All Capers Threads merged

[jaybadger82]

Sure. Capers isn't above criticism and the biggest disappointment for me was watching Boldin and Davis smoke our defense in the same part of the field again and again. The safety play was shockingly bad- that's more of a personnel issue.

I liked the strategy of taking away the ground game and making Kaep beat us through the air. The defensive front was disciplined and tough. We just couldn't (or lacked the personnel) to make plays in the secondary. I remain skeptical about all the zone coverage. Seems man-to-man coverage opens the door for some bump and run and gives the coordinator more buttons to try in games like these...

 

[TJV]

Besides most who condemn Capers have acknowledged that the Packers have shown improvement but will these improvements be able to hide or conceal the fact the Capers gets outmaneuvered as he does especially when it matters most.

How did Capers get outmaneuvered in the plays listed in the jsonline article I quoted? I haven’t seen you refute the analysis of those plays. And the analogy to the to the invasion of France would have French soldiers running into each other as they attempted to carry out orders (not saying that didn’t happen!)

BTW, I wouldn't mind another DC next season but whoever it is isn't going to make backup safeties play like starters and no matter how brilliant his schemes, if players are out of position, miss tackles, or just don't make plays, "FIRE _____ (fill in the blank) threads will spring up.

 

[ExpatPacker]

I"m not sure that Capers was outsmarted. It's more that nobody in the secondary made any plays whatsoever that i could see.

 

[13 Times Champs]

I think too much is being made of Burnett not playing. He is certainly better than J Mac but Burnett has not been as solid at safety as some seem to think. McGinn graded him out in 2012 at a B- and he led the team with 11 missed tackles. Our corners didn't play all that well either and though we were tough against the run there was little pass rush. And then there's that zone Capers stayed with.

 

[RockyRaccoon]

The thing about Hayward and Burnett not playing is that you're not just losing two starters, but you end up with guys playing in the secondary who you don't want to be out there: McMillian and Bush. And say what you want to about Burnett, but as bad as the secondary looked as a unit, McMillian was the guy who seemed to be the constant. Constantly getting burned, whiffing on tackles. Burnett's not a superstar by any means, but he's certainly a drastic improvement over 22.

 

[13 Times Champs]

Just wondering how many snaps Bush took. I saw him on the field maybe a couple of times?

 

[RockyRaccoon]

I don't know the number but the point is if Hayward is healthy and playing, Bush doesn't see playing time at all outside of ST. For that matter, House and Hyde don't see nearly as many snaps. The trickle-down effect of losing a starter hurts almost as much as losing the starter himself.

 

[13 Times Champs]

Agree for the most part but you just can't throw Bush out there as a major culprit for our secondary problems.

 

[RockyRaccoon]

Not trying to blame it all on Bush. As you said he didn't seem to play many snaps. I was mostly talking about McMillian. He looked like a boy among men out there on Sunday. So while Burnett certainly isn't the best safety in the game, I think he is heads-and-shoulders above McMillian, and his absence was felt.

 

[13 Times Champs]

No I don't disagree that J Mac was awful and Burnett is better as I said in my initial post. But I don't think Burnett is suddenly going to make us well there. Also, we still have Jennings who had his own problems.

 

[12theTruth]

Just wondering how many snaps Bush took. I saw him on the field maybe a couple of times?

I didn't see him very often. The only thing noteworthy he did good or bad is being planted by Boldin

 

[7thFloorRA]

After some more time to digest that game I think Capers did a pretty good job with the defense from last year to this year. The problem I am seeing is that TT hasn't done **** to get him a decent safety opposite Burnett. That position....especially with capers zone schemes takes time to develop and every time TT misses on a pick it takes 2-3 years to develop the next guy. MD and J Mac are still in that development stage but the results are NOT encouraging. Go and Get Byrd already. Stop being so damn stubborn.

 

[AmishMafia]

You cannot expect a pro bowler at every position. Coaches should have had the backups better prepared to do what they needed to do. I think the 9ers are a very good team, its not all on the Packers. But I do think coaching is mostly to blame for the loss. I don't understand, when Boldin was getting wide open, something didn't change. He was still wide open throughout the game. I would have liked to have seen more blitzing as well, just to keep Kaep on his toes. Kaep, by the way, deserves much of the credit. He is much better than I thought. Accurate passes, patience in the pocket - the 49ers may have found a good one there.

 

[12theTruth]

After some more time to digest that game I think Capers did a pretty good job with the defense from last year to this year. The problem I am seeing is that TT hasn't done **** to get him a decent safety opposite Burnett. That position....especially with capers zone schemes takes time to develop and every time TT misses on a pick it takes 2-3 years to develop the next guy. MD and J Mac are still in that development stage but the results are NOT encouraging. Go and Get Byrd already. Stop being so damn stubborn.

Well you have to improve from last years showing I'd think. Apparently the coaching staff must be OK with the depth they have at safety as you don't see any shuffling as we did at the backup QB position. I'd think the staff has some input as to when a player is so bad (McMillian) that the team needs an immediate upgrade via free agency.

And lets not forget that almost every member of the secondary had problems in some fashion Sunday, against a team without 2 of its top 4 WR's [1st and 3rd] as a unit the secondary pooped the bed. That HAS to reflect on the coordinator is some fashion schematically. Shields and Williams once again were too soft bouncing off opposing WR's. Same old problems that still haven't been addressed through training or scheme. Part of the job as coordinator is to put your team in the best place to succeed. Capers does that very well at times but then it seems that he isn't sometimes the greatest at adapting in game situations. I think Capers wasted the advantage we had on the line of scrimmage on defense yesterday. I felt as though if they mixed it up a bit more in coverages and pressures maybe we could have prevented Kaepernick from feeling so comfy in the pocket.

My feeling is that as long as we have Capers and when we play against dual threat QB's we are going to get shredded. I hope I am wrong. The Packers had 51 tackles on defense yesterday. An extremely low total and 2nd worst in the NFL. That is a byproduct of the Packers D giving up the 2nd most 3rd down conversions in the NFL. The strength of the opponent is definitely a factor but the Packers put out some TERRIBLE numbers yesterday despite the relatively close score. And it was inexcusable that Boldin wasn't double teamed on that last play yesterday . Maybe he was supposed to be bracketed and our players flubbed I'm not for certain.

The Pack will rebound and fare better against teams we match up better against but don't forget Capers history. It speaks volumes. I know I won't.

 

[I_am_smoked_cheddar]

Some team (possibly Seattle) will show the League how to shut down SF. It may take some weeks before this occurs. but I believe it will happen. Their Defence will remain stout, however their claws will be trimmed to a non-lethal length.

 

[Luca]

Just wondering how many snaps Bush took. I saw him on the field maybe a couple of times?

McMillan played all 81 snaps
Jennings, Shields and Williams played 79 snaps
Hyde played 26 snaps
Bush played 22 snaps
Banjo played 4 snaps
House played 2 snaps

 

[12theTruth]

McMillan played all 81 snaps

 

[13 Times Champs]

I assume some of Bush's snaps were on special teams?

 

[BigUps2315]

Our Secondary is garbage. In my opnion the strongest we have is Tramon. And that's not saying much. It killed me that we let go of Woodson. We are failing at stopping the third down conversions. Our D line held their own

 

[Sunshinepacker]

Number one, I don't think anyone foresaw McMillian playing that poorly. He never looked that bad last year. That being said, I can understand why the Packers didn't see the need to sign more safeties since Burnett has been a model of consistency and health over the past two seasons. As for him playing so many snaps on Sunday, the packers didn't really have a whole lot of other options. I mean, Bush played strong safety at times on Sunday, that's how bare the cupboard was.

People also need to remember that the team was missing one of their best corners and their best safety. That's 2 of the 4 best secondary players on the team. I will say that after an offseason in which Capers admitted that Shields is a terrific bump-n-run corner it made no sense to have him playing off the receiver for the entire game and in zone coverage. Shields gave up a lot of yards to Bolding on Sunday and I've got to think much of that is due to him not jamming him at the line; one of Shields' best attributes is recovery speed, why does he need to line up ten yards off a slower receiver like Boldin? Boldin found the holes in our zone D all game. Give the corners a chance to match up with him one-on-one.

 

[RockyRaccoon]

Our Secondary is garbage. In my opnion the strongest we have is Tramon. And that's not saying much. It killed me that we let go of Woodson. We are failing at stopping the third down conversions. Our D line held their own

So Tramon is better than Shields? Hayward? Maybe if we're talking about 2010 Tramon, but not now. And Woodson? Love the guy, but he's on his way out. 2009 was a long time ago by NFL standards.

 

[13 Times Champs]

Shields is better than Tramon right now.

 

[13 Times Champs]

Shields gave up a lot of yards to Bolding on Sunday and I've got to think much of that is due to him not jamming him at the line; one of Shields' best attributes is recovery speed, why does he need to line up ten yards off a slower receiver like Boldin? Boldin found the holes in our zone D all game. Give the corners a chance to match up with him one-on-one.

I don't know which play you are referring to but Capers said Perry was at fault on the 43 yarder by Boldin.

http://espnmilwaukee.com/common/more.php?m=49&post_id=29421

 

[longtimefan]

Our Secondary is garbage. In my opnion the strongest we have is Tramon. And that's not saying much. It killed me that we let go of Woodson. We are failing at stopping the third down conversions. Our D line held their own

Missing top 2 guys doesnt help

 

[Sunshine885500]

In all these posts no one is making light of the fact that GB is still soft at the DB/S positions. They have done a great job in the front 7 and they've improved immensely, however the biggest difference between the Pack - (SF, Seattle, Pittsburgh), etc is that we have no (0) enforcers in their secondary. Having a Safety like M.D.Jennings at 187lbs is ridiculous. Our DB's are SOFT Plain & Simple! They can get as mad as they want by being called soft. Yes they have Ball Skills but NONE of them have been willing to really lay a hit on an offensive player. Does anyone see the difference in the way SF & Seattle DB's come up and HIT?

Until we get that fixed we will be a good Defense, maybe even Great but might never be an Elite Defense.