Green Bay Packers

Dom Capers: Is the Green Bay Packers' defensive coordinator to blame?

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 6:07 p.m. ET

Fansided, Raymond Rivard/FanSided via Lombardi Ave

Dom Capers has come under intense fire from fans in Green Bay Packers Nation over the course of the past few years, culminating at the end of this past season when the Packers defense was as porous as a sieve.

One thing is for certain: Dom Capers isn’t going anywhere until he says he’s going somewhere.

Many fans would love to tell him where to go, but for Packers head coach Mike McCarthy – he respects Capers for his work and isn’t about to tell him to take a hike.

Despite the fact that the Green Bay Packers finished 31st in pass defense, McCarthy has Capers’ back.

“This is no time for drama. Dom Capers is an outstanding football coach.,” McCarthy said last week.

Despite the fact that during his first two seasons in Green Bay, Capers’ defenses sported a place in the top10 for scoring and points, but haven’t made it into the top 10 since then. That doesn’t matter, Mike McCarthy has his back.

Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Dom Capers. Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports photograph

And despite the fact that his defenses, since 2010, haven’t finished better than 21st in those categories doesn’t matter. Mike McCarthy has his back.

During those 2009 and 2010 seasons, Capers had a defense that was made up of players who made a difference. Consider that Capers had Clay Matthews, Charles Woodson and Nick Collins playing on that side of the ball. They were all ball-hawks during those seasons and it showed.

Consider this season when he had Damarious Randall, Morgan Burnett and yes, Clay Matthews and one can see the difference. Randall was injured all season and Burnett had his share of hurts, as did the aging Matthews.

There’s a big difference between the 2010 defense and that fielded in 2016.

Is that Capers’ fault or that of GM Ted Thompson?

OK, now consider another “bad” defense out there: the Atlanta Falcons.

Despite ranking No. 25 in yards allowed and No. 27 in points given up, that Falcons defense pushed the vaunted Packers offense just enough to get them out of their game so that their offense could take over.

Consider also that the Packers came into that NFC Championship Game ranked number 22 and 21 in those two categories.

So, what was the difference?

According to many, it was speed.

Dom Capers. Raymond T. Rivard photograph

Look at the Packers defense … one isn’t going to jump on the speed wagon when evaluating the players they have on the field.

Sam Shields is by far one of the fastest players on the entire team, but we know he didn’t play a snap after the first game at Jacksonville.

Yes, there are some players with some speed – Randall, for one, Quinten Rollins, for another. But it was the injury bug and their lack of experience that resulted in very poor sophomore campaigns.

So, with the outcry over Capers being behind the times and not adjusting well to in-game situations being loud and obvious, one has to understand that this is a guy who has been around the game long enough to get the most out of what he’s dealt.

Thanks to Ted Thompson, the players given to Capers over the course of the past three or four drafts have been large in quantity, but small in quality.

Thompson has had his chances and has drafted for the defense … he just hasn’t brought in the quality players who could thrive in Capers’ system.

Maybe those young guys will turn it around in 2017, but it’s clear that it is Thompson, not Capers, who has destroyed the depth of this defense.

And it showed in 2016.

Yes, Mike McCarthy said that Capers probably isn’t going anywhere until Capers says so … that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Dom Capers will serve as the presenter at the HOF ceremonies for Kevin Greene. Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports photograph

What needs to happen is the Packers need for Thompson to draft the players the system requires.

Capers, if he sticks around, will probably do just as good of a job as anyone who might be out there looking for a job.

McCarthy likes stability and because he knows he probably can’t do better with anybody who may be available at this point in time, he’s sticking with the known: Dom Capers.

In the meantime, send your hate mail Thompson’s way … he’s the one responsible for bringing players to Titletown. He’s the one who needs to step it up.

Dom Capers waits …