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Dom Capers has a lot of cleaning up to do in 2012.

One of the issues discussed on Twitter immediately after the Packers took a dump against the Giants was the track record of defenses coached by Dom Capers. The Twitter chatter focused on the fact that Capers’ defenses generally decline in years two and/or three.

Actually this topic came up before Sunday but now that us Packers bloggers have some extra time on our hands, we can actually look up the numbers and discuss the issue using more than the 140 characters allowed on Twitter.

In the chart below, the numbers represent where the team finished in respect to the rest of the 31 teams.

Let’s take a look:

   Read more... (1239 words + 1 image, estimated 4:57 mins reading time)

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I have been watching a lot of football these past two weekends, and I think the only NFL game I didn’t watch at least part of was Denver vs. New England. (Really, was there a point to seeing that one?) And while I’ve cached away a lot of observations, there are a couple big things that have stuck with me. The most impressionable of these, I believe, was the way the San Francisco 49ers defense handled the New Orleans Saints.

If any of you watched this game, you should know what I am talking about. To put it succinctly, I rather enjoyed watching their physical play, discipline, and unrelenting attacks on the ball.

But if you asked me to name more than three players from that unit, I don’t think I could do it.

Which made me think . . . what is wrong with the Packers’ defense, then? They have what I believe to be a group of fairly solid players that compliment some big talent, yet they never played like it this season. Last season they did, and it won them quite a few games where the offense sputtered.  Read more... (1004 words + 1 image, estimated 4:01 mins reading time)

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The Giants pointed their ship to the NFC Championship Game with a 37-20 win over the Packers. (Photo: Darron Cummings, GBPG)

The Green Bay Packers (15-2) picked an awful time to play their worst game of the 2011 season, and the New York Giants more than capitalized on it Sunday in knocking the defending champions out of the playoffs with a 37-20 win at Lambeau Field in the NFC Divisional Round.

Here are five observations from the game:

1. Capping a tough week

There was some this week, including Packers coach Mike McCarthy, who opined that the Packers could be more focused on Sunday in light of the terrible tragedy that struck that the Packers family early this week. But maybe those people underestimated how difficult the transition could be from a Friday funeral to a Sunday football game.

The Packers made their fair share of mental mistakes on the offensive side of the football—dropped passes, missed throws, back-breaking fumbles—that were very uncharacteristic of the Packers in 2011. Could that have partly been due to a week of grieving for the Philbin family and missing their offensive coordinator? Professional football players get paid a lot of money to separate the two, but these guys are human beings, not football robots.  Read more... (1077 words + 1 image, estimated 4:18 mins reading time)

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Peprah was burned for a TD on the Giants' first offensive series.

The Green Bay Packers (15-1, NFC No. 1) host the New York Giants (10-7, NFC No. 4) Sunday in the NFC’s Divisional Round of the 2012 playoffs.

The basics 

When: 3:30 CST, Sunday, January 15, 2012.

Where: Lambeau Field, Green Bay, WI.

TV: FOX; Joe Buck and Troy Aikman on the call, Pam Oliver on the sidelines.

Radio: 620 AM WTMJ (Milwaukee); Packers Radio Network; NFL Sunday Drive; Westwood One.

Series: Packers lead, 31-23-2 (Giants won last playoff meeting, 23-20 (OT) on Jan. 20, 2008 in NFC Championship Game).

Five things to watch

1. Rookie factor

Not since Desmond Howard have the Packers had a special teams weapon that could routinely flip field position. They have one now in rookie Randall Cobb, and you better believe that teams are treating him as such. As the season wore on, more and more teams hedged their bets and kicked away from Cobb.

At the very least, Cobb can ensure the Packers aren’t playing offense from the shadow of their own goal posts Sunday. And if the Giants give him enough chances, Cobb can break that one big play that can turn the game.  Read more... (952 words + 1 image, estimated 3:48 mins reading time)

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Charlie Peprah's play will be a key factor against the Giants on Sunday.

Hopefully the Packers didn’t spend their playoff bye week the same way I spent mine: Overeating, overdrinking and overtanning on the beach in Mexico. My cholesterol, blood-alcohol level and waist-line are at all-time highs right now.

If I had to play against the Giants on Sunday, they would have to hoist me into a wheelbarrow, push me onto the field, and dump me at the 50-yard line. My massive girth would probably manage to come up with at least one tackle. At the very least, the ballcarrier would be slowed by having to run around my Corona-filled belly.

But enough about me. I didn’t see any Packers players on the beach or in the bars so they were (probably) getting ready to play the Giants and win a Super Bowl.

This week’s stock report is different than the others. Since the Packers didn’t play, I’m listing five players that need to play at either a rising or steady level on Sunday. If each player does this, the Packers should win and play for the NFC championship at Lambeau Field.  Read more... (637 words + 1 image, estimated 2:33 mins reading time)

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Winston Moss is being rumored as a coaching candidate in Oakland.

It’s nothing more than speculation at the moment, but Green Bay Packers inside linebackers coach and assistant head coach Winston Moss is being rumored as a potential candidate at head coach or defensive coordinator for the Oakland Raiders.

Speculation regarding Moss comes on the heels of Oakland’s hire of former Packers director of football operations Reggie McKenzie as their new general manager. Pro Football Talk added fuel on the fire earlier today when they reported that McKenzie will be given the power to fire head coach Hue Jackson if he so pleases.

The majority of new GMs want their own hire at head coach, so the possibility exists that McKenzie could show Jackson the door. If he went that route, Moss would likely become one of McKenzie’s leading candidates to take the job. Most believe that McKenzie will keep Jackson, who led the Raiders to an 8-8 record in his first season, as the head coach, however.

But even if Jackson is retained, Moss could be a candidate for the Raiders’ looming defensive coordinator vacancy. Chuck Bresnahan, the incumbent at the position, is widely assumed to be done in Oakland after this season. At this point, a move to defensive coordinator looks like the most likely scenario for Moss to leave Green Bay for Oakland.  Read more... (422 words + 1 image, estimated 1:41 mins reading time)

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Packers QB Matt Flynn has a perfect stage in Week 17 for his looming free agent status.

The Green Bay Packers (14-1) and Detroit Lions (10-5) face off in Week 17 of the NFL season Sunday.

The basics 

When: 12:00 CST, Sunday, January 1, 2012.

Where: Lambeau Field, Green Bay, WI.

TV: FOX; Thom Brennaman and Brian Billick with the call, Laura Okmin on the sidelines.

Radio: 620 AM WTMJ (Milwaukee); Packers Radio Network; NFL Sunday Drive.

Series: Packers lead, 92-65-7 (Packers won last regular season game, 27-17, on Nov. 24, 2011 at Ford Field.)

Five things to watch

1. Money to be made

Packers coach Mike McCarthy said Friday that he wants all three quarterbacks to play on Sunday, but the middle man in the group has a golden opportunity to bump up his price tag this summer. Matt Flynn, the Packers backup quarterback and a free agent after the season, will likely see the majority of the snaps against the Lions. Another solid performance on the big stage may propel a quarterback-needy team to give Flynn the opportunity to start for their franchise—and the money that goes with it—next season.

2. Who needs receivers?  Read more... (796 words + 1 image, estimated 3:11 mins reading time)

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