The Packers crapped the bed on Monday Night Football against the Lions. The whole world watched as the lifeless Packers got embarrassed in Lambeau by a team that had won just one game there since 1991. Sure, Green Bay was without Aaron Rodgers, but Brett Hundley was not the reason they lost. The Packers lost because, once again, their defense could not get off the field. Detroit scored 30 points, had a near 14 minute advantage in time of possession, and netted 417 yards of offense. The Lions punted as many times in this game as they did in any of their Super Bowl appearances.

The aforementioned performance led to this take from one of the more level-headed minds of Packers Twitter:

I'm finally fully on board. Dom's gotta be done. — Zach Kruse (@zachkruse2) November 7, 2017

What the Lions did to the Packers defense was neither rare nor an aberration. In fact, it was right in line with how the defense usually performs against formidable offenses. From 2011 through 2016, the Packers allowed an average of 30 points, 281 passing yards, and 125 rushing yards to top-12 scoring offenses. It’s worth noting that we’re not dealing with a modest sample size of eight or nine games, we’re talking about more than two and a half seasons worth of data (41 games including playoffs).

Some teams are good at stopping the run, while others excel at stopping the pass, but since the beginning of the 2011 season, the Packers have done neither. When they have faced a top-12 rushing attack, the Packers have allowed an average of 138 rushing yards per game (152 in the playoffs). Against top-12 passing offenses, they have allowed an average of 287 passing yards per game (329 in the playoffs).

It’s not fair to talk about Dom Capers without mentioning his first two seasons in America’s Dairyland. From 2009 through 2010 the Packers were a top 5 defense in nearly every statistical category and a big reason why they won Super Bowl XLV. There, I mentioned it – and now it gets ugly. Since 2011, the average Packers defensive ranking is 17th in points per game, 21st in yards per game, 19th in passing yards per game, 20th in passing yards per attempt, 19th in rushing yards per game, 22nd in rushing yards per attempt, 13th in turnovers, 14th in sacks, 21st in score percentage, 11th in turnover percentage, 22nd in points per drive, 21st in time per drive, 24th in yards per drive, and 21st in third down percentage.

One argument people frequently use (though less frequently now) to defend Capers is injuries. I’m not going to address the injury argument with numbers, though I will say that each and every NFL team deals with injuries and many coordinators have found ways to overcome them.

Another argument is lack of talent, and that’s simply not accurate. Take the current defense as an example: Mike Daniels, Kenny Clark, Morgan Burnett, Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, Clay Matthews, Nick Perry, Blake Martinez, Josh Jones, and Kevin King. They are all very skilled football players and you can make an argument that Dean Lowry, Damarious Randall and Davon House are too. The Packers couldn’t make Casey Hayward and Micah Hyde fit their scheme and they are both likely to be Pro Bowlers this year. One more thing – Since 2012, Ted Thompson has selected 10 defensive players in the first two rounds of the draft; the NFL average is 6.4 during that span and no other team has taken more than 8. The talent is there.

It was understandable for the Packers to allow Capers to milk his 2009 and 2010 accomplishments dry in hopes that he’ll get the defense back to where it was during those two seasons. It was understandable for two, perhaps even three seasons – yet here we are, seven seasons later, and he’s still milking.