Comments on: McCarthy pleased with running game production

By: mark

mark — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 16:26:29 +0000

yeah get a real coach- McCarthy just LOOKS like an idiot -and -well actions speak louder than words.

By: cindyvvideo

cindyvvideo — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 15:44:04 +0000

This from Pro Football Talk:

McCarthy further explains his decision to not let the Bears score
Posted by Mike Florio on September 30, 2010 7:23 PM ET
Packers coach Mike McCarthy has faced intense scrutiny for his decision not to allow the Bears to score a touchdown late in Monday night’s loss at Soldier Field.

McCarthy didn’t help himself by initially explaining that he didn’t let the Bears score because he thought Bears kicker Robbie Gould would miss a 19-yard field goal.

McCarthy elaborated on the situation during a Thursday afternoon interview with Adam Schein and Rich Gannon of The Sirius Blitz on Sirius NFL Radio.

“It was definitely an option,” McCarthy said. “You have two options there and we chose to play defense. And I understand when you make decisions in key situations in games and it doesn’t work out in your favor you are judged accordingly. But you have two options in that particular situation and we chose to play defense.”

Gannon then offered up what would have been a much better explanation from McCarthy. “Just for your information,” Gannon said, “Coach Madden was on your side. He talked about it. He said everything in your fabric, in your DNA as a coach, tells you to go out and stop them, not let them score.”

“Well, no question,” McCarthy said, “but I do understand the percentages of your other option, in particular with Aaron Rodgers and our offense. It’s definitely something that you have to consider. . . . If you go back and look at the whole time frame it really falls right in that area. Two timeouts, after the pass interference, and then they take the ball down to the I guess it was the one or two yard line, you make a decision there I think you’d have been close to almost between 50 seconds to a minute left. We were definitely in the time range as far as making that decision.”

So why wasn’t the decision made? Part of the problem is that, when the events are unfolding in real time, coaches don’t always think as clearly as they otherwise could or should. Fear of criticism also can be a significant factor.

And we keep coming back to Madden’s rationale for not allowing the other team to score. It cuts against the grain of everything every player or coach ever learns. Even when it’s the right thing to do, there’s still something about it that seems wrong.

But not nearly as wrong as suggesting with a straight face a coach believes a reliable kicker would miss a 19-yard field goal.

By: Schaefer

Schaefer — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 03:47:24 +0000

wow! it would be nice to have a young Roger Craig in our backfield.

By: mark

mark — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 01:58:54 +0000

this is why i said what i said at the beginning of the season- we need a real running back -i like Khun- hes great for a situation and maybe a surprise play or two but even if Grant was playing there would be no change in production – simple as that we are just gonna have to wait till next year- sorry- that’s just the way it is-draft the best running back available but i said last year that THEY SHOULD FIND A FAST LINEBACKER AND TURN HIM INTO A RUNNING BACK.

By: Nick

Nick — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 21:32:33 +0000

My problem with MM is – he has been brilliant on the rules at times (remember the fair catch plus FG kick off the tee a few years back??) – and a complete idiot with basic things at other times.

Those statistics, while more accurate than what I could guess while screaming at my tv – should come top of mind for a head coach. You have to prepare for that or have it on your little sheet.

Your best player is ARodg. Put the ball back in his hands.

By: nik

nik — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 20:31:32 +0000

a little off topic for this post, but i’m getting in late and wanted to state my discontent with what seems to be a trend in MM’s dubious approach to close games as they begin to wind down.

http://fifthdown.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/28/packers-erred-by-not-allowing-late-score-to-bears/

By: awhayes

awhayes — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 17:13:26 +0000

good points all. Joe I think you’re probably pretty much right as far as what McCarthy really thinks about this. And I agree that the play action and short passing game essentially acted as our run game. And to some degree it was effective. Katie, you’re right, I think McCarthy does include short pass yards as part of his definition of the run game. Nick, I’d even settle for a RB who could threaten 15-20 yard runs! The concern I have with not having a traditionally defined running game is that defenses just plain won’t respect our run game and like Buff and Chic, shift their personnel around to cover our passing game better. And while we were still able to advance the ball passing against both Buff and Chic, better defensive teams might be able to exploit this lack of offensive balance.

By: Joe

Joe — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 16:24:24 +0000

I am not saying I agree with him. I am just saying I think this is what he was really getting at with his comments.

That said, I think Katie makes a point. Think Montana to Rathman/Craig in the flat. That is now our running game.

By: Nick

Nick — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 15:36:14 +0000

Yeah- but you need the threat of that 30 or 40 yard run to make defenses honest. You will never get that with Kuhn or Bjack.

A great RB makes the play action work exponentially better.

By: Katie

Katie — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 15:27:13 +0000

I agree with the above comments, and I also think it’s possible MM was including the RBs receiving yards when he said “You have to look at what’s the definition of the run game. I looked at this particular game, and I felt that our running backs were productive.” On 6 receptions, they combined for 47 yards, 7.8 yards per catch. I thought that approach was very productive. It’s no substitute for a real running game, but it might be the best we can do without a “real” running back. I dubbed it our “faux running play” by the end of the game.