Brace Hemmelgarn- US PRESSWIRE
The Green Bay Packers struggled again on defense this season which has some people questioning whether or not defensive coordinator Dom Capers should be fired. However, Green Bay linebacker Desmond Bishop thinks all of the talk of Capers being fired is uncalled for.
Bishop, who was injured during the preseason opener, has missed the entire season due to his hamstring injury and was a big missing piece for the Packers defense the entire season. Even though Bishop did not play in the game, he was the only player on defense who was available after the game. The defensive players who were took part in giving up 45 points were not around to talk about what went wrong out there. Bishop has since taken over to defend Capers who has been getting torn apart by the fans since the defeat.
“You can’t have a great defense and win the Super Bowl one year and then be kicked out the next year, or a year or two later,” Bishop said. “I don’t think it should work like that at all. I think Dom Capers is a great coach.”
In a what have you done for me lately world, people, sports fans in particular, have a hard time remembering the good players and coaches have done even if it was just two years ago. In the 2010-2011 season the Packers had the second best scoring defense in the league and created the most turnovers. Last season the Packers were still turning the ball over but could not get any pressure on the quarterback. After drafting mostly defensive players this past off-season, the Packers defensive unit did show some improvement, but there were still some glaring holes, mainly with the interior of the defense. If Bishop was able to play, who knows if the defense would have been able to stop Colin Kaepernick and the read-option offense.
“It’s really kind of hard to speak hypothetical,” Bishop said. “Of course, I believe I could have helped impact the team. I always have about that. And I always will.”
What the Packers saw last weekend is something they didn’t have to face the entire season, and is something that most teams might try to incorporate into their offenses in the future. Kaepernick has the rare ability to be a great passer in the pocket while be explosive and quick when he scrambles. Bishop though thinks that Capers’ scheme was right in stopping Kaepernick and that is was a lack of discipline by the players that caused the bad performance.
“I think really it’s just technique,” Bishop said. “I don’t think it’s really about being fast. I mean, you definitely have to be fast and explosive and athletic. But I think it’s technique. This person has this person. That person has that person. Everybody just stay disciplined. So with discipline and technique, I think we can stop it.”
While the Packers do need to make improvements on defense, getting a new defensive coordinator shouldn’t be a priority right now. Capers has proven that he can make the Packers a solid defense and if there is no injury problems the Packers should be better in the future.
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