After the 2008-2009 season, the Packers fired virtually every member of its defensive, special teams, and strength and conditioning staff.   Quietly taking the place of coaches who made little to no adjustments over the course of the game, or failed to prepare or players well enough going into those Sundays in autumn, was a staff that is sedulous in its commitment to excellence.

Defensive Coordinator
Dom Capers – Has a celebrated coaching career and is the creator of the “Blitzburgh Defense”.  He also won every major Coach of the Year award in 1996 with the Panthers.  In addition, Capers earned the  Pro Football Weekly/PFW Assistant Coach of the Year award in 1994 with Pittsburgh and in 1999 with the Jaguars.

Inside Linebackers
Winston Moss – Previously a defensive quality control coordinator.  Moss is the assistant head coach and primarily responsible for the development of AJ Hawk, Nick Barnett, and Desmond Bishop.

OLB Coach
Kevin Greene – Listed as the sixth best pass rusher of all time by the NFL Network.  Greene was named to five Pro Bowls and three first-team All-Pro selections, leading the league in sacks in two seasons.  KG is the third in the all-time sacks with 160 and leads all NFL linebackers.

Secondary (Safeties) Coach
Darren Perry – Nine year NFL veteran and started at safety for the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XXX.  Coached for the Bengals, Steelers, and Raiders and was on staff for Pittsburgh’s Super Bowl XL winning team.

Secondary (Cornerbacks) Coach
Joe Whitt, Jr. – Extensive collegiate coaching resume.  Tutored the Falcons’ DBs and helped DeAngelo Hall earn his second Pro Bowl berth.

Defensive Line
Mike Trgovac – Coached for five college football teams and four NFL squads. Was the Carolina Panthers’ defensive coordinator over the past six seasons (ranked in the top 10 three times).

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I wouldn’t make such a big deal out of this, but the players have bought into this coaching staff’s enthusiasm, their philosophies, and the 3-4 scheme.  Meanwhile, BSPN and the rest of the sports world attests that the Packers will struggle in their transition from a 4-3 to a 3-4, for lack of players that fit the system and the “steep learning curve”.

In a recent interview, Pro Bowl CB Charles Woodson said, “I love the whole package, the whole defense coming in.  I’m really excited about it.”  This sentiment has been shared openly by many of the Packers defense, including Al Harris  and Atari Bigby.  In Rod Woodson’s first year under Dom Capers, his sack total increased from just 1 sack to 6.   Capers’ impact on Woodson and the rest of the Pittsburgh defense cannot be overstated.  They were unpredictable, hard to read, and aggressive.  They attacked the quarterback and forced turnovers.  Simply, Capers’ system helped mold Rod Woodson into a first ballot Hall of Famer.  And you can be assured that he will use Charles Woodson in the same ways in the Packers new look defense.  Even Aaron Kampman (pictured above) will benefit.  He is athletic enough to play OLB and has great size.  Former DC Bob “vanilla defense” Sanders, we blitzed less than 18% of the time.  As a result, opposing lines would double team Kampman, who our best pass rusher.  Despite being schemed against, he accounted for 49 of our 112 QB pressures in 2008 and recorded 9.5 sacks.

Pigskin pundits around the nation have and continue to write off the Packers as a marginal team who is missing pieces to the championship puzzle.  Some say the Packers lack firepower on offense.   In 2008, the Pack had a top 10 offense.  We ranked 8th in yards per game, 8th in Passing,17th in rushing, and 5th in points.  That same year, and for the first time in team history, the Packers featured a 4,000-yard passer, two 1,000-yard receivers and a 1,200-yard rusher.  Aaron Rodgers is the man and Favre can’t hold his jock.  Ryan Grant has his burst back.  Our offensive line is coming together, though there is an ongoing competition for the RT spot.

Per Peter Schrader of FoxSports.com:

Green Bay Packers: The Packers’ defense – downright heinous in ‘08 – is now headed by Dom Capers and will be making the shift from the 4-3 to the 3-4.  The offense should feature a more reliable running game.  The ‘09 Packers are kind of like the HBO show “Entourage” – watchable, fun, intriguing.  Just not all that good.

I completely agree on his criticism of Entourage.  However, its a terrible metaphor for the 2009 Packers.  Heinous is hyperbole.  Quarterbacks’ average QB rating against the Packers was 71.9, a number bettered only by the Ravens, Steelers, and Titans.  We also had six interceptions (22 overall) and one fumble returned (14 FF total) for TD.  What derailed the Pack’s playoff hopes was its defense’s inability to stop the run.  This was largely a result of major injuries along the defensive line (Cullen Jenkins, Justin Harrell, Ryan Pickett), the LB corp (AJ Hawk, Nick Barnett), and the secondary (Atari Bigby, Charles Woodson, Al Harris, Nick Collins, Pat Lee).  The entire defense was pretty much banged up all year.

These defensive statistics might not mean all that much, and critics will argue that they are meaningless, given they are statistics from 6 quarters of preseason football.  Regardless…

Statistics:

Sacks: 6

Interceptions: 5

Forced Fumbled: 4

Takeaways: 8

First Downs: 17

Points Allowed: 0

And for good measure, Aaron Rodgers is 13/19 200 yards 3 TDs.  Ryan Grant has 16 carries for 71 yards (4.44 avg) and 2 tds.

So haters, keep hating.  Keep listing us in the 20s in your power rankings.  Keep handing the Vikings the NFC North Championship and the VINCE LOMBARDI trophy before the regular season even kicks off.  Keep saying we’re the third best team, with the third best quarterback in the division.  I’m happy flying under your radar, just don’t be shocked when we blow you out.  I have said it before and I’ll stand by this -  the Pack is back.

(photo courtesy of Jim Biever/Packers.com)

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