Coach McCarthy - Setting a winning tone important

[woodbuck27]

Setting a winning tone important - Coach McCarthy

By: Todd Korth
packrepted@aol.com

Date: Aug 10, 2006

Packers coach Mike McCarthy stressed to reporters this morning the importance of setting a winning tone, beginning this Saturday in an exhibition game against the Chargers in San Diego. PackerReport.com's Todd Korth explains why this is important for the young Packers.

Many NFL coaches will say that they want their team to win in the preseason, but really don’t mean it. They want to see how the rookies and free agents perform when the lights are on and, most importantly, don’t want any of their star players to get hurt.

Mike McCarthy is taking a different, and necessary, approach with the Green Bay Packers this preseason. McCarthy’s goal is to turn the Packers around after a 4-12 season last year, so he is using the preseason as a springboard into the regular season opener on Sept. 10 against the Chicago Bears. Considering the Packers have a roster full of young players, including two rookie starters on the offensive line and a rookie linebacker, that's not a bad idea.

McCarthy wants to beat the San Diego Chargers this Saturday in San Diego as much as he would like to beat the Bears in Week 1 of the regular season opener. That doesn’t mean that he’ll play the starters all four quarters, but it does mean that he wants to establish a winning attitude that he hopes will carry into the regular season.

“Winning is the most important,” McCarthy said. “That’s what our business is all about. We say it over and over again: ‘No excuses.’ If you put on our uniform, you have an accountability to produce, prepare and perform. That’s a mindset that we must always have.”

Last year, the Packers were 2-2 in the preseason, winning their first and fourth games against San Diego and Tennessee, and playing poorly in their second and third preseason games, losing 27-7 to Buffalo and 27-3 to New England. The Packers edged the Chargers in the preseason opener last year on Ryan Longwell’s 53-yard field goal in the final seconds of the game.

McCarthy wants to kickoff the preseason on a winning note, like last year, but keep it going into the opener. He has relayed his thoughts to the other coaches and players, who are in favor of that approach.

“That’s great to hear from a coach because you know that’s the No. 1 priority,” Wide receiver Greg Jennings said.

“A lot of coaches act like winning is not the number-one attainable goal that you want to obtain. He expresses winning. Nobody wants to lose. When you have a leader that doesn’t want to lose, there’s a trickle down effect on the players.”

The worst-case scenario for McCarthy, his staff, and young team is for the Packers to accept losing. It’s one thing for a veteran team to coast through the exhibition schedule, but it’s another for a young team. The more reps that the younger players can get in the preseason, the better. The more victories, the better, too.

“We’re looking at it as a game,” linebacker A.J. Hawk said.

“It’s the preseason, but we’re going in there. The older guys, or whoever, are looking to win when they’re in. We’re going to make sure we hold up our deal. It’s a game for us. Obviously, for a young guy like me, it’s a big."

GO PACKERS ! HOLD THE FAITH !!

[woodbuck27]

http://x60.xanga.com/d17a9b5a6723471748818/z48281289.jpg

[woodbuck27]

Posted August 11, 2006

McCarthy awaits first chance to run the show

Calling the plays just part of the game-day pressure

By Pete Dougherty
pdougher@greenbaypressgazette.com

Besides getting his first chance to scout his players against another team, coach Mike McCarthy will get a dry run in game-day logistics in the Green Bay Packers' preseason opener on Saturday.

McCarthy has been a play-calling NFL offensive coordinator the past six years, but this is his first tenure as a head coach. So for the first time in his 14 years in the NFL, he'll be running an entire sideline and coaching operation when the Packers play at the San Diego Chargers.

McCarthy will continue calling plays. Unlike former coach Mike Sherman, who called the play to his quarterbacks coach, Darrell Bevell, who relayed the call to the quarterback, McCarthy will give the play directly to the quarterbacks via their helmet speakers.

McCarthy said he might have offensive coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski call some plays in the fourth quarter Saturday night, but the entire coaching staff needs to practice working their normal roles in a game setting, when countless observations, judgments and decisions have to made and communicated on the fly.

"I need to get back into it and call the game," McCarthy said after practice Thursday morning. "Just get the different mechanics, because there are different guys upstairs and different lines of communication, plus being coordinated with game management, defense, special teams. I'm doing it personally for experience, but also from a group standpoint."

McCarthy is comfortable calling plays from the sideline, because as an offensive coordinator with San Francisco last season and with New Orleans the five seasons before that, he called plays from the field rather than the bird's-eye view of the coaching booth. He experimented with working from the coaches' box while with the Saints early in the 2004 preseason but decided he preferred being on the field.

"As far as purely calling the game, it's better to be up," McCarthy said. "But all the other intangibles, the interaction with the quarterback, the pulse of your offense, you're exposed to more on the field. But it's a greater challenge, because the environment is so volatile compared to the booth."

McCarthy also will have final say on managing games for the first time, so he'll decide when to punt, try a field goal or go for it on fourth down; when to go for two points; when to challenge an official's decision with instant replay; and when to call timeouts, among the myriad decisions a head coach makes during a game.

"Especially as an offensive coordinator, I was very involved in game management," McCarthy said. "So I'm excited about it." Later, he added: "I've been in this league for 14 years. It wasn't like I just showed up from college."

Defensive backs coach Kurt Schottenheimer is his most experienced NFL assistant, with 20 years in the league, and from the coaching booth will advise McCarthy on game-management decisions, including when to challenge calls with replay.

On the field, McCarthy will consult on game management and replays with the invaluable Mike Eayrs, whose title is director of research and development and who has been the organization's computer-research guru of everything NFL since 2001.

"(Schottenheimer) is very good at that, very good at (replay) challenging and things like that," McCarthy said. "He has the most experience. Mike Eayrs is a guy that's special at what he does as far game management and game analysis."

In the coaching booth, quarterbacks coach Tom Clements will speak directly with McCarthy to inform him of down and distance on every play and give general observations about the offensive execution. The remaining offensive coaches have specific responsibilities for watching offensive line play, blitzes and secondary coverages.

McCarthy, though, said many play-call decisions are made during the workweek in game-planning meetings and other discussions among the coaching staff, because there's little time to ponder play calls on the sidelines. His priority is getting the call to quarterback Brett Favre as fast as possible rather than worrying about calling the perfect play, in part because he's giving Favre more latitude calling audibles than the previous coaching staff.

There never appeared to be a problem during Sherman's six seasons as coach in relaying play calls to Favre quickly enough. But Sherman's offensive system didn't allow for audibles and instead had built-in adjustments depending on the defensive alignment.

"Even if it's not the best situation, you've got to get (the play) to the quarterback," McCarthy said. "He can get that thing set and he can see (the defense). If you're scrambling and you use that 5 or 10 seconds, now he's scrambling to the line, he has to run that thing and take what you've got.

"I'm a big believer in play entry. I'm not bragging, but I think you'll see our play entry will be quick. We'll be in and out of the huddle, get it to that quarterback, especially a guy with a lot of experience, get him to the line and let him get a look at it."

On the other side of the ball, defensive coordinator Bob Sanders will call plays from the field and have linebackers coach Winston Moss signal them from the sidelines to middle linebacker Nick Barnett. The Packers used that system last year under former defensive coordinator Jim Bates, who is Sanders' mentor.

The new staff has been using that system in practice, though it's much easier and faster in that setting because the plays are scripted. Sanders did make extemporaneous calls during last weekend's intrasquad scrimmage.

"It went well in the scrimmage," Barnett said, "but the game is totally different. You've got different personnel (to stop on offense)."

FAITH - PACKERS !!

[ahaha]

blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Of course they'd like to win, but does it really matter if the fourth string quarterback rallies the team to a last second victory? I'd much rather have the first few units do well, and the last group f#$k it up, then the other way around. Preseason is about establishing cohesion, evaluating talent, and staying injury free. Coaches always say crap like this. If they really meant it, they would have the starters back in at the end to see if they have the sand to win a close battle.

[woodbuck27]

blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Of course they'd like to win, but does it really matter if the fourth string quarterback rallies the team to a last second victory? I'd much rather have the first few units do well, and the last group f#$k it up, then the other way around. Preseason is about establishing cohesion, evaluating talent, and staying injury free. Coaches always say crap like this. If they really meant it, they would have the starters back in at the end to see if they have the sand to win a close battle.

We are in the minority here on that one ahaha. :mrgreen:

Rest Favre hahahahaha!!

[Partial]

http://x60.xanga.com/d17a9b5a6723471748818/z48281289.jpg

Woody, do you know where I can get a bigger version of that pic? I want to make that my wallpaper!

[woodbuck27]

http://x60.xanga.com/d17a9b5a6723471748818/z48281289.jpg

Woody, do you know where I can get a bigger version of that pic? I want to make that my wallpaper!

Partial:

See if Mad may help you to size it.

[Deputy Nutz]

Setting a winning tone important - Coach McCarthy

If I just read this, I say, "NO SHIT SHERLOCK!"

Winning in the preseason is like kissing your sister, not my sister but your sister, fun because you're getting some, but even you can admit that your sister has a face like a beaver.

[PaCkFan_n_MD]

http://x60.xanga.com/d17a9b5a6723471748818/z48281289.jpg

Woody, do you know where I can get a bigger version of that pic? I want to make that my wallpaper!

Partial:

See if Mad may help you to size it.

I don't think he wants to size it, I think he wants the whole team in the pic.

[GrnBay007]

Remember when the bears hired new coach Lovie Smith and he came out and said it was their #1 goal to beat the Packers...and they went out and did it?

Wouldn't it have been cool for new coach M3 to mention regaining the Lambeau Mystique? ....or did he and I missed it? It was just such a big thing in GB and was lost the last couple years.

[BooHoo]

Remember when the bears hired new coach Lovie Smith and he came out and said it was their #1 goal to beat the Packers...and they went out and did it?

Wouldn't it have been cool for new coach M3 to mention regaining the Lambeau Mystique? ....or did he and I missed it? It was just such a big thing in GB and was lost the last couple years.

I didn't hear M3 say anmything about winning at Lambeau being a priority. However, I had not heard all of his press releases or interviews. It would be great to not lose at Lambeau this season.

[vince]

We say it over and over again: ‘No excuses.’ If you put on our uniform, you have an accountability to produce, prepare and perform.
I like this mindset a lot. Personal accountability for team-oriented goals is the key to success. M3's 3P's... He should rearrange them, though, to "prepare, perform, produce" because they build on each other in that order...

It reminds me of one of the immortal one's finest quotes:


"I firmly believe that any man's finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle - victorious."

I like where this ship is sailing boys and girls...

[4and12to12and4]

Well, we beat San Diego in the first game last year and alot of good it did us. So, how important is it? J/K, just wanted to point that out. I want them to win too, believe me, after last year I think it would be a nice boost for the team, and for the young guys, but more importantly, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE no injuries!! To put these things into perspective though, does anyone here think that the 49ers are better than the Bears? Well, actually, it's a new season, so I guess, who the hell knows? Oh, oh, just contradicted myself .................... damn Coronas!!