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FritzDontBlitz
10-22-2006, 07:33 PM
Chris Havel column: McCarthy’s aggressiveness is impressive

By Chris Havel October 22, 2006

MIAMI - Mike McCarthy faced a key drive and a crucial decision.


The Green Bay Packers’ coach could go for the Miami Dolphins’ jugular and likely seal the victory, or he could play it safe for fear of slashing his throat.

The Dolphins had closed within three points with 11 minutes, 56 seconds remaining in the game. Their offense was spending more time on the field than the officials, or so it seemed, and the heat and humidity had the Packers’ defense sagging.

McCarthy decided to trust his instincts, and his quarterback, and roll the dice.

He dialed up a clever mix of runs and passes. He converted fourth-and-1 at Miami’s 40 with an end around to Donald Driver that picked up 6 yards. He moved the chains on a third-and-1 at Miami’s 25 with a keep pass to Chris Francies for 13 more.

He didn’t dilly-dally in the red zone, either. He called another pass, and Brett Favre delivered a 13-yard touchdown pass to a well-covered David Martin, giving Green Bay a 10-point lead.

Game. Set. Match.

The Packers won 34-24 to capture the franchise’s first win over the Dolphins at Miami. It was their second road win in three tries this season.

In a single win, McCarthy supplied evidence that he put the bye week to good use, and that he can adjust during halftime. Charles Woodson’s interception and 23-yard touchdown return helped the Packers score 14 third-quarter points. Through the first five games, Green Bay had managed a total of seven.

McCarthy’s decision to get aggressive was impressive, but no more than his fortitude to stay aggressive. The fourth-and-1 at Miami’s 40 was a gutsy call. It also was the correct call. Whatever field position the Packers might have gained by punting would have been canceled in short order by the Dolphins’ offense.

The Packers’ field position, slim lead and waning defense are reminiscent of another fourth-and-1 call that didn’t go so well. McCarthy’s predecessor elected to punt in a similar situation in the 2003 NFC divisional playoffs at Philadelphia. It led to the Eagles’ fourth-and-26 conversion, and the rest, like Mike Sherman, is history.

Fast forward to Sunday.

The Packers needed points, and their defense needed time to catch its breath. McCarthy gave Favre, and the offense, an opportunity to deliver both.

“I felt like it was maybe his best mix of run-pass this year,” Favre said. “The last thing we needed to do was go three-and-out.”

If you’re a Packers fan, McCarthy provided several reasons for hope in a single drive. He displayed awareness of the big picture. He called the right plays at the right time without melting down. He started the drive aggressive, and he stayed that way, which shows decisiveness. He gave the keys of the offense to his QB, and he showed faith in young receivers Ruvell Martin and Chris Francies.

“From our offensive output standpoint that was clearly the biggest drive of the game,” McCarthy said. “We talk a lot about momentum. It changes during the game and it’s important to either maintain it or get it back. That was a particular point in the game where it was 27-24 and the momentum was starting to swing Miami’s way.

“That was a big drive for us.”

It chewed up almot 6 minutes in 11 plays while covering 80 yards.

Somehow, I get the feeling the Packers, and McCarthy, are going to get a lot more mileage out of it before the season is over.

“This is a tremendous team win for us, especially coming off the bye week,” McCarthy said. Once again, he was right, and for that, the Packers’ coach probably deserves the game ball.

Now if he can figure out a way to win at Lambeau Field.

vince
10-22-2006, 10:18 PM
Nice article by Havel, and I think he summed up that situation very well. Ironic that the weak TV announcers for the game were criticizing McCarthy on that series for not trying to run the ball and run the clock down. That would have been the conventional move - but the wrong one - given the fact that the Dolphins expected that and rushing yards were very hard to come by.

The end around on 4th and 1 was a great call. Unconventional, but a great call.

The Leaper
10-22-2006, 10:49 PM
No doubt. The announcers apparently missed the times earlier in the game where we tried to run for a yard and got stuffed.

I love the aggressiveness.

SD GB fan
10-22-2006, 10:50 PM
yea what do you have to lose? the game? that happened a bit this season anyways

FritzDontBlitz
10-23-2006, 01:34 AM
i was listening to the big unit after the game and he mentioned how he receieved quite a few postgame emails complaining about the negative comments by the tv announcers during that same drive.

i think its ok to second guess, but green bay has lost quite a few games in this decade due to being too conservative in situations like that one.

run pMc
10-23-2006, 09:06 AM
I don't entirely agree with the announcers, I think MIA was expecting a lot of runs, and the play calls were mixed very well. Ruvell and Francies came thru huge on the drive, too.

I've liked M3's aggressive play calling, but I wondered about 2 plays on the drive: the end around to Driver and the TD pass to Martin. Both were very risky...I thought the pass to Martin was an INT at first.

Both were the kind of plays where if they work you're screaming about what a great play it was, and if they don't you're screaming about what a dumb play it was.

MJZiggy
10-23-2006, 09:11 AM
I've read a couple of people questioning that play (end-around) and it seems to me that you would have more success by doing the unexpected instead of the "safe" expected play. As far as I can tell, they weren't having too much success ramming it up the middle which is what you would expect them to try, so while all the defenders are busy trying to stuff the box, you send Donald in a different direction. Even if it hadn't worked, I'd still like it.

vince
10-23-2006, 09:39 AM
I've read a couple of people questioning that play (end-around) and it seems to me that you would have more success by doing the unexpected instead of the "safe" expected play. As far as I can tell, they weren't having too much success ramming it up the middle which is what you would expect them to try, so while all the defenders are busy trying to stuff the box, you send Donald in a different direction. Even if it hadn't worked, I'd still like it.
Ziggy, has anyone (besides your hubby) told you that you're the best lately? In case they haven't, you are.

I loved the call, for the very reason you mentioned. We saw at the end of the Eagles game that our young line, while it has some strengths and it continues to get better, ramming it down a team's throat in short yardage sitation ain't one of them - not yet anyway.

The other thing about that call is that the risk of an end around is sustaining a bigger loss than other plays. While losing 5 - 10 yards is bad any time, when it's fourth down, it doesn't matter as much because you either get the first down or turn it over on downs.

FritzDontBlitz
10-23-2006, 12:17 PM
there's another play that seems to have went unnoticed: early in the game brett pitched the ball to ahman, who was running to the left for what initially looked like a power sweep - until ahman began to set up to throw a pass! apparently no one was open so ahman kept it for a modest 2 or 3 yard gain. when's the last time you've seen a halfback option pass in green bay?

m3 is showing guts and creativity in his playcalling - 2 things we haven't seen in green bay since m1 went to seattle.

as far as the td pass to martin, it was more of an errant throw than it was a bad call. martin was lined up as te and had slipped unnoticed into the middle, favre's pass should have been a lil more inside to lead martin for an easy catch near the goal post. when the pass was errant, martin did exactly what a veteran receiver should do: he made a play out of it with an excellent fingertip catch.

m3 has to do more than just win games right now: he also has to instill a winning mentality in a bunch of rookies who are paired with veterans still trying to rise above the 4-12 debacle of 2005. jc pearson may not have appreciated the mindset of m3 on the drive but i will take m3's killer instinct over shermy's "let's play not to lose" mentality any day.

HarveyWallbangers
10-23-2006, 12:38 PM
Close pass on the Favre throw to Martin. Probably should have thrown it away, but I remember seeing a defender inside. If Favre throws that one inside more, it probably gets picked. The defender almost made a hell of a play. I'm sure Favre was probably a little surprised he got that close to making an all-out diving interception. I'm going to look on the positive side. He threw that one literally right where it had to be.
:smile:

GoPack06
10-23-2006, 02:56 PM
well the annoncers were wrong. I mean it worked and we won. Sometimes when your 1-4 and things are going well you gotta take a chance.

HarveyWallbangers
10-23-2006, 03:12 PM
I like the fact they stayed aggressive. If we play conservative and settle for a FG, our chances of winning that game would have gone down immensely.

Bossman641
10-23-2006, 03:38 PM
when's the last time you've seen a halfback option pass in green bay?

Green threw a 20 yard TD pass in 2004. This is just off the top of my head but I believe it was at Detroit and he threw it to Driver.

Patler
10-23-2006, 03:51 PM
when's the last time you've seen a halfback option pass in green bay?

Green threw a 20 yard TD pass in 2004. This is just off the top of my head but I believe it was at Detroit and he threw it to Driver.

Fisher threw one last year.
Both Fisher and Green threw option passes for TDs in 2004.