by Associated Press

khou.com

Posted on February 4, 2011 at 12:11 AM

IRVING, Texas—The website devoted to Ted Thompson’s ouster from Green Bay doesn’t get many hits anymore. Not too much going on there these days, except for this message: “I’m not afraid to admit it. I was wrong. Congrats Ted.”

“I get that a lot,” he said.

The man who put the Packers on a path that led to an ignominious exit for Brett Favre, replacing him at quarterback with Aaron Rodgers and, now, a return to the Super Bowl, says he isn’t into “I told you so.”

He’s been around football too long for smugness.

“This business,” Green Bay’s general manager says, “is way too hard to sit back and reflect on the past. You try to learn from your mistakes, but you don’t spend any time at all going backward.”

Despite what comes off as his high-risk, high-reward method of decision-making, Thompson may be the most modest and softspoken of the NFL’s 32 GMs.

On Thursday at the Packers interview session, he stood in a small little nook near a door, his hands shoved in his jeans, trapped on the wrong side of a semicircle of reporters who recognized the reluctant interview subject. Two days earlier at media day, he was barely noticeable, not so much holding court as trying to stay out of the way, tucked behind a podium near one of the end zones.

Having fun at the Super Bowl, Ted?

“Well, it’s a little cold out,” he said. “But it feels good to be here. Doesn’t it look like I’m enjoying this?”

Truth be told, the 58-year-old Thompson, who played linebacker for the Houston Oilers for 10 seasons back in the 1970s and 80s, has always been most comfortable in his post-playing years on a scouting assignment, evaluating talent, looking for hidden gems, trying to find ways to stock the roster with players who will last.

“Ron taught us that a long time ago,” Thompson said of his mentor, the former Packers GM, Ron Wolf. “It doesn’t matter what kind of title you put on there, you have to remember you’re a scout and that’s your core job.”

The moves he’s best known for—the ones that spawned the website and made him a lightning rod for disgruntled fans in Green Bay—were the decisions to pick Rodgers at No. 24 in the 2005 draft, then hand him the team three years later after trading Favre.

Thompson has spent the week deflecting requests to discuss his role in that unsettling chain of events—the moves most widely recognized as the ones that led to Green Bay’s latest renaissance.

What he does let people in on is that, originally, the Packers didn’t think they had a chance at Rodgers, who earlier in the year had been projected as the top pick in some circles. But as they learned Rodgers might fall down the draft board, they did their homework and realized he’d be worth the pick if he fell that far— even if Green Bay didn’t really need a quarterback.

“Rosters are rosters,” Thompson said. “It’s really all about players. If you have more of these guys at one spot who are really good, you keep more of the really good ones, and if you have to go a little light at another position, then that’s the way you go. But saying, ‘You have to have six of these, three of these and two of these,’ it doesn’t always work out that way. It’s not fantasy football.”

Thompson’s theory behind stockpiling talent, even if it creates the occasional logjam, has turned out to be a wonder for this year’s Packers. They’ve lost 16 players to injured reserve. Six of them were starters.

Among those with bigger roles because of the injuries: running back James Starks, a sixth-round pick; nickel cornerback Sam Shields, an undrafted free agent; outside linebacker Erik Walden, who was out of football when the Packers signed him in midseason and defensive lineman Howard Green, who was cut by the Jets in midseason.

“A lot of credit has to go to Ted Thompson and the personnel staff. Just the way that they’re structured, their work ethic, the principles are in place,” coach Mike McCarthy said.

Thompson believes in what, at times, seems like an old-fashioned ethic in today’s NFL—building through the draft, giving players time to develop, not overspending in free agency. It’s a philosophy that works well in two of the league’s most tightly knit communities.

Both the Packers and the Steelers have 16 homegrown starters.

“Coach Tomlin uses the term with his players, he says, ‘The standard is the standard,”’ Thompson said, choosing this time to deflect the praise to Steelers coach Mike Tomlin instead of taking it himself. “Quite frankly, that philosophy seems to fit pretty good with us, too.”

 

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Dom Capers inherited a defensive mess two years ago, taking over a Green Bay Packers unit that gave up big plays in bunches and couldn’t hold late leads.

Now they’re one of the best in the league.

In the space of two seasons, the former Carolina and Houston head coach has imposed his version of the 3-4 defense on a team used to playing a 4-3. Although there were a handful of complaints from players early on, the Packers played well in the transition last season — and they’re dominating this season, despite losing several significant players to injury.

Going into tonight’s playoff game at Atlanta, defensive lineman Ryan Pickett says Capers has wiped away any memories of the Packers’ past defensive shortcomings. Green Bay was No. 2 in points allowed this season, trailing only Pittsburgh.

‘We’re a totally different defense,” Pickett said. ‘Going into last week, nobody even thought about ’08, whatever year it was. We didn’t even think about it. We’re a completely different defense. It’s hard to score points on us, and that’s just our brand of football.”

The decision to bring in Capers has paid off for Mike McCarthy, an offensive-minded head coach who enjoys hands-on work with quarterbacks.

‘He’s been doing it so long, very detailed, knows exactly what he’s looking for, and I think that’s really the true mark of an excellent coach,” McCarthy said. ‘You have the vision, and (stay) true to that vision and make sure you do not get off the path to accomplish what you want. I just think the success we’ve had in the two years is a big credit to Dom.”

Capers is enjoying the journey.

‘It’s been a lot of fun,” he said. ‘This year’s been especially rewarding because of the number of new guys we’ve had step in, have done it the right way, applied themselves, and gone out and had success.”

The Packers have 15 players on injured reserve, including three defensive starters. Several other key defensive players have missed time because of injuries.

Capers still has plenty of talent; cornerback Charles Woodson was The Associated Press Defensive Player of the Year last season, and outside linebacker Clay Matthews is considered a favorite to win the award this season.

Tramon Williams is one of the league’s best young cornerbacks, Nick Collins is a Pro Bowl safety and Cullen Jenkins has made big plays as a 3-4 defensive end, a position that sometimes gets lost in the shuffle.

But injuries have allowed backups to flourish under Capers:

–Linebacker Desmond Bishop became a starter in the wake of a season-ending wrist injury to starter Nick Barnett. Bishop has played so well that the team recently extended his contract.

–Safety Charlie Peprah has stepped into a starting role after a season-ending injury to rookie safety Morgan Burnett and has played solidly all season.

–Undrafted free agent rookie Frank Zombo became a starter when outside linebacker Brad Jones was lost for the season. When Zombo got hurt, Capers plugged in midseason free agent signing Erik Walden, who was NFC defensive player of the week after their regular season finale.

‘Our scheme’s changed a lot based off of who we’ve been putting out there,” Capers said. ‘It’s changed from one week to the next. And that’s been a big challenge for us, in terms of, ‘What are we going to do this week if we’re missing this and this and this guy?’”

Bishop says Capers’ experience and mastery of the details of his defense are his strongest assets as a coach.

‘Sometimes, I sit back and watch him watch how things are supposed to work, and if something’s not right, he’ll definitely get it fixed,” Bishop said. ‘The way he sees the way it’s supposed to go, it’s at a total different speed than anybody else. Just his knowledge of how it’s supposed to work is his biggest strength. I, one day, can hopefully see it how he sees it, and that would raise my game like 10-fold.”

Given how well the Packers’ defense has performed, there has been speculation that Capers would attract interest from teams with head coaching vacancies. While the league-wide trend is toward hiring younger coaches and Capers is 60, his resume is impressive.

But with the Denver Broncos’ decision to hire John Fox on Thursday, it seems more likely that Capers will stay in Green Bay. Capers didn’t want to talk about the specifics of his current contract with the Packers, saying only that he has ‘more time left” on it.

‘I enjoy what I’m doing, I love the challenge, I love our players,” Capers said recently. ‘You get to be close with these guys. I like our staff, I enjoy working for Mike. So I’ll do this as long as I have my health and enjoy what I’m doing. And somebody will have me around.”

Capers said Thursday that he’s focused only on the Falcons.

‘I’ve been so focused in on this game,” Capers said. ‘I just feel like you never know when these opportunities will present themselves or when they’ll come around again. So I really don’t pay any attention to all that stuff. My focus is on finding a way to go to Atlanta and win that football game.”

GREEN BAY (AP) — Dom Capers inherited a defensive mess two years ago, taking over a Green Bay Packers unit that gave up big plays in bunches and couldn’t hold late leads.

Now they’re one of the best in the league.

In the space of two seasons, the former Carolina and Houston head coach has imposed his version of the 3-4 defense on a team used to playing a 4-3. Although there were a handful of complaints from players early on, the Packers played well in the transition last season — and they’re dominating this season, despite losing several significant players to injury.

Going into tonight’s playoff game at Atlanta, defensive lineman Ryan Pickett says Capers has wiped away any memories of the Packers’ past defensive shortcomings. Green Bay was No. 2 in points allowed this season, trailing only Pittsburgh.

“We’re a totally different defense,” Pickett said. “Going into last week, nobody even thought about ’08, whatever year it was. We didn’t even think about it. We’re a completely different defense. It’s hard to score points on us, and that’s just our brand of football.”

The decision to bring in Capers has paid off for Mike McCarthy, an offensive-minded head coach who enjoys hands-on work with quarterbacks.

“He’s been doing it so long, very detailed, knows exactly what he’s looking for, and I think that’s really the true mark of an excellent coach,” McCarthy said. “You have the vision, and (stay) true to that vision and make sure you do not get off the path to accomplish what you want. I just think the success we’ve had in the two years is a big credit to Dom.”

Capers is enjoying the journey.

“It’s been a lot of fun,” he said. “This year’s been especially rewarding because of the number of new guys we’ve had step in, have done it the right way, applied themselves, and gone out and had success.”

The Packers have 15 players on injured reserve, including three defensive starters. Several other key defensive players have missed time because of injuries.

Capers still has plenty of talent; cornerback Charles Woodson was The Associated Press Defensive Player of the Year last season, and outside linebacker Clay Matthews is considered a favorite to win the award this season.

Tramon Williams is one of the league’s best young cornerbacks, Nick Collins is a Pro Bowl safety and Cullen Jenkins has made big plays as a 3-4 defensive end, a position that sometimes gets lost in the shuffle.

But injuries have allowed backups to flourish under Capers:

n Linebacker Desmond Bishop became a starter in the wake of a season-ending wrist injury to starter Nick Barnett. Bishop has played so well that the team recently extended his contract.

n Safety Charlie Peprah has stepped into a starting role after a season-ending injury to rookie safety Morgan Burnett and has played solidly all season.

n Undrafted free agent rookie Frank Zombo became a starter when outside linebacker Brad Jones was lost for the season. When Zombo got hurt, Capers plugged in midseason free agent signing Erik Walden, who was NFC defensive player of the week after their regular season finale.

“Our scheme’s changed a lot based off of who we’ve been putting out there,” Capers said. “It’s changed from one week to the next. And that’s been a big challenge for us, in terms of, ‘What are we going to do this week if we’re missing this and this and this guy?’”

Bishop says Capers’ experience and mastery of the details of his defense are his strongest assets as a coach.

“Sometimes, I sit back and watch him watch how things are supposed to work, and if something’s not right, he’ll definitely get it fixed,” Bishop said. “The way he sees the way it’s supposed to go, it’s at a total different speed than anybody else. Just his knowledge of how it’s supposed to work is his biggest strength. I, one day, can hopefully see it how he sees it, and that would raise my game like 10-fold.”

Given how well the Packers’ defense has performed, there has been speculation that Capers would attract interest from teams with head coaching vacancies. While the league-wide trend is toward hiring younger coaches and Capers is 60, his resume is impressive.

But with the Denver Broncos’ decision to hire John Fox on Thursday, it seems more likely that Capers will stay in Green Bay. Capers didn’t want to talk about the specifics of his current contract with the Packers, saying only that he has “more time left” on it.

GREEN BAY (AP) — Dom Capers inherited a defensive mess two years ago, taking over a Green Bay Packers unit that gave up big plays in bunches and couldn’t hold late leads.

Now they’re one of the best in the league.

In the space of two seasons, the former Carolina and Houston head coach has imposed his version of the 3-4 defense on a team used to playing a 4-3. Although there were a handful of complaints from players early on, the Packers played well in the transition last season — and they’re dominating this season, despite losing several significant players to injury.

Going into tonight’s playoff game at Atlanta, defensive lineman Ryan Pickett says Capers has wiped away any memories of the Packers’ past defensive shortcomings. Green Bay was No. 2 in points allowed this season, trailing only Pittsburgh.

“We’re a totally different defense,” Pickett said. “Going into last week, nobody even thought about ’08, whatever year it was. We didn’t even think about it. We’re a completely different defense. It’s hard to score points on us, and that’s just our brand of football.”

The decision to bring in Capers has paid off for Mike McCarthy, an offensive-minded head coach who enjoys hands-on work with quarterbacks.

“He’s been doing it so long, very detailed, knows exactly what he’s looking for, and I think that’s really the true mark of an excellent coach,” McCarthy said. “You have the vision, and (stay) true to that vision and make sure you do not get off the path to accomplish what you want. I just think the success we’ve had in the two years is a big credit to Dom.”

Capers is enjoying the journey.

“It’s been a lot of fun,” he said. “This year’s been especially rewarding because of the number of new guys we’ve had step in, have done it the right way, applied themselves, and gone out and had success.”

The Packers have 15 players on injured reserve, including three defensive starters. Several other key defensive players have missed time because of injuries.

Capers still has plenty of talent; cornerback Charles Woodson was The Associated Press Defensive Player of the Year last season, and outside linebacker Clay Matthews is considered a favorite to win the award this season.

Tramon Williams is one of the league’s best young cornerbacks, Nick Collins is a Pro Bowl safety and Cullen Jenkins has made big plays as a 3-4 defensive end, a position that sometimes gets lost in the shuffle.

But injuries have allowed backups to flourish under Capers:

n Linebacker Desmond Bishop became a starter in the wake of a season-ending wrist injury to starter Nick Barnett. Bishop has played so well that the team recently extended his contract.

n Safety Charlie Peprah has stepped into a starting role after a season-ending injury to rookie safety Morgan Burnett and has played solidly all season.

n Undrafted free agent rookie Frank Zombo became a starter when outside linebacker Brad Jones was lost for the season. When Zombo got hurt, Capers plugged in midseason free agent signing Erik Walden, who was NFC defensive player of the week after their regular season finale.

“Our scheme’s changed a lot based off of who we’ve been putting out there,” Capers said. “It’s changed from one week to the next. And that’s been a big challenge for us, in terms of, ‘What are we going to do this week if we’re missing this and this and this guy?’”

Bishop says Capers’ experience and mastery of the details of his defense are his strongest assets as a coach.

“Sometimes, I sit back and watch him watch how things are supposed to work, and if something’s not right, he’ll definitely get it fixed,” Bishop said. “The way he sees the way it’s supposed to go, it’s at a total different speed than anybody else. Just his knowledge of how it’s supposed to work is his biggest strength. I, one day, can hopefully see it how he sees it, and that would raise my game like 10-fold.”

Given how well the Packers’ defense has performed, there has been speculation that Capers would attract interest from teams with head coaching vacancies. While the league-wide trend is toward hiring younger coaches and Capers is 60, his resume is impressive.

But with the Denver Broncos’ decision to hire John Fox on Thursday, it seems more likely that Capers will stay in Green Bay. Capers didn’t want to talk about the specifics of his current contract with the Packers, saying only that he has “more time left” on it.

You see, when Matthews knocked Eagles quarterback Kevin Kolb out of the game, it opened the door for then-backup Michael Vick. Vick has taken full advantage, and today is one of the front-runners for league MVP honors.

Perhaps it was inevitable that Vick would replace Kolb at some point this season. But Matthews certainly aided the process.

“Mike Vick maybe owes me a thank-you or something,” Matthews joked.

Chances are, Green Bay isn’t particularly thankful it’s facing Vick Sunday.

Kolb suffered a concussion when Matthews sacked him late in the first half. At the time, Kolb’s passer rating was a miserable 56.2 and the Eagles trailed, 13-3.

Vick nearly rallied the Eagles back before they eventually fell, 27-20. But Vick accounted for 278 yards in the second half, and his passer rating of 101.9 was the third-highest against the Packers this season.

“Clay had to go and get us Vick,” Packers nose tackle B.J. Raji joked.

Stopping Vick is no laughing matter, though.

This marked the first time since 2006 that Vick has been a full-time starter, and he posted career highs in passing yards (3,018), touchdown passes (21) and passer rating (100.2). Vick, arguably the NFL’s best dual threat ever, also ran for nine touchdowns and 676 yards.

“Vick’s a tough cookie, man,” said Packers outside linebacker Erik Walden, who led Green Bay with two sacks and 11 tackles in its win over Chicago Sunday. “He can do it all.

“He’s always been able to run, and now he makes all the throws, too. He’s a phenomenal player. I ain’t never seen anything like him. We got our hands full, but we’ll be up to the task.”

The Packers admittedly weren’t up to the task in Week 1.

Green Bay spent the entire week planning for Kolb, then were caught off guard when Vick entered permanently. The Packers had prepared for Vick to operate occasionally out of the Wildcat formation, but they certainly didn’t expect him to play 42 snaps.

“I’ll say this, it was one of those games where we didn’t have a big, extensive game plan for him,” Packers defensive coordinator Dom Capers said. “We were counting on six, eight plays in the game and he played the whole second half.

“He’s an explosive guy. I think he’s unlike any other guy in the league in terms of what he can do with that ball in his hands.”

Before Week 1, Capers had faced Vick only once, 2003, when Capers was Houston’s coach and Vick was Atlanta’s quarterback. That was Vick’s first game back after fracturing his leg that preseason, and he was quiet with only 76 total yards in part-time duty. This time, much of the Eagles’ attack is centered on the dynamic quarterback, while Capers has done a masterful job guiding a defense that finished No. 2 in points allowed.

“When he got in, it was definitely a surprise,” Packers standout inside linebacker Desmond Bishop said. “We hadn’t game-planned for him, but it’s going to be a little different this time when we can actually game-plan for him. It’s definitely going be better this time.”

From the infirmary

Cullen Jenkins, Green Bay’s best defensive end, has missed the last four games with a calf injury. But coach Mike McCarthy is hopeful Jenkins will be able to give it a go Sunday.

Fullback Korey Hall (knee), outside linebacker Frank Zombo (knee) and safety Atari Bigby (groin) – who all missed the Chicago game – also figure to have a shot to face the Eagles.

The four players will all test tomorrow to see whether they’re ready to start practicing.

Double trouble

Green Bay did a solid job against Bears Pro Bowl return man Devin Hester Sunday. Now, the Packers get the unenviable task of trying to stymie Eagles return ace DeSean Jackson.