Green Bay Packers: Could Dom Capers Simplify The Defense?

There is no denying that the Green Bay Packers secondary lacks talent. Could Dom Capers help the young players by simplifying the coverage?

After every Super Bowl, the 30 teams not participating in the big game are left figuring out what they need to do to be there next season? The Green Bay Packers don’t have to spend too much time pondering this question; the answer is simple. Improve the secondary.

Now that Sam Shield is officially ruled out as an option, the team must use the draft and free-agency to overhaul the unit. Two years ago, Ted Thompson thought he was taking of this problem by drafting Damarious Randall and Quinten Rollins.

Today, this issue is far from being solved as both players regressed from their rookie seasons and appear to be liabilities rather than assets in the secondary.

With every other NFL team also in search of quality cornerbacks, it is a longshot that Ted Thompson finds two players worthy of being NFL starters. Even if the GM can acquire a veteran defensive back, Randall, Rollins or Ladarius Gunter will be relied on throughout the season.

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If the personnel is limited by Thompson’s conservative philosophy, defensive coordinator Dom Capers must get creative in the scheme’s and gameplans he puts together for his young players. But, what if getting creative is the wrong way to go?

Throughout the playoffs, the Atlanta Falcons defense went into games being described as a weakness, only to have analysts rave about their success through sticking to a cover three scheme.

In an article that reveals how the Falcons improved their defense, Sports Illustrated writer Andy Benoit notes,

"One of Cover 3’s weaknesses is that linebackers can get matched against wide receivers inside. When this weakness is exposed, a defense can’t simply abandon its foundational coverage and go to something else—it must tweak that foundational coverage."

Benoit explains that even Coach Dann Quinn had to adjust his philosophy as offenses figured out how to beat the coverage. According to Benoit, this had nothing to do with personnel as linebackers, “Campbell, Neal and especially Jones have the speed to cover the additional ground.” Therefore, simply deciding to make the coverages easy to understand is not the answer for the Green Bay Packers.

While TV analysts had us believe that Atlanta religiously stuck to their cover three, Benoit points out that Dann Quinn made an important adjustment in the Packers and Falcons regular season matchup. In the article he states,

"The Packers continued to out-leverage Atlanta’s zone defense in ways like this until Quinn, late in the second quarter, shifted to more man coverage. After that, the game’s tenor changed, and the Falcons dictated the terms of engagement."

Unfortunately, for those hoping to see the Packers problems fixed by lining up and playing the same coverage over and over, this is not the answer. Dom Capers should not be asked to abandon the scheme he believes in just because Thompson can’t bring in talented players.

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Instead of simplifying the defense, GM Ted Thompson must reach out in free agency and give Capers some quality veterans to stabilize the secondary. This would give players such as Damarious Randall, Quinten Rollins, and Ladarius Gunter somebody to learn from and emulate.

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