Packers - Panthers Film Study: Ha Ha Performance No Laughing Matter
By JerseyAl
I didn't set out to write something about Ha Ha Clinton-Dix. My goal was to study the Packers offense on third downs (which I did here). But sticking out like a sore thumb was the performance of Clinton-Dix throughout the game, but especially in the 2nd quarter. It was a horror show of bad decisions and lackluster effort the likes of which we haven't seen since M.D. Jennings wandered around the Packers secondary..
I going to be brief in my descriptions, because the film pretty much speaks for itself.
13:42 mark of the 2nd quarter:
The Packers have double coverage on the receiver running the outside pattern at the bottom of the screen. They have underneath coverage on Cotchery breaking inside and Ha Ha should have been providing help over the top. Instead, he inexplicably goes towards the double-covered receiver, giving Cotchery about 20 yards of open field to run through unencumbered. He then makes an awful play worse by taking a bad angle and allowing Cotchery to cut inside and pick up another 20 yards.
10:19 mark of the 2nd quarter:
Here Clinton-Dix is a single-high safety, which means he is to never let a receiver get deeper than he is. In addition, instead of back-peddaling straight back and staying centered, he shades towards his right. When he realizes it's time to turn and give safety help on the left side, it's too late and he is too far away as well.
8:59 mark of the 2nd quarter:
This is the most inexplicable of all. Start and stop the video every second or so and you'll see what I mean. Dix is the only DB assigned to Olsen. As the play breaks from scrimmage, C-D starts to retreat. As Olsen hits the 4 yard line, C-D is retreating into the end zone. WHY??? He leaves a good 5 yards between himself and Olsen - and this is AT THE GOAL LINE!!??!! As Olsen makes his break, Dix is still retreating. Olsen catches the TD and Dix is still 5 yards away. Never once made an effort to come up and meet him at the goal line. If there had been another DB inside of him you could make the excuse he expected inside help. But that was not the case. Matthews was to his left and did not drop back in coverage. How in the world do you drop off a receiver like that at the goal line? Betcha he has a Red Ass over that one.
0:49 mark of the 2nd quarter:
Here Clinton-Dix is a single high safety again. Admittedly, this is a tougher call as there are three receivers all with single coverage coming at him. Middle receiver cuts off his route and the two outside receivers both go deep. Newton looks to the receiver on the right before throwing to the other side. This time Clinton-Dix is deep enough, but he takes the bait and starts to his left before realizing his mistake too late and then giving a half-hearted run over to the other side. Again, I can't be overly critical of what he saw and reacted to on this play, but there is one thing he should have had in mind from the snap;. the very inexperienced Dimitri Goodson was to his right and if you were going to take bets, odds were pretty good that's who Carolina was going to go after. This was more a case of not anticipating what was likely to happen on the play than his actual performance on the play.
And this was just the second quarter... No wonder Peppers had a few things to say to him...
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"Jersey Al" Bracco is the Editor-In-Chief, part owner and wearer of many hats for CheeseheadTV.com and PackersTalk.com. He is also a recovering Mason Crosby truther. Follow Al on twitter at @JerseyalGBP.
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Comments (40)
phillythedane
November 11, 2015 at 06:55 pm
Now that was some brutal film.
Packer_Pete
November 11, 2015 at 07:28 pm
That was some brutal film. And maybe Peppers was right. But just in fairness, I think you will probably find some brutal film about Peppers and the rest of the DL/OLB which looks just as bad... Lackluster effort all the way around...
JerseyAl
November 11, 2015 at 08:07 pm
no doubt. Just focusing on the worst of the worst here...
Icebowler
November 11, 2015 at 09:16 pm
That was worse than MD Jennings, that was McMillianesque. Have you seen 39 yr. old Woodson's play this year?
NickPerry
November 11, 2015 at 09:41 pm
Icebowler PLEASE, don't even get me going about Woodson. He has more interceptions than all the Packers that have played Safety combined this year. BTW, did you see him run Antonio Brown out of bounds at the end of the game, 39 year olds aren't supposed to beable to come close to Brown. Granted the Raiders lost the game but the fact Wood was able to run him out slight angle or not was impressive. It makes me wonder how long Thompson will keep Nelson around coming off a injury or even Sitton after next year given his history of getting rid of players that are 30 something. Sometimes Veterian Leadership is worth a hell of alot more than a tenth or 2 of a second.
D.D.Driver
November 12, 2015 at 01:14 pm
If Rodgers, Matthews and Peppers can't provide enough "veteran" leadership, there is a big problem.
The reality is that Oakland is a joke of a franchise. Hilariously inept. They haven't had a winning season in 13 years. They draft top 10 in the draft almost every year and still stink. If you were running a franchise (and you cared about wins and losses) I bet you could be successful by watching what the Raiders do, and then doing the exact opposite.
But they do love to fire coaches, which is something it seems lots of Packer fans would love to see. Nine coaches in 13 seasons. That's pretty impressive.
Personally, I'd rather see more wins than more coaches and veteran leadership, but I'm old school that way.
WKUPackFan
November 12, 2015 at 04:47 am
A correct and entertaining description of recent Raider history. However, this year's Raiders are much different. Carr appears to be an excellent QB, Cooper, Crabtree, and Murray provide good play, and their Oline is maintaining. Defense is still a work in pregress.
brewers_rule
November 12, 2015 at 01:24 pm
I was just about to say, this guy hasn't watched the Raiders this year and if the Packers themselves go into that game thinking the same, we're coming out with a LOSS, plain and simple the way we're playing right now.
dschwalm
November 15, 2015 at 10:56 am
My money is on the Raiders regardless of how healthy the Packers are or what their thoughts are. It is night and day watching the Raiders get after the receivers and running backs, including the QBs. They are for real and will beat Packers in Oakland by at least a TD. Packers are pathetic.
NickPerry
November 12, 2015 at 05:37 am
Rodgers himself has said Woodson was the unquestioned leader in that locker room in 2010. Matthews has said he's not the "Leader Type" as we saw when Playoff Captians were named last year and Matthews wasn't one of them for the NFC Championship Game. That leaves Peppers, a guy that's been on the team 25 games. Hey the guy is great, Woodson was greater, and a better leader
The reality in Oakland is Reggie McKienzie took over an old, overpaid, mess of a football team a few years ago. They were what, $30 or $40 million over the Cap his first year and still trying to overcome draft picks like Demarcus Russell made by Al Davis. Reggie has always had to try and build this team while not knowing if the team is moving the next season or not. They've put together a hell of a excellent young core group while adding in a FA here or there and Woodson was one of the best signings he's made. Woodson has made 10 interceptions and not missed a game in 2 1/2 seasons, not to bad for someone that was "Too Old". If I may I suggest you go back and look at their drafts since Reggie took over and Al Davis stoped making the picks. They FINALLY have a respectable coaching staff, not Puppets put in place by Al Davis and then Mark. I live in Los Ageles with TONS of Raiders fans and the general feeling is THESE Raiders are on their way.
D.D.Driver
November 12, 2015 at 05:50 am
Reality check: they are 4-4 and have lost to the Bears. When you have been comically inept for so long, 4-4 *feels* like a Super Bowl. When you are the Packers, you fall to 6-2 it *feels* like the sky is falling.
And so it goes...
Anyhow, there is an old Branch Rickey adage, followed by Vince Lombardi: it's better to part with a player a year too early than a year too late. It's harsh and unsentimental. And every now and then, some wily old vet will find success elsewhere, but it's still a proven blueprint for success.
Idiot Fan
November 12, 2015 at 11:52 am
Agreed. I LOVE Charles Woodson, but he was not very good, even in his last year with us. It's easy to see someone's highlights and think that they're playing really well, but you just don't know about the other 99% of plays unless you watch all of the Raiders games, which I'm pretty sure nobody can do and live.
NickPerry
November 13, 2015 at 06:28 am
Yup you're right, he wasn't very good but he was also really injured. He played in 7 games that year, his first year at SS ever after playing LCB. He was injured in week 7 and didn't come back until the playoffs. To bad his last game was against the 49ers when they trounced Green Bay 45-31 and it wasn't that close.
NickPerry
November 13, 2015 at 06:38 am
Reality check? No offense DD, I'm not trying to start a fight but perhaps a dose of "Reality" could be a great help to you. Now I don't think the sky is falling, but I am concerned over a team that's won their 6 games against teams that are 19-31, ranks 28th in offense, and 27th in the NFL in 3rd down percentage. They also lead the NFL (Are LAST) in drives that fail to score a TD or get a first down. Dude, that's just the offense! Want the defensive stats?
WKUPackFan
November 12, 2015 at 04:59 am
Saw that play also Nick. I was shocked that Chuck could close on Brown. I wonder if, in the dark recesses of TT's mind, he imagines how things could have worked differently.
NickPerry
November 12, 2015 at 05:44 am
What pissed Chuck and myself off so bad was he wasn't even offered a contract. Not a cut in pay, nothing. Just "Your services are no longer needed". If Ted offered something, ANYTHING, I think it would have turned out different because Wood never wanted to leave.
Icebowler
November 11, 2015 at 09:19 pm
I forgot to add: Woodson won ESPN's "mid-season" Defensive Player of the Year today on NFL Live.
porupack
November 12, 2015 at 12:09 am
Woodson also no longer plays under a Dom Capers led defense.
AZPack
November 12, 2015 at 08:32 am
Woodson did pretty F'in well playing in Capers scheme. Or did you forget his DPOY award in Capers scheme? Woodson had a revival playing under Capers.
zoellner25
November 11, 2015 at 09:42 pm
I distinctly recall the 2nd one. Brutal no doubt, but he's young and had a bad game. Let's just hope it actually gets corrected. Heard Leroy butler say this defense has been bad for a long time, and he would know.
PETER MAIZ
November 11, 2015 at 10:25 pm
Jersey Al is right. Could these bad decisions by C-D be a problem with the safeties coach, though. These issues are part of correct training. Or it could mean Ha Ha is not paying attention in class.
porupack
November 12, 2015 at 12:20 am
Al, your film study last 2 days were excellent. Sure appreciate it.
I think you're saying its bad decisions in this case of H-D, and not an issue in talent or competency.
Or, it could just be inexperience and a one-off brain-freeze.
The debate of the week is, what amount of this problem (these problems) to be attributed to coaches; lack of preparation of H-D and the whole team for that matter? Seems like H-D never anticipated accurately. Almost like no one thought Cam Newton could complete deep passes. Did they simply plan for a Carolina run game? Seems terrible preparation. But, again, Maybe Dom and Mike exhausted their leadership acumen and H-D just couldn't execute on the field. I think the former. I believe in what great leadership/management can elicit out of even ordinary people, let alone 53 specialists.
Ok, I think Thursday is a good time to look forward...so let's see if MM and DC got the message.
Thegreatreynoldo
November 12, 2015 at 02:17 am
I have previously written a couple of times that I cannot recall Clinton Dix coming over from his safety position to help a CB and actually defending the pass. When I write that our CBs are out on islands a lot, that is not only scheme but also that no help is forthcoming from the safety even when the help is supposed to be available, and also that Burnett plays close to the LOS a lot, meaning we don't play a lot of 2 deep safeties.
Last year, I did credit Dix with limiting the number big plays allowed. This year Green Bay has allowed more big plays. [See Link Below. In 2015, GB has generated 50 big plays (Surprise - GB is 1st by % of big plays 3rd in raw number of big plays) and allowed 48 big plays. Big play is defined as 10+ yard rush or 25+ yard pass. The 48 big plays ranks GB 8th worst in the NFL. 48 so far extrapolates to 96 for the year. In 2014, GB allowed 78 big plays, (14th worst but in a pack of teams with 75 to 80 big plays allowed). 78 to 96 is significant, but it is worse than that imo because I am assuming GB gave up fewer big plays in the last half of 2014 after CM3 moved to ILB and Dix began to start at FS and get more comfortable.
I posted at the end of last season that Darren Perry has not coached up any safeties to a competent level during his tenure in GB, noting that Perry was hired 2/4/09 and Collins was a pro bowler in 2008, and in his defense noting that TT hasn't provided Perry with a lot of talent other than Clinton Dix, and we'd have to see what he can do with Dix. I'd say Banjo's play is the best evidence that Perry can coach. Burnett has had one good year, and only in run support, not so much in coverage.
A couple of weeks ago I posted graphs showing that GB completes very few passes between the numbers or between the hash marks compared to NE.
Last year I criticized Rodgers for not taking what is given by the defense which had been ignoring Rich Rodgers, and I suggested that R. Rodgers is only playing because of the dearth of talent at TE. R. Rodgers should have been the #3 TE until he learns to block since he can't stretch the field, and never is going to be able to do that. I more recently criticized R. Rodgers for never breaking a tackle or punishing a DB coming up to tackle him - he has to do those things because he is not elusive in the least.
http://www.sportingcharts.com/nfl/stats/team-big-play-statistics/2015/
ben
November 12, 2015 at 04:42 am
about time
Lphill
November 12, 2015 at 07:16 am
Maybe Dix and Lacy partied too much after the Alabamba win, you never know.
Archie
November 12, 2015 at 08:26 am
Is this the unraveling of the TT/MM era in GB? It sure looks and sounds it. Dix, R Rodgers, Lacy etc. have all failed to get better, suggesting either bad coaching or bad drafting. Ditto Hayward. Cobb isn't the same player w/o Jordy drawing premium coverage. The OL isn't what we all thought it was. Maybe a C+. Starks is the only guy living up to his contract on offense. We still can't find anybody to play ILB besides 52. About the only thing left to go wrong is TT fails to re-sign Daniels.
Packer fans can enjoy the feast on the Lions this week but buckle up for the following week at MN when our boys get put to a critical test. I think Packers have lost last 10 games on the road vs a team with a winning record. MN fits the criteria to make it 0-11. The real shame here is we have the best QB on the planet. Coaching and scheme on both sides of ball is greatly lacking and drafting has generally sucked for a long while now. 2015 draft still looking decent but previous 3 or 4 have really sucked.
murphy
November 12, 2015 at 08:56 am
Just for fun...Records of "top" quarterbacks in road games against teams that finished with winning records over the last few years (not including 2015 games):
Philip Rivers: 6-5
Ben Roethlisberger: 5-4
Russell Wilson: 6-7
Peyton Manning: 6-7
Colin Kaepernick: 6-7
Tony Romo: 5-8
Tom Brady: 3-7
Andrew Luck: 4-12
Aaron Rodgers: 2-11
Eli Manning: 2-11
Drew Brees: 2-10
Ryan Tannehill: 2-10
Matt Ryan: 1-8
Matthew Stafford: 0-11
RCPackerFan
November 12, 2015 at 09:06 am
Great research Murphy.
Goes to show how winning on the road is not an easy thing to do.
Thegreatreynoldo
November 12, 2015 at 09:14 am
Yes, great research. It is tough to win on the road against winning teams.
2-11 did not exactly cheer me up any, though.
RCPackerFan
November 12, 2015 at 09:32 am
no. no it doesn't.
But looking at the other QB's, and its not as bad as I figured it was either.
murphy
November 12, 2015 at 10:09 am
I take no credit for the research. I pulled the list from a Seahawks blog, of all places. Not sure if it's kosher to link an SBnation blog, but here it is:
http://www.fieldgulls.com/2015/7/25/9037165/russell-wilson-staturday-roa...
I always find it interesting when someone pulls out a nugget like "Rodgers/The Packers are x and y vs winning teams on the road, " and this article made for an interesting read.
White92
November 12, 2015 at 10:47 am
I can't think of a bigger overreaction. The other 3 crappy teams in the division regularly change GM's and coaches and look where it has gotten them. I am not happy about 2 consecutive losses, but I'm not ready to chuck the whole system. The Packers have generally played young guys, and even into their second year, young guys can have uneven performance. I'll go with the entire body of work over shooting these guys at the first sign of adversity. This team was 1 or 2 plays from the Super Bowl last year. TT and MM didn't get stupid overnight.
murphy
November 12, 2015 at 11:30 am
It's easy to miss the forest for the trees when emotions are involved.
porupack
November 12, 2015 at 11:54 am
just so we're clear;
1) Not advocating to chuck the whole system, or shooting the coaches
2) Its not about 2 games lost, its about poor quality play in many aspects this year in multiple ways, sloppy football, clock management, penalties, etc. I'm not just focused on stats, but eyeball test is pretty telling.
3) TT and MM are great coaches/great leaders....but they have failed on many counts over this year...and plenty of trends and widespread issues throughout the team to back this up. So good management calls a spade a spade, and we don't brush failure under the rug just because last year they almost succeeded. Its not over-reaction to identify management failure to have the team prepared, right game plan, details covered, communications and assignment made for various scenarios. MM can fix it. He just hasn't yet.
dschwalm
November 15, 2015 at 11:06 am
No, they didn't get stupid overnight. They have always been mediocre, but MM is media friendly. His expertise stops there. I have always thought that the only way MM keeps his job is because he has Rodgers. Now, that Rodgers is having an "of year", MM has no idea how to adjust. He has never been recognized as anything more than a care-taker coach, in spite of what Vic says: "the most creative coach I have covered``
croatpackfan
November 12, 2015 at 08:39 am
1st Mark...
Where was Morgan? What he was doing 20 yards from LOS? Watching football game? I thought he was suppose to play it?
2nd Mark...
Where was Morgan? What he was doing 15 yards from LOS? Watching football game? He was there just to fill 11th player on the field?
3rd Mark...
Where was Clay? What he was doing there? He was not performing pass rush, nor defending run, and I thought that ILB is responsible for TE. To me it looks like Ha-Ha had assignement to help Goodson in covering very high WR. When Ha-Ha found out that nobody covering Olson, he tried to reach hi. I agree, to far away, to late!
4th Mark
This might be his mistake, but we do not know his assignemets for that play. I saw WR coming from his left (offensive right) who looks like he will beat Randall on in side route. He try to react, and, as I already said, he might made mistake. So, you were expecting from one player to cover complete back of the defense while other defenders just walking around and watching football game?
Conclusion? Whole team efforts was lousy in that 2nd Q. And I do not remember one pressure from Packers DL or LB except that one which produced 3 and 17... Now, after your article we found out who was the guilty guy - Ha-Ha Clinton-Dix. But still we do not know what was the assignements for Morgan and Clay on that 3 plays you pointed out!
RCPackerFan
November 12, 2015 at 09:13 am
1st. I agree on that. I would place more blame on Burnett then Clinton-Dix on that one. He moved up when Newton started to scramble. It looks like he should have been deeper. There was already 2 other Packers in that area. I have to think its on him.
2nd & 3rd, I will blame Clinton-Dix for not doing a better job. Without knowing the coverages its hard to say for sure.
4th. That is all on Goodson. He played that horribly. He first holds the WR, then he still allows the WR to get 10 yards past him.
While Clinton-Dix was bad. So were a lot of people.
Since'61
November 12, 2015 at 09:15 am
Al - excellent work again. I realize that Dix is still is his 2nd season, but these are unacceptable mental errors. I also noticed that the Packers pass rush was ineffective on each of those plays which has become an additional problem since the bye week. We are losing the battle on both sides of the LOS. Couple that with the poor secondary play shown here and it's obvious why we beaten so thoroughly the last 2 weeks. Need to figure it out for C. Johnson and the Lions by Sunday. Thanks, Since '61
WinUSA
November 12, 2015 at 12:47 pm
Fantastic analysis Jersey ...much thanks bud....As I was throwing my foam brick at the TV during those plays and screaming "how the h##L did that happen"...you made it chrystal clear. It's articles like this that makes me turn to CheeseheadTV first when looking for good, unbiased, Packer coverage! Keep it rocking!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
brewers_rule
November 12, 2015 at 01:25 pm
Did the reporters ever corner Ha Ha about his performance this week? I may have missed it on Twitter etc but none of the articles this week seem to get into depth what the hell he was thinking during most of this game. I'm honestly wondering if he had something personal going on off the field or something that his head was that far out of the game like that.