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I have not seen much discussion in Packer media about the turnaround in penalty tendencies that McCarthy has engineered over the last year and a half. In 2007, 08 and 09 the Packers were either second to last or dead-assed last in penalty yards against. McCarthy was frequently quoted as being unconcerned about many of the post-snap penalties, which he saw as evidence of an aggressiveness he wanted to encourage. Last year they transformed themselves from worst to fourth best. This year they are third best in penalty yardage assessed against. My guess would be that the major improvements have come on special teams (they no longer get socked with three illegal use of hands penalities per game) and the secondary. From what I can see, the overall "aggressiveness" of those units has not suffered from the increase in disciplined play.
My biggest reservation about McCarthy to date has been about the way he puts together his coaching staff. When coaches working with under-performing units (OL, ST) get retained and promoted it makes one wonder whether the HC puts too much premium on loyalty and not enough on accountability. But now, looking at the dramatic turnaround the team has made with penalties, I am wondering if I was mistaken. Maybe McCarthy is actually a master at analyzing his own weaknesses and transforming them.
My biggest reservation about McCarthy to date has been about the way he puts together his coaching staff. When coaches working with under-performing units (OL, ST) get retained and promoted it makes one wonder whether the HC puts too much premium on loyalty and not enough on accountability. But now, looking at the dramatic turnaround the team has made with penalties, I am wondering if I was mistaken. Maybe McCarthy is actually a master at analyzing his own weaknesses and transforming them.
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