Official Bear Week Discussion Thread

[Rutnstrut]

Yet last year when I said stubby was the problem you all scoffed. He needs to go.

[Smidgeon]

I am not smart enough to dispute or agree with this assessment. The major problem I see with it from where I sit is that it presupposes that McCarthy is a moron.

No different than many of the posters on this board.

[pbmax]

I am not smart enough to dispute or agree with this assessment. The major problem I see with it from where I sit is that it presupposes that McCarthy is a moron.

He is no more a moron as a result of this development than any previous year. Which is to say, not much of one.

But he is prone to trusting that his players will win one on one matchups until the evidence is overwhelming. We have seen it with marginal starters at Tackle not being given help wth pass rushers, his light switch approach to the running game, pass protection and passroute construction.

Its an approach that works well with younger players and getting them to raise the level of their performance. But it can also leave you exposed. He'll fix it , but will watch it fail first. The HAL 9000 approach to a communication tower failure.

Rodgers is his best player. I don't buy the decline scenario of the Greg Jennings line that he is more dependent on receivers than perceived. Whatever offense M3 conceived, Rodgers made it hum, worked with bad pass pro and excelled if he had to bail out of the pocket. And all the time he made big plays down the field.

When McCarthy built the latest iteration of this offense, it was in answer to the man handling he was getting versus San Fran (man under, Cover 2) and Seattle (press coverage/bail technique Cover 3), where teams could pressure with 4. He built an offense to maximize opportunities to hit those defenses deep repeatedly. But he was losing the middle of the field (Jennings left, Cobb isn't Jennings versus man coverage and Finely declined/retired). Even with the built-in limitations, Rodgers made that offense work for a #1 scoring offense and MVP award in 2014.

If you were the coach, would you change that offense because James Jones was not on the team for the second year? There were signs along the way, teams that could defend this (KC, fucking Zimmer, Seattle, San Fran), but the winning never really subsided except for the year he broke his clavicle.

But its all broken now. So much of that 3 second pass block then scramble drill has cost Rodgers what used to work like clockwork. He is no longer good in the middle of the field because he is never going there with a first or second read. And that stupid no huddle 11 personnel (1 TE, 1 RB, 3 WR) is SO predictable, he has to have seven seconds of pass pro to find an open receiver. And recovering Nelson plus the other receivers are not great at getting open early in routes.

The only two that are, Monty (who showed this last week) and Abby (who isn't playing and is injured) don't have a big enough impact in the game plan.

As Rut said, you could have called this last year, but the injuries seemed about as bad as they could have been. I suspect we would be back to early 2015 offensive execution if Nelson was 100%/year 2 of rehab. But that won't happen until next year. This year they need to run an offense that is more Belichick or Reid than McCarthy.

But its mostly because he rode Rodgers to great success, not because he is a moron.

[Bossman641]

PB I don't necessarily disagree, but maybe you can explain what MM was trying to do with the redesign of the offense. The offense has traditionally struggled with teams that play press coverage and can rush with 4. So MM's answer to that was to build in more iso routes thinking one of the receivers would beat press coverage and they'd burn the D deep? Doesn't that play right into the hands of the defense? I'd think you'd want to run more bunch and combo routes in hopes of fooling the defense.

I definitely agree with him being overconfident in his players and thinking that players drive production rather than scheme.

[Rutnstrut]

So PB in short what you are saying is that it's not that stubby is stupid. He's just stubborn and terrible at making adjustments on the fly. So basically before due to Rodgers playing other worldly football, they won despite of stubby. Not because of him? So what good is stubby?

[pbmax]

Linsley is practicing.

[pbmax]

PB I don't necessarily disagree, but maybe you can explain what MM was trying to do with the redesign of the offense. The offense has traditionally struggled with teams that play press coverage and can rush with 4. So MM's answer to that was to build in more iso routes thinking one of the receivers would beat press coverage and they'd burn the D deep? Doesn't that play right into the hands of the defense? I'd think you'd want to run more bunch and combo routes in hopes of fooling the defense.

I definitely agree with him being overconfident in his players and thinking that players drive production rather than scheme.

By now the timeline has faded. But against the 49ers in the playoff loss, his offense faded once again against Cover 2 man under. His response wasn't to add MORE iso routes, they have always had that. but it was to introduce the no huddle to get more shots at the deep openings against them and Seattle (especially Seattle). The no huddle promised favorable matchups and more plays.

Its has produced not enough plays and a too predictable offense. The D is not caught unaware anymore.

For Rut, McCarthy was stubborn beyond necessity for one off season. When he had every reason to believe 2014 was possible agains its health receivers. What we all missed was how it was hurting the QB.

[Harlan Huckleby]

Linsley is practicing.

Ironic that they kept 11 DBs and 7 OL and they really don't need Linsley. (Maybe I got numbers wrong, but it makes for a good story.) Too bad Linsley can't play corner.

[pbmax]

Ironic that they kept 11 DBs and 7 OL and they really don't need Linsley. (Maybe I got numbers wrong, but it makes for a good story.) Too bad Linsley can't play corner.

Tretter can probably Flanagan it at corner.

[pbmax]

Oh goody.

Adam Schefter @AdamSchefter 14m14 minutes ago
Packers' RB Eddie Lacy is seeking second opinion on foot injury from Dr. Bob Anderson in NC and "anything else is speculation," per source.

I think that is the foot specialist guy other Packers have seen.



Ian Rapoport @RapSheet 1h1 hour ago
Sources: The #Packers are expected to be without workhorse RB Eddie Lacy for several weeks. It's more than a sprained ankle.

NOT GOOD. THERE IS NO REASON TO BE CERTAN RAPSHEET IS 100% ACCURATE, BUT HE NORMALLY HAS GOOD INFO ON PACKERS. SCHEFTER'S TWEET WAS AFTER RAPSHEETS.

WORD WAS EARLIER TODAY THAT DON JACKSON WAS BEING PROMOTED TO THE 53. THE KC GUY WOULD MAKE THAT TWO NEW RBS ON A TEAM THAT ONLY CARRIES 2 RB. CAN'T RULE THIS OUT.

[Carolina_Packer]

He is no more a moron as a result of this development than any previous year. Which is to say, not much of one.

But he is prone to trusting that his players will win one on one matchups until the evidence is overwhelming. We have seen it with marginal starters at Tackle not being given help wth pass rushers, his light switch approach to the running game, pass protection and passroute construction.

Its an approach that works well with younger players and getting them to raise the level of their performance. But it can also leave you exposed. He'll fix it , but will watch it fail first. The HAL 9000 approach to a communication tower failure.

Rodgers is his best player. I don't buy the decline scenario of the Greg Jennings line that he is more dependent on receivers than perceived. Whatever offense M3 conceived, Rodgers made it hum, worked with bad pass pro and excelled if he had to bail out of the pocket. And all the time he made big plays down the field.

When McCarthy built the latest iteration of this offense, it was in answer to the man handling he was getting versus San Fran (man under, Cover 2) and Seattle (press coverage/bail technique Cover 3), where teams could pressure with 4. He built an offense to maximize opportunities to hit those defenses deep repeatedly. But he was losing the middle of the field (Jennings left, Cobb isn't Jennings versus man coverage and Finely declined/retired). Even with the built-in limitations, Rodgers made that offense work for a #1 scoring offense and MVP award in 2014.

If you were the coach, would you change that offense because James Jones was not on the team for the second year? There were signs along the way, teams that could defend this (KC, fucking Zimmer, Seattle, San Fran), but the winning never really subsided except for the year he broke his clavicle.

But its all broken now. So much of that 3 second pass block then scramble drill has cost Rodgers what used to work like clockwork. He is no longer good in the middle of the field because he is never going there with a first or second read. And that stupid no huddle 11 personnel (1 TE, 1 RB, 3 WR) is SO predictable, he has to have seven seconds of pass pro to find an open receiver. And recovering Nelson plus the other receivers are not great at getting open early in routes.

The only two that are, Monty (who showed this last week) and Abby (who isn't playing and is injured) don't have a big enough impact in the game plan.

As Rut said, you could have called this last year, but the injuries seemed about as bad as they could have been. I suspect we would be back to early 2015 offensive execution if Nelson was 100%/year 2 of rehab. But that won't happen until next year. This year they need to run an offense that is more Belichick or Reid than McCarthy.

But its mostly because he rode Rodgers to great success, not because he is a moron.

In your opinion, is MM and A-Rod stubborn to keep getting shot plays or chunks of yardage, like a home run hitter's mentality, but what they really should consider is choking up on bat and going with the pitch, or taking what the defense is giving them. Are they showing signs of adjusting? Being aggressive had a big payoff in 2014 and previous years, but now it seems like the way we are being defended they should mix in more motion, bunch formations with "pick" plays, and taking what they are giving. I saw some check-downs last week to Monty that worked well. If iso routes are no longer beating press man, they've gotta think outside the box they've put themselves in.

[pbmax]

In your opinion, is MM and A-Rod stubborn to keep getting shot plays or chunks of yardage, like a home run hitter's mentality, but what they really should consider is choking up on bat and going with the pitch, or taking what the defense is giving them. Are they showing signs of adjusting? Being aggressive had a big payoff in 2014 and previous years, but now it seems like the way we are being defended they should mix in more motion, bunch formations with "pick" plays, and taking what they are giving. I saw some check-downs last week to Monty that worked well. If iso routes are no longer beating press man, they've gotta think outside the box they've put themselves in.

If that diagnosis is correct, they NEED the shot plays to shorten the field. What they struggle with is sustaining 14 play drives. So those bombs are a feature not a bug.

Previously, it became a problem if a team was able to take it away. Currently, Rodgers has not been accurate on them so it doesn't matter what the opponent does on D.

[gbgary]

12-12 tie tomorrow night. geesh! maybe 9-9.

[channtheman]

12-12 tie tomorrow night. geesh! maybe 9-9.

I'm partial to the 5-5 or 2-2 tie myself.

[VegasPackFan]

We have no CB's for this game. Hoyer has thrown for 300 yds in what, 3 games straight now? We have no RB. This does not look good at all. I honestly think that without some heroic effort by SOMEONE on this team, we just won't win this one and the wheels will be officially rolling down the streets of Green Bay.