For the umpteenth time since 2010 the defense let down the Packer offense in the loss to the Atlanta Falcons Sunday.
With Aaron "R-E-L-A-X" Rodgers seemingly channeling his old self for the second week in a row it was left to the Ted Thompson/Dom Capers led defense to come up with a big play or shut down the Matt Ryan and the Falcons air game, but as could be predicted, and I did at the time, they didn't and the Packers lost 33-32.
Before I get into my analysis I want to say something about the argument being made for why the Packers defense is below par. The Tedders are hanging their "suckup" hats on injuries being the main culprit (i.e. being without Clay Matthews, Sam Shields, Damarious Randall and Quinten Rollins), but injuries are part of the NFL and the truly great teams have backups that step in and step up.
Randall did that last year when he was forced to play, but this year he was more of a liability being beat down the sidelines on a fairly regular basis. Clay Matthews' return to the outside has been a marginal success at best. Nick Perry and at times Datone Jones are playing better Matthews.
Benching Julius Peppers has also been a disaster. If he has slipped that much to warrant being a situational pass rusher then why is he being paid like a full-time All-Pro starter. This is his last year and I bet he has one more left as a full-timer. If not, as Dom Capers and Mike McCarthy seem to think, then cut him and bring in some big time younger help.
Taking the injuries into account that still left the entire defensive line, as it were, intact and playing sort of, 3 of the 4 linebackers on the field, and the safeties are intact. LaDarius Gunter has been playing right corner most of the season in place of Sam Shields and Demetri Goodson is now the fourth person to play left corner after Randall, Josh Hawkins and Quinten Rollins. Micah Hyde has been the starter most of the year in the slot.
So what it comes down to you had a third string left corner, a second string (now the starter) at right corner, first stringers at safety, a first stringer at slot corner, first stringers at inside linebacker, a first stringer and a future Hall of Famer at outside linebacker and first stringers at the two down linemen.
If you put aside the rest of the game let's just look at the final game-winning drive that started on the Falcons 25 after the Packers had scored with 3:58 remaining. At this point I turned to Avery and said, "Do you have any faith the defense is going to stop them?" He said, "No". He is normally an optimist.
Play 1: Out of the shotgun Matt Ryan throws short to M. Sanu (who the Packers could have signed in free agency) who was being covered by an undrafted free agent Joe Thomas in the middle for 9 yards. ANALYSIS: The middle of Dom Capers' defense is and has always been open. And this play was against two starting safeties (Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and Morgan Burnett and our best coverage linebacker) and not against third and fourth string corners.
Play 2: From the no huddle Matt Ryan throws short to J Hardy on the right side for 13 yards against Goodson. ANALYSIS: Here he throws against one of those corners, but it was against our draft pick corner and not the undrafted free agent corner. And it was against Goodson, who almost everyone of the Tedders gave a game ball to.
Play 3: From the no huddle and the shotgun Matt Ryan throws short to the other side to Sanu and Gunter almost picks it off.
Play 4: From the shotgun Matt Ryan throws short at Gunter again and this time completes to D. Freeman for 8 yards to the Packers 45.
Play 5: From the no huddle Matt Ryan throws short left to Sanu who was pushed out of bounds by Hyde at the Packers 33.
Play 6: From the shotgun Matt Ryan throws short left to Sanu for 9 yards to the Packers 24 where Clinton-Dix tackles him.
It is now the TWO MINUTE WARNING.
The Falcons have driven 51 yards on 6 plays - all passes - completing 5 and not a pass downfield in 1:58.
Play 7: From the shotgun Matt Ryan throws short left to Freeman for 1 yard tackled by Thomas.
Play 8: From the shotgun Matt Ryan throws DEEP left for Julio Jones being covered by Gunter incomplete.
Play 9: From the shotgun Matt Ryan throws short right to Sanu covered by Goodson for 9 yards to the 14.
Play 10: Under center Matt Ryan goes back and throws short right to A Hooper for 3 yards tackled by inside linebacker Blake Martinez.
Play 11: With 36 seconds remaining: From the shotgun Matt Ryan throws up the middle to a wide open Sanu (a wide receiver being covered by inside Jake Ryan) for 11 yards and the TD.
ANALYSIS: The Falcons drove 75 yards completing 9 of 11 passes. 2 were to short middle - the first one for 9 (Thomas) and the last for 11 (Ryan). 3 to short right for 13 (Goodson), for 9 (Goodson), for 3 (Martinez). 5 to short left for incomplete (Gunter), for 8 (Gunter), for 12 (Hyde), for 9 (Clinton-Dix), for 1 (Thomas). 1 was deep (Gunter) and it was incomplete.
There are 2 other problems with the Packers defense. 1. DOM "F*****G" CAPERS. A. He doesn't make halftime adjustments while the opposing does. B. His schemes don't work (i.e. 2-man line). 2. TED "F*****G" THOMPSON. A. He is so cheap he shortchanges on reserves. A championship team is not made up of a lot of undrafted free agents and lower draft picks.
I will wager that even if Randall, Rollins and Shields were playing the result would have been the same. At the end Dom Capers can't stop S...T when it counts, so why is he still here?
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