Quote Originally Posted by hoosier View Post
What is bugging me right now is the obvious comparison with New England last year when they started the season without Brady. First they lit it up with Garoppolo and then, when he went down, they plugged in a guy off the street (Brissett) who also managed to play at a respectable level. New England practically ddin't miss a beat with Brady out whereas the Packers going flying off the track and burst into a gigantic fireball when Rodgers goes down.

Is the talent level surrounding Brady that much higher than what GB has right now? Is Bellichick somehow able to prepare his anonymous third string QB (who has since proven to be human, all too human in Indy) better than what McCarthy can do over the course of three training camps? Or has he somehow managed to design a system in which anyone (except possibly Brian Brohm) could succeed whereas McCarthy implements a system that precisely one person on the planet is capable of running? I'm inclined to believe that the talent level surrounding Rodgers must be really low, but then we see guys who were marginal starters in GB (Hayward, Hyde) go on the excel elsewhere. So: low talent level combined with coaching staff that is incapable of recognizing what they have? I am mystified.
How the players are used is almost everything. Hayward was exceptional in zone and he is being used to his strengths in SD. He also got to face two interception machines yesterday.

McCarthy does not have a system that is easy to operate out of the box. It requires time to customize and he tinkers with it weekly. Just look at what he did to Hundley after the relative Chicago success. He pulled the run run pass offense in favor of pass run pass. And that got worse after Mays fumble.

Sometimes McCarthy forgets about the player and only thinks in terms of strategy or tactics. He has not adjusted to Hundley while Hundley is still adjusting to him. Quick change of scheme isn't a feature of this offense.