retailguy
08-26-2006, 05:32 PM
from Fox sports:
32. Green Bay
Mike McCarthy, previously the offensive coordinator of the San Francisco 49ers, replaces fired coach Mike Sherman. He's a curious choice, to say the least, given that our Football Outsiders stats show that the 49ers had not just the worst offense in the league last year but one of the worst offenses the league has ever seen.
The biggest misconception about McCarthy is that his background is in the same West Coast Offense that the Packers have run throughout the career of quarterback Brett Favre. In reality, McCarthy got his start in the NFL as an assistant to Marty Schottenheimer in Kansas City, where he coached a conservative, run-first offense. Before that, McCarthy was an assistant to Paul Hackett (the former Jets offensive coordinator who was often criticized for conservative play-calling) at the University of Pittsburgh. McCarthy did spend one year as Favre's quarterbacks coach. That isn't necessarily a good thing for Packers fans, though. The year McCarthy spent in Green Bay was 1999, when the talented Packers finished a disappointing 8-8 and Favre had one of his worst seasons with 23 interceptions and a career-low 57.3 completion percentage.
The NFC North's defensive linemen won't like new offensive coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski. Jagodzinski was the offensive line coach in Atlanta last season, working alongside offensive line consultant Alex Gibbs, the man who developed the zone-blocking schemes that the Denver Broncos used to win two Super Bowls.
Many defensive linemen have said Gibbs teaches dirty play, but the Gibbs system is spreading across the league because it works. Quarterbacks coach Tom Clements spent 12 seasons as a quarterback in the Canadian Football League, and he still favors that type of wide-open style. That might not make him a great fit for Brett Favre, who needs someone to rein him in. Instead of completely overhauling the coaching staff, McCarthy decided to keep Bob Sanders and promote him from defensive ends coach to defensive coordinator.
Sanders, a Steve Spurrier confidant who served as a defensive coordinator for Spurrier both at Duke and at Florida, believes in a defense that gets most of its pass rush from the line instead of from blitzing linebackers. That makes him a good fit for a team that has Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila and Aaron Kampman in place.
The NO. 1 staff - WASHINGTON.
32. Green Bay
Mike McCarthy, previously the offensive coordinator of the San Francisco 49ers, replaces fired coach Mike Sherman. He's a curious choice, to say the least, given that our Football Outsiders stats show that the 49ers had not just the worst offense in the league last year but one of the worst offenses the league has ever seen.
The biggest misconception about McCarthy is that his background is in the same West Coast Offense that the Packers have run throughout the career of quarterback Brett Favre. In reality, McCarthy got his start in the NFL as an assistant to Marty Schottenheimer in Kansas City, where he coached a conservative, run-first offense. Before that, McCarthy was an assistant to Paul Hackett (the former Jets offensive coordinator who was often criticized for conservative play-calling) at the University of Pittsburgh. McCarthy did spend one year as Favre's quarterbacks coach. That isn't necessarily a good thing for Packers fans, though. The year McCarthy spent in Green Bay was 1999, when the talented Packers finished a disappointing 8-8 and Favre had one of his worst seasons with 23 interceptions and a career-low 57.3 completion percentage.
The NFC North's defensive linemen won't like new offensive coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski. Jagodzinski was the offensive line coach in Atlanta last season, working alongside offensive line consultant Alex Gibbs, the man who developed the zone-blocking schemes that the Denver Broncos used to win two Super Bowls.
Many defensive linemen have said Gibbs teaches dirty play, but the Gibbs system is spreading across the league because it works. Quarterbacks coach Tom Clements spent 12 seasons as a quarterback in the Canadian Football League, and he still favors that type of wide-open style. That might not make him a great fit for Brett Favre, who needs someone to rein him in. Instead of completely overhauling the coaching staff, McCarthy decided to keep Bob Sanders and promote him from defensive ends coach to defensive coordinator.
Sanders, a Steve Spurrier confidant who served as a defensive coordinator for Spurrier both at Duke and at Florida, believes in a defense that gets most of its pass rush from the line instead of from blitzing linebackers. That makes him a good fit for a team that has Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila and Aaron Kampman in place.
The NO. 1 staff - WASHINGTON.