Offense clears the air

[digitaldean]

The offense had a meeting during their film session where specific team leaders spoke their mind.

Here's the JSO link: http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packers/69820142.html

Tauscher, Driver and Rodgers were the main speakers.

Rodgers was told he held onto the ball too long, OL was told the aren't blocking near well enough and RB's were told they left too many yards on the field.

The quote from Double D seems to hit the nail on the head:
"If we don't win - and I mean now - they are going to fire all of our (butts) at the end of the season," Driver said. "I'm serious."

Of course, talking is one thing, accomplishing what they need is another.

Let's hope this first step lights a fire under this team and they can make some headway.

We shall see.....

[channtheman]

Very interesting. I hope that this can translate to some wins the second half of the season and a wild card playoff berth for the Packers. We'll see, but right now it looks like the team is actually rallying together after that loss instead of falling apart. Of course, they need to go out and beat Dallas now.

[Kiwon]

I'm glad they had the meeting.....I hope it will do some good.

Rodgers holding the ball....Wow, the guy has been a pro for 5 years. What adjustments is he going to make to change his habits?

In the heat of the moment he is who he is.

For example, can Farve teach someone else how to shuffle his feet, ball fake, eye fake, pump fake, juke and avoid a sack in a crowded pocket? Or does each person just naturally do it or not?

But nothing is going to change unless the OL doesn't pull it together. That's been the main problem since week 1.

[packrulz]

I'm glad they had the meeting.....I hope it will do some good.

Rodgers holding the ball....Wow, the guy has been a pro for 5 years. What adjustments is he going to make to change his habits?

In the heat of the moment he is who he is.

For example, can Favre teach someone else how to shuffle his feet, ball fake, eye fake, pump fake, juke and avoid a sack in a crowded pocket? Or does each person just naturally do it or not?

But nothing is going to change unless the OL doesn't pull it together. That's been the main problem since week 1.

True, the o-line has been a mess for years, but the Tampa game it was all facets of the game, blocking, tackling, throwing, catching, special teams, offense and defense. The time to fix it is now in practice, they have talent, time to coach them and stop worrying if he's working them too hard.

[Fritz]

Dean, I'm glad you started this thread, but I think you mis-titled it. I was thinking of starting a thread with the same link but this thread title:

Packers Pop a Zit

That's kind of the impression I got after reading the article.

As to whether it helps, we'll see. If they lose, then it will not have mattered. If they win and the offense improves, people might start pointing to that meeting as a turning point.

[pbmax]

Packers Pop a Zit

C'mon Fritz, with Tauscher and Green, we aren't that young anymore.

As for the meeting, its a little odd, though probably not unexpected that Tauscher spoke after being on the team for less than four weeks.

[Maxie the Taxi]

I agree with Fritz.

I said it before in another thread: I suspect this is a player-motivated team. Bedard's article seems to confirm that, but it's neither here nor there.

Obviously, the players know the gravity of the situation and they're saying the right things. They're motivated. One of the players (Rodgers, I think) spoke of "urgency." This is what the team has been lacking, IMO, a sense of urgency and purpose. Whether this motivation is strong enough to last throughout Sunday's game remains to be seen. Will Stubby be slapping asses on Sunday, or hiding behind his clipboard?

Now it's up to Stubby and his assistants play off this emotion and motivation. Will they provide their players with game plans that will put them in a position to succeed? Or will their game plans be tentative and scared, filled with trick plays and timid defenses that say "we can't beat Dallas mano-y-mano, so we have to play it safe, we have to play not to to win but to avoid losing?"

If they do the latter, the game and the season are lost.

In short, they have to hit the field and play like Pittsburgh did against the Broncos: with fire and purpose and an attitude that says we're the Green Bay Packers and this is our house! Give us your best shot, assholes, and then get the hell out of here!

[denverYooper]

Whoops. Didn't see this was posted already

[cheesner]

This needed to be done. i only hope that special teams as well as the entire coaching staff have similar meetings.

[GrnBay007]

Good move, but why wasn't this done a lil earlier? Will take perfection and A LOT of heart to win here on out to have a chance at playoffs.

Anyone wondering if MM has lost his player's heart at this point?

[Maxie the Taxi]

Anyone wondering if MM has lost his player's heart at this point?

As I've been saying, I think MM probably never had his players' hearts. I see him as a cerebral coach and teacher, not some dynamic leader his guys would run through a brick wall for.

I think this team is and always has been a player-motivated team; they'll run through a brick wall for each other. MM just doesn't seem to have the personality, the communicative ability or the deeply held beliefs that a leader needs in order to establish the team culture and motivate the players to play up to that culture.

This kind of leadership style is not all bad, but it's not good, especially when you have a young team. Young, self-motivated teams can get on a roll and go 13-3; but they can also tank and go 4-12. A dynamic leader could break the young colts and channel their energy and guide their emotions. Not MM.

Of course, I'm not in the meetings and this is pure speculation. But it's what we fans do on a fan message board. If I'm wrong, I apologize to Stubby. But at $4-million a year he should have thick enough skin to handle an old guys criticism. (He sure looks like his skin is thick.)

Ironically, I don't really feel that MM should be fired at this point. I'm hoping he and the team come through this dark period. Maybe he'll see the light, transform ala Tom Coughlin and pull a good season out of the hat. I'm willing to give him to the end of the season to wait and see.

On the other hand, MM will be judged at the end of the season on his performance and the chips will fall where they may.

[Brandon494]

Hopefully the defense will learn from this and do the samething because they are the reason for our 4 losses.