Mike McCarthy is NOT the answer.

[Scott Campbell]

He was putrid in the first half - definitely struggled. He played very well in the second half.

[Tyrone Bigguns]

Cowher would never come to GB and Dungy I believe is done coaching football.

So how do you know these things ?

He personally knows Bill Cowher. On top of that, Bill Cowher coached in the world class city of Pittsburgh. After coaching in such a fine city, how could you go to a dump like Green Bay?

Pittsburgh=Minsk
GB=Grozny

Fixed.

Lay off Copenhagen.

Minsk>Grozny>Manchester>Copenhagen

[denverYooper]

I'm a little puzzled on McCarthy right now. I'm definitely willing to see how the season plays out before I start barking impotently about whether he should be fired or not.

PB had a good post earlier this week (I think) about how McCarthy seems to be a numbers guy, and he's going to run whatever play looks to be the highest probability for success given the down, distance, series, etc. That works if your team is executing. It's not so hot otherwise. I felt like A-Rod was a bit too nervous in the first half and really missed some of his throws that would have made the playcalling look better. In the second half, hey, those guys loosened up and really played well with their backs against the wall. I want to see that team show up for an entire game.

What gets me is this: do these guys break through? What gets them to that point? Strahan pointed out what a lot of Packers fans feel: we have a good team that needs to learn how to win the big games. That's partly on those guys on the team and partly on the coach to guide them to that. This isn't the last big game this year. Do we continue to "almost" win the quality teams and show big heart too late, or do we break through at some point and take a few of those? That goes beyond playcalling, and it's the part of McCarthy's job I am not sure about.

[Brandon494]

Cowher would never come to GB and Dungy I believe is done coaching football.

So how do you know these things ?

He personally knows Bill Cowher. On top of that, Bill Cowher coached in the world class city of Pittsburgh. After coaching in such a fine city, how could you go to a dump like Green Bay?

Pittsburgh=Paris
GB=Copenhagen

I don't know Cowher but Ty understands where I'm coming from. I'm sure GB is a great place to live but it just doesn't have much excitement compared to other markets. Even though I like him, lets not forget Dom Capers was our 3rd choice. When guys like Mike Nolan and Greg Williams turn you down what makes you think big names like Cowher would want to come to GB?

[pbmax]

Cowher won two internal battles for control over personnel. He didn't have total control over everything (like scouting or the draft) but he did have effective authority over the roster. He was all but GM, but not with the pay or title. That is one reason he left.

And he likely isn't coming back for less than what he previously had.

As for M3, Minnesota tells you they are going to work to prevent the deep patterns and we are still chasing them in the first half. Rodgers also had three desperation throws on his last drive, looking deep for receivers that we're double covered.

My gut tells me there is a basic disconnect between his QB and the coach right now. I don't think McCarthy is swayed by Rodgers success, so I think Rodgers' may be getting greedy. He has the talent to succeed by throwing deep, but this is the NFL and, especially if you aren't running it, the deep pass can be taken away. Even with much better pass protection in the second half, they came up empty too many times.

[pbmax]

My biggest question was the 2 point conversion. We miss it and are down five. A FG forces you to make another 2 pt conversion after a TD just to tie. I know that means the game is still in reach in one score, but those are some long odds.

[pbmax]

My only other question is this, I had the same thought watching as Florio at PFT has posted.

Packers blew chance to challenge Favre-to-Dugan touchdown

Posted by Mike Florio on November 1, 2009 6:45 PM ET
After the Vikings scored on a short touchdown pass from Brett Favre to Jeff Dugan, the Packers missed a great opportunity to challenge the play.

Dugan was going to the ground as he caught the ball and rumbled into the end zone. And when he struck the ground, Dugan lost the ball.

Though it took Dugan several steps to actually fall, he was never upright after making the catch. If the referee had agreed on review, the touchdown would have been taken off the board.

So the Packers should have thrown the red flag. Success would have given the Vikings a fourth down, and they likely would have taken the short field goal, which would have pushed the lead to seven.

Instead, the lead is 11. Though not insurmountable (especially with Aaron Rodgers just giving Vikings fans flashbacks to Steve Young circa 1988), those four points could ultimately make the difference.

[rbaloha1]

MM is disappointing. Play calling is too conservative. Too many penalties and special team breakdowns.

[pbmax]

MM is disappointing. Play calling is too conservative. Too many penalties and special team breakdowns.

You seem to have reached a conclusion in complete opposition to others who watched the game. Can you site an example of his over-cautious ways?

[Partial]

MM is disappointing. Play calling is too conservative. Too many penalties and special team breakdowns.

You seem to have reached a conclusion in complete opposition to others who watched the game. Can you site an example of his over-cautious ways?

I agree with this. It was the YAK that was keeping us in the game the next year. Short crossing routes seem to be our guys bread and butter.

[rbaloha1]

MM is disappointing. Play calling is too conservative. Too many penalties and special team breakdowns.

You seem to have reached a conclusion in complete opposition to others who watched the game. Can you site an example of his over-cautious ways?

How many deep passes? What about trick plays and misdirections? Reverses? My goodness as Aikman mentioned the Vikings all run to the ball quickly. The secondary was also inexperienced.

IMO MM failed to fully exploit the Viking weaknesses. Played not too lose.

[Brandon494]

My only other question is this, I had the same thought watching as Florio at PFT has posted.

Packers blew chance to challenge Favre-to-Dugan touchdown

Posted by Mike Florio on November 1, 2009 6:45 PM ET
After the Vikings scored on a short touchdown pass from Brett Favre to Jeff Dugan, the Packers missed a great opportunity to challenge the play.

Dugan was going to the ground as he caught the ball and rumbled into the end zone. And when he struck the ground, Dugan lost the ball.

Though it took Dugan several steps to actually fall, he was never upright after making the catch. If the referee had agreed on review, the touchdown would have been taken off the board.

So the Packers should have thrown the red flag. Success would have given the Vikings a fourth down, and they likely would have taken the short field goal, which would have pushed the lead to seven.

Instead, the lead is 11. Though not insurmountable (especially with Aaron Rodgers just giving Vikings fans flashbacks to Steve Young circa 1988), those four points could ultimately make the difference.

Even if MM had challenged the play there was not enough evidence to overrule the call of a TD IMO.

[MJZiggy]

No, sadly he had it across the line before he lost his grip on it.

[BallHawk]

MM only challenges plays that he has no chance of winning (i.e. spot of the ball)

[The Leaper]

I think McCarthy's failure in big games is the worst item on his resume. In the NFL, it is all about winning the big games. The lack of team discipline is the second worst thing about him. The "We are gonna get that fixed" mantra is wearing thin.

If this team doesn't do better than 8-8, I think Thompson needs to think long and hard about the coaching staff...considering the wealth of coaching candidates currently available.