Mike McCarthy Interview

It's not a great interview, but Mike McCarthy sat down with Journal Sentinel beat writer Bob McGinn. I didn't like that McGinn spent most of the interview asking questions about QB Aaron Rodgers, the backup QBs, and guys (not just Favre) who could have been playing QB for the Packers this season. Nothing about the banged up offensive line, or RB Ryan Grant, or all the defensive starters who played so little in the preseason.

Rodgers doesn't interest me because he is as ready as a first time starter will ever be. He's spent the last three seasons on the bench learning, and two seasons working with McCarthy in his offensive system. Plus he was fantastic this preseason. Any backup QB at this point is going to be a major step down from him, and QB Matt Flynn is as good a number 2 QB as anyone on the roster or available as a free agent.

McCarthy did get in a few great remarks. About how the Vikings look great on paper:

You have to be impressed with what the Vikings have done on paper. More important, you have to be impressed with what they've done on film. They went out and tried to improve their pass rush, and they've accomplished that. The pressure they're getting off the edges is improved from last year. How you compete against it is a whole other story. There's been paper champions before. At the end of the day that's why you play the games.

The Packers' wide receivers are one of the best, if not the best, group of receivers on one team. One of the things they do that make them special is their ability to create huge yards after the catch, and McCarthy is well aware of how good they are at doing it:

Our wide receivers do a great job with route discipline. They catch the ball very well. More important is what they do after the catch and how they block. We take a lot of pride in that.

And now the defense can be known as the Thermostat:

I think our defense has been dominant in spurts. There will be games they will win for us. I look at the defense as the thermostat of our team. They need to keep things regulated. If they can keep the game regulated where it's always a 3- to 7-point game, then we're in every game.