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Cheesehead
Green Bay - To advance to the Chicago Bears game with a shot at the playoffs still on the line, the Green Bay Packers have to hope for one thing.
A New York Giants loss Sunday.
The Giants, to a degree, hold the Packers' playoff hopes in their hands as they take on the New Orleans Saints at the Meadowlands. If they win, they will have assured themselves of a tiebreaker advantage over the Packers in record against common opponents, and it appears, eliminate any hope Green Bay would have of winning even a three-way tie.
The reason this game is so important is because the Packers lost to the Saints, and if there is a tie between the Giants and Packers, a victory for the Giants Sunday would sway the common opponents tiebreaker in New York's direction.
Going into Sunday, the Giants have lost five of their last six games and three straight at home.
If the Giants lose Sunday, the Packers are still in it because another Giants' loss would put them at 7-9 and a Packers' victory would put them at 8-8. The Packers are also rooting this weekend for Carolina to win at Atlanta and Washington to win at St. Louis, which would aid their cause.
The Packers' best chance for making the playoffs remains the Giants losing their final two games (New Orleans, at Washington), Atlanta losing one of two (Carolina, at Philadelphia), St. Louis losing once (Washington, at Minnesota) and Seattle winning once (San Diego, at Tampa Bay).
On Friday, Packers coach Mike McCarthy finally acknowledged that the playoffs were on the team's mind. Of course, none of it will matter if the Packers don't beat the Bears Dec. 31 at Soldier Field.
"I'm not really clear on it to be perfectly honest with you," McCarthy said of the Packers' prospects. "I'm just going to worry about Chicago, enjoy the weekend and obviously, we'll have more information Sunday night. It's important for our football team to prepare like we have been. . . . taking one day at a time and going down to Chicago to win that football game. That's clearly our focus."
Rest period: McCarthy gave the players off until Tuesday and many of them were on flights after the game.
The players are required to perform 20 to 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise over the four-day vacation, but they can do it at home if they choose. There will be no way to check up on the players, so McCarthy will use the extra day of practice next week to get the players' bodies ready for the week.
"It'll be a 'shells' workout," McCarthy said of Tuesday's non-pads practice. "We'll have an extended jog-through period just for the installation part of it and the team periods will be cut down."
The coaches stayed around until this morning to finish game-planning for the Bears. Then they will have off through Monday to be with their families. McCarthy will visit his daughter in Texas and said he won't be watching any football.
"I have a 15-year-old daughter, I don't think I will," he joked.
Night job: Offensive coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski has been using spare time to get his assistant coaching staff together at Boston College, but he said he plans on taking the weekend off and visiting his family in Atlanta if the weather permits.
Jagodzinski will be heading to Boston as soon as the Packers' season is over. He said his first priority is to put a staff together, but he is taking his time to do so.
Asked if he would consider offering anyone on McCarthy's staff an opportunity to go with him, he said, "You don't mess with another guy's staff. I wouldn't do that."
As for how the rest of the staff will carry on the zone-blocking system after he's gone, Jagodzinski said he had no doubts they would not skip a beat. Though he was personally tutored in the system by Alex Gibbs, the guru of zone blocking, he said he made sure the other assistants knew everything he did.
"I shared everything with them," he said. "We've done everything together for 10 months. I have no doubt."
Satisfying return: Both McCarthy and Jagodzinski said that right tackle Mark Tauscher's return to the lineup was seamless.
Tauscher missed five games with a groin injury, but stepped back in his starting position and played solidly.
"Everything is positive about Mark," McCarthy said. "I thought he played well."
Overall, pass protection was very good, McCarthy said, and that probably had some to do with Tauscher. During his absence, rookie Tony Moll had been manning the right tackle position and had a lot of ups and downs.
All hands on deck: McCarthy said he has noticed a change in the way his receivers are catching the ball, which might account for the team leading the league in drops.
"We don't have a lot of body-catchers on this football team," he said. "Our guys do a good job catching it with their hands. But when you see a guy who has good hands start catching it with his body, that's an illustration of a lack of confidence, and we have some of that going on right now."
A New York Giants loss Sunday.
The Giants, to a degree, hold the Packers' playoff hopes in their hands as they take on the New Orleans Saints at the Meadowlands. If they win, they will have assured themselves of a tiebreaker advantage over the Packers in record against common opponents, and it appears, eliminate any hope Green Bay would have of winning even a three-way tie.
The reason this game is so important is because the Packers lost to the Saints, and if there is a tie between the Giants and Packers, a victory for the Giants Sunday would sway the common opponents tiebreaker in New York's direction.
Going into Sunday, the Giants have lost five of their last six games and three straight at home.
If the Giants lose Sunday, the Packers are still in it because another Giants' loss would put them at 7-9 and a Packers' victory would put them at 8-8. The Packers are also rooting this weekend for Carolina to win at Atlanta and Washington to win at St. Louis, which would aid their cause.
The Packers' best chance for making the playoffs remains the Giants losing their final two games (New Orleans, at Washington), Atlanta losing one of two (Carolina, at Philadelphia), St. Louis losing once (Washington, at Minnesota) and Seattle winning once (San Diego, at Tampa Bay).
On Friday, Packers coach Mike McCarthy finally acknowledged that the playoffs were on the team's mind. Of course, none of it will matter if the Packers don't beat the Bears Dec. 31 at Soldier Field.
"I'm not really clear on it to be perfectly honest with you," McCarthy said of the Packers' prospects. "I'm just going to worry about Chicago, enjoy the weekend and obviously, we'll have more information Sunday night. It's important for our football team to prepare like we have been. . . . taking one day at a time and going down to Chicago to win that football game. That's clearly our focus."
Rest period: McCarthy gave the players off until Tuesday and many of them were on flights after the game.
The players are required to perform 20 to 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise over the four-day vacation, but they can do it at home if they choose. There will be no way to check up on the players, so McCarthy will use the extra day of practice next week to get the players' bodies ready for the week.
"It'll be a 'shells' workout," McCarthy said of Tuesday's non-pads practice. "We'll have an extended jog-through period just for the installation part of it and the team periods will be cut down."
The coaches stayed around until this morning to finish game-planning for the Bears. Then they will have off through Monday to be with their families. McCarthy will visit his daughter in Texas and said he won't be watching any football.
"I have a 15-year-old daughter, I don't think I will," he joked.
Night job: Offensive coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski has been using spare time to get his assistant coaching staff together at Boston College, but he said he plans on taking the weekend off and visiting his family in Atlanta if the weather permits.
Jagodzinski will be heading to Boston as soon as the Packers' season is over. He said his first priority is to put a staff together, but he is taking his time to do so.
Asked if he would consider offering anyone on McCarthy's staff an opportunity to go with him, he said, "You don't mess with another guy's staff. I wouldn't do that."
As for how the rest of the staff will carry on the zone-blocking system after he's gone, Jagodzinski said he had no doubts they would not skip a beat. Though he was personally tutored in the system by Alex Gibbs, the guru of zone blocking, he said he made sure the other assistants knew everything he did.
"I shared everything with them," he said. "We've done everything together for 10 months. I have no doubt."
Satisfying return: Both McCarthy and Jagodzinski said that right tackle Mark Tauscher's return to the lineup was seamless.
Tauscher missed five games with a groin injury, but stepped back in his starting position and played solidly.
"Everything is positive about Mark," McCarthy said. "I thought he played well."
Overall, pass protection was very good, McCarthy said, and that probably had some to do with Tauscher. During his absence, rookie Tony Moll had been manning the right tackle position and had a lot of ups and downs.
All hands on deck: McCarthy said he has noticed a change in the way his receivers are catching the ball, which might account for the team leading the league in drops.
"We don't have a lot of body-catchers on this football team," he said. "Our guys do a good job catching it with their hands. But when you see a guy who has good hands start catching it with his body, that's an illustration of a lack of confidence, and we have some of that going on right now."
