It’s been many, many weeks since I’ve weighed in on the
sinking ship that is the 2018 Packers, but, at least, for today, I’m to give my
6 cents on what’s happened and is happening and what will happen.
Mike McCarthy has coached the Packers longer than anyone
else since Curly Lambeau. The immortal Curly Lambeau won 6 titles in 31 years
and the extremely mortal Mike McCarthy has won 1 in his 13 years as head coach.
Vince Lombardi and Bart Starr were coach for 9 years and Mike Holmgren for 7
years and Mike Sherman 6.
One of the reasons I haven’t commented on the terrible play
in general, the yearly rash of injuries and the terrible play calling of Mike
McCarthy is because what I had to say was something I’ve been saying for years
now and again after the “new beginning” during the offseason.
I wanted McCarthy fired years ago for not firing Dom Capers.
Remember McCarthy kept Dom Capers on WAY TOO LONG after he became a liability.
I was calling for Capers to be fired since the 2011 season and it took him 7
years to do so. The hallmark of a Capers defense is that in a crunch it will
fail and it seems Mike Pettine’s defense isn’t much better.
I wanted McCarthy fired after last season when the “new
beginning” (which it wasn’t) happened. I wanted to fire McCarthy at the bye and every
week ever since. I would put Joe Philbin in charge for the rest of the season.
Desperate measures for desperate times.
I also thought McCarthy should have been fired a few years
ago since he never evolved and failed on many occasions to utilize Rodgers and,
in fact, take the ball out of his hands at crucial moments of games. Like the
debacle against the Seahawks. After all that went on at the end of regulation
time the Packers should have been playing for the win instead McCarthy was
playing for the tie and overtime. How did that work out?
Now to this year or last year or the year before. With a
suspect defense why does McCarthy, who seems to win most coin flips, choose to
defer. If I had the greatest quarterback of all time and not the greatest
defense of all time I would want to take the lead right off the bat and set the
tone, but Coach 13 always defers and most times the opposing team takes the
lead and sets the tone. By the time the second half comes around the Packers
are out of the game. And with a suspect defense that usually means the game is
over by halftime.
McCarthy’s play calling has always been an issue. There was
a reason he gave it up 3 years ago. He knew he sucked. However, to our
continued disappointment, Tom Clements’ play calling was worse and McCarthy
took it back and stated he would never give up play calling again. Not being a
conspiracy theorist, but maybe I am, he did that on purpose, so as to quell the
criticism of his play calling. Could be.
Still on play calling. What happened to the slant and to
dinks and dunks to get a first down? Back in the day when Greg Jennings was a
Packer and he liked us, not like now after he became a Viking (one of 22 who
did, including Brett Favre, Zeke Bratkowski, Carroll Dale, Jan Stenerud, Greg
Koch, Dave Roller, Paul Coffman, Ken Stills, Bryce Paup, Darren Sharper, Ryan
Longwell, Javon Walker, Desmond Bishop and Datone Jones) the slant was a staple
and many times ended up being a 75-yard touchdown pass. I can’t remember the
last time we’ve throw a slant in earnest. Mike Holmgren went to the dink and
dunk when he didn’t have a running game and it worked (remember this was Brett
Favre at quarterback). It seems the only passes in the arsenal now are deep
sideline passes and passes into triple coverage. When the Packers do go short
Rodgers misses the open player completely by throwing to a covered receiver or
misses the open player with a bad pass. This happens WAY TOO MUCH.
Since I broached this subject the one new thing would be the
terrible play of Aaron Rodgers. I began to notice something was wrong in the
first game and every game since. I would say I noticed this in the preseason,
but once again Rodgers and the offensive starters don’t play in the preseason
under Coach 13. That is another issue I have with McCarthy. Ever since Jordy
Nelson got hurt in the preseason none of the offensive starters, especially
Rodgers, plays now. The first time they play together is game 1 and it usually
takes a few games for them to get their rhythm down. McCarthy is like a very
old man or my 7-year grand nephew stuck in his ways. They don’t listen to
anyone because they know best. The greatest example of this is the use of Aaron
Jones or lack there of. At the beginning of the season McCarthy rotated Jones,
Jamaal Williams, and Ty Montgomery equally. Then it became Jones and Williams.
I don’t remember Clarke Hinkle, Tony Canadeo, Jim Taylor, Paul Hornung, John
Brockington, Edgar Bennett, Dorsey Levens or Ahmad Green needing rest, but for
some reason the new breed of running back can’t play an entire game. I bet if
you ask Aaron Jones he will say he hates to be taken out. Running backs get
better as the game progresses and being platooned just means they never get
into the flow of the game. The same can be said about wide receivers. If you
need a rest after a long pass then you AREN’T in shape. McCarthy’s camp
evidently doesn’t get the Packers ready to play. Sorry for getting off topic.
Rodgers doesn’t see open receivers (something he used to be
the best at). Rodgers under throws wide open receivers (something he never used
to do). Rodgers over throws wide open receivers (something he also never used
to do). Rodgers throws the ball away a lot (something he also never used to
do). I hope this is just a blip and not the beginning of downward trend. At
this point I don’t know which one it is.
Let’s say something is wrong with Rodgers, so there could be
many causes of that. First, it could still be a residual from the knee injury.
He could have got into bad habits wearing the brace. But I reject that because
Rodgers played better with the brace than he is now. The second and I hate to
be thinking this, is the contract. Many superstars have succumbed to being set
for life and I never would have thought Mr. Rodgers was one of them, but maybe
he is. No, I reject that too. The third is play calling. I reject that because
Coach 13’s sucky playcalling has been around Mr. Rodgers entire career and
especially the last 8 seasons. For some reason Mr. Rodgers hasn’t fought the terrible
plays. He has become a milquetoast. Case in point, the 4th down call last week.
In what world has the Packers defense become something you could depend upon.
PUNT. Or at least run a play that would work. But that is an argument in my
Coach 13 section. Finally, it seems Rodgers don’t change the play much any
more. I think he would have changed that 4th down play, but he didn’t. It seems
Rodgers is willing to tank the season if that means Coach 13 is fired. At least
I see it that way.
It also seems Rodgers doesn’t think there is anything wrong
with him, especially mechanically, which it seems there definitely is something
wrong. The last time this happened Rodgers had a quarterback coach that he
listened to and they corrected the issue, but now he evidently doesn’t talk to
the quarterback coach he didn’t want. And it seems Coach 13 doesn’t talk to him
either.
Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. It
seems Rodgers has become Brett Favre of his last few seasons with the Packers.
I wonder has Rodgers moved into his own private locker room like Favre did (we
didn’t know that until Favre had left). The local kiss-ass media tells us
nothing. For the local kiss-ass media to FINALLY start to criticize the Packers
is too little WAY TOO LATE.
Now to higher problems with the Packers. What should have been
the 5th dynasty has settled into the “Just Good Packers” under the leadership
or lack there of of Mark Murphy and Ted Thompson. Murphy made the statement he
was happy to just be making the playoffs and he has run the Packers that way.
He kept Ted Thompson on WAY TOO LONG after he became a despot without any
supervision. Ted Thompson brought the Packers the 4th Super Bowl title and
record 13th title in the history of the Packers, but Ted Thompson II turned the
burgeoning dynasty into a paper tiger with the best quarterback in the game.
The hiring of Brian Gutekunst and the retention of Ted
Thompson just meant nothing much as changed, no matter what the local kiss-ass
media tells us. Gute said he would consult TT on all matters and it seems to me
what he has done is just what TT did. Most of the moves made this season have
been in the TT mode (signing the cheapest rejects nobody wants and putting them
in the starting lineup). The signing of Jimmy Graham and Marcedes Lewis was
also an extension of what TT did his last year in the signing of Martellus
Bennett and Lance Kendricks.
The best example is not trading for Khalil Mack. Look who is
on top of the division and look who isn’t. The team that made that season
changing trade was da Bears and the team that didn’t is out of the playoffs. I
don’t believe for a minute what the local kiss-ass media told us about how hard
Gute tried to make that trade. The Packers have a second No. 1 pick next year
and I would have used it and sent Clay Matthews to the Raiders to get Mack. I
bet Gruden would have made that trade instead of the Bears offer (two No. 1’s,
2019 No. 6, 2020 No. 3, for Mack and a 2020 No. 2 and a conditional 2020 No.
5). Gute then didn’t even try to pick Bruce Irvin when he was cut by the
Raiders later. With the easily predictable loss of the other big named free
agent Muhammad Wilkerson after just 3 games
Irvin would have a been a good acquisition or at least a cheap one to try out.
Ted Thompson is alive and well and working at 1265 Lombardi Avenue
FIRE HIS ASSES or ASSES
Since we are doomed to finish out the season with Mike
McCarthy as coach and all the dysfunction that goes with it then let’s be happy
for a high draft choice. After that the Board needs to fire Mark Murphy and the
entire front office the night the season ends including that chunk of dead wood
and ideas Ted Thompson/Brian Gutekunst. Then fire McCarthy and his staff the
next day. What is needed is a real “new beginning” with an entirely new front
office and coaching staff. What is needed is a Vince Lombardi or Ron Wolf to
take over with new ideas and up-to-date coaching methods to make use of the
last good years of Aaron Rodgers. A new approach to signing players who
actually know how to play instead of cheap ass backups. A new approach to
the training room to prevent the rash of injuries that has been the hallmark of
the McCarthy era. A new approach to coaching that prevents a penalty on every
special teams play. A new approach to using the best personnel and not some…..I
don’t know what McCarthy does at times. A new approach that values the offensive
line and not disses them. A new approach……to too many things.
The Packers are at a crossroads. Either the organization
realizes how stale the organization has become with Ted Thompson and an actual
new start is needed or the Packers are about to slide into the third Wilderness
Years and it is up to them to decide how long the slide will continue. Every
person hired by Ted Thompson needs to be fired NOW. And Mark Murphy, who had
happily presided over the decline with his unnatural man-crush with Ted
Thompson (He can stay as long as he wants to), needs to be replaced as soon as
possible.
The Packers have become an afterthought at best or a joke at
worse this season in the 1st year of the New Beginning/Brian Gutekunst Era,
which has become a total disaster. Last year Aaron Rodgers missed 9 games, so
there was an excuse although the retort to that is the total lack of a backup
for Rodgers. The designated backup Brett Hundley was totally unprepared and
he shouldn’t have been since he was being coached by the greatest quarterback
coach of all time in McCarthy. Remember Hundley was a drafted by Thompson. I’ve
always felt a veteran backup was needed in case he had to play and not a
project, who tuned out to be a chump. The same situation exists today. When
DeShone Kizer had to play the rest of the first half against the Bears a
totally hurt Aaron Rodgers HAD to return to save the game. Kizer is worse than
Hundley. Remember Zeke Bratkowski was Bart Starr’s backup, Doug Pederson was
Brett Favre’s for many seasons and nobody has been Aaron Rodgers’ since Doug
Flynn left in 2011 and especially again after he left in 2014.
If this current front office continues the Packers will be
bad for a long, long time. Time for someone to step up and make the situation
right again. If nothing else rehire Ron Wolf and Mike Holmgren to take control
and make the right hires.
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