The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Whomever originally stated the above very well could have been talking about the Green Bay Packers defense. Since Aaron Rodgers has been the starting quarterback for the Packers, excluding the 2010-2011 Super Bowl season, the defense hasn’t performed at a level a championship team should perform at. Now that the Packers are without the services of Rodgers, who was lost to a broken collarbone last week in their loss to the Minnesota Vikings, the Packers don’t have the player who is able to cover up the defense’s deficiencies which was quite a bit. Although Brett Hundley, the backup quarterback who had his first career start against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, performed well enough in their 26-17 loss, it wasn’t the same as when Rodgers was playing quarterback. Rodgers is the ultimate deodorant, covering up the worse of the worse for the Packers, which is great when he is healthy, but without him, they are in trouble, especially the defense. The Green Bay Packers defense just isn’t good enough to without Rodgers.
The Green Bay Packers Defense Just Isn’t Good Enough without Aaron Rodgers
Packers head coach Mike McCarthy put together a very solid, but ulta-conservative, game plan for Hundley on Sunday. The plan called for the Packers offense to run the ball, utilize Hundley’s scrambling and running ability, while not asking Hundley to carry the offense with his throwing. For the most part, the offense carried out this game plan and gave them a chance to win. Yet, there was one other thing this game plan needed for it to be successful – the defense to carry their weight, something they haven’t done since week one when they beat the Seattle Seahawks at Lambeau Field.
It appeared that the Packers defense would finally step up when it was needed, when they held the Saints to just seven points and forced future Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Brees to throw two interceptions in the first half. But that optimism for Packers fans didn’t last long as the Saints took the opening drive of the second half and marched right down the field for a Brees 22 yard touchdown pass. The touchdown tied the game and gave the Saints momentum; momentum they used to eventually take the lead and never give it back up. Brees would go on to throw for over 300 yards, something that has been common against the Packers secondary.
Brees has made a lot of NFL defenses look like high school quality defenses throughout his career, destining himself for Canton, Ohio and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. But the Packers defense has made a lot of quarterbacks look they are bound for the Hall of Fame during defensive coordinator Dom Capers tenure. Capers has drawn the ire of Packers fans throughout his time in charge of the Packers defense and honestly, it is deservedly so.
Capers struggles to put his defenses in position to make plays and opposing offenses don’t respect his defenses, especially on third and even fourth downs. On Sunday, the Saints converted 53% of their third downs and also converted the only fourth down they went for it on, numbers that don’t inspire confidence from Packers fans. Packers head coach McCarthy has defended keeping Capers as his coordinator throughout the years, but how much longer can he keep defending a coordinator that isn’t getting the job done? The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.
Players Share the Blame
As much as Capers needs to take responsibility for the Packers defensive shortcomings, so too do some of the players. One player who gets a lot of acclaim from the so called “experts”, but isn’t making enough plays, is safety Ha-Ha Clinton Dix. Coming off a season that saw him elected to his first Pro Bowl, many expected Clinton Dix to have another big season.
Unfortunately for Packers coaches and fans, Clinton Dix hasn’t come close to playing like a Pro Bowl player. Clinton Dix has one interception but hasn’t registered a sack and most concerning, seems late on plays and has struggled with tackling, something you wouldn’t expect out of a player off coming off a Pro Bowl season.
True, he hasn’t had his fellow safety, Morgan Burnett, playing alongside of him the past two games because of a hamstring injury, but for a player who was selected in the first round and coming off a Pro Bowl season, Clinton Dix should be able to still play at a high level no matter who he is playing with.
It just isn’t proven players that aren’t getting the job done, young players that were expected to contribute aren’t doing what was expected of them as well. Before this season, McCarthy spoke highly about his depth at outside linebacker. Veteran outside linebackers Clay Matthews and Nick Perry have contributed this season by creating pressure on the opposing quarterback, but the so called “depth” at outside linebacker hasn’t been anything close to being “deep”. One example of a ‘depth player’ that was expected to contribute and hasn’t is Kyler Fackrell.
With fellow outside linebacker Ahmad Brooks suffering a concussion and dealing with a back injury during this season, it has fallen on Fackrell to be the main backup to Matthews and Perry, ensuring there isn’t a drop off when he enters the game. However, that is what has happened when Fackrell enters the game. He looks like a Pop Warner player trying to play with the big boys, being constantly pushed around in the running game while lacking burst or strength as a pass rusher. General manager Ted Thompson spent a third round pick on Fackrell and it appears that it was a wasted pick.
A coordinator that isn’t getting the job done and players that aren’t making plays that is what the Packers defense is facing right now, at a time when the Packers need them the most. McCarthy will need to take off the training wheels on the offense for his young quarterback because it appears that the only way the Packers are going to stay afloat until (or if) Rodgers can come back is for them to outscore the other team. Expecting this defense to step up during a time of need just isn’t going to happen. The Packers defense have shown they can’t or they refuse to adjust, bringing back the opening statement: The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.
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