1968 and ROTTT

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Cheesehead
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After surfing around yesterday and witnessing the despair in Packerland, it struck me how much this reminds me of two previous times: post-Lombardi and the 1980's.

I think the Packers made a funadamental mistake(like they did in 1968) as they thought about the post-Holmgren era. When Lombardi stepped down, he named Phil Bengston as coach. This was, in essence, to keep the winning formula. Lombardi knew his vets were aging and soon to be gone and the team already was in transition with Taylor and Hornung gone and Grabowski and Anderson in the backfield, etc. He thought Phil could continue the winning based on his formula. Suffice to say, Phil wasn't up to the task. Why? For all of Lombardi's positives, he wasn't a good personnel man. He did find some winners, but overall, the folks behind the Hall of Famers were nothing special. It took a couple years of losing before the Packers turned to a new face-Dan Devine- who produced a playoff team. The fans were so wanting of championships that after a losing season, Devine was off to Notre Dame, and the team reverted back to trying to find a Lombardi disciple...Bart Starr...with one year of assistant coaching under his belt...to lead the team.(I was a cub sports reporter and was at the press conference when Bart Starr was named coach. There were rumors flying around that Don Shula wanted out of Miami and would come to Green Bay for the right price, but the tight-****** Packer BOD said no). When he didn't produce a winner...they turned to another Lombardi disciple...Forrest Gregg...who had gone to a Super Bowl...
he failed. Then Gregg's offensive coordinator at Cincinnati...Infante...failed.
Then Holmgren.
Except for Devine, the one tie-in is trying to relive the future through the past.

When Holmgren left, the team has largely been trying to do the same thing all over again. We had defensive coaches with the WCO:(Rhodes), offensive coaches with the WCO:(Sherman and McCarthy) all with direct or loose ties to Holmgren. We also now have a General Manager--TT or ROTTT as I will refer to him later--all trying to revive the past to build the future.

If you look at the current winning teams, most now don't use the WCO. Denver uses it, and obviously Seattle. But all the rest of the division leaders are using another form of offense. The trend now(once again) is toward defense. The Packers are woefully short there.

If McCarthy produces another stinker like this year in 2007, I don't expect him to fulfill his third year of contract. ROTTT will lay the blame on him and try to find another WCO disciple.

Perhaps it's time to change it all: one more year for Thompson and McCarthy, but failure to make the playoffs next year means the door for both of them. Bring in a defensive minded GM(I thought that was the case with ROTTT but not so). DUMP the WCO, and modernize the approach.
It's obvious the AFC has done so, now its time for the NFC to catch up.

Regarding ROTTT--I came up with an acronym for Ted Thompson...ROTTT
or Reign of Ted Thompson Terror.
 

DeusNova

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I think your onto something with the WCO.

Denver and even Seattle have looked very poor on offense, too.
 

Philtration

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That made a great deal of sense.
The WCO is no longer the flavor of the month and teams adjusted to it years ago. It is the nature of the game.
I believe that you are right on the mark about them trying to bring back Lombardi's success and now that those guys are old and gray, trying to re-live Hologram’s era.
I have even read comments here regarding Favre being a coach even though he has shown absolutely no real indication that he would be cut out for this.
They seem to be having a really hard time in establishing their own identity.
 

Cdnfavrefan

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It all depends still cause systems can always work if they have the right personel and great coaches are always adding wrinkles to improve it. Take the cover 2 D which the Steelers started in the 70's and it's as popular as ever now but only on teams that have the palyers. Take Urlacher off the Bears or Lewis off the Ravens and their cover 2 isn't nearly as difficult to beat
 

Philtration

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It all depends still cause systems can always work if they have the right personel and great coaches are always adding wrinkles to improve it. Take the cover 2 D which the Steelers started in the 70's and it's as popular as ever now but only on teams that have the palyers. Take Urlacher off the Bears or Lewis off the Ravens and their cover 2 isn't nearly as difficult to beat

True but if you do not have Lewis or Urlacher then do you run that defense or do you go to a 3-4 to compensate for the lack of that quick playmaker at LB?
Sometimes you have to fit your game plan to your talent and not your talent into your game plane.

Can you imagine what would have happened to Fran Tarkington if they had tried to make him a drop back pocket passer?
A lot of teams tried to copy the Bears 46 defense during the 80s and early 90s but they did not have the right personal to make it work.
The 49ers ran the WCO to perfection because they had the right mix of players suited for it.
A mobile QB, running backs who could catch the ball coming out of the backfield, tight ends who were athletic and receivers who could catch the ball over the middle just as well as they did running a post pattern.
 

Cdnfavrefan

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Phil beneath all that hateful smack there does lie a football mind. :thumbsup: I think I was basically trying to say the same thing by if you have the personel for it any system can work but they usually have to add new ideas to stay ahead of this modern age league
 

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