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One of the most highly-publicized decisions to come out of Green Bay this offseason was head coach Mike McCarthy's decision to give up the Packers' playcalling duties and hand them off to Tom Clements. While the decision was one that was the result of a great deal of thought rather than a rash reaction to the loss in Seattle, McCarthy himself has changed somewhat after that week, in which he suffered a far greater loss: his brother's death.
Packers fans should keep an eye on the offense tonight as the team opens the preseason against the Patriots, and with the offensive philosophy not likely change, the effects will probably be greater on the defense and special teams. After all, those units will have far more input from McCarthy than they have in years past, and tonight's game will be the first chance to see that in action.
This is not the first time that McCarthy has allowed someone else to call the plays - in fact, Clements did just that in a preseason game last year. However, McCarthy was not nearly as involved in the other facets of the game that week, and certainly had not been throughout the entire offseason like he has this year.
We have much more on tonight's game in today's curds below, so click around and enjoy!
Lots of eyes on Ty Montgomery in preseason opener | Packers.com
We noted the wide receivers as one of our positions to watch for tonight's game, and Montgomery is a big reason why. He'll hope to keep up his impressive summer with a good performance against the Patriots.
Four young tight ends fighting for position behind Rodgers, Quarless | JSOnline
Position coach Jerry Fontenot discussed three of them. Harold Spears isn't mentioned much, but he had a nice practice on Monday when he caught a touchdown pass from Brett Hundley to finish the two-minute drill.
Lost and Found | NFL.com
If you read just one article in today's curds, make it this one. Mike McCarthy is a different man than he was the day of the NFC Championship Game, and much of his transformation is due to his brother's sudden passing. Mike Silver does a terrific job of telling the coach's story from the past several months, as well as breaking down the decision to give up playcalling duties.
Micah Hyde does it all for Packers’ defense, special teams | Packersnews.com
Hyde can play any position in the secondary that he's asked to, and he's a weapon all over the place on special teams as well. It's really just a continuation of what he did at Iowa.
Tom Brady unlikely to play in preseason opener - NFL.com
This is probably one of the least-surprising news items to come out of Tom Brady's suspension hearing on Wednesday.
Eagles player compares Sam Bradford to Aaron Rodgers - Bleeding Green Nation
To be fair, he is talking specifically about Bradford's release of the football, not necessarily his entire game. Still, that's some awfully high praise.