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Coach McCarthy was on Mike and Mike in the Morning a little while ago. Nothing really new to say; typical, solid, somewhat stoic McCarthy. He talked a number of times about how this start was built off of last year's finish and this past off-season's OTA's and Training Camp.
I don't know if it was posted here, but here's some more love for Coach. Guess who has the best start in Packer coaching history? Vince Lombardi? Mike Holmgren? Mike Sherman? Nope...Mike McCarthy! Congrats to him!
McCarthy stays true to Packers' plan, sits atop NFC with best start among active coaches
By Colin Fly, AP Sports Writer
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Mike McCarthy still relishes the inspiring phone call he received from the Bengals' Marvin Lewis after his first win as head coach of the Green Bay Packers.
"He just said, 'Hey, you're doing it the right way, and you'll appreciate it,"' McCarthy said. "He says, 'Trust me. All these guys that are winning a bunch of games in their first year as a head coach, they're in for a tough rude awakening. You'll appreciate it more when you have to earn it like you did."'
The uplifting moment came just in time during a trying first season for McCarthy, who sought Lewis out at the NFL Combine this year.
"I told him I was under the desk when the phone rang. I had to reach up and pick it up," McCarthy joked.
Just how far the Packers have come?
McCarthy's first team sank to 4-8 before rebounding to win the final four. In Year 2, the Packers are 8-1 so far, tied with Dallas for the best record in the NFC.
Oh, and McCarthy has a new title: Best start to a career among active coaches, tying Washington's Joe Gibbs at 16-9 after 25 games.
It's also the best coaching start in Packers' history (Vince Lombardi went 15-10, winning a title in his third year), but McCarthy doesn't want any accolades yet.
"It's human nature when people are throwing you flowers and saying a lot of nice things, you can kind of take a step back and have an attitude of trying to smell the roses. The roses in my opinion don't come until after Glendale, Arizona," said McCarthy, referring to the site of the upcoming Super Bowl.
Suddenly, a Packers' Super Bowl appearance doesn't seem quite so far-fetched.
Brett Favre is having one of his best seasons in his 17-year career, completing 67.2 percent of his passes and throwing for an NFL-best 2,757 yards with twice as many touchdowns (16) as interceptions (8).
The defense is deep, young and explosive, holding the Vikings offense led by running back Adrian Peterson, who two weeks ago had an NFL-record 296 yards, to just 108 yards through three quarters while the Pack jumped out to a 27-0 lead Sunday.
But McCarthy remembers the struggles, too. The Patriots came into Lambeau Field last year at this point of the season and embarrassed them 35-0, in a game even more lopsided than the score, knocking out three-time MVP Favre in the process.
"I never questioned the plan. There were some tough moments," McCarthy said. "It's important as you do build your program, whatever scheme you're in, what you're trying to accomplish, to stay with the mind-set of stacking successes. You may get tired of hearing it, but when you have something positive happen, keep building on it."
That start happened even earlier, when Ted Thompson was hired as general manager in place of Mike Sherman, who had previously held both titles.
Sherman lost his coaching job, too, after going 4-12 in 2005, and Thompson has stuck to his philosophy of building through the draft and shunning big ticket free agents in all but a few cases, like cornerback Charles Woodson.
The Packers let Ahman Green, the franchise's second leading rusher, sign a free-agent deal with Houston this offseason for $23 million. Green Bay's running game has only recently begun to emerge with Ryan Grant leading the way with 305 yards rushing on 72 attempts - Green, meanwhile, has 260 yards on 70 carries for the Texans.
Despite having gotten younger in each of McCarthy's two seasons, Green Bay has reeled off 12 wins in 13 games.
"To me, last year was a year to rebuild a foundation that we were able to build off of this year. That's the way I view it," McCarthy said. "(When) you're given an opportunity to coach for the Green Bay Packers, you have all the resources that you need, you have no excuses."
That's McCarthy's "brutal honesty" and it's been successful so far on every level.
"I can go right back to the first speech that I had given this football team and go right to the first page of the PowerPoint," McCarthy said. "The first thing I told the football team that spring was the biggest challenge that we'll have here is handling success."
The coaching staff admires how McCarthy motivates his players.
"He's very upfront with people. Guys respect that," offensive coordinator Joe Philbin said. "Players want to know where they stand. Coaches like to know that, too. He's a very upfront guy, very approachable guy."
As for passing Lombardi and joining Gibbs, McCarthy is muted. Not that it's a surprise.
"Those records, those are nice," McCarthy said. "My focus is on winning the world's championship. That will always be the focus regardless of how many games it takes to get there through the regular season and so forth. Because when you win championships, everything else takes care of itself."
The Associated Press"Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts." -Daniel Patrick Moynihan -
Ted Thompson deserves credit for finding Mike McCarthy. The same can be said for Ron Wolf finding Mike Holmgren and Mike Sherman. All three coaches came in with albeit non-glamorous resumes. Ray Rhodes was a fan favorite selection to replace Holmgren and as it turned out, the fans were wrong. When it comes to selecting a head coach, that is the GM's single most important job. I remember all fans, myself included, screaming at the selection of Holmgren, Sherman and McCarthy. I know I at least was wrong on every one of those selections. I loved Ray Rhodes, until 8-8 happened and he proved he really didn't coach the Packers at all.
Mike McCarthy deserves credit for staying himself and true to the game. In his first season, he did find out the hard way, in his second he learned to play to the teams strengths and work on the weaknesses. Perfect example is that last season we tried to run the ball no matter how poorly it produced. This season we are running the ball less and as teams try to stop our passing game, it opens up the run. McCarthy learns quickly and makes the proper adjustments this season and that will only get better. His only bad stretch was the second half of the Bears game through the Washington game. We went 1-1 in those games and it only got better from there.
Mike McCarthy is to be credited for our 8-1 start and Ted Thompson gets partial credit for finding McCarthy. We must always keep in perspective though that the General Manager of a football team cannot make players perform, he cannot make the head coach perform. All the general manager can do is "hope" to quote Thompson, that he made enough good decisions that the team will gel. McCarthy has held strong to his convictions, put faith in the experience of Brett Favre, harnessed Favre's leadership, and allowed that to bring the offense together. Jennings and Jones are diamonds but you have to ask yourself how much they would be contributing on another team had they not been selected to play for the Packers. Mike McCarthy and his coaching style are the reason they perform, not because Ted Thompson drafted them."Once the people find they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the Republic.”
– Benjamin FranklinComment
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This thread is for recognizing MM, not for explaining away TT's relevance to the team's success so far this season. That has been debated ad nauseum in another thread. Props for MM are appreciated here.Originally posted by Merlin"Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts." -Daniel Patrick MoynihanComment
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I agree Carolina, and that article was so entertaining, I almost forgot to vote. Almost."Greatness is not an act... but a habit.Greatness is not an act... but a habit." -Greg JenningsComment
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Jeez, that is some pretty sorry competition M3 is up against. Linehan is up because he won his first game? I would be insulted if I were him, but then maybe coaching the Rams is insulting enough...Always respect your opponent, even when you're kicking the crap outta him.Comment
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I just watched the game again, and that was one of the best coaching performances I've ever seen. The Vikes were thoroughly outcoached. Especially the excellent offensive play calling. I think a lot of the success running the ball was due to running outside, to avoid the heart of the Minnesota run defense, and running inside on passing downs when half the Williams Wall was on the sidelines."My problems with him are his vision and tendency to dance instead of pounding a hole." - Harvey WallbangersComment
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How were you able to watch it? If you have the tape, I'd like to borrow it.Originally posted by superfan"There's a lot of interest in the draft. It's great. But quite frankly, most of the people that are commenting on it don't know anything about what they are talking about."--Ted ThompsonComment
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If you have the tape, I'd love a copy..."Greatness is not an act... but a habit.Greatness is not an act... but a habit." -Greg JenningsComment
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Exactly. Well put super.Originally posted by superfanAll hail the Ruler of the Meadow!Comment
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As soon as I get express written consent from the NFL, I will send it to you.Originally posted by MJZiggy
"My problems with him are his vision and tendency to dance instead of pounding a hole." - Harvey WallbangersComment
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I think Super has this thing called a VCR. It's this form of technology that lets you record what was on TV, then watch it at a later time.Originally posted by HarveyWallbangersAll hail the Ruler of the Meadow!Comment
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Originally posted by Cheesehead Craig
I've never known the superfan to record a game. I figured he must have gotten it from somebody else."There's a lot of interest in the draft. It's great. But quite frankly, most of the people that are commenting on it don't know anything about what they are talking about."--Ted ThompsonComment
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Please RE-READ what was written and then RE-READ your Thompson comment and subsequent over-reaction to something that never existed in the post. You can substitute any GM name in there, the whole post was about how McCarthy is deserving and deserves credit for the success. It's not my fault Thompson is the GM of record right now. It would be irresponsible of me to use previous coaches and their selection and not include Thompson. But for whatever reason, go ahead and make it about Thompson. It appears you have some kind of pre-conceived notion that whenever I say "Ted Thompson" it's some kind of negative.Originally posted by Carolina_Packer
If you actually spend your time constructively in reading what's there instead of trying to turn this into something it's not due to your own pre-conceived notions, you might find that there is a compliment for Thompson in there too.
Unfortunately, you think only you have the right to determine what other people say and thereby interpret what they say in your own way.
Sad really."Once the people find they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the Republic.”
– Benjamin FranklinComment
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Uh-oh, looks like Super has found himself a new best friend. Hit the road HW, you are old news.Originally posted by HarveyWallbangersOriginally posted by Cheesehead Craig
I've never known the superfan to record a game. I figured he must have gotten it from somebody else.
Hey Super, is your new buddies trailer bigger then Harv's?
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