Coach Mike McCarthy Interview

ivo610

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saw this interview with the coach online. nice to see the coach so candid in this interview, i guess he really opens up after being so guarded during the season.


On TE Spencer Havner's recent arrest: "I’ve talked to Spencer the Sunday after the accident, really just checking on him physically at that time, and that’s really all I have to report. We’re watching it, his situation. I think Spencer’s a quality person, I think he’s a good kid, I think he made a bad mistake. Without our doctors being able to lay their hands on him, I would just guess, but based on my conversation with him, (he'll be out) four to six weeks."
QB Aaron Rodgers' development and off-season focus: "There will be coaching points that he’ll be aware of. Just knowing him personally, that will probably be one of the things at the top of his list in his individual improvement. I look for him in his responsibility to get the ball out. Throwaways are OK. When a quarterback throws the ball away in our system that’s a plus. That’s a plus decision. That’s the way I’ve always graded it. I worked at a place that followed a system where the quarterback was taught to take the sack rather than force the throw. That’s kind of an old-school theory but it has existed in this game. I think as I sit here today we’ll be much better in that area. We better be. I can’t go through 50 sacks again. That was unbelievable. I’ve never been through anything like that."
Where he envisions T.J. Lang playing this year: "There’s a difference in opinion there. I think T.J.’s long-term, this is just me personally, Joe Philbin, James Campen and Jerry Fontenot, we go round and round about it, I think T.J.’s long-term is at guard. I think he’s a natural left guard, when I look at his body. But he is young. He needs to develops strength to hit that. He is a very young second-year player. There’s a lot of room for development. But you can’t argue with the fact that he’s a more natural tackle because that’s where he has played. He feels more natural at tackle because that’s where he has played. I definitely feel he could play right tackle today if he had to. And I think he’s done a solid job at subbing in there at LT when needed."
What hurdles he sees ahead for TE Jermichael Finley: "You always worry about young guys that have success that fast, that quick, particularly more when they aren't at work. I think we have a very good work environment. Jermichael, in particular loves football, the working out, the drill work, the one on one coaching with Ben McAdoo that you can’t get enough of. He’s at work, he’s got a big smile on
his face, but like a lot of guys you kind of worry about them once they leave the building. But it’s all part of growing up and handling success. I think success is the biggest challenge you have to handle in the National Football League, that’s something we talk about a lot."
Whether the Packers will draft an offensive lineman: "I don’t know how the board’s going to go. It depends how the draft goes. I would think so, but crazier things have happened through the draft. Especially with it being three days now, I mean …
His assessment of CB Al Harris' rehab: "he’s still in Florida right now, he’ll be coming up, I don’t have the exact date as far as with (team physician) Pat(McKenzie), but I talked to Al seven, eight, nine days ago. It’s a significant injury. He’s in a very positive mindset right now, which is good to see. He struggled there. I mean, that was a real serious injury. His first couple weeks there were tough. He had to go in and get the adjustment, Pat had to take him in twice and try to get the full range of motion in his knee. But he’s doing drills, movement drills, and he feels he’s really making progress, and we’ll just continue to watch that and see how he responds."
An update on DE Justin Harrell: "Justin, this is the best he’s looked in the strength and conditioning part of it. I don’t think you can really evaluate him until he gets out there and puts the pads on and
torques. D-line is different, but I know Mike Trgovac really liked what he saw last year in the spring. I know Dave Redding and Mark Lovat feel good about where he is in the weight room compared to this time last year, so he’s made progress, but until he gets in there and you see him torque and play with
leverage that’s when the lower back will be tested."
Whether having the umpire in the backfield would have benefited the Packers at the end of the Arizona playoff game: "I think it definitely would have helped. Our quarterback, I think, definitely could be protected more than he was last year. There were a number of times that he was hit and penalties were not called and fines probably followed. Not that I’m aware of that, but if you looked at it, it was probably out there. That’s all you want. You want your quarterback protected like the other team’s quarterback. That’s the basic request that I have every week when I talk to the officials."
On Flordia quarterback Tim Tebow: He’s a winner, and I’m excited to see what he does in the National Football League. He wins games, he’s a tremendous competitor and he’s like a lot of young quarterbacks, there’s some things he can work on to improve on, but you can see his tremendous passion in the way he plays the game, and it will be interesting to see who has the opportunity to
develop him. I’d love the opportunity to develop him."
On the fact FB John Kuhn is the only unsigned RFA taking part in off-season workouts (Kuhn signed a waiver to allow him to participate): That’s business. We’ve been in communication with all those guys, so it’s been healthy. I know Atari, Mark Lovat’s talked with every single one of those guys to make sure they know what we’re doing, the things we changed in the weight room so when they come back they won’t (wonder) what’s that exercise? Just the little stuff like that, but I think those guys are all pros. I don’t worry about any of them from a conditioning or strength standpoint. It’s a business decision."
On cornerback Pat Lee, who was put on injured reserve with a knee injury: Patrick Lee looks good. His wasn’t really a season-long injury. He could probably have been ready in December if he had to, somewhere in that time. He had pink eye last week, but other than that he looks good. He wore sunglasses in my meeting. He told me about it and then I yelled at (trainer) Pepper (Burruss) for not telling me he had pink eye. You walk into a team meeting and you’ve got a guy sitting there with sunglasses on, I don’t know if that’s normal anywhere else."
 

longtimefan

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Heard same thing about Justin last year too...

I swear if he is hurt again the minute he gets hurt he HAS to be gone
 

olwig420

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I think, and hope, we might see some improvements to the injury situation with the addition to the new Strength & Conditioning Coordinator Mark Lovat. I don't know if any of you have seen or heard of the type of workouts he has them doing but I have. He is working to build raw strength like the type that farm boys have from working on the farm every day. The workouts also help build strength in all of your smaller supporting muscles and core which help to prevent injury, something traditional weight lifting can't do. Here is a little something MM said about him and the workouts.

"We've always tried to improve every year just like any other part of our program."

That includes within the weight room itself. New strength and conditioning coordinator Mark Lovat had a large cinder-block wall, measuring 10 feet high by 30 feet wide, added in the back of the weight room with anchors and other pulley junctions installed.

Lovat said the wall will be used for multiple stations of medicine ball drills as well as bungee- and band-work, with some other larger equipment also available for the players in the Hutson Center, where they will train on the final day of each week.

"There are some different apparatus down there that you can't use in the weight room," Lovat said. "We'll do sled work, a lot of competitive drills, tire flips, heavy rope training, that kind of stuff.

"Dave Redding and myself are all about 'train like you play, train on your feet.' That's our whole idea. Whatever we do, wherever it takes place is going to have that as its driving force."
 

PackersRS

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I think, and hope, we might see some improvements to the injury situation with the addition to the new Strength & Conditioning Coordinator Mark Lovat. I don't know if any of you have seen or heard of the type of workouts he has them doing but I have. He is working to build raw strength like the type that farm boys have from working on the farm every day. The workouts also help build strength in all of your smaller supporting muscles and core which help to prevent injury, something traditional weight lifting can't do. Here is a little something MM said about him and the workouts.

"We've always tried to improve every year just like any other part of our program."

That includes within the weight room itself. New strength and conditioning coordinator Mark Lovat had a large cinder-block wall, measuring 10 feet high by 30 feet wide, added in the back of the weight room with anchors and other pulley junctions installed.

Lovat said the wall will be used for multiple stations of medicine ball drills as well as bungee- and band-work, with some other larger equipment also available for the players in the Hutson Center, where they will train on the final day of each week.

"There are some different apparatus down there that you can't use in the weight room," Lovat said. "We'll do sled work, a lot of competitive drills, tire flips, heavy rope training, that kind of stuff.

"Dave Redding and myself are all about 'train like you play, train on your feet.' That's our whole idea. Whatever we do, wherever it takes place is going to have that as its driving force."
Redding last year was also expected to make an impact with injuries, because he was supposed to focus on stamina rather than bulk.

I just don't know anymore...
 

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Every time he throws out a bunch of compliments about Tebow, it scares the **** out of me.

Haha, me too!

I just have these visions...'With their second round pick, the Green Bay Packers select....TIM TEBOW, QUARTERBACK, FLORIDA...' every time I read it.
 

Jess

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I don't think Tebow's coming here either. If he was, McCarthy wouldn't be saying half the stuff he's saying about him. They'd be playing it closer to the vest if they were thinking about him.

Still scares me, though.
 

NYPacker

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Who knows maybe TT makes a "Brian Brohm-like" move and takes him if he's still there at one of our picks.
 

PackersRS

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Who knows maybe TT makes a "Brian Brohm-like" move and takes him if he's still there at one of our picks.
If Tebow falls to the 3rd, I doubt we pass on him... Just too much value for TT to pass on...

That being said, how the heck did this thread became ANOTHER Tebow thread???
 

turbo69

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I doubt it'll happen. I'd put money on it not happening.

Almost 90% of what you hear this days is just curveball...
Yup........put it out there through the grapevine we really like these 3 guys........then pick the one ya really want.
 

every1else

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Changing subjects...

It's good to hear that Pat Lee is doing better. He got pink eye though! Silly Pink Eye!
Hopefully Finley can deal with all the fame he will get when he's the best TE in the league.

...

No more Tebow. Please!
 
OP
OP
ivo610

ivo610

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more of the interview

Has Aaron Rodgers picked himself up and dusted himself off after the sudden end to the Arizona game?: Just being down here this week, whether we like it or not, we’re going to be seeing a lot of that play, just the way it has been evaluated. NFL Films is doing a segment on it. It’s only normal when you go through a season of scheme evaluation, we’ll see that play because it’s a base play in our offense, over and over again. I don’t think you hide from it. The most important thing is to learn from it. I don’t think it hurt his confidence. It probably helped that he played in the Pro Bowl a couple weeks later. He went down there and had a very positive experience. I can’ t tell you from Norv Turner to Wade Phillips, I saw a bunch of the Dallas coaches, Ray Sherman and Skip Peete at the combine, talking to Mike Shanahan last night, how complimentary everybody has been of Aaron. Just the opportunity to be around him on a personal note. It’s like everything. The Pro Bowl is a great opportunity for a young coach. My first year in the league in ’93, I had a chance to coach in the Pro Bowl. To see John Elway, to see those type of players up close at a young age, it really shows you what they’re supposed to look at at a young age. I think Aaron kind of impressed a lot of people that way based on the feedback I’ve received.
What’s the off-season plan with him: Well, we’ve started quarterback school on Tuesday just like we always have. We went through our quarterback profile tapes and workouts and he’s very fundamentally strong. Just going back there are a couple little things with his footwork that we’ll continue to work on. Went through some of the adjustments we’ve made as a staff as far as protection and then we’ll just start working through all the cutups. It’s a normal off-season for him. And it’s a big off-season for Matt Flynn because he really prospered from it last year. We’ll see if Matt can take another step. I just want to make sure he has everything in his grasp by the end of April like he always has so he’ll have May and June to work on it.
What steps do you take to keep him from taking so many sacks: Well, he watched the tape. We went through it, the quarterbacks thing was Thursday. There will be coaching points that he’ll be aware of. Just knowing him personally, that will probably be one of the things at the top of his list in his individual improvement. I look for him in his responsibility to get the ball out. Throwaways are OK. When a quarterback throws the ball away in our system that’s a plus. That’s a plus decision. That’s the way I’ve always graded it. I worked at a place that followed a system where the quarterback was taught to take the sack rather than force the throw. That’s kind of an old-school theory but it has existed in this game. I think as I sit here today we’ll be much better in that area.
What is your feeling on the way A.J. Hawk and Nick Barnett played last year: First, talking about A.J, I think A.J. did some really, really good things just going through the scheme evaluation, particularly in the base. I know he wants to be on the field all the time, I respect that, I understand that, but that’s really up to him as far as the competition. I think that linebacker group is as competitive a position on our football team. You have four individuals there that can probably all can play all three downs. So it’s a very competitive group, and no different for Nick. He’s going to be better another year into the defense. There’s some mistakes that Nick made early in the year just one particular technique that him and I talked about after the season that he didn’t get comfortable (with) until after the season. That’s really, those are the type of hurdles you have to jump over in the first year. That’s normal. Definitely with him being here in the offseason, he’ll be much better off. And we’re going to try to be creative with those guys, keeping those guys on the field in sub. I think both Nick and Brandon Chillar have outside pass-rush ability. I’m not saying we’re going to do it all the time, but it’s definitely an option for us that we’ve talked about.
Spread offenses had a lot of success against you. Why was that? I think the dime personnel probably wasn’t what we would have liked it to have been in certain segments, I don’t think you can deny that. And you can base some of that on injury. There’s some guys that probably didn’t play as well as the opportunity presented themselves for. That’s the thing, just going back to the linebacker, is it more nickel groups? Is it the combination of sub groups? Because it’s a sub game more and more. I wouldn’t be surprised if the sub defenses are 60 percent and your base is 40 next year just the way these offenses are going in the league. So we’ve got to make sure we have the versatility of using those guys, whether it’s linebackers, fifth or sixth DB, however we get there.
How do you feel about the secondary now?: I think our board looks good on paper, if you look at all the names up there, but you’ve got three corners coming off of major knee (injuries), two of the three coming off major knee surgeries. So I don’t think you ever have enough corners or pass rushers, regardless of what scheme you play in. But yeah, our board looks as good as it’s been on paper. But those questions really will be answered in training camp.
Which players do you expect to make the biggest advancement this season: T.J. Lang, Brandon
Underwood. Those are the two that jump out. You say how can Clay Matthews get better? Well he can get better. Brad Jones is another guy in that category. I really think those rookies, this is their biggest window to make that jump and it’s important and it’s been identified. These young kids come out of college, they play their senior year, they train like crazy for the combine, they go into the NFL season and the season’s over and they just kind of let everything they gained to that point go backwards instead of trying to maintain it. Then you get them back there in March and they’re starting over again. You’re trying to catch back up to what you had accomplished with these guys. Hopefully we avoided some of that and they’re able to start at zero instead of negative 10 whether it’s their weight or body fat or things like that. Our whole offseason program is tailored toward individual improvement, it’s tailored to the youngest most inexperienced player in the building.
 

DILLIGAFF

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Heard same thing about Justin last year too...

I swear if he is hurt again the minute he gets hurt he HAS to be gone

This is definitely his last chance. But wow what an addition to the defensive line if he can play.

This would greatly improve our defense and help greatly in our pass rush from our front 3.

I still have hope, but like MM said we will see when the pads come on.
 

PackersRS

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I'm sure he will be able to deal with it.........and the $$$$$ that will come with it.
I don't understand very well Finley.

He's married and have kids, so he should be more mature than his age.

But then again he's 21 only. He's too young.

All in all I think he's just a "playa" (have you seen him speak? It's hillarious). But I think it's just the way he is. He isn't cocky, full of himself or anything.

I see similarities in Nick Collins. He kinda speaks about himself in 3rd person.

But Ray Lewis is almost 40, speaks and allways have in a very strange way, but it's unquestionable his leadership and personality...

Not everybody is an Aaron Rodgers or a Myron Rolle, but that doesn't mean they're cocky or stupid... Unless it's TO.
 

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