McCarthy and Favre

[Joemailman]

JS ONLINE: SPORTS: PACKERS: E-MAIL | PRINT
THIS STORY



McCarthy to address his troops
Having met with Favre, he'll outline his vision Friday
By TOM SILVERSTEIN
Not everybody on the Green Bay Packers roster has had an opportunity to spend quality time with new coach Mike McCarthy.
But come 3 p.m. Friday every Packer but those playing in NFL Europe will be exposed to the man general manager Ted Thompson called "Pittsburgh macho" when he hired him in January. McCarthy will deliver the first full-squad speech of his fledgling head coaching career sometime before that first practice.

"I'm actually in the process of cutting back what I need to say," McCarthy said early Thursday evening. "Because if I say everything I need to say I'll probably be up there for a couple of hours. I think it's important to have a message, but so is the length of it. It's about substance."

His boss thinks substance is what McCarthy is all about.

Thompson hired him because the two had similar philosophies on how to build a team and handle players, particularly those who are new to the National Football League. But Thompson also hired him because McCarthy has strong convictions about the rules he sets, the offense he runs and the commitment to the game he demands.

Part of his job beginning this weekend will be to assume leadership over the entire team, including its central figure, quarterback Brett Favre, who two weeks ago was undecided whether he wanted to continue playing for the Packers. Under Thompson, the club has taken a hard-line approach in refusing to bow to the desires of a single player and McCarthy has backed him up.

Now that Favre is back, McCarthy's job turns to re-forming his relationship with the quarterback he coached for one season seven years ago. It started with a lengthy meeting with Favre on Thursday morning in McCarthy's office.

"We talked for a long time," McCarthy said. "We were up in the office for almost two hours. It's a continuation of an ongoing conversation (this off-season). We talked about a lot of things. A lot of times when Brett and I get together we talk about issues and ideas and we also talk about games and plays. We talk football.

"That's what players and coaches like to do. It's all about football. That's what we do best and that's when we're at our best."

Asked if he thought Favre was truly on board with the program Thompson and McCarthy were authoring in Green Bay, McCarthy was blunt in his answer.

"I think he's definitely on board," he said. "If he weren't on board I don't think he would have come back."

McCarthy said he and Favre were supposed to discuss the amount of work Favre would receive in the two minicamps this month and the 14 days of practices known as organized team activities that run through June. Their conversation took too many other directions and the two never finalized Favre's work schedule, but McCarthy said he expected the 36-year-old quarterback to work in this camp and attend selected other practices.

"I'm going to be real smart with his arm," McCarthy said. "As long as he was here today, we didn't go through the whole schedule off-season. I'll probably do that over the weekend. He is 36 and looks good. He's in good shape. But we're a long way from playing a game. I'm more worried about the mental and fundamental part than the physical."

McCarthy said he wasn't worried about Favre's state of mind given he appeared to have one foot out the door not so long ago. But he does want him to get up to speed with his mechanics and the new language the McCarthy offense uses in describing plays and formations.

Through the off-season, the Packers have had about 75% attendance in their off-season workout program and those on offense are already familiar with much of the terminology McCarthy will use. Favre hasn't had access to a playbook and will need a little time to catch up.

However, after 14 years running the same offense, the transition won't take long.

"It's changed for him, too," McCarthy said. "They've done it a certain way for a long time now. He's not learning a new language, but he's learning a new slang version. He has to learn just like all the other guys have had to.

"But I think any time there's change there's anxiety, but there's also excitement because everything is new. It's about the challenge. And we all know how he responds to challenges."

McCarthy is hoping the changes excite Favre and rekindle his passion for the game, but his primary goal is to get the team - not just Favre - ready for the regular-season opener. McCarthy has 12 newcomers from the NFL draft last weekend and 21 players who were rookies or first-year players with the Packers last season, so he's not exactly dealing with an experienced group.

Before he can address the rookies, he has to make sure his veterans on offense understand what he is trying to accomplish with his style of the West Coast offense. So the first minicamp will mostly consist of the veterans running most of the plays and the rookies keeping a watchful eye.

"It'll just be very basic," McCarthy said. "We have plenty of volume but this will be a lot of our foundation things. Everything we put in this weekend will be all primary concepts. We'll build off those. We're probably going to struggle a little bit and then we'll get a little better in the second minicamp and by the (organized team activities ) I'm confident they'll be more comfortable with everything."

Besides Favre and the rookies, McCarthy will be on display as well. It will be everyone's chance to find out who he is and what he's about, although some think they already know that.

"I don't have any questions about the staff," Thompson said. "You never know everything about somebody, but I think I know what kind of coach he's going to be. I'm excited about it."



I love the way McCarthy is approaching things. Instead of treating Favre as a Hall-Of-Famer-In-Waiting, he is regarding Favre as most coaches would their starting quarterback. Which is to say, a very important part of the team, but not above anyone. I often thought Sherman made a mistake of treating Favre almost as an icon, instead of just his quarterback. Personally, I think Favre will react positively to the change in coaching style. McCarthy will hold Favre accountable for errors, whether they be physical or mental, just like he would any other player. I think Favre will respect that.

[Fosco33]

Agreed. He got along with M1 so well b/c Holmgren didn't mess around and told Brett when he screwed up (or just looked at him). Brett likes authority (re: his Dad).

[MadtownPacker]

Brett likes authority (re: his Dad).
Yes I truly believe he does or at least performs his best when controlled. M3 sure seems like the right choice so far.

""I think he's definitely on board," he said. "If he weren't on board I don't think he would have come back."

Smart answer for a stupid question by M3.

[Joemailman]

McCarthy Expects Much From Favre, Packers

By CHRIS JENKINS
AP Sports Writer


GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) -- Asked if he liked what he saw in his first day of minicamp, new Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy responded with a qualified "yes" Friday.

That goes for Brett Favre, too.

McCarthy said he had several "deja vus" watching Favre on the field for the first time this offseason, recalling his days as the Packers' quarterbacks coach in 1999.

Most of those memories, McCarthy said, were positive. But not all of them.

"Just some of the things he does fundamentally," McCarthy said. "Some of the things, you shake your head at. And some of the things, you're glad he's your quarterback. Probably a lot more of those, that's for sure."

After more than four months' worth of wavering on his football future, Favre returned to join his teammates for the Packers' first minicamp. He's scheduled to address the media Saturday.

Favre did light jogging and stretching with the team and ran some plays. But just because Favre is gracing the Packers with his presence again this year doesn't mean he gets to do whatever he wants.

McCarthy expects his quarterback to participate in an undetermined number of the team's offseason activities, something Favre has skipped in recent offseasons. Favre also is expected to put in the extra time it will take to learn a new offense.

McCarthy talked to Favre for more than two hours after his arrival on Thursday.

"I'd like to sit here and say he did cartwheels and everything as we talked about what we were going to do," McCarthy said. "But that would not be accurate. I've worked with Brett before. He knows where I'm coming from. He understands my beliefs as far as fundamentals, how you want to play the game and so forth and I think that's in line with how he wants to play the game."

McCarthy has projected a serious, businesslike attitude in his initial public appearances as the Packers' coach, using corporate terminology such as "group dynamics."

Offensive coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski describes the Pittsburgh native as "blue-collar."

"There's not going to be a lot of gray area," Jagodzinski said. "There's no, 'I wonder what he meant by that?' He'll tell you."

But McCarthy doesn't appear to be a disciplinarian out of the mold of Bill Parcells or Tom Coughlin. That's a good thing, because it might not work with players who remember him as friendly and good-natured from his first stint with the team.

Receiver Donald Driver said he and a few other players thought it was a little odd to watch McCarthy deliver a semi-stern lecture in a recent team meeting.

"By me knowing him, for him to come into those meetings and get the 'deep voice' is kind of funny," Driver said. "We kind of laugh at him a little bit. But he's getting his point across, and he's doing his job."

That laughter aside, Driver said McCarthy has the players' respect.

"He gets that respect regardless," Driver said. "I don't think they would have gave him that position if he had to earn respect. I think he pretty much has that respect already, and I think everyone in that locker room already respects him as a man."

And Driver understands that McCarthy will have to get tough at times.

"That's a head coach on any team," Driver said. "He has to have that attitude. And there's going to be one day where we're going to come out there and we're not going to have a good practice. And he's going to have that attitude where he's going to go off on us."


This is another article along the same lines as the other one I posted. The players may not LIKE McCarthy as much as they did Sherman. However, they may RESPECT him more.

[Tarlam!]

Joe, I think Like or Respect are somewhat interchangable. I truly think the players respected Sherm. I think he botched the play-calling at critical moments which prohibited wins in critical games.

I think M3 brings no baggage with him, despite his previous tenure. The players will react to how the assistant coaches treat M3 more than anything. That's why it's a better thing that Bates is gone; he would have been a "shoulder to cry on", that might have driven a wedge between the players and M3. TT was smart to get Bates to resign (TT is still paying Bates' salary).

I believe the youthful M3 will rejuvinate the vets, incl. one #4. His play calling might even delay admition to the HOF by a coupla years, since Brett won't be required to wait in the pocket for our receivers to get deep.

I am convinced this team will go better than a lot of "experts" might predict.

[MadtownPacker]

Good thoughts Tarlam. Just wait though. Those "experts" are already starting to jump on the bandwagon. By the time the season starts Im betting many of them will be predicting the Pack to win the North.