MCGINN---NEW JSO ARTICLES..........THE BLAME FALLS ON

[Bretsky]

http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packers/blame-for-underachieving-season-falls-on-mike-mccarthy-ted-thompson-b99656523z1-366325731.html

[Smidgeon]

McClickbait is an idiot.

[Bretsky]

this is an interesting read that the rats will pick apart.

I find it interesting that the two NFC teams left standing made some anti TT like moves in acquiring short terms help with vets that helped them get there

Plenty of ways to skin a cat and if we don't get it done again we'll soon be nothing more than A FART IN THE WIND

[Striker]

And the winner for "no duh" article of the month goes to...

[wist43]

Excellent article... I agree with just about everything he said.

It's one thing for homers not to want to hear criticism, but to spit on honest critiques... that's just burying your head in the sand.

TT needs to fix the mess at ILB, TE, and on the OL; MM needs to get back to running the offense; they need to be tougher on the players - like Lacy; TT needs to get his head out of his ass and bring a vet or two to fill holes and provide some leadership.

Things that won't get fixed - dunderdummy is here for life; and our soft approach to defense and running the ball will never change. Still, with the right changes, we can still win a SB with this regime. The rub is - changes... a leopard doesn't change his spots, so while I say we can win, I'm not convinced TT/MM will do what is necessary to get there.

[call_me_ishmael]

I think the article was pretty spot on. It's interesting how we are already seeing MM respond to the criticisms. I expect to see TT make a few small changes as well, namely I expect to see somebody brought in at TE in FA.

[Joemailman]

A fair article, if bit obvious. There is some irony in it though. On one hand it criticizes the Packers for being unwilling to change. Yet it criticizes MM for making changes with the coaching staff that as it turns out were counter-productive. Sometimes changes don't lead to progress. That said, we've already seen some changes. MM has already made some changes to the offensive coaching staff, and there may be more changes. He's said he will be calling the plays from here on out. And he publicly called out Lacy, a highly uncharacteristic thing for him to do. Hopefully this year's changes work better than last year's changes.

[Patler]

Do I understand correctly?

Is he suggesting that when a team under performs, we should blame the guy who is responsible for player acquisition and the guy who assembles the staff, determines who plays and is the controlling force for the part of the team that played the worst?

I thought it was the grounds crew and the person in charge of ticket sales. That was quite an analysis by McGinn. He has convinced me!

Be honest, was there anything in the article that has not been brought up on here?

[Patler]

There is some irony in it though. On one hand it criticizes the Packers for being unwilling to change. Yet it criticizes MM for making changes with the coaching staff that as it turns out were counter-productive. Sometimes changes don't lead to progress. That said, we've already seen some changes. MM has already made some changes to the offensive coaching staff, and there may be more changes. He's said he will be calling the plays from here on out. And he publicly called out Lacy, a highly uncharacteristic thing for him to do. Hopefully this year's changes work better than last year's changes.

All good points.

[Joemailman]

Do I understand correctly?

Is he suggesting that when a team under performs, we should blame the guy who is responsible for player acquisition and the guy who assembles the staff, determines who plays and is the controlling force for the part of the team that played the worst?

I thought it was the grounds crew and the person in charge of ticket sales. That was quite an analysis by McGinn. He has convinced me!

Be honest, was there anything in the article that has not been brought up on here?

No. A number of us have been saying for a while that the changes made to the offensive coaching staff were a disaster. And if I'm not mistaken, there may have been a person or two here over the years who have suggested TT should do more in free agency. Of course, his target audience is the casual fan who reads the JSO for Packer information. Not people like us with thousands of posts in a Packer fan forum run by a crazy Mexican.

[texaspackerbacker]

I normally don't like McGinn, but he really nails it in this article. I've been saying for years, Ted simply doesn't maximize things. We have the world's greatest QB, and he has put together a mediocre team around him. Rodgers has performed at a high enough level that Thompson has gotten a lot of undeserved praise. Well, this year it caught up with him and the Packers. McCarthy I have not criticized until recently. I liked the high energy pass first offense, etc.; We had been winning, and I blamed Thompson for not winning even more. This year, however, McCarthy succumbed to the fools saying "run first" - you just can't do that with an O Line like we have, and it's stupid to run first when you have Aaron Rodgers at QB. Also, the Janis thing - I and others have been wanting him to get on the field a helluva lot more; if he doesn't know certain things, that's on the coaches. Other talented young wideouts all over the league do well in their first season, much less second. The play calling did not improve when McCarthy took it back; The game management in general was faulty - stuff we basically got away with in past years.

I doubt either Thompson or McCarthy are going anyplace, so the only hope is that they themselves realize the things the article points out and shape up on their own. Optimist that I am, though, I doubt it. On the good side, though, we aren't that far away; Getting Nelson back and hopefully finally using Janis along with Capers' D and improvement of the young DBs there; Addition by subtraction of Raji; All of that could quickly get the Packers back to the top.

[oldbutnotdeadyet]

Yeah, I thought it was a good article if for nothing else it brings attention to MM and TT. People seldom change if they are untouchable and think they can do no wrong. I believe criticism here can be a stepping stone to change, and change is good, especially in the NFL.

[Patler]

I doubt either TT or MM cares at all what McGinn thinks or writes. Nothing from McGinn will cause them to change, or even consider changing.

[Pugger]

I could understand the angst if the team stunk. IMO a 10-6 regular season record and participating in the divisional rounds isn't the disaster some think. It is disappointing we didn't have the season we all hoped for but I say it would be rather rash to make a change right now. Most of the time when a team is a perennial playoff contender with a decent core of players and elite QB that GM and HC are not on the hot seat. And I don't think that is the situation here either. There aren't many teams with our record of success over the past 10 years. The Steelers are a team with continued success similar to ours. They have been in the playoffs almost as often as we have but have lost some heartbreakers too. However, I'm not hearing many calls for Tomlin's head from Steeler Nation if you read their forums.

[pbmax]

McGinn has really reached the limits of his knowledge of football. He quite literally has nothing left.

EDIT: I take that back in one instance of his McCarty critique:

In summary, I still can't believe a team with Rodgers taking every snap and that much talent could lose six times in the regular season, could fail to win another NFC North Division crown and isn't playing Sunday in the NFC Championship Game for the right to reclaim the Lombardi Trophy that was well within its means.

1. That statement makes some sense. Now how about an article exploring WHY? That would be useful.

2. "Bench Adams and Lacy". Pretty sure that happened. Why they didn't stay benched was on display during the Redskins game for Adams and during the Cardinals game for Lacy. But let's face it, benching Lacy wasn't going to drop weight for him in season.

3. Ryan over Palmer? Maybe. Ryan wasn't a world beater he was a 4th round pick who was not where he should be and allowed two passing TDs because of coverage confusion. Was it a lock he would be better than Palmer by year's end? And didn't this short of happen anyway?

4. Barclay and Sitton over Tretter. The entire O coaching staff should be docked a week's pay for the Sitton decision. Barclay over Tretter? Tretter spent precious little time at tackle and Barclay had all season to get more rehab after surgery. He was the backup tackle since camp. It was obvious early he wasn't the same but was that rehab or a permanent drop in production? Mid-season he was somehow passable filling in for Bach at LT for a game. I grade this one half correct.

5. Hayward over Rollins. Maybe. Hayward was playing pretty well at the end of the year. But he may not belong at outside corner.