An Attempt At Discussing McCarthy's Future

[pbmax]

You have to be careful with McCarthy and his running numbers. He has previously expressed that the average per carry is paramount and bears watching. He has then said that the number of rushes is really telling and average isn't everything. He has also expressed the idea that he has to maintain an artificial balance anathema, because you have to be aware of the opponent, game situation and success rate.

Now he tells you he thought running it 20 times in the second half was a good target.

In McCarthy's defense, the team did have over 98 percent odds to win the game after Russell Wilson's fourth interception with about five minutes left in the game. Up until that point, McCarthy was fine.

First Half Runs: 16
Second Half Runs: 14

And that includes two drives, 6 plays with 5 runs, designed specifically to end the game and the last of those attempts was with less than 5 minutes on the clock. He wasn't run happy because of the target (see first half), but because he had the lead and a chance to close it out. He has done this before, many times. His end of game strategy needs a rethink, but its not a target number of runs that is the problem.

Its the drastic approach to milking the clock by running regardless of success rate or D alignment.

If I had to bet, that 20 carry figure is one of the common traits of winning teams that database divers pull out once in a while. It sounds impressive and a key to success until you realize that the reason all those carries came in the second half was because someone had a lead and were running our the clock. But that is not always the right approach.

And when he had to have a scoring drive in short order? They started winging the ball around again.

[woodbuck27]

Comment woodbuck27:

Checking Packer sites it seems that Mike McCarthy has plenty to answer to after he gets back to the affairs of the Green Bay Packers as Head Coach.

I found this article by Tyler Dunne and don't recall seeing it here and in in case I'm posting it. The article raises interesting points and criticism of Mike McCarthy's way of sweeping things away. A fine talent if your there to please those really easy to please. Give them what they want to hear which is close to nothing.

Then there are those who expect accountability. Those who won't accept something little more than a shrug.

Reading this bothers me:

" ... a painfully passive plan from McCarthy was central to the unfathomable collapse. Given countless chances to dethrone the champs with one bold decision, he balked.

Unlike Bostick, McCarthy didn't point the finger at himself after the game. Regrets? No regrets.

"I don't regret anything," McCarthy said. "Hell, I expected to win the game. We were positioned to win the game." ..." Fr. LINK and Article below.


http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packe...289103671.html

Tyler Dunne | On the Packers

Mike McCarthy should get blame for Packers loss, too.

[woodbuck27]

Comment woodbuck27:

I hope that Mike McCarthy see's this press conference because there is much contained in it for him to use for learning and growth.

http://www.seahawks.com/videos-photo...1-f201b81f19fb

From Pete Carroll and Bill Belichick 'LIVE' Friday Jan. 30, 2015:

When asked what qualities he saw in Seahawks coach Pete Carroll that he wished he had, Belichick said the following:

"Well .... the thing that impresses me the most and the thing that, I guess, I would like do a better job of is just the way that his teams play for 60 minutes," he said. "They play from the opening kickoff to the final whistle, to the final gun. They play from the snap of the ball 'til the whistle blows at the end of the play."

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap300...e-relentlessly

Belichick: Pete Carroll's teams 'compete relentlessly'

By: Conor Orr ... Around The NFL Writer

Published: Jan. 30, 2015 at 12:02 p.m. .... Updated: Jan. 30, 2015 at 03:36 p.m.

[mraynrand]

Comment woodbuck27:

I hope that Mike McCarthy see's this press conference because there is much contained in it for him to use for learning and growth.

http://www.seahawks.com/videos-photo...1-f201b81f19fb

From Pete Carroll and Bill Belichick 'LIVE' Friday Jan. 30, 2015:

When asked what qualities he saw in Seahawks coach Pete Carroll that he wished he had, Belichick said the following:

"Well .... the thing that impresses me the most and the thing that, I guess, I would like do a better job of is just the way that his teams play for 60 minutes," he said. "They play from the opening kickoff to the final whistle, to the final gun. They play from the snap of the ball 'til the whistle blows at the end of the play."

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap300...e-relentlessly

Belichick: Pete Carroll's teams 'compete relentlessly'

By: Conor Orr ... Around The NFL Writer

Published: Jan. 30, 2015 at 12:02 p.m. .... Updated: Jan. 30, 2015 at 03:36 p.m.

Are you saying McCarthy should emulate the Carroll and the Seahawks and play poorly for 55 minutes and try to win it all at the end? Or that he should emulate Belicheat and speak a string of tired aphorisms?

[woodbuck27]

Are you saying McCarthy should emulate the Carroll and the Seahawks and play poorly for 55 minutes and try to win it all at the end? Or that he should emulate Belicheat and speak a string of tired aphorisms?

I want Mike McCarthy to take advantage of his NFL MVP QB and go with the flow working with Aaron Rodgers in every game.

Game plan to best ensure winning any game (including play off games) and not make calls to merely protect a lead. Keep the pedal to the metal as Bilichick and Brady do for the Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots.

Not pull out his check mark cards and make that his central focus. NOT inform us after a loss that he met this goal and that one when all that added up to was a loss. To actually demonstrate accountability and not forgo responsibility and credibility by informing us that he wouldn't second gues his play calling.



Mike McCarthy makes it too much about himself in one side of his mouth. It's 'about others' on the other side.


If he was a Native he might be named:

[pbmax]

Game plan to best ensure winning any game (including play off games) and not make calls to merely protect a lead. Keep the pedal to the metal as Bilichick and Brady do for the Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots.

Not pull out his check mark cards and make that his central focus. NOT inform us after a loss that he met this goal and that one when all that added up to was a loss. To actually demonstrate accountability and not forgo responsibility and credibility by informing us that he wouldn't second gues his play calling.

But he didn't meet his goal. And if we take something a coach says about his gameplan as literal truth after a contest, you will never get a clear picture of what the coach wants to do. No coach wants to reveal anything and they want to escape the attention having revealed as little as possible.

Notice that no one is quite sure what to make of Bevell/Carroll today, because both the blame for the play call. It was a sign of solidarity and a way to avoid discussing the plan and the process. Bevell went off script and tried to volunteer the WR as part of the team effort to lose, but that is the exception.

But I do agree that he is too eager too early to go exclusively to run with a lead. I think the injury to his QB exacerbated that tendency in this game. However, its hard to calculate how the entire offense struggling fed into this decision. Long before they ran 5 out of 6 downs, the offense had ground to a halt.

[mraynrand]

take it to FYI, woodbuck. You wouldn't want to upset Red, he has tender sensibilities.

[theeaterofshades]

Ask the Browns (Current Ravens) about Marty Shottenheimer and how firing him after all the AFC Championship game losses got them to the Super Bowl at the time...

[pbmax]

Yep, it didn't pick up until they needed the FG. And that might have been as much about Seattle backing off to prevent a TD as it was about the passing game suddenly coming to life.

[woodbuck27]

"I came in here to run the ball. The one statistic I had as far as a target to hit was 20 rushing attempts in the second half, I thought that would be a very important target to hit for our offense.” ..." Mike McCarthy

I'll admit I missed that in my analysis.

Now that makes it worse staying with a goal plan of 20 runs in the 2nd half and limiting Aaron Rodgers available skills.

[pbmax]

"I came in here to run the ball. The one statistic I had as far as a target to hit was 20 rushing attempts in the second half, I thought that would be a very important target to hit for our offense.” ..." Mike McCarthy

I'll admit I missed that in my analysis.

Now that makes it worse staying with a goal plan of 20 runs in the 2nd half and limiting Aaron Rodgers available skills.

Or does it make it better because he realized that it wasn't going to work and stopped at 13 runs?

[Joemailman]

Or does it make it better because he realized that it wasn't going to work and stopped at 13 runs?

What really stopped him from 20 rushes was going 3 and out 3 times, and 4 and out once in the second half. On the two 3 and outs with the score 19-7, he ran the ball 5 out of 6 plays.

[pbmax]

What really stopped him from 20 rushes was going 3 and out 3 times, and 4 and out once in the second half. On the two 3 and outs with the score 19-7, he ran the ball 5 out of 6 plays.

Yeah, but that last sequence was strictly his 4 minute football and 20 runs target or no, I expected it with 5 minutes to go.

If he really wanted 20 runs as his 2nd half with a lead game plan, then its even worse given the results of running in the 2nd half. Though he didn't have a ton of success in either kind of offense all game.

The giveaway, I think, is that when he needed to score, out came the passing game again.

[woodbuck27]

In my final analysis I find that Packers HC Mike McCarthy has to deal with most of the blame.

The Packers 'D' did a lot to hold Seattle's 'O' back and time and time again the Packers 'O' failed to take real advantage of that only scoring 1 TD and too often settling for 5 FG's. The finger might be pointed at players and execution. It's McCarthy's job to ensure that's not the case selecting better plays.

Mike McCarthy has to take the blame for an unacceptable ST effort in this game. McCarthy hung onto ST Coordinator Shawn Slocum far too long.

When the celebrations got anywhere close to too much on his sideline and after the Morgan Burnett pick and slightly over 5 minutes remaining in the 4th quarter. As the ultimate leader and HC he had to ensure that his players got a grip. There was to much game left for premature celebrations. MM has to condition his team to play all out for a full 60 minutes.

The Packer lead went south when the Packers best player Clay Matthews came out and was left out of the game with more than 7 minutes remaining in the 4th quarter. The Dom Capers 'D' was working with Matthews on the field and it tightened up when Clay Matthews was relaxing/celebrating and looking concerned on the sideline. Did he really need approximately a 20 minute rest in 'real time'? Blame his inactivity on the field on injury? He looked fine and he was in during OT. It might be suspected that MM was protecting Clay Matthews for the Super Bowl game? If so not the plan !

Mike McCarthy has to learn to go all out all the way balls to the walls. He has to overcome his conservative approach to calling plays and doing so to play not to lose. McCarthy has to play it to crush the opposition. Play it to win BIG every game just that. In the NFL you can never play it cute. Mike McCarthy has to learn and adapt that to his philoaophy. Belichick and Brady bury the opposition to absolutely ensure a big win. NFL football games is nothing about 'having fun'. It's all about domination and especially that with a dominating offense.

The bottom line is that we should hope for some change in Mike McCarthy. Many will defend him based on his record. This is a new day and next season the next of his career. Mike McCarthy has arguably the premiere QB in the NFL as the Packer leader.

The 2014 Season and the collapse in Seattle can 'only' be used for a better result in 2015. The man to spearhead that is Coach Mike McCarthy and utilizing every available means for more success.

GO PACKERS ! GO PACK GO !

[woodbuck27]

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com...ane-went-down/

Brady, McDaniels smelled blood when Jeremy Lane went down

Posted by Michael David Smith on February 4, 2015, 8:31 PM EST

Comment woodbuck27:

Why didn't Dom Capers, Mike McCarthy and Aaron Rodgers smell blood with obvious difficulties that Safety Earl Thomas (shoulder) and CB Richard Sherman (elbow) were having physically in the NFCC game?

Sherman was injured and operating with one arm for most of the 4th quarter.

The Green bay offense should have taken advantage of Sherman's state.

If they imagined he was faking it...test him early. Run right at him. Turn him inside and pass outside for chunk yardage through the air. Was he going to pick Aaron Rodgers with one arm?