Packers' weakness: Transition to 3-4

[falco]

Caught sleeping in the stands at the scouting combine...

I doubt Shermy was the only guy who caught some z's there.

I'm convinced Thompson is a better GM than Shermy. Not so sure that McCarthy is a better coach. We'll see how it goes.

[Lurker64]

I think part of the knock on Sherman is that "like many coaches, he wanted to be the general manager as well" combined with "almost nobody is successful when they are both the coach and the general manager at the same time." Holmgren couldn't do it in Seattle, he got fired as the GM (but retained as the coach) after three years. Why would we expect Sherman to be able to do it here?


If there's anything to learn from the Mike Sherman saga it's "Make sure your coach and GM are not the same person."

[HarveyWallbangers]

I'm convinced Thompson is a better GM than Shermy. Not so sure that McCarthy is a better coach. We'll see how it goes.

That's a fair take. Sherman was a pretty good coach. He consistently had the Packers in the playoffs, but had a poor record when he got to the playoffs. He never went as far in the playoffs as McCarthy did in his one playoff season. I have hopes for McCarthy. I think the end of 2006 and 2007 is more indicative of what he is capable of. I think he's changed the culture. He's brought more of a hard-nosed attitude to the team. I'm actually encouraged that he had the guts to bring a veteran DC and change the scheme. I'm not convinced he was a huge believer in the Bates scheme, but decided to go with continuity. That's understandable. You can't argue with Sherman's regular season results and some of the innovations he brought, but I just have a better feeling with McCarthy on the sidelines. There were too many head-scratching moments when Sherman was the coach. I also don't think he gave Favre the tough-nosed coaching that Holmgren and McCarthy did. I think that hurt the team.

[pbmax]

I think Packer Update had a good read on it when they said he didn't have many qualified people banging on his door to interview for the D coordinator job the first time. Sanders might have been the most qualified.

[falco]

I'm convinced Thompson is a better GM than Shermy. Not so sure that McCarthy is a better coach. We'll see how it goes.

That's a fair take. Sherman was a pretty good coach. He consistently had the Packers in the playoffs, but had a poor record when he got to the playoffs. He never went as far in the playoffs as McCarthy did in his one playoff season. I have hopes for McCarthy. I think the end of 2006 and 2007 is more indicative of what he is capable of. I think he's changed the culture. He's brought more of a hard-nosed attitude to the team. I'm actually encouraged that he had the guts to bring a veteran DC and change the scheme. I'm not convinced he was a huge believer in the Bates scheme, but decided to go with continuity. That's understandable. You can't argue with Sherman's regular season results and some of the innovations he brought, but I just have a better feeling with McCarthy on the sidelines. There were too many head-scratching moments when Sherman was the coach. I also don't think he gave Favre the tough-nosed coaching that Holmgren and McCarthy did. I think that hurt the team.

If I had to choose, I'd take McCarthy - but I'm not sure it would be the right decision.

I would say that Sherman's teams played poorly in spite of him, while McCarthy seems to get the most of out of his talent.

[falco]

I remember watching Cullen Jenkins destroy guys when healthy. I mean physically obliterate o-lineman. I sure hope he can do that this year, especially in this system.

My fingers are still crossed, but looks like the Jenkster is off to a good start.