Shields decision came just before game time

Up until an hour and a half before the game when the inactives are due from each team, members of the Packers secondary thought CB Sam Shields was going to play.

Shields, who was listed as probable after missing practice with a hamstring injury, tued out not to be ready and was declared inactive.

Most notably, it forced rookie CB Micah Hyde to line up against Victor Cruz in the slot when nickel persoel was on the field. Had Shields been around, Tramon Williams, who played maybe his best game of the season, would have lined up in the slot and covered Cruz with Davon House maing the other outside position.

"It was a game time decision," said Jarrett Bush, who moved into the dime position and played solidly. "I thought he was going to play, but he couldn't. It's next man up mentality. Whoever steps up in the slot has Cheap Panthers Jerseys to step in and play and play to a standard.

"Either way, no matter who goes in there, they have to play to a standard. Whether it's Tramon, or myself, or Micah or Sam. Whoever steps in there has to play to a standard of wiing football. As a team we didn't do that."

Defensive coordinator Dom Capers hasn't been using Hyde on the outside, in part, because he's still leaing the position and isn't fast enough to cover for his experience. Shields was able to play as a rookie because even though he wasn't always using the right techniques, he made up with it with his blazing speed.

Once the Giants saw that Cruz would be matched up against a rookie in the slot, they went to him until the Packers were forced to give Hyde help over the top. In the first half, QB Eli Maing threw seven times to Cruz, completing five for 63 yards.

Not all of them were against Hyde and Cruz wasn't the only one doing damage. But the safeties never seemed to be in the right position and Cruz finished with eight catches for 110 yards.

"We just saw some things that Wholesale Arizona Cardinals Jerseys we liked, saw some opportunities that we were able to take advantage of and we did," Cruz said. "They gave us the coverages we were looking for on specific down and distances and we were able to take advantage of them."

Hyde admitted the challenge of covering Cruz in the slot was enormous, but he said he didn't back down from it and was eager to watch the film to see what he could have done better.

"Right now, I can't tell you," he said. "Maybe jamming him more at the line or getting my Christian louboutin Outlet hands on him or my leverage. I could have been better on some of those third down calls."

The players said that Capers made adjustments throughout the game, but the secondary could not shut down the Giants receivers when it absolutely had to. Some of the zone the Packers played just gave the Giants free shots over the middle and when it was man, only Williams was able to contain his man.

It was a failure on the entire defense's part not to be able to make up for Shields' absence.

"We've got to do it," Williams said. "We've got to find a way."

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This defense consistently puts the Packers in a hole. When the Packers were dominant in 2011 the defense was the achilles heel. When the Niners destroyed us last year it was the defense that caved. And when the Packers desperately needed to win a couple of games during Arod's absence, it's the defense that again disappoints by forcing a backup QB to play from behind; not to mention when we need a stop late, it rarely happens. McCarthy should be blunt this week unless the defense steps up there will be wholesale changes next year. No coach and no player on that side of the ball should be safe. If you ea, or want to ea, big money, it's put up or shut up time. When the Giants started 0 6, their defense tued their season around. They've given up a total of one or two touchdowns in 4 games. Against the teams we are playing, our defense should be held to that same standard. The bottomline: The defense has to improve or many of the coaches/players should be somewhere else next season. It's that simple.

Either the players in our secondary are as dumb as a box of rocks, or they're not being coached properly. Find out what the problem is, and FIX IT! I'm tired of hearing "we'll fix that", or "we have to get better." Ray Rhodes said that after every loss when he was HC, and he was gone after a season when it was obvious we were going nowhere with him.

How many more losses do we blame on the Dom Capers defense before he is gone? 2009 when our D gave up 51 points to the CARDINALS! I don't care if they had Kurt Waer. We should have held them to at least 40. Then it's the Niners and the second coming of Joe Montana, Colin Kaepeick (kidding), shredding our defense with his arm, or his legs. No other team in the league has the trouble with him that we do. Or it's Eli "I lead the NFL in interceptions every three years" Maing, the "elite" quarterback. How does this tuover machine whip us time and time again?

And now Shields is hurt. Is there anybody on this defense who can stay healthy? I would ask a Packer defensive player to count how many players have been healthy all 10 weeks, but that player would likely get hurt using their fingers to count.

This defense has no toughness. No nastiness. I say we make them wear dresses over their uniforms until they find their balls, and start playing some football.