM supervising all of them equally, then it seems reasonable that MM should shoulder more of the blame for STs under Slocum and Defense under Capers than posters are wont to assign to him, and less of the acclaim for GB's offensive prowess. We know MM called the offensive plays, and all reports indicate that Capers called the defensive plays/schemes to be used each down; there is already a disparity there.

Also, "house opinion" means it isn't my personal weirdo pet theory, but the generally accepted opinion of the majority. True, a house opinion is not necessarily true or correct, just it isn't tainted by one's own personal animus. By definition, if one doesn't agree with the "house opinion" then one has a minority opinion, which of course might still be correct. I've been pounding the table for months, really a year, opining that our cap situation isn't healthy, but it was not the house opinion.

0 points
0
0
Roadrunner23's picture

March 02, 2018 at 08:57 am

Let's face it, complacency had set in at 1265 Lombardi from thePresident - GM - HC and on down to the players as long as #12 was pulling games out of his AZZ!
We all new that something wasn't right with Thompson, it was quite obvious in his rare and strangely incoherent press conferences. We all new the Defensive players didn't connect and didn't respect Dom Capers yet nothing was done. Unfortunately it took a major injury to Aaron Rodgers and subsequent horrific Quarterback play by Brett Hundley to expose all of the warts in this team from the Front Office on down! The Packers don't lack talent but they do need a culture change! Hopefully Gute is a bit more aggressive than his predecessor.
The White Hair still lurks in the dark bowels of Lambeau, watching with his unblinking owl eyes.
Let's hope Gute is strong enough to be his own man.

0 points
0
0
4thand10's picture

March 03, 2018 at 07:44 am

"The White Hair still lurks in the dark bowels of Lambeau, watching with his unblinking owl eyes.
Let's hope Gute is strong enough to be his own man."

This is awesome.

0 points
0
0
Since'61's picture

March 02, 2018 at 09:04 am

It's been obvious for years that the defense was holding this team back going all the way back to the 2012 season when Kaerpernick shredded them in the playoffs.

Many of us have posted for years that Capers and the defense were not getting the job done.
MMs comment makes me wonder what has he been watching and doing all these years. Ultimately the buck stops with him. Why would he keep Capers all these years and allow the defense to fail? It makes me think that something has been and may still be very wrong with how things are run in Green Bay. Maybe all of this is the reason that Murphy has finally stepped in.
Looking forward maybe Pettine can get the defense straightened out and inject a nasty attitude that has been sorely missing. Plus if we can sign an FA or 2 to provide some veteran leadership we have a chance to win an SB or 2 before Rodgers time is up. Thanks, Since '61

0 points
0
0
egbertsouse's picture

March 02, 2018 at 09:23 am

So far it’s only been talk, talk, talk coming from 1265 Lombardi. I’m waiting for some action before I believe all the hype.

0 points
0
0
dobber's picture

March 02, 2018 at 09:40 am

That's what Dom Capers said as he arrived at his office this morning....WHOOPS!!!

0 points
0
0
DD's picture

March 02, 2018 at 11:29 am

I agree. Wait and see. Give them a chance? Have my doubts based on past practice. Hope I'm so wrong!!

0 points
0
0
JDK52's picture

March 02, 2018 at 02:01 pm

Wait and see.

What you'll see is what you've (almost) always seen; lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of winning.

0 points
0
0
Tundraboy's picture

March 02, 2018 at 11:48 am

Captain Obvious. Or Captain Clueless?

0 points
0
0
DD's picture

March 02, 2018 at 11:27 am

MM. Defense the stepchild? Hell, you may want to review your non creative, no scheme, predictable, easy to defend, excuse ridden, no improvrment offense. No Rodgers and MM would have been gone with Capers in 2012. Five years to late with Capers, and we still keep MM? Folks, he's the head coach!! If you want division titles and meltdown playoff games then the answer is keeping MM. Suffer the children!!

0 points
0
0
JDK52's picture

March 02, 2018 at 02:08 pm

You must have just shown up. Let me explain:

McCarthy fired Capers, replaced him with Pettine. As a coordinator, he's never had a poor defense.

McCarthy then told Bennett he wasn't OC anymore, replaced him with Philbin. In the process said he literally threw out the playbook and is rebuilding it with Philbin's direct input. Hint: this is good. Philbin's offense back in 2011 was when Rodgers literally set the NFL record for best QB performance. Ever.

Complain all you want, and I have no doubt you will continue to do so, but McCarthy is doing his job a hell of a lot better than you could.

So quit your whining. Geez. Suffer the children indeed.

0 points
0
0
Samson's picture

March 02, 2018 at 09:08 pm

When was DD the HC in Green Bay?
MM has been "over his head" for years. -- AR has allowed him to have a career in the NFL.

0 points
0
0
Cubbygold's picture

March 03, 2018 at 08:49 am

Well said

0 points
0
0
Thegreatreynoldo's picture

March 03, 2018 at 04:41 pm

" McCarthy is doing his job a hell of a lot better than you could."

Wonderful. If you can coach better than a casual fan off the street, you, too, can be a coach of the Green Bay Packers. Swell.

0 points
0
0
stockholder's picture

March 02, 2018 at 12:02 pm

Ok - Mindset! Sign Wilkerson! Trade Cobb to NO. w/ a 3rd ,plus 5th comp. for their first #27 Next trade Mathews to Buffalo and a 4th and 5th comp. for the KC pick #1-22. Next Trade Ha Ha Dix and Ryan w/two 7s to Pittsburgh for their #1-28. Also Trade the #14 pick to NE for their #1, their #2 pick next year, and Ne/SF pick 43. Next trade Spriggs and Ty Montgomery to the Jets for #49 from SF. Nick Perry and NE 2019 pick to Tenn. for Pick #57. You now have wikerson DL. #22 , #27, #28, #31, #43, #45, #49. #57, 8 new picks. I'm just expecting to much!

0 points
0
0
Since'61's picture

March 02, 2018 at 08:51 pm

You're expecting too much because why should any of teams you mention take on Cobb's contract or Matthews contract or Perry's and the question marks with Dix, Spriggs, Ryan and Monty? They can draft their own problems without trading their draft picks to us. However, I would have no problem if the Packers tried to pull it off. There's no harm in trying. Thanks, Since '61

0 points
0
0
Bure9620's picture

March 02, 2018 at 01:31 pm

They could play some 4-3 under in base which is where I think Nick Perry would be significantly more effective than as a stand up EDGE.
I see this scheme fitting the Packers personnel much better. Now they need another good cover corner.

0 points
0
0
Thegreatreynoldo's picture

March 02, 2018 at 02:13 pm

Excellent, Bure. CM3 looks like a good Sam 'backer, too. Lowry as our true 5T but he'd have to show more pass rush. I'm not a fan of Wilkerson, but Pettine has some sort of relationship with him- I'm content with Pettine and the FO deciding about Wilkerson value to GB. Josh Jones at Will, or perhaps a Roquan Smith. Edmunds projects like a good SAM as well.

0 points
0
0
Christopher Gennaro's picture

March 02, 2018 at 06:30 pm

I agree with 4-3 for awhile now especially in base, mainly do to just the players. Sadly this is not news to lot of fans. For me that was one of the problems, with some of drafts of the past. Too many times the phrase square peg round hole was used to describe people Like D Jones Perry and others. Hopefully the defense can to geared to players strength a bit more, and please no more 25 30 yards off the ball. I am no defensive genius, but seems counterproductive.

0 points
0
0
Cartwright's picture

March 02, 2018 at 02:55 pm

"It’ll be a culture change. We need a culture change." How do you change the culture with the same defensive
coaching assistants. McCarthy only fired the capo but he kept his cronies. What kind of culture change is that.

Hope Coach Pettine has the leeway to get rid ofthe old baggage if these assistants are only putting out more of the same (ie. being lenient, accepting excuses, not coaching with passion and just going through the motions because their in good with the head coach).

If the culture is really going to change people have to be held accountable, with real consequences, this not only applies to the players, but the coaches as well.
Seeing how McCarthy has handled things I'll believe it when I see it.

0 points
0
0
Cubbygold's picture

March 03, 2018 at 08:52 am

We don't know what goes on behind closed doors, but Id hope Rodgers is applying this pressure as well. He doesn't have to resign, and so i hope hes using his leverage to advocate for change where change is needed. Obviously we don't want 12 acting as GM, but anyone whose sitting around being complacent should realize their security net could walk out the door soon if mediocre decisions continue to be made

0 points
0
0
DD's picture

March 03, 2018 at 10:31 am

I think the article is correct. Defense is fundamentals, positions, and attitude. We need to play with confidence and aggression as a team. We need an mental mindset with a chip on our shoulders! I think Pettine can bring it, especially with Daniels style and leadership. Put 10 other Daniels on the defense and offenses beware!

0 points
0
0