Did MM succumb to pressure?

[Patler]

You might say this was his first really big game. Last year's Super Bowl participant, big rivalry game, Packers being viewed as a contender in the NFC. Pressure from a lot of ways. Did MM give in to the pressure and change because of it?

1. Did he panic over the threat of Hester? If GB is to be a "tough" team, do you run and hide from a return man, or do you try to control him? Did he lose the field position battle time and time again because of it?

2. Did he make Jones his whipping boy? Should Jones have been back sooner?

3. Did he clutch at straws with an ill-advised challenge?

4. Did he become too conservative with a lead, playing for 3 at the end of the 1st half instead of being more aggressive and having a shot at a TD?

5. Did he crawl into a shell with play calls in the 2nd half?

DID HE GIVE INTO THE PRESSURE INSTEAD OF GRABBING IT AND RUNNING WITH IT???

[The Leaper]

Re: Did MM succumb to pressure?

1. Did he panic over the threat of Hester?

I don't think so...he punted to him, so it isn't like you can make a case for his raging panic attacks. I think the kickoff strategy was one that probably sounded better in the classroom on Tuesday than it looked on the field on Sunday. I'll bet that strategy is never employed again by McCarthy though...just a hunch.

2. Did he make Jones his whipping boy? Should Jones have been back sooner?

Huge error by McCarthy. This team is not deep enough to make ill-advised "statements" by sitting players. Are we to believe that McCarthy didn't believe Jones was as disappointed in his fumbles as anyone else? On an offense where the slant is a staple, you can't take out the guy who probably is the best guy on the team at running them due to his size/strength/hands. Jones has meant too much to the team up to this point to sit him over mistakes that can be corrected. McCarthy deserves to be eaten alive by the media and pundits on that stupid decision.

3. Did he clutch at straws with an ill-advised challenge?

I don't think so. It was a risky challenge...but I don't think you can argue it was ill-advised. The Bears were rapidly moving into field goal range late in a game where Green Bay had lost the momentum. I think the risk/reward meter makes the challenge a reasonable chance to take at that point.

4. Did he become too conservative with a lead, playing for 3 at the end of the 1st half instead of being more aggressive and having a shot at a TD?

I don't like the play call of a pass over the middle in that situation...especially if you take the timeout away from Favre, which is exactly why Favre wanted to keep it in the first place. I don't mind playing for the FG to go up 2 scores...I just mind how it happened.

5. Did he crawl into a shell with play calls in the 2nd half?

Of course he did. Here was a team that has absolutely shredded defenses through the air for the last 3+ games at that point, including a near FLAWLESS performance in the first half against Chicago...and we ran the ball more than we threw it in the 3rd quarter, and passes we did run typically weren't thrown past the line of scrimmage.

There is NO DOUBT McCarthy went conservative on playcalling at that point, although perhaps it also was due to his equally egregious error of sitting Jones...who is honestly the key to our offense right now. Driver is too valuable and attracts too much attention to constantly run slants. Jennings is too fragile in that capacity as well. Jones is the one guy with the size and ability to make that slant happen...sitting him on the bench hurts the team more than it does anything to improve Jones' ability to hang on to the football.

[Joemailman]

1. I think MM felt he would win the game if he could nullify the Bears best weapon. He gave up some field position, but field position was not the main problem in this game.

2. I was surprised he kept JJ out that long. The Bears made some defensive adjustments in the 2nd half to take away the slants, but having martin in there instead of JJ probably made their adjustments easier.

3. Yes

4. I had no problem with what they did at the end of the half. With a good defense behind you, a 10 point lead at halftime is a good position to be in.

5. With JJ on the sideline, the passing game wasn't the same. With the Bears playing the safeties deep consistently, MM thought they would be able to run the ball.

Probably not MM's best game, but turnover's were the key in this game, and I don't think MM's approach to the game had much to do with the turnovers.

[Carolina_Packer]

He's still learning too. I wish you could always learn by winning, but sometimes you have to learn from losing. Too bad, this was a winnable game. MM did not commit penalties and turn the ball over, but he did hold Jones out, or perhaps Favre made that call; who knows.

MM seems like a character guy. I think behind closed doors, they are embarrassed at the way they lost, and hopefully they will come out swinging at the Skins and if we have a chance to stomp on someone's head again and not let up, hopefully they will.

[Maxie the Taxi]

Re: Did MM succumb to pressure?

[quote="Patler"]You might say this was his first really big game. Last year's Super Bowl participant, big rivalry game, Packers being viewed as a contender in the NFC. Pressure from a lot of ways. Did MM give in to the pressure and change because of it?

1. Did he panic over the threat of Hester? If GB is to be a "tough" team, do you run and hide from a return man, or do you try to control him? Did he lose the field position battle time and time again because of it?

2. Did he make Jones his whipping boy? Should Jones have been back sooner?

3. Did he clutch at straws with an ill-advised challenge?

4. Did he become too conservative with a lead, playing for 3 at the end of the 1st half instead of being more aggressive and having a shot at a TD?

5. Did he crawl into a shell with play calls in the 2nd half?

DID HE GIVE INTO THE PRESSURE INSTEAD OF GRABBING IT AND RUNNING WITH IT???[/quote]

Oh, he grabbed it and ran with it all right.

Let's put it this way, he didn't play like he knew Lambeau was his team's house, daring the invading Hester to try taking the kickoff to the house, daring Chicago to stop his passing attack (or running) attack. At home you don't play not to lose. You play to win and win big. I thought they were sending that message with their first drive, but then on the ensuing kickoff they announced to the entire Bear squad that they were only blowing smoke, that they were really too scared to challenge Hester by having Crosby kick it as far as he can.

[cheesner]

I thought MMs performance in the 2nd half was his worst of the season. The 1st half may have been his best.

One thing that I have not seen yet, so I am just going to throw this out there, because it occurred to me during the game.

MM cut back the passing after Brett made that foolish throw that was picked. I thought it might have been a message from MM to Brett to be careful with the ball or we are going to pass less. I am not prone to going with these conspiracy things, but this did occur to me as I was watching the game.

[Carolina_Packer]

I thought MMs performance in the 2nd half was his worst of the season. The 1st half may have been his best.

One thing that I have not seen yet, so I am just going to throw this out there, because it occurred to me during the game.

MM cut back the passing after Brett made that foolish throw that was picked. I thought it might have been a message from MM to Brett to be careful with the ball or we are going to pass less. I am not prone to going with these conspiracy things, but this did occur to me as I was watching the game.

"It was the best of halves, it was the worst of halves." from A Tale of Two Mikes by M.M. McCarthy

[gbgary]

the second half was a joke. MM's decisions cost the team a game that they may need later on. even Packer haters here in dallas couldn't believe it.

has he spoke publicly about it yet. are there any reporters willing to ask tough questions there?

[BallHawk]

"It was the best of halves, it was the worst of halves." from A Tale of Two Mikes by M.M. McCarthy

Dickens is shivering in his grave after that one.

[fan4life]

Re: Did MM succumb to pressure?

1. Did he panic over the threat of Hester?

I don't think so...he punted to him, so it isn't like you can make a case for his raging panic attacks. I think the kickoff strategy was one that probably sounded better in the classroom on Tuesday than it looked on the field on Sunday. I'll bet that strategy is never employed again by McCarthy though...just a hunch.

2. Did he make Jones his whipping boy? Should Jones have been back sooner?

Huge error by McCarthy. This team is not deep enough to make ill-advised "statements" by sitting players. Are we to believe that McCarthy didn't believe Jones was as disappointed in his fumbles as anyone else? On an offense where the slant is a staple, you can't take out the guy who probably is the best guy on the team at running them due to his size/strength/hands. Jones has meant too much to the team up to this point to sit him over mistakes that can be corrected. McCarthy deserves to be eaten alive by the media and pundits on that stupid decision.

3. Did he clutch at straws with an ill-advised challenge?

I don't think so. It was a risky challenge...but I don't think you can argue it was ill-advised. The Bears were rapidly moving into field goal range late in a game where Green Bay had lost the momentum. I think the risk/reward meter makes the challenge a reasonable chance to take at that point.

4. Did he become too conservative with a lead, playing for 3 at the end of the 1st half instead of being more aggressive and having a shot at a TD?

I don't like the play call of a pass over the middle in that situation...especially if you take the timeout away from Favre, which is exactly why Favre wanted to keep it in the first place. I don't mind playing for the FG to go up 2 scores...I just mind how it happened.

5. Did he crawl into a shell with play calls in the 2nd half?

Of course he did. Here was a team that has absolutely shredded defenses through the air for the last 3+ games at that point, including a near FLAWLESS performance in the first half against Chicago...and we ran the ball more than we threw it in the 3rd quarter, and passes we did run typically weren't thrown past the line of scrimmage.

There is NO DOUBT McCarthy went conservative on playcalling at that point, although perhaps it also was due to his equally egregious error of sitting Jones...who is honestly the key to our offense right now. Driver is too valuable and attracts too much attention to constantly run slants. Jennings is too fragile in that capacity as well. Jones is the one guy with the size and ability to make that slant happen...sitting him on the bench hurts the team more than it does anything to improve Jones' ability to hang on to the football.

I concur with everything you said. Favre made a "bad decision" to try to make something happen at the end of the 3rd. But you just know he had to be frustrated by McCarthy's playcalling, which never allowed the offense to get into a rythym in the 2nd half. MM was pretty subdued in his PC at noon today. I think he knows he pissed away a great chance to beat da Bears.

[RashanGary]

I personally think his only real issue was trying to force feed the run game. I remember earlier in the week Lovie said "they are a pass team. Hey, they've been winning as a pass team, but that is what they are"

Now after the game I hear McCarthy say "We don't want to be a pass team. We have to run the ball. I want to be a run team"



It's the first time McCarthy went away from what worked at important times in the game and it might have been in the name of forcing something that he knows his team needs to take the next step. We lost the game in the short term. Who knows, maybe over the long run it will serve the team good to work more on the run game. I've been a big fan of his ability to work outside the box. He made some slight mistakes that might not even be mistakes if hindsight didn't play out the way it did, but I thought there was a slight sign of him forcing the run because he feels a pressure to run. Almost like a pride thing mixed with a common knowledge thing.

The worste case happened. The Bears went stright cover 2, with the intention of stopping the pass. Cover 2 should be easy to run on. The Packers run game stinks and they failed. They could pass against cover 2, but it's supposed to be tough to pass on. The run game finially bit them in the ass. They are going to have to get more physical up front.

The turnovers were the biggest problem, but the poor run game, and McCarthy's stubbornness for it in the early 3rd quarter seemed to be contributing factors as well.

[LL2]

He's still learning too. I wish you could always learn by winning, but sometimes you have to learn from losing.

Very true! It's how you respond to failure that determines character. Hopefully it left a bitter taste in all of the players mouths. Hopefully they win the next 4 in a row and are 8-1.

[BEARMAN]

. Did he panic over the threat of Hester? If GB is to be a "tough" team, do you run and hide from a return man, or do you try to control him? Did he lose the field position battle time and time again because of it?

2. Did he make Jones his whipping boy? Should Jones have been back sooner?

3. Did he clutch at straws with an ill-advised challenge?

4. Did he become too conservative with a lead, playing for 3 at the end of the 1st half instead of being more aggressive and having a shot at a TD?

5. Did he crawl into a shell with play calls in the 2nd half?

1. Yes, kicking away from Hester gave Da BEARS great feild position all game long !
2. No, he wasn't 100%
3. Yes
4. Yes, when you have a team down, knock them out, if you don't, them may come back to kick your arse.
5. Yes, Dance with the girl ya brung !

[Deputy Nutz]

Our front seven simply got out played by their front seven, they went to a cover 2 and McCarthy really thought he could run against the two deep safety. what team has he been watching all year?

[cpk1994]

Re: Did MM succumb to pressure?

1. Did he panic over the threat of Hester? If GB is to be a "tough" team, do you run and hide from a return man, or do you try to control him? Did he lose the field position battle time and time again because of it?

No. MM is not the first, nor will he be the last coach to employ that strategy. Hester has seen that strategy many times before.