Mike McCarthy: What Went Wrong Against the Bengals

…McCarthy does not make roster decisions by himself. He does, however, have an office that is very close to the General Manager’s and they discuss the roster together when appropriate. TT has explained that process many times. The head coach, as well as the entire coaching staff, has valuable input into all roster decisions. If McCarthy felt strongly about a player, those ideas would be given very strong consideration.

And just as obviously, I don’t expect any head coach to say, “our guys fricken blow” and start throwing players “under the bus.” I simply suggest that a player — or any employee — needs to understand that the word “unacceptable” means that their employer will eventually stop accepting it. There are players on the current roster that have been making the same mental errors for 3 seasons. The team seems to have an infinite amount of patience for it, yet still seems disappointed when they keep happening. After a while, it undermines the authority of the coaching staff.

If it isn’t obvious, I’m mainly talking about Jarrett Bush. He seems like a great guy, and I’m sure his teammates like him. I’m sure the coaching staff likes him. However, he keeps making the same mistakes. He’s on the lowest 10% of the roster order, and he has a small contract. The harsh reality is that there are street free agents or practice squad guys who could replace him right now. Yet, the Packers keep trying to fix him with coaching and team loyalty. Where are they going to draw the line? Is there even a line?

I think the team’s commitment to loyalty is admirable. I think their choice to think the best of every player is admirable. They can do those things, and still deal with the ultimate consequences of failure. I just haven’t seen them do it.

It seems to me there is a reason the majority of teams don’t play it. In the Packer’s case the D-lone is suspect (IMHO). The LBs are stronger, but Kampman is better closer to the line of scrimmage than he is in space. Hawk and Barnett are undersized for the middle, especially considering that Pickett and Raji are not dominant at the NT position. A great 3 – 4 needs to be anchored in the middle. Matthews looks pretty good, but he is young. Poppinga is alright.

The Pack can expect more overload blocking. It has long been the answer to running against the 3 – 4 defense so it won’t go away next week. All the defensive blitzes will be game planned, much like the Bengals did on Sunday. They will continue to work more like they did in the Bengals game than they did in the Bears game unless new schemes and packages are installed.

On offense Spitz and Colledge each slide over a position. So that means 3/5 of the positions will be manned by new guys. How is the O-line is supposed to get better and stop allowing sacks?

That brings us back to coaching. Let’s see what McCarthy and Capers come up with against the Rams. This should be an easy win, and a chance to prepare for the Vikings. The results on Sunday will reveal a lot about the coaches.

Isn’t the defense a part of Cutler blowing up? You think he just self destructed because he didn’t feel like playing well? The defense was GREAT in that game. They were swarming all over the field. Gang tackling, taking great angles, making very athletic plays…if you don’t think the D played well against the bears, you didn’t watch the game.

All of the interceptions had someone coming right at him pressuring him. I am sorry you watched a different game. You can try to be doom and gloom but if the offense does ANYTHING against the bears in that game we blow them out. It goes both ways…stop trying to paint a worse picture than it is. If yo uwant to focus on a bad defensive look no further than last week. It was like a totally different team. No tackling, no athletic plays, etc.

There are more teams running the 4 – 3 defense than the 3 – 4 defense in the NFL. The 3 – 4 was first played in the 1940s at Oklahoma. It’s been around for a long time. If it is the most effective defense I’d think the majority of NFL teams would be using it by now. For every effective 3 – 4 defense out there I can name a couple of 3 – 4s that are miserable. For example, Baltimore and Pittsburgh are great defenses because of their personnel. Kansas City Jacksonville, and Cleveland are lousy defenses because of their personnel. All of them are 3 – 4 schemes. The New York Giants, the Bears, and the Packers in the past all proved that the 4 – 3 can be a very prominent defense too. In the 4-3, you’re really depending on the defensive linemen, and in the 3-4, you’re depending on the linebackers. Rex Ryan says having the right personnel is the primary factor in the success of the schemes, so most coaches choose to mold their defenses around the talent. He said "It’s always players over scheme. Always. Whatever fits your team, that’s what you use."

Well I see a lot of teams trying to copy cat Baltimore and Pittsburgh but they don’t have the right personnel. I think that’s the case with the Packers this year. Kampman is the hybrid; the guy that can play both D-line and LB. He’s good at rushing the QB but I don’t see him or Barnett being great in space against the pass. So the Bengals kind of knew where the 4th rusher was going to come from. If you have to rush 5 a lot of pressure goes to the secondary especially over the middle. Safeties who can read a play quickly and accurately are absolutely required. The Pack’s safeties are good when healthy, but hurting right now. The NT position is extremely important to a 3 – 4. That’s not the Packers strength right now either.

Will the Packers turn into a premium 3 – 4? Maybe, but it will take time. What does that mean for this year?