Packer Insider Article on MM

[Bretsky]

McCarthy won't be shifting into idle
Posted: June 13, 2006


Michael Hunt
E-MAIL

Green Bay - Although it technically was a volunteer workout, one of several extra off-season practices granted by the National Football League to teams with new coaches, the activity level was at a frenetic pace Tuesday.

That is the most obvious stamp Mike McCarthy has placed on the Green Bay Packers so far.

"He feels like if you're flying around on the practice field at a fever pitch, when we get into the game things will slow down and it will make it easier to recognize things," center Scott Wells said. "Any time you practice with that high intensity the spirit of the team is going to be up, too, to maintain that tempo."

Less apparent is the field presence the 42-year-old rookie head coach is beginning to bring to a franchise in desperate need of an esteem makeover, but if you look hard enough, signs of its formation are there. It was not noticeable five months ago when the relative unknown was introduced as the surprise hire over Jim Bates, because on that day McCarthy was all about humility and gratitude. It was actually hard to envision McCarthy, who won over Ted Thompson with his "Pittsburgh macho," as a serious leader of men.

Now, although no one knows at this early date whether McCarthy will get the Packers back into the Super Bowl or be fired before the expiration of his three-year contract, it is safe to say he has that commanding air that demands respect. Somewhat edgy and exceedingly direct, McCarthy doesn't leave anyone guessing as to who's in charge.

Still, these bonus practices are not just for the benefit of the players. They are for McCarthy to learn what it will take to be a head coach at the highest level.

"I'll say one thing, I'll never be just a head coach because I'd be bored to death out here if I didn't coach a position on offense or defense," he said. "I know some people do it. It's been a learning experience. You have to manage the whole practice. It's all the little things. Our business is the details, details, details. Because any time the little things get away from you, they turn into big things. So that's been the biggest learning experience, just keeping your finger on everything and holding everybody accountable for it."

For example, McCarthy lectured his players on the Ben Roethlisberger situation.

"Obviously, we're all men," he said. "I'm not a fan of motorcycles, but that's just me. I know they're very popular in this part of the country. The biggest part of the message was (to) just be smart."

He talked to Nick Barnett about the linebacker's dispute with City Council over a liquor license for his nightclub.

"I didn't get into specifics because I'm not rehearsed in law, but my father was a bar owner, which I'm sure you're aware of," McCarthy said. "I just told him it's a tough business."

McCarthy also learned the specifics of team President John Jones' heart surgery during his own physical Monday.

"Actually, my blood pressure was excellent," McCarthy said. "With all the caffeine I've been drinking I was shocked with that."

Details, details, details, all without the benefit of regular sleep.

"He's very approachable as far as the players," Wells said. "I think they made a good decision in hiring him. I think he'll do an excellent job here."

It's not yet clear which direction McCarthy's career will take, but it's a good bet it will get there in a hurry.

[Bretsky]

FROM PACKER INSIDER ON AHMAD CARROLL

TUESDAY, June 13, 2006, 3:38 p.m.

With Carroll, some things change, some don't

Third-year cornerback Ahmad Carroll has made some impressive plays over the course of the OTAs, including an interception Tuesday of a Brett Favre pass in 7-on-7. Rookie receiver Chris Francies ran a corner route and Carroll cut underneath and made a nice play on the ball. And on that particular play Carroll's celebration was limited to a leaping high five with fellow cornerback Jerron Wishom.

But if Carroll has improved as a player, he hasn't cut back any on his immature antics. He still has too much punk in him.

Earlier in that same drill, Carroll made a nice play to break up a Favre pass intended for rookie wide receiver Cory Rodgers and celebrated by running over and thumping Rodgers in the chest. Had it been a game, Carroll probably would have drawn a penalty for taunting. He also hot-dogged it after another good play on a Favre pass to Francies.

Throughout the OTAs, Carroll has maintained glue-like coverage at times without interfering and also seems to be playing the ball better. But keep in mind and maybe Carroll should as well before getting too carried away with his celebrations that some of those plays are coming against receivers who won't even be around come September.

And while he doesn't seem to suffer as many lapses as he did in the past, Carroll had one early in 7-on-7. Veteran receiver Marc Boerigter ran past him on a go route and caught a touchdown pass from Favre. The defense was in a cover-two zone with safety Nick Collins playing over the top, but Carroll was man enough to admit in the locker room that he should have turned and run with Boerigter just as he would in man coverage.

Second-year safety Marviel Underwood also seems to have made strides since last season. He just seems to be reacting better to the ball. He didn't make any plays Tuesday, but Monday he made a nice break and broke up a pass intended for first-year tight end Garrett Cross.

Second-year offensive lineman Chris White has been taking two snaps at left guard for every one at center the past two days in practice. He started working at left guard last week.

Rookie tight end Zac Alcorn out of Black Hills State had a day that he may never forget if his pro career doesn't last beyond the next few months. In team drills, he made a nice catch on an out from Favre, caught another out from Aaron Rodgers and a slant from Rodgers. However in 7-on-7, Alcorn couldn't hold onto a ball that was tipped by linebacker Tracy White.

Coach Mike McCarthy jumped all over rookie tackle Tony Moll for not being in the huddle when his turn came to run a play with the second offense during team drills. It might have been McCarthy's loudest on-field outburst yet.

McCarthy said he sees Noah Herron as someone who could play both halfback and fullback in his offense. Herron continues to get more work with the No. 1 unit. "He's a very natural, instinctive football player," said McCarthy.

Wide receiver Donald Driver missed practice. Defensive end Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila observed practice with a shoulder problem. ... Linebacker Nick Barnett and cornerback Mike Hawkins returned to practice. But Hawkins dropped out after sustaining a cut near his knee. Cornerback Jason Horton dropped out with a back problem. ... NFL Europe wide receiver Chad Lucas practiced. ... With KGB out, Kenny Peterson worked with the first unit at right defensive end.

There will be no practice and, therefore, no blog Wednesday. On Thursday, I have to participate in a company seminar in Milwaukee and won't be able to attend practice. The next practice blog is scheduled to appear Friday.

[Bretsky]

Spitz makes an impression

As Brett Favre said at his Thursday press conference, the Green Bay Packers will learn the truth about their young offensive guards sometime after Sept. 10 when they start lining up against the likes of Shaun Rogers and Pat Williams. But don’t be surprised if the Packers wind up starting two rookies at guard.

The deeper the Packers get into their off-season workouts, the more there is to like about third-round draft pick Jason Spitz. At first glance, second-round choice Daryn Colledge looked to be the better athlete. Colledge's knee bend is exceptional and maybe it sounds trite, but he just looks the part. Spitz is a different kind of an athlete. He seems to be one of those guys who plays with good base, good leverage, all those little things that matter.

From the start of the first minicamp, Spitz’s punch stood out in both pass protection and the run game. He has what they call in the trade “heavy hands.” But on Tuesday during a practice in the Hutson Center, Spitz’s athletic ability jumped out during a drill where the guards were practicing a short pull. He came out of his stance, pivoted, ran flat down the line and made it all look effortless. He looked more natural at it than Colledge. Spitz had a lot of practice pulling at Louisville, where he said it was the “bread and butter” of the team’s offense. In the Packers’ new zone blocking scheme, the guards won’t be doing a lot of pulling. But they need to be good athletes. So it probably shouldn’t come as any great surprise that Spitz seems to fit the mold. After all, if the Packers didn't think he was athletic enough to fit their scheme, they wouldn’t have drafted him.

For now, Spitz is practicing mostly at right guard, backing up Junius Coston, another good athlete. But Spitz also has worked some at center and left guard. And it might just be that the Packers haven't even seen much of Spitz's best trait. He appears to have a nasty streak to him that might become more obvious when the players put their pads on in training camp.

With Favre missing practice Friday, the offense looked horrendous. In the two-minute drill, quarterback Aaron Rodgers was sacked on the first play of his first series – safety Mark Roman caught him on a blitz out of a dime defense – and threw an interception to cornerback Jason Horton on the third play. On his second series, Rodgers marched the offense 41 yards in nine plays, but was only 3 of 8 and was off target on his last two passes, ending the drive. On his only series, rookie quarterback Ingle Martin was sacked twice and threw incomplete on fourth down.

In 7-on-7, Rodgers overthrew a wide-open Donald Driver on a go route and threw another interception to Horton. Martin was 0 for 6 in that portion of practice. Fourth-string quarterback Tom Arth threw one pass and it was intercepted by cornerback Ahmad Carroll. In Martin’s defense, two of his incomplete passes were drops by running backs Samkon Gado and Noah Herron on swing passes out of the backfield.

Horton couldn’t have had a better day. In addition to his two interceptions, he also had two deflections. … Rookie safety Tra Boger also broke up a pass down the middle intended for tight end Tory Humphrey in the two-minute drill. … The two sacks against Martin in the two-minute drill were registered by Kenny Peterson and Corey Williams. … Cornerback Mike Hawkins also made a nice play to break up a deep ball thrown to rookie wide receiver Calvin Russell. … Rodgers had another pass tipped at the line in the two-minute drill. … Free agent wide receiver Ruvell Martin had a chance to make three tough catches over the course of practice and didn’t make one.

As bad as the offense looked, the special teams looked no better. At the end of Rodgers’ second series in the two-minute drill, both Billy Cundiff and Dave Rayner were given a chance to kick 40-yard field goals into a stiff wind. Cundiff’s ball died in the wind and to the left of the goal post. Rayner got more leg into his ball, but it also was wide left. Punters Jon Ryan and B.J. Sander also punted into the wind earlier. At least three of Sander’s eight punts failed to travel at least 30 yards. Ryan booted one that barely made it past the line of scrimmage.

If the specialists can’t kick on a windy, but 60-some degree day, what are they going to do when the wind is howling and the temperature is in the teens and the ball seems like it weighs as much as a shot put?

The Packers released defensive tackle Donnell Washington. … Linebackers Nick Barnett and Abdul Hodge, and fullback Vonta Leach all missed practice for personal reasons. … With Barnett and Hodge missing, Ben Taylor lined up with the first defense at middle linebacker. … Charles Woodson, Al Harris and Ryan Pickett still haven’t reported. … Neither has No. 1 pick A.J. Hawk, but he’s expected in Monday. … Wide receiver Chad Lucas reported from NFL Europe, but didn’t practice.

[Bretsky]

SOME INTERESTING TIDBITS FROM PI

'Voluntary' means, you better be there
Posted: June 7, 2006
NFL Grapevine



Mike Hart
E-MAIL

The Green Bay Packers are right smack dab into this brand new clambake known as Organized Team Activities.

On paper, this looks like something where the yellow bus gets loaded up and everyone gets dropped off at a local park for some sack races, softball and a little Duck, Duck, Goose.

In the wide, wide world of the National Football League, these tidy little functions are known as practices. Now some practices are different than others. The Organized Team Activities have been stamped with the "Voluntary" tag.

According to our man Webster - the fellow who wrote that scintillating dictionary, not that little guy on TV - voluntary "implies the exercise of one's own free choice or will in an action."

So, a player doesn't really have to show up for these Organized Team Activities.

Wink. Wink.

According to the official NFL dictionary, which, by the way, was not written by literary giants Isaac Funk or Adam Wagnalls, voluntary means "you better be there or else."

So some people were rather shocked when 14 members of the Green and Gold exercised their own free choice and didn't bother to attend the first day of the festivities.

Al Harris was one of them, and his absence was clearly understandable. The nightclubs are a whole lot better in Miami than they are in Green Bay.

Ahmad Carroll probably needed the time off to work on his front-and-side view photograph in addition to a lot of other things.

And Mark Roman can't really work on missing tackles since there are no non-contact drills involved in these Organized Team Activities.

Then there's poor old Donald Driver who didn't know what day the whole thing started. This is rather odd since that thing known as a calendar was invented around 1500 BC. Hey, Don baybeeeeee, keep an eye out for Sept. 10.

Be that as it may, new Packers coach Mike McCarthy seemed to take the absences in stride.

That might not have been the case in previous regimes. One can only imagine the following exchanges taking place if these coaches were asked about 14 guys skipping out on the first day of Organized Team Activities.

Vince Lombardi:"You're talking to the wrong man. These men have been traded to the Philadelphia Eagles."

Lindy Infante: "We were missing 14 guys? Really? Who were they?"

Mike Sherman:"We'll fix that."

Leave it to the Chicago Bears to be a leader in dealing with the no-shows. Lovie Smith is not putting up with that type of malarkey these days.

An upset Smith decided to demote Pro Bowl linebacker Lance Briggs and running back Thomas Jones, who rushed for 1,335 yards last season, to second string because both players didn't show up for the team's voluntary off-season conditioning program.

"To be at the top of the starting rotation, you have to be here," barked Lovie, who clearly wasn't showing either player any love.

As far as the Packers go, even Brett Favre was spotted hurling the spheroid down the field. If a three-time NFL MVP can show up, you would think everyone else could.

Oh well. Those 14 guys must have short memories. This is a crew that went 4-12 last season and was hurtin' for certain in the leadership department.

Maybe one of those fellows will step up to the plate and volunteer for that soon. After all, when it comes to Organized Team Activities, there is no "I" in team.

The fast lane
Brett Favre, who spent some of his winter vacation getting up to speed in the world of NASCAR, appears to be already qualified for some sort of future on the circuit. After all, he is and always will be a good ol' boy.

This means he could do the singing on those wild and crazy Nokia commercials instead of that annoying ol' goof.

There are plenty of Favre fans along Gasoline Alley. The biggest one is Wisconsin's very own Matt Kenseth, who took the checkered flag at Dover International Speedway on Sunday.

The NASCAR star from Cambridge recently made a list - and checked it twice - of five reasons to celebrate Favre's return to the gridiron for another campaign.

Kenseth is all revved up about Favre's return and here are his reasons why:

1. We get to watch someone play who truly loves the game of football.

2. We Packers fans have playoff hopes whenever No. 4 is behind center.

3. We never have to sit through any conservative games or play calling.

4. With the team in a rebuilding process, it gives the young players a great example, leader and teacher.

5. At least once a game, you will be able to look at your buddy and ask, "How did he do that?"

Garden party
The mandatory photo-op for the U.S. Winter Olympic team was held recently at the White House, and it featured all sorts of pomp, circumstance and new Scrabble words.

Ah. It seems like only yesterday that the Packers took part in similar festivities, and Jim McMahon was spotted wearing his Bears jersey.

This time, however, there was no McMahon jersey on the premises. There was an autographed Donovan McNabb jersey on the scene courtesy of skier turned NFL wannabe Jeremy Bloom, who was drafted by the Eagles.

Bloom wanted to give it to President Bush, but had to wait until after the stirring speech by the Big Guy.

"We want to thank all the dudes of dudesses of the snowboarders who are here," the commander in chief said.

It is highly unlikely that Winston Churchill ever blurted out "dudesses" in his splendid oratory career.

Bloom was nearly thrown for a loss when the president was not paying attention when he tried to hand him the jersey. He called a quick audible and handed it off to first lady Laura Bush.

"I was here a week before the draft at the Republican gala, and the president and I were talking about where I was going to go in the draft," Bloom said. "He's a big football fan, so I told him I'd bring him a signed jersey."

Bloom had McNabb sign the jersey at a minicamp, but didn't tell him what it was for.

"I'm trying to get some extra points," Bloom said with a laugh. "I'm trying to be a politician."

Bloom did learn something that could help him if he ever dabbles in politics.

Dubya's new word: Dudesses.

"That's a little different," snowboarder Kelly Clark said. "We don't really use that one too much."

The Big Guy had a chance to redeem himself last week when the Steelers showed up at the White House for their gig.

Unfortunately, there was another fumble.

"I was a Texas Cowboy fan, you know, Dallas Cowboy fan," Bush told them.

Texas Cowboys?

All the answers
Scott Ostler as The Answer Man for MSNBC.com:

Q: Will you send your son to Terrell Owens' camp?

A: I don't trust the guy. Too creepy. I'm sending my kids to Michael Jackson's Sleepover Fantasyland Camp.

VineLines
Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News: "What's left of that cloth that Roger Clemens and Brett Favre were cut from? Will it become a Terrell Owens do-rag?" . . .

Randy Hill for Foxsports.com: "After failing to break the record for underwater breath-holding, illusionist David Blaine's next life-risking bid will occur while working behind the offensive line of the Houston Texans." . . .

Mike Downey of the Chicago Tribune: " 'Ursprache' was the word spelled correctly by 13-year-old Katharine Close of Spring Lake, N.J., to win the National Spelling Bee. No, when they gave her the word, she did not say, 'Isn't he a Chicago Bears linebacker?' " . . .

Jim Armstrong of the Denver Post: "Dumbest reason of them all to kill a tree: NFL draft grades. Let's get something straight here. Until three or four years pass, all 32 teams get an 'I' for incomplete." . . .

Pete McEntegart for Sportsillustrated.cnn.com: "The Toronto Argonauts hope Ricky Williams can be a budding player north of the border, as opposed to playing with buds in the States." . . .

Greg Cote of the Miami Herald on Doug Flutie's retirement: "They plan to present him with a rocking chair, along with a step stool so he can reach it." . . .

Reggie Hayes of the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel: "Former Chicago Bears defensive back Jerry Azumah had more than $250,000 in checks stolen from his downtown condominium by his housekeeper. While some would say he was taken to the cleaners, let those among us who haven't left $250,000 laying around the house cast the first joke."

From Packer Plus wire reports and other news sources. Send e-mail to mhart@journalsentinel.com.