Another Maalox Moment

Maalox Moment

I absolutely hate playing wounded teams and especially struggling quarterback, especially now that Defensive Coordinator Dom Capers has survived another week. The Lions are the epitome of dysfunction with both the team in general and quarterback Matt Stafford in particular stuck in a funk. With the last three games as my only yardstick I could be swigging Maalox early and often with a green liquor chaser (last week's desperation shot of choice).

 

Any hope for Capers being fired any time soon or possibly ever has been squashed after Head Coach Mike McCarthy was quoted as saying, "discipline in his approach" is Capers’ best attribute as a coordinator. "I think it says a lot about the man. He believes. He believes in the system. He believes in the players. He believes in the program. We’re very fortunate to have him here, and he’s been an excellent – not only defensive coordinator – but he’s been very good from a head-coaching perspective to bounce things off of." Like maybe asking how to cope when your area of responsibility sucks.

 

Like the saying goes Capers will have to found in bed with a dead girl or a live boy to be fired as long as McCarthy is his boss. I tried to stop criticizing Capers several weeks ago, but the defense has totally fallen apart since then and I had break my promise and say it like it is.

 

Cornerback is a major issue on the team with injuries again raising their ugly heads.

 

Sam Shields will probably miss his second straight game with a shoulder injury after being listed as questionable. Casey Hayward suffered a concussion last week, but is listed as probable. Quinten Rollins is listed as probable with a neck issue after missing last week. Damarius Randall is listed as probable with an illness issue. And safety/slot corner Micah Hyde is listed as probable with a quad problem.

 

Last week Randall and Demetri Goodson played the major of the game against the Panthers as the outside corners. Randall started in place of Shields and finished with 5 unassisted tackles, 1 interception and 2 passes defensed. Goodson came in when Hayward went out and finished with 3 unassisted tackles, 2 assisted tackles. Both got beat for long passes and touchdowns.

 

I would guess Randall and Hayward will start. Capers hasn't shown much faith in Rollins yet, so Goodson might be the top reserve again if needed.

 

If you were wondering about last year's No. 1b and No. 2 cornerbacks Tramon Williams has started all 9 games for the Browns with 45 tackles (34 unassisted) with 5 passes defensed and no interceptions. Davon House has started 7 of 8 games for the Jaguars (he wasn't listed as injured in week 7 against the Bills and ended up playing in the game and started the following game after the bye, so I don't know why he didn't start that game). He has 22 tackles (21 solo) with 12 passes defensed and no interceptions.

 

Morgan Burnett returned to the lineup to no avail

Strong safety Morgan Burnett returned to lineup last week and it made absolutely no difference. Outside linebacker Nick Perry also returned to the lineup and he made absolutely no difference. Except for Shields the starting defense from the first three games was intact, but this disaster movie was back for its third sequel.

 

Ha Ha not laughing

Free safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix had probably his worse game as a Packers, including last year's playoff loss to the Seahawks. His sideline tirade with Julius Peppers and B.J. Raji showed how bad it's getting on the defensive side of the field, but there is absolutely no man on a white horse ready to ride in and save the defense, so the solution will have to come from within.

 

Putting the secondary aside, we might have seen another lineup change last week. I've been talking about the bad play of Nate Palmer as Clay Matthews partner at inside linebacker. Last week No. 4 draft pick Jake Ryan from Michigan replaced him during the game and led the led the team in tackles with 10 (6 solo) and one for a loss. It would be quite fitting that he would make his first start of the season again a Michigan team.

 

One thing about #47 Ryan and #48 Joe Thomas for that matter. I do not like linebackers having jersey numbers in the 40's. I think linebacker numbers should be in the 50's and 60's while the 40's should be reserved for running backs and defensive backs.