By Chris Havel
One sign of a quality NFL head coach and staff is the ability to correct mistakes. Another is the ability to keep them corrected.
Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy and his assistants have an opportunity to do both in today's game against the New Orleans Saints.
The Packers' run defense, a major problem in the recent past, was fairly stout against the Bears' Thomas Jones. Some might consider it a positive in a game replete with negatives. That may be true, but it also is meaningless if the Packers follow it up by being torn apart by the Saints' Deuce McAllister and Reggie Bush.
The Saints' one-two punch has more than enough talent to embarrass the Packers at the same site by different means.
Green Bay's red zone defense also drew praise, if only because there was little else to brag about. But if Saints quarterback Drew Brees picks the Packers' secondary apart inside its 20, the Bears' 0-for-4 showing is meaningless.
The Packers' focus this week has been creating a sense of urgency in regard to correcting mistakes. It also has emphasized a sense of direction in regard to finding the opposing end zone.
"One thing that jumps out to me is the urgency to correct their mistakes, and how important it is to correct and move on," McCarthy said Friday. "You can't dwell on it and overanalyze it. I thought the tempo was good, and we had some spirited practices. We had some rough periods, and we had to get some things cleaned up, but that's kind of where we're at as a football team."
It was so important that McCarthy devoted additional practice time to it.
"We even stayed a little longer than we'd like on the practice field to get it cleaned up. They're definitely into it. We're getting better. We're growing. We're looking forward to that opportunity (today)."
That is fine, so long as the emphasis to improve areas deemed substandard doesn't retard growth in areas considered at least adequate.
Brett Favre's ability to manage McCarthy's game plan in the first half last week, another positive, is diminished if it isn't repeated for four quarters this week.
Ahman Green's promising start in the season opener is reason for optimism, so long as he continues to run with speed and power this week.
Ex-Packers coach Ray Rhodes spent the 1999 season like a dog chasing its tail. He would put out one fire, only to have another flare up. It was one step forward, one step back and an 8-8 record. Ultimately, it became a huge bonfire — Rhodes' firing.
Rhodes' successor, Mike Sherman, was superior in that regard. When Sherman got something fixed, it usually stayed fixed. It enabled him to pile up wins, and winning streaks.
What Sherman lacked was that certain something that transforms a very good team into a special team. Mike Holmgren has it. Sherman doesn't. It is what makes Sherman an exceptional first lieutenant but a very ordinary general.
Today, we begin to learn if McCarthy can correct mistakes, and just as important, keep them corrected. Whether McCarthy has that certain something won't be known until the day comes — if it comes — when he confronts his own 4th-and-26.
