Please quit blaming the coaches.

[yetisnowman]

The players lost the game! They did not execute well enough to win. The staff put them in great positions and they failed. Particularly Aaron. Have you people looked at his numbers?
Hindsight is 20-20. Had we thrown incomplete passes or god forbid another pick instead of running it late, MM would have faced even more criticism for being silly and not running the ball to milk the clock down and force Seattle to take timeouts. You can take any game and second guess a few coaching decisions when the decision made didn't work....its ridiculous. We tried to throw on 3rd down when it was 19-14 and guess what incomplete. We had the ball down 3 on the Seattle 35 with all 3 timeouts and guess what incomplete, incomplete, 5 yard gain. The defense forced 5 turnovers! 4 in the first half! Are you kidding me? We should have had a 24 plus pt lead going into half time. Russell Wilson had the worst game of his career and all A rod had to do was outplay him, and he couldn't.
People hating on MM and Slocum, sheesh they can't hold the players hands. At what point are the players accountable for choking away the game? There are a handful of poorly executed stupid plays that led to the collapse that all had nothing to do with the coaching. Not to mention an entire game of crappy decisions and poor execution by your MVP quarterback. I am already so sick of people chalking up this loss to the coaches.

[Harlan Huckleby]

I think the team went into prevent mode a few minutes to early. Who can I blame if not the coaches?

[yetisnowman]

I think the team went into prevent mode a few minutes to early. Who can I blame if not the coaches?

Well let me ask you this....
With 5 minutes left and seattle with 3 timeouts, let's say they throw 3 straight incompletions, can you honestly say u wouldn't blame the coach for that decision?

[Harlan Huckleby]

Well let me ask you this....
With 5 minutes left and seattle with 3 timeouts, let's say they throw 3 straight incompletions, can you honestly say u wouldn't blame the coach for that decision?

I think they should have tried to get a first down, not kill the clock. I so rarely blame coaches for play calling. I doubt 3 incompletions would have bothered me.

[yetisnowman]

I think they should have tried to get a first down, not kill the clock. I so rarely blame coaches for play calling. I doubt 3 incompletions would have bothered me.
While I agree they play calling was conservative, the clock was our best friend at that point. I assure you had we taken only 15 seconds off the clock and thrown three in completions or a pick in that spot, all while letting Seattle keep all their timeouts, MM would have been demonized for that. I don't think his plan was to not try and get a first down. He didn't anticipate losing 6 yds on the first two plays, then it did make sense to run again and move the clock since completing 3rd and 16 is unlikely.
Remember Aaron was a shade over 50% for the game with 2 picks. Its not like putting the ball in his hands was a can't miss thing. A lot of coaches would have opted to keep the clock moving and force the coach to take timeouts, that's the sound decision. I'm sure mm wanted to run for a first, but the last thing he wanted to do was throw incomplete passes up 12 with 5 mins left. Seriously the decision to run there was a fairly obvious one. You guys are hating the result, not the decision making process. The result was 95% on the players, 5% on conservative coaching.

[mraynrand]

Coaches get the blame too. Because they are coaches. They are indirectly responsible for every success and error on the field. This is boilerplate.

[oldbutnotdeadyet]

Coaches MUST take a share in the loss, which is what pisses me off about MM press responses. Some here say he should not say anything negative but I disagree. There is nothing wrong with saying the coaches share this loss with the players and all, coaches and players, will be evaluated as part of our normal process.

[Carolina_Packer]

I agree that trying to milk the clock and make Seattle use their time-outs was the best strategy at that point. Far worse on the coaches and players was not coming up with the right play call/execution for the trips to the red zone, especially goal line. Turn that Rodgers end-zone pick into a TD and Lacy getting stopped short into TD and you've put Seattle into a much bigger hole, and helped the defense. 6 points in the second half, not good enough, but it's the points you should have had in the first half that hurts the most.

[oldbutnotdeadyet]

'I agree that trying to milk the clock and make Seattle use their time-outs was the best strategy at that point'

I don't know. It sure seemed like when the Packer coaches let up, the players let up. Both, in my opinion, contributed to the utter epic collapse in the final minutes.

[Teamcheez1]

I think PFT sums up the coaching issue with MM quite nicely:

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/01/19/nfl-morning-after-mike-mccarthy-blew-it/

[oldbutnotdeadyet]

Yeah, I agree with most of this. Players are supposed to be extensions of the coaches and it sure looked that way yesterday.

[Carolina_Packer]

'I agree that trying to milk the clock and make Seattle use their time-outs was the best strategy at that point'

I don't know. It sure seemed like when the Packer coaches let up, the players let up. Both, in my opinion, contributed to the utter epic collapse in the final minutes.

Red zone TD's instead of field goals, a bigger lead make the milking of the clock easier than trying to protect a 12 point lead. Games should have been at least 24-0 at half, given how the Packers D was playing. Now, I know Seattle tried to up their game on defense in the second half, but MM's going into a shell contributed greatly to helping Seattle. I still think you have to punch the ball into the end zone when you have a chance and not leave points off the board. That ended up hurting the most.

[mraynrand]

Red zone TD's instead of field goals, a bigger lead make the milking of the clock easier than trying to protect a 12 point lead. Games should have been at least 24-0 at half, given how the Packers D was playing. Now, I know Seattle tried to up their game on defense in the second half, but MM's going into a shell contributed greatly to helping Seattle. I still think you have to punch the ball into the end zone when you have a chance and not leave points off the board. That ended up hurting the most.

But if they don't punch the ball in, they have no points. And I wanted them to be up 24 or 28 to 0 at half, but the other team is playing hard too. Packers tried to milk the clock and play odds (all coaching decisions) and they got burned. 99/100 the clock milking like that works, but it didn't yesterday. It's both on the coaches for going into a shell a bit early, the players for not getting it done, and some bad luck (esp. the two point conversion).

[Carolina_Packer]

More point in the first half likely means no Bostick moment.

[oldbutnotdeadyet]

I think it is difficult to name any one play as the reason we lost. It was a collective effort by the players, coaches, and the football gods.

[mraynrand]

More point in the first half likely means no Bostick moment.

less points too

[pbmax]

More point in the first half likely means no Bostick moment.

Or an earlier Bostick moment. You still have to deliver against a desperate offense at some point.

Advanced Football Stats can make a tremendously convincing argument how 4th and short near the goalline is an ideal time to go for it. Even if you do not score, you have the opponent trapped on the longest possible field, You are going to get great field position back, esp. in this game in the first half.

After a nap, my only complaint about the coaching strategies in the late second half is tapping the breaks on offense and defense. They weren't just running it on three downs, they put Burnett back deep (got an INT out of it too). If one side stays aggressive, might have been the difference.

[yetisnowman]

less points too

Of course the coaches share SOME blame. But I just can't get behind the venom towards McCarthy. Its 20-20 hindsight. He was conservative because that was the smart thing to do. The scoreboard and the game clock are your friend. Every coach is going to try and milk the clock in that situation. As I said if we tried to throw late and stopped the clock with incompletions and allowed them to keep their timeouts, ending in a GB loss, I'm pretty sure you guys would be railing him for that too. Then outcome is what sucks, the decisions were sound. Now if you want to say the coaches deserve a lot of blame for not getting certain players prepared to handle key situations, and execute that makes more sense. I don't necessarily agree, but that makes more sense.

[Teamcheez1]

MM had four different 4th & 1 situations during the game. Each time he chose not to go for it. That is playing way too conservative, and playing not to lose rather than win.

[ThunderDan]

MM had four different 4th & 1 situations during the game. Each time he chose not to go for it. That is playing way too conservative, and playing not to lose rather than win.

And if he went for it and they didn't get it people here would be screaming for MM's head.

I know this, you know this.

[Striker]

If the players were celebrating too early/thinking the game was over, then it's on the coaches to tell them to wake the fuck up and play out the remaining game.

[mraynrand]

MM had four different 4th & 1 situations during the game. Each time he chose not to go for it. That is playing way too conservative, and playing not to lose rather than win.

I disagree. He was playing to win, and was betting on his stifling defense to keep up the great work they were doing. And they did until Seattle got crazy desperate and the Packers (too early) thought they had the game sewed up. I don't blame Stubby for not questioning his strategy. It was insane. On a dime, the game changed from the Packers defense totally dominating Seattle to being utterly dominated.

[mraynrand]

If the players were celebrating too early/thinking the game was over, then it's on the coaches to tell them to wake the fuck up and play out the remaining game.

maybe the coaches did.

[domey]

Quit bringing up the coaches – why? The coaches are ultimately responsible for the team. I give you 3 clear cut examples of when players were following the direct orders of the coaches.

3rd and 19. All 3 rushers did not even attempt to rush Wilson. They just stood there, not even engaging the offensive lineman. Not a single one of them made an attempt to rush Wilson, even though the pressure had gotten to Wilson all game. Why did they do that? Did they decide to do that on their own? Of course not! Result, a first down for Seattle.

After Morgan Burnett’s interception: Lacy did not even attempt to break tackles, after the initial hit, he stopped moving his legs and just stood up.

After Burnett’s interception he drops to the ground, even with room in front of him.

All of these things are so totally against a player’s instincts, especially a professional player. They did not get to their level by not giving maximum effort. So, why did they do it? Although of course I have no proof of this, I highly suspect were told by their coaches to do it. Why? They told their players to be cautious, don’t make mistakes, we got this one, let just let the clock run down and get out of here.

Yeah, stop blaming the coaches.

[Bossman641]

Quit bringing up the coaches – why? The coaches are ultimately responsible for the team. I give you 3 clear cut examples of when players were following the direct orders of the coaches.

3rd and 19. All 3 rushers did not even attempt to rush Wilson. They just stood there, not even engaging the offensive lineman. Not a single one of them made an attempt to rush Wilson, even though the pressure had gotten to Wilson all game. Why did they do that? Did they decide to do that on their own? Of course not! Result, a first down for Seattle.

After Morgan Burnett’s interception: Lacy did not even attempt to break tackles, after the initial hit, he stopped moving his legs and just stood up.

After Burnett’s interception he drops to the ground, even with room in front of him.

All of these things are so totally against a player’s instincts, especially a professional player. They did not get to their level by not giving maximum effort. So, why did they do it? Although of course I have no proof of this, I highly suspect were told by their coaches to do it. Why? They told their players to be cautious, don’t make mistakes, we got this one, let just let the clock run down and get out of here.

Yeah, stop blaming the coaches.

I highly doubt the coaches told the players "ok if you get the pick here, drop to the ground"

[Freak Out]

You can argue both sides on the 4th down calls...many are saying he was smart to take the points....I have a problem with the 4th and inches from the goal line. (was it inches at the goal line or am I still drunk?)

[Joemailman]

You can argue both sides on the 4th down calls...many are saying he was smart to take the points....I have a problem with the 4th and inches from the goal line. (was it inches at the goal line or am I still drunk?)

I've heard it was 6 inches. Maybe MM was influenced by their failure to get it on 4thand 1 against Detroit 2 weeks earlier.

Rodgers' immobility hurt here. Normally he would have been rolling out on 3rd down with a pass/run option.

[yetisnowman]

Quit bringing up the coaches – why? The coaches are ultimately responsible for the team. I give you 3 clear cut examples of when players were following the direct orders of the coaches.

3rd and 19. All 3 rushers did not even attempt to rush Wilson. They just stood there, not even engaging the offensive lineman. Not a single one of them made an attempt to rush Wilson, even though the pressure had gotten to Wilson all game. Why did they do that? Did they decide to do that on their own? Of course not! Result, a first down for Seattle.

After Morgan Burnett’s interception: Lacy did not even attempt to break tackles, after the initial hit, he stopped moving his legs and just stood up.

After Burnett’s interception he drops to the ground, even with room in front of him.

All of these things are so totally against a player’s instincts, especially a professional player. They did not get to their level by not giving maximum effort. So, why did they do it? Although of course I have no proof of this, I highly suspect were told by their coaches to do it. Why? They told their players to be cautious, don’t make mistakes, we got this one, let just let the clock run down and get out of here.

Yeah, stop blaming the coaches.

OK on the third and 19 play I agree 100%, that was the one call I hated at the time, and I hate now. The other two are complete nonsense, Peppers signaled to get down.I highly doubt in 2 seconds Burnett heard or got some signal from the sideline to slide immediately. Your 3rd example is even more silly. You think the coaching staff told Lacy to intentionally not break tackles and lose yardage?

If you notice I said don't blame the coaching for the loss. Bring it up....fine. But the coaching should be far down the blame scale considering the players simply had to execute physically and do what they were coached to do. They failed. Like I have said, maybe the coaches are to blame for not having the players prepared to get way fuck out of the way, or stick your hand up and knock the ball down.

[red]

I've heard it was 6 inches. Maybe MM was influenced by their failure to get it on 4thand 1 against Detroit 2 weeks earlier.

Rodgers' immobility hurt here. Normally he would have been rolling out on 3rd down with a pass/run option.

it should have been at about the 1 inch line, but it was spotted at about the half yardline

the worst call imo was the wasted play to kuhn. the guy is shit. as soon as he gets touched he goes down, not much fight compared to what lacy was bringing. we need to get rid of kuhn just so we can get that fucking pathetic fullback dive out of the playbook.

you have a hammer for a RB, a punishing monster in lacy, god made him for tough short yardage plays

[wist43]

I'll give MM a pass for the play calling in the first half when we had to settle for FG's - even though the playcalling was horrific.

Where MM gets the blame is at the end of the game when he went into kill the clock mode with 5:00 minutes. Good googly-moogly, there's 5 bloody minutes left in the game - that's forever in the NFL!!! and it was less than a 2 score game??

Yes, this loss falls entirely on MM and dunderdummy. MM needs to look in the mirror to see if he still has balls, and dunderdummy needs to be sent out to pasture. The coaching at the end of this game was pathetic - absolutely pathetic.

[ThunderDan]

it should have been at about the 1 inch line, but it was spotted at about the half yardline

the worst call imo was the wasted play to kuhn. the guy is shit. as soon as he gets touched he goes down, not much fight compared to what lacy was bringing. we need to get rid of kuhn just so we can get that fucking pathetic fullback dive out of the playbook.

you have a hammer for a RB, a punishing monster in lacy, god made him for tough short yardage plays

Except when it was 3 and 1 and Kuhn converted for the first down.

[pbmax]

it should have been at about the 1 inch line, but it was spotted at about the half yardline

the worst call imo was the wasted play to kuhn. the guy is shit. as soon as he gets touched he goes down, not much fight compared to what lacy was bringing. we need to get rid of kuhn just so we can get that fucking pathetic fullback dive out of the playbook.

you have a hammer for a RB, a punishing monster in lacy, god made him for tough short yardage plays

Runs by Kuhn and Lacy under 3 yards"

3-1-SEA1 (8:56) J.Tretter and L.Taylor reported in as eligible. E.Lacy left guard to SEA 1 for no gain (M.Smith; B.Irvin).

3-1-GB 29 (13:31) (Shotgun) E.Lacy left tackle to GB 42 for 13 yards (K.Wright; B.Maxwell). first down

2-3-SEA 16 (7:26) (Shotgun) E.Lacy left tackle to SEA 7 for 9 yards (B.Wagner; J.Lane). first down

3-3-SEA 24 (10:26) (Shotgun) E.Lacy left guard to SEA 22 for 2 yards (O.Schofield; B.Wagner).



OR

2-1-SEA 1 (9:11) J.Tretter and L.Taylor reported in as eligible. J.Kuhn up the middle for 1 yard, TOUCHDOWN.
The Replay Official challenged the runner broke the plane ruling, and the play was REVERSED.

3-1-SEA 32 (2:10) (Shotgun) J.Kuhn up the middle to SEA 29 for 3 yards (K.Williams). first down


50% for each.

[King Friday]

I have zero problem with the FGs. We've all seen our offense get stuffed on the 1 yard line about a dozen times in the last month. McCarthy hasn't figured out how to use play action in the red zone, and it kills us. Taking the 3 points is infinitely better than 0 points against a Seattle offense that wasn't going to score more than 17 on their own.

The issue I have is late in the game...when you've seen several of their secondary player hobbled with various ailments...when you've seen that your OL was capable of handling the Seahawk pass rush with ease...you decide to ONLY RUN THE BALL against 9 and 10 man fronts with 5 minutes left to go in a 2 score game.

Give the ball to Aaron Rodgers, the MVP of the league, the best QB on the planet, and tell him to GO WIN THE FUCKING GAME. This is a QB driven league...where passing stats are becoming what only used to be possible in video games...and we have the BEST QB IN THE GAME!!!

If you can't recognize that fact, and utilize it to your advantage, you stink as a head coach.

[gbgary]

I think the team went into prevent mode a few minutes to early. Who can I blame if not the coaches?

they went into prevent mode on both sides of the ball. mm and capers going conservative were two of the six catastrophic moments.

[pbmax]

It hurts that Earl Thomas separated his shoulder and we couldn't take more advantage.

[pbmax]

At this point I am convinced that M3 is the one who calls for the "eat the clock" plan. And that's not a weight joke. It was too eerily coordinated.

[King Friday]

It hurts that Earl Thomas separated his shoulder and we couldn't take more advantage.

And Sherman was down to one arm...

AND MCCARTHY REFUSED TO LET RODGERS GO OUT AND WIN THE GAME.

The dumbass has a nuclear arsenal at his disposal offensively...and chooses to retreat slowly into the forest and give up ground while waiting for the cavalry to show up.

[woodbuck27]

The Green Bay Packers had an old lady with her life savings in her purse 'chance' of winning that game yesterday.

The old lady clutches that purse with all her might and walks confidently to her destination. She gets there hardly noticed.

The Packers shivered and shook and looked over their shoulders too much or just filed that game in the already won file .....too soon.

[mraynrand]

The Green Bay Packers had an old lady with her life savings in her purse 'chance' of winning that game yesterday.

The old lady clutches that purse with all her might and walks confidently to her destination. She gets there hardly noticed.

The Packers shivered and shook and looked over their shoulders too much or just filed that game in the already won file .....too soon.

wow

[digitaldean]

I do blame the coaches for the special teams f-up on fake field goal. Sean Richardson was interviewed by Jason Wilde of ESPN Milwaukee. He said they had NO signal from coaches to look for a fake. SERIOUSLY!

The Seahag offense couldn't generate ANYTHING and they needed a spark. You don't signal the team to watch for a fake attempt?! Was bad enough not making the smart play and going after the fat guy running down the field all by himself to catch the TD.

Not going after a 1-armed Richard Sherman? That's on the coaches too. You could have put the game away when he was out there clutching his arm. Through the ball up in the air for Jordy to get and we'll see how much he can stretch for it. That's on MM.

The rest is on the players and failure to execute. All WRs not named Nelson or Cobb? 1 reception. Pathetic. Bostic play was just icing on the cake. Hayward was wretched in coverage during the last 6 minutes.

[Joemailman]

I do blame the coaches for the special teams f-up on fake field goal. Sean Richardson was interviewed by Jason Wilde of ESPN Milwaukee. He said they had NO signal from coaches to look for a fake. SERIOUSLY!

The Seahag offense couldn't generate ANYTHING and they needed a spark. You don't signal the team to watch for a fake attempt?! Was bad enough not making the smart play and going after the fat guy running down the field all by himself to catch the TD.



I agree. 16-0 game with 6 minutes left in the 3rd quarter. Alarm bells should have been ringing loudly.