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digsthepack

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Great article on MM.


McCarthy key to Green Bay's success
Adam Schein
FOXSports.com, Updated 17 hours ago STORY TOOLS:

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The Green Bay Packers are flawed.

They are also 5-1.
The main reason for the success is head coach Mike McCarthy.

Green Bay's second-year head man has done wonders with this outfit. McCarthy's firm, be accountable approach has worked brilliantly with the Packers. He is universally respected in the locker room. When you talk to the Packers players, they praise his consistency, work ethic and daily message.

Take last week for example.

McCarthy was beside himself that Green Bay was so lackadaisical with taking care of football in the team's only loss, to the Bears. James Jones fumbled twice and it killed the Pack. McCarthy spent Wednesday and Thursday at practice drilling the Packers on ball security. It wasn't a problem against the Skins.

The defense has been really good this season. The 17-14 win against the Redskins was a microcosm of how the defense played. Nick Barnett, A.J. Hawk and company shut down the running attack. Corey Williams stripped Santana Moss of the ball and Charles Woodson took it to the house to change the game. All-Pro Aaron Kampman and Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila made key, late sacks that the coach later praised.

McCarthy and his staff had a plan and stuck with it.

And McCarthy also deserves an enormous amount of credit for his work with Brett Favre. This can't be stressed enough.

McCarthy preached ball security all off-season and preseason to the future Hall of Famer. And look at the start for Favre.

McCarthy told us last week, "I think we have a really good working relationship. It started in 1999 when I was his position coach and it really is the foundation of what we are able to accomplish now. I look at the quarterback room as a vital part of the success of our football team. Tom Clemens does an outstanding job. It's really helped Tom being down on the field now as opposed to be up in the box. It's really helped the network of communication that goes on during game day. We all spend an incredible amount of time together.

"On Monday night, we spent 2½ hours watching film, watching games. On Tuesday, Brett comes in for a 4-5 hour period. When we break for lunch, I come in and visit with him again. And I'm in all the quarterback meetings and the quarterback and receiver meetings we do together. There's a lot of quality time spent together. It's so important, especially with me calling plays. The quarterback and the play caller have to be on the same page."

Green Bay's run game has been anemic. McCarthy wants to establish balance. Favre needs it. Turnovers are often the result of when too much is on the shoulder of the quarterback.

"Any time you have a problem area you need to take as close a look as possible," McCarthy said. "We, as a coaching staff, need to be critical of ourselves. Maybe we are trying to put the players in a perfect play every time. Running the ball is about attitude, approach and fundamentals. What I am referring to schematically is more run-at runs. In our play book, that's runs you run against any defense, get a hat on a hat even if you don't have the best angle. We need to get back to getting down hill and stop trying to be so perfect."

And someone needs to emerge among Vernand Morency, DeShawn Wynn, Brandon Jackson and Ryan Grant.

"I don't think we are in a position to go with one guy based on our experience at the position," McCarthy said. "We try to do the running back by committee, which for us is a product of three guys. But we might need to adjust. We are trying to go with more of a lead runner, normal down and distance guy, with the other runner being more of a situational player.

"I also think this would help the line be on the same page with the main running back."

Will it work this year? It probably won't because of a lack of a true lead runner. But you don't want to doubt McCarthy on a bye week examining the problem. Ted Thompson and the Packers will have gobs of money to pay Michael Turner next year.

The Packers have a three-game lead over the Bears. An improbable trip to the playoffs, with Favre listening to McCarthy, the defense among the best in the league, especially with two lockdown corners, is now highly likely. There aren't too many people who thought that in the preseason.

We asked McCarthy if he saw this coming. Without missing a beat, the coach said, "I honestly thought about 6-0. And we were a few plays away. I don't mean to sound cocky, but that's what I thought."

That's Mike McCarthy, Packers backbone. That's Mike McCarthy, Coach of the Year candidate. That's why these guys love playing for him and why this overachieving team is 5-1.
 

TOPackerFan

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Take last week for example.

McCarthy was beside himself that Green Bay was so lackadaisical with taking care of football in the team's only loss, to the Bears. James Jones fumbled twice and it killed the Pack. McCarthy spent Wednesday and Thursday at practice drilling the Packers on ball security. It wasn't a problem against the Skins.

I don't think I agree with this part of the article. Sure we didn't lose any fumbles, but I think we fumbled 4 times vs. the Skins, which makes 11 over the past 3 games by my count. The rest of it is pretty spot on if you ask me, but we really need to start taking better care of the football.
 

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