(Sorry I’ve been out of the loop lately – have to admit, I’m a huge US soccer fan as well as a golf fan so between the World Cup, US Open and lack of Packer news, my posting frequency has sucked).
Read here from jsonline this morning. Bedard essentially talks about how classy Desmond Bishop is and how he has been very professional handling a difficult situation. Thanks to Schaef for pointing this out.
The striking part of this article to me is this quote by Winston “people thought I could be a head coach for no reason at all” Moss:
“I would anticipate Bishop having to make a career decision,” said assistant head coach/inside linebackers Winston Moss. “If he feels as though he’s ready to play more and move into another system, then he needs to not sign a contract (with the Packers) and he needs to move on and sign someplace else.”
The way Moss chooses his words here indicates to me that 1) he was bothered that someone asked a question about Bishop (and playing time?) and/or 2) he just doesn’t like the guy. I can’t help but believe the latter. (I believe it was Moss who was behind the Brady Poppinga-must-start approach that clearly didn’t pan out.) Compare for a moment how unprofessionally Moss responds here to how classy Bishop remains in what must be a brutally difficult situation for a good player.
The bottom line with Bishop is that the guy is still under-appreciated. The second he escapes Green Bay, he will dominate. Hawk was a bit better than Hawk has historically been last year but still no better than average, and not better than Bishop would be. Bishop is a guy who needs to be given a shot at a starting position. While I never wish injury on anyone, if there were an injury that allowed Bishop to get in (at any of the positions except perhaps Clay Matthews position), I would guarantee we wouldn’t see a decline in overall LB performance whatsoever. In fact, I’d be pretty sure it would improve with him in there over time.
(I hope that in the next interview a reporter has with Rodgers, he/she asks Rodgers what he thinks of Bishop’s lack of playing time. They played together at Cal and it would be interesting to see Rodgers spin a diplomatic answer.)
packergeeks 
June 22, 2010 at 6:50 pm |
For the record I like Bishop ALOT…and….in case you forgot for every great play he made he gave up a huge play. Maybe Moss is trying to remind him he has to be assignment sure and until then he plays situationally and on special teams. And if doesn’t like it there’s the door. It wouldn’t be the first time a coach challenged a player. Sounds like good coaching to me.
June 22, 2010 at 7:05 pm |
Bubba – you’re one for three. You are absolutely right for liking Bishop, wrong for making the ‘gave up a huge play’ argument (he gave up 2 bad plays that all the other LBs would have given up too – while making a bunch of other positive plays none of the other LBs could make) and wrong for thinking this is “good coaching”. Moss’ unprofessional message is clear: he’s saying that Bishop has no chance for more playing time here so he might as well look elsewhere. Ridiculous. What coach would ever say that to a player he’s “coaching”? If he wants to motivate him, he’d dangle the possibility of more playing time out there – he wouldn’t remove that possibility.
June 24, 2010 at 8:10 am |
“he gave up 2 bad plays that all the other LBs would have given up too”
You’re saying all LB’s would have missed Chester Taylor on the TD screen pass; this premise is patently false. As the late Senator Moynihan once said, “You’re entitled to your own opinion but you’re not entitled to your own facts”.
Re the quote”…and he needs to move on and sign someplace else.”, we don’t have the context, tone, inflection, etc. of the situation. My opinion is the challenging came from the place of we’re tired of you not being assignment sure, making too many mistakes. That if you’re not going to be accountable and consistant we can’t trust you enough to have you start or play significant snaps so there’s the door. That’s letting a player know he’s not above the team and that’s good coaching.
June 23, 2010 at 12:37 am |
gotta agree with you andy. i wish to see Bishop start, maybe one day, i hope. but i will say there is a mild concern that he will make costly mistakes, and that he’s a playmaker but in both ways. But to me, I think if he was starting, it would get better each day and that he would turn into a great player.
you can’t really predict what will happen. He may get his chance he might not. He may stay with Green Bay or move on. kinda have to wait and see what happens. lots of times it does take an injury to discover someone and that might be his case. i’d hate to see him go before knowing what he can do, and the fact the guy seems like a great guy. in fact, a TT type guy. very classy, and great character, and I want him to be a big part of our team
June 23, 2010 at 9:39 am |
that quote from Moss is truly stunning. Its the complete absence of any hint or possibility that Bishop might earn his way into more playing time or prove to be the best player for the team. I can’t remember a coach ever completely closing off the possibility of a player improving or winning a spot- just “if he wants to play he should sign somewhere else”?!?!? I actually hope we are all wrong about Bishop and the coaches really know what they are doing.
June 23, 2010 at 2:04 pm |
Well I do understand what Moss was getting at. I mean it is coming to the time that Bishop does need to decide what he’s going to do. And has to figure if it’s better for him to stay with Green Bay and keep fighting for a job, or try his luck with a different team. It’s the way the business works.
The issue is how Moss stated it. It came across sounding as if we don’t want him on our team, and I hope that’s not the case. What bothers me is the fact I haven’t heard of any apologies from Moss about his statement, so maybe he stands by his statement and feels it doesn’t need to be corrected.
Either way a coach should never say something in that way even if he means it.
“Bishop is a great player and we are fortunate for having him on our team. He is an extremely hard worker and we hope he will continue to improve and be a part of our team. We understand all the talk about playing time for his point of view, and realize he’s reaching the point where he does need to make a big decision. He needs to decide what is better for him, to keep fighting his way up in Green Bay, or look into playing for another team. It depends on what he thinks will be better for him in the long run. We want to continue to help him get better so he can become a great player. We really hope Bishop is happy here, and think if he continues to work hard and improve, he’ll be a big part of our team.”
A quote like that is a bit better. Doesn’t have the negative tone.
And I know I’m rambling a bit, but the more I write, the more frustrated I’m getting. It just seems the way things have played out, the team doesn’t give a crap about Bishop at all. And like they don’t even care if he’s with the team or not. We’ve seen him play, but never given a chance. When Hawk started playing a bit poorly, they could of tried Bishop. (PERFECT reason to get him to adjust his contract), as well as the other linebacker positions. Sometimes players just play great in games, they are the type of players who just get into the feel of the game and make plays. And from what we’ve seen, it could very well be it. I just hope for one day, we finally get to see the answer to all our questions.
What can Bishop really do?
June 23, 2010 at 5:08 pm |
I got the inspiration for this blog question from you.
# Q: AZ Warrior, Phoenix, AZ – Greg, Given Moss’ quote regarding Bishop in your recent article (“he needs to not sign a contract (with the Packers) and he needs to move on and sign someplace else.???), do you feel there is an unusual and/or unhealthy dynamic in place here? Put another way, do you think Moss might have it in for Bishop? The words from Moss seemed unprofessional and certainly not what one would say to motivate a player to excel. Thanks for the chat!
# A: Greg A. Bedard – Don’t know how it came across in print, but when it was told to me, I certainly didn’t think it was unprofessional or indicate that Moss maybe doesn’t like Bishop. Moss thinks a great deal of Bishop. I think Moss was just being very honest and told the truth. If Bishop doesn’t think he’s getting fair shake here, then he should leave as soon as he can so he can play. If not, he should win a job (if that’s possible, i don’t think it is). But the fact of the matter is Desmond Bishop needs to play. It was true for Aaron Rodgers after three seasons and it’s true of Bishop. You can only get so good practicing and playing in exhibition games. He needs to play to take the next step and learn.
June 23, 2010 at 5:33 pm |
nicely done AZ Warrior. Very interesting Bedard response. I actually have similar follow-up information I plan to post shortly that supports what Bedard seems to be saying here – and adds a level of intrigue to this whole situation.