"Blame Game" Packers insist Youth not the Problem

[Bretsky]

http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packers/36210959.html

[Fritz]

yes, I think being so young does not help, but this team is maturing together. I'd like to see TT look into some defensive ine help.

By the way, saw the Browns game - about half - last night. Corey Williams did nothing and I was keeping an eye on him. He got stoned on his pass rushes (the ones I saw) and pushed out of the way on runs.

[pbmax]

This is part of the mystery of this team. For instance, there is no youth excuse in the secondary for failures of zone coverage, nor can youth explain why Harris and Poppinga don't know who is covering who.

Some of these young players have numerous starts under their belt. Especially where injury hasn't created a new starter. Youth is just a part of the answer.

And I dislike the Copy Editor for that Headline.

[Patler]

I've said it before and it applies again. There is hardly an article written by the local writers that fails to take a pointed jab at TT. Even articles about fairly innocuous topics have a one sentence shot at TT.

"Blame Game Begins" is a ridiculous title. If TT and MM play the blame game, nothing will get fixed. Any business that looks for who to blame usually fails to correct a problem. The focus has to be on finding the reasons for the downfall, and fixing those, not looking for someone or something to blame. People or businesses that play the blame game usually focus on one or two "problems". They make changes and the result is less than hoped. The same is true for the 2008 Packers. There is more that needs to be changed to fix the problems from this year than what a blame game will identify.

Fortunately, I believe MM and TT will take a more thorough approach.

[Patler]

This is part of the mystery of this team. For instance, there is no youth excuse in the secondary for failures of zone coverage, nor can youth explain why Harris and Poppinga don't know who is covering who.

Some of these young players have numerous starts under their belt. Especially where injury hasn't created a new starter. Youth is just a part of the answer.

I agree. The bottom of the roster makes the team young. But few of the starters really have that as an excuse anymore. Spitz, Colledge, Jennings, Hawk, Poppinga have about 40 starts, more or less; Collins has about 60 starts. Even Tony Moll, a pure backup, has started 17 games in his career and has played extensively in at least a few others.

It is time to evaluate these guys on their performance, not their potential.

[privatepacker]

Its not youth as much as leadership. the Packers have to find leaders on both sides of the ball that will let offending team members know they messed up and need to get squared away. If not be prepared at practice.

[KYPack]

yes, I think being so young does not help, but this team is maturing together. I'd like to see TT look into some defensive ine help.

By the way, saw the Browns game - about half - last night. Corey Williams did nothing and I was keeping an eye on him. He got stoned on his pass rushes (the ones I saw) and pushed out of the way on runs.

He's a fish out of water at LDE in a 3-4. he had a little advantage in a 4-3 playing RDT in passing situations. He put on 10 -15 pounds and looks slower and more tentative. He also needs to learn how to put his left hand down & develop pass rushing moves from that side.

I thought the Browns had a brilliant off-season and put their team in position to go to the next level?

Guess Cleveland made the moves, but Baltimore moved up.

[Fritz]

I've said it before and it applies again. There is hardly an article written by the local writers that fails to take a pointed jab at TT. Even articles about fairly innocuous topics have a one sentence shot at TT.

"Blame Game Begins" is a ridiculous title. If TT and MM play the blame game, nothing will get fixed. Any business that looks for who to blame usually fails to correct a problem. The focus has to be on finding the reasons for the downfall, and fixing those, not looking for someone or something to blame. People or businesses that play the blame game usually focus on one or two "problems". They make changes and the result is less than hoped. The same is true for the 2008 Packers. There is more that needs to be changed to fix the problems from this year than what a blame game will identify.

Fortunately, I believe MM and TT will take a more thorough approach.

If these headline writers are worth their salt, they would of course know that when a reader sees that headline, he will expect - as I did when I saw that headline - that someone has taken a public potshot at someone else.

The offseason process is about evaluation, not blame. But "evaluation" doesn't sell newspapers. "Blame" does.

I'm not sure why the local writers mostly seem to be so bitter towards TT. But next year will tell the tale for this franchise, I think. It'll be the fifth season for Thompson, and it will be time to produce results. An 8 - 8 finish isn't going to cut it, unless three fourths of the starters go down to injury in the first half of the season.

[prsnfoto]

Sounds like a guy making a lot of excuses to me. Couple things to note here there are no winners on this coaching staff they all come from teams with a losing tradition except the old Packer player's like Bennett and Campen, secondly Seattle is playing with alot of TT draft choices right now is that how the Pack is gonna look in 4 years?

[denverYooper]

Sounds like a guy making a lot of excuses to me. Couple things to note here there are no winners on this coaching staff they all come from teams with a losing tradition except the old Packer player's like Bennett and Campen, secondly Seattle is playing with alot of TT draft choices right now is that how the Pack is gonna look in 4 years?

Seattle's had a good run with those players. They were over .500 and made the playoffs in each of the last 5 years.

[Pugger]

And I know I'll get blasted for this but the injury situation in Seattle is even uglier than it is here. Their starting QB, for starters, has been hurt all season for all intents and purposes. That is one big mess over there and it doesn't help that the players know the coaching staff will be completely different next season. In hindsight it was probably a mistake by Holmgren to announce his retirement before this season started...

[bobblehead]

Sounds like a guy making a lot of excuses to me. Couple things to note here there are no winners on this coaching staff they all come from teams with a losing tradition except the old Packer player's like Bennett and Campen, secondly Seattle is playing with alot of TT draft choices right now is that how the Pack is gonna look in 4 years?

Seattle's had a good run with those players. They were over .500 and made the playoffs in each of the last 5 years.

Also lets note that when TT left the team JUMPED into FA hard. It then lost guys like Hutchinson and way overpaid for Alexander. They gave up a 1st for that reciever from NE. The team is falling apart now because they did all the things TT wouldn't do right after he left. He likely would have gotten Hutchinson and Alexander extended for less BEFORE they hit FA.

[Patler]

Seattle has also gotten quite young, 29 players with 4 years or less experience on their current 53 man roster. TT had nothing to do with 3/4 of their roster when you consider those 29 young players and another 10 or so veterans like Duckett, Jones, Peterson, Branch, Grant, Heller McKinney, and others who all came after TT left.

[Gunakor]

Sounds like a guy making a lot of excuses to me. Couple things to note here there are no winners on this coaching staff they all come from teams with a losing tradition except the old Packer player's like Bennett and Campen, secondly Seattle is playing with alot of TT draft choices right now is that how the Pack is gonna look in 4 years?

Seattle made their one and only Super Bowl appearance with a roster built in large part by Ted Thompson. Hopefully that is what the Packers will look like for the next 4 years.

Think maybe Seattle is struggling because they haven't had Ted Thompson making personell decisions for any of the last 4 years now? Maybe?

[prsnfoto]

Sounds like a guy making a lot of excuses to me. Couple things to note here there are no winners on this coaching staff they all come from teams with a losing tradition except the old Packer player's like Bennett and Campen, secondly Seattle is playing with alot of TT draft choices right now is that how the Pack is gonna look in 4 years?

Seattle made their one and only Super Bowl appearance with a roster built in large part by Ted Thompson. Hopefully that is what the Packers will look like for the next 4 years.

Think maybe Seattle is struggling because they haven't had Ted Thompson making personell decisions for any of the last 4 years now? Maybe?

Nope. They are lucky to be rid of twinkle toes.