FanHouse Dom Capers

There were massive changes made on the Green Bay Packers coaching staff after 2008 -- a season in which the team went 6-10, seemingly bottomed out on defense with a generally putrid season, and somehow couldn't score enough points with a highly-rated quarterback and potent offense to make up for all of it.

New coordinator Dom Capers brought promises of change with him, as he installed the 3-4 defense. However, an alarming performance Sunday at home against Cincinnati showed that Capers and his new staff still have a lot of work, as they try to pull the players out of a funk that threatens to ruin yet another football season in Wisconsin.

Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco started a trend last season: rookie quarterbacks who started from Week One and led their teams to the playoffs.

So the Detroit Lions and New York Jets are trying it this year with Matthew Stafford and Mark Sanchez. Although if Stafford gets the Lions from 0-16 to the postseason as a rookie, he probably should go directly to Canton.

In any case, Stafford and Sanchez will start Sunday in New Orleans and Houston as the NFL season finally gets under way after what seems like an eternal offseason.

There are other QB story lines the first week (although folks often forget there are 21 other guys on the field).

Training camps have wrapped up, the NFL season is right around the corner, and it's still hot as sin outside. But instead of cooling you off with a warm island song, FanHouse break out ye old heat check for our 2009 NFL Season Previews. " We'll rate each club in 5 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.

Injuries are not an excuse. It's also not permissible to point fingers at guys on the other side of the ball when your team has problems. No one in Green Bay will do this, despite the way things went down last year. The Packers lost eight of their ten games by a combined total of 30 points. Despite this, no one in the locker room pinned the blame on the three-ring circus in training camp, major injuries on defense, or anything else.

GREEN BAY, Wisc. -- When head coach Mike McCarthy hired Dom Capers as defensive coordinator, it was all about changing the culture. What had been a passive defense under former boss Bob Sanders would be passive no more.

Capers installed the 3-4, which puts the onus on linebackers to make plays in space. While not everyone on last year's Green Bay roster will end up a perfect fit in this new defense, it's clear that the team is high on a few young guys who could become major players.

For the Green Bay Packers, Saturday's preseason opener against Cleveland is the start of a new beginning. The Browns, meanwhile, just hope to take a step toward figuring out a starting quarterback.

When the two meet at Lambeau Field, the only thing that is known is that the Packers will play a live game for the first time under new defensive coordinator Dom Capers. In the short time that the starters play, and in the normally-bland environment that preseason games against regular-season opponents can create, what should Packer fans look for?

It was no surprise when the Green Bay Packers fired a chunk of their coaching staff after an awful 6-10 season. The big move was on defense, where coordinator Bob Sanders was shown the door, and veteran Dom Capers was hired to take over.

Capers is known for his work in the 3-4 defense. Not only that, but he normally coaches a very detailed and complex defensive scheme. While some may think that a greater variance to their look might help the Packers, there's reason to believe that Capers' complicated teachings could cause more problems, at least in the short term.

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- You can wear an Aaron Rodgers jersey in Wisconsin now and it means something. No longer a roster curiosity stalled in waiting behind Green Bay legend Brett Favre, Rodgers has seized the all-important starting quarterback role here and made it uniquely his.

"I think I've won over everyone here," says Rodgers, 25, who has assumed the role of Big Cheese in Green Bay with an admirable mix of humility and dignity, "because I've tried to just be steady, be even-keeled, on and off the field. That's how you get it done."

With Fantasy Football season ready to kick in high gear, FanHouse is here to preview each and every team -- one per day until we've done them all.

Meet The ...
The team that happily doesn't have to wonder if Brett Favre is coming to camp. Following a future hall of famer and face of the franchise isn't east. But, Aaron Rodgers make it look that way. In his first full year, Rodgers started all 16 games and threw for 4,038 yards and 28 touchdowns. Rodgers spread the love to two 1,000 yard receivers in Greg Jennings and Donald Driver and enjoyed a 1,203 yard campaign from his running back Ryan Grant, who battled through injuries and a somewhat slow start to the season. The key players from 2008 are still around heading into 2009 and there's no reason to think Rodgers shouldn't grow as a quarterback and the rest of the crew around him benefit from his experience.

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As the Green Bay Packers prepare for the upcoming season, they are also awaiting the results of their makeover on defense. Coordinator Dom Capers was brought in, and the installation of the 3-4 defense likely holds the key to Green Bay's chances in the NFC North.

The Packers have leaned quite a bit on younger players long the defensive front in recent years. One of those younger players is 2006 sixth-round pick Johnny Jolly, who has done a nice job at defensive tackle, but now is staring at a felony trial that starts Friday.

As if you need a reminder, it is indeed only June. We still have a lot of NFL offseason to go, and mind-reading can be a very dangerous proposition.

That said, when a stand-up, always-willing-to-talk guy is suddenly not willing to talk, it makes sense to believe that something is amiss. This is why Green Bay Packers fans have expressed concern about the attitude of star defensive end Aaron Kampman. They're just not used to silence from the veteran.