If anything came out of the Green Bay Packers 44-21 loss to the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC Championship on Sunday, it highlighted the fact that Packers general manager Ted Thompson (or whomever might be the general manager for the Packers this season) needs to take a good look at the Packers defense.
The first place that needs to be evaluated is the personnel of the Packers. Those Packers fans who have been screaming on message boards that Thompson needs to go because his lack of activity in free agency have some legitimate ammunition when it comes to how he has sculpted the Packers defensive personnel, especially in the secondary.
Green Bay Packers Defense Needs to Go Under the Microscope
Thompson and the Packers allowed last season’s top nickel back Casey Hayward to depart via free agency this past offseason. They believed that veteran cornerback Sam Shields and second year cornerbacks Damarious Randall and Quinten Rollins were enough to provide the Packers with top play at cornerback but also provided good depth. Thompson’s bet failed miserably. Shields, one of the starting perimeter cornerbacks to start the season, was lost after the first game of the season to a concussion, his second in the past two seasons. Randall, the other starting perimeter cornerback, battled a groin injury this season. But when healthy he displayed skills that had regressed tremendously from last season. The same was the case for Rollins, the former college point guard. He battled injuries and poor play. If that wasn’t bad enough for Thompson and the Packers, Hayward had a strong season for the Chargers and was named to his first Pro Bowl.
It appears that Shields career is in serious jeopardy after this concussion and the Packers are most likely going to move on from him, which will make Thompson’s job even more difficult because he wagered on Randall and Rollins to make the next jump in their maturation in season two and they failed to do so. It doesn’t mean that Randall and Rollins won’t bounce back next season, but the Packers can’t risk going into next season without protecting themselves. So either Thompson will have to break his long running hatred of free agency, or once again have to spend a first round pick on a cornerback. But having your top three cornerbacks with three or fewer years of experience isn’t very sound protection.
Spending first round draft picks on defensive players isn’t something new for Thompson. In the past five NFL drafts, Thompson has spent the Packers first round picks on defensive players. After what they did last season, it won’t be much of a shocker for Thompson to once again use a first round pick on a defensive player, especially a cornerback.
But it isn’t just cornerback. The Packers lack playmakers at other positions as well. They aren’t asking their defense to lead the team because they already have a future Hall of Fame quarterback doing that. What they are asking and needing is for their defense to make the occasional play, something they haven’t done in recent history. Outside linebacker Clay Matthews, arguably their most talented defensive player, struggled with injuries this past season. It is well known that if Matthews isn’t 100 percent, he isn’t very effective. For a player that is being paid like a team’s top defensive player, he needs to be more effective, injuries or no injuries.
The defensive personnel of the Packers isn’t the only thing that will and really should go under the microscope this off season. The Packers defensive coaching staff, at least the main core, have been together a long time and in that time, have had their struggles, especially this season. Yes, personnel had to do with some of the issues, but this isn’t the first time Packers defensive coordinator Dom Capers has led an ineffective unit. Some of Capers defensive game plans for certain games have been called into question. This season, Capers oversaw a defensive coverage unit that was 31st in yards allowed through the air. Credit Capers though, his defense finished top ten in run defense, although they did have a hard time against opposing offenses who had solid rushing attacks.
It isn’t to say that Packers head coach Mike McCarthy will be firing Capers or any of his assistants this off season. McCarthy is very loyal to his staff, especially Capers, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if he sticks with him. But that doesn’t mean that Thompson or whomever is in charge shouldn’t sit down and evaluate not only the personnel, but also the coaching staff. Even the Packers 3-4 defensive scheme, something the Packers have run since Capers took over back in 2009, should garner a hard look. This is a team that made it all the way to the NFC Championship, which is an accomplishment. But this season had some major bumps and they have a lot of room for improvement. The first order in improving this team, is improving their defense.
