In a season when we have heard a lot of talk about getting better from head coach Mike McCarthy but little improvement on the field, one has to wonder if this big offensive team meeting held Monday will just be more of the same. It sounded like the “airing of grievances” but it’s too early for Festivus. Will a full-blown bitch session fix the inconsistency of the offense and all of sudden turn around the pass protection problem? I kind of doubt it. If it does, great, but it should have happened a long time ago and for that there would be no excuse. Did it take the players instead of the coaches to light a fire under this team. Wow! I think I’m going to a disco tonight, it must be 1976 again. I’m your boogie man.
To me it sounded like a lot of finger-pointing, at least from the few details that came out of it. How can that be good when at least half of the problem is the game plan and the play calling? The most disturbing thing I heard all year was on Monday when McCarthy was asked how the Bucs’ secondary shut down the Packers. Even after it was clear the Packers’ receivers could not get open against Tampa McCarthy said “if we played them again tomorrow we’d go right back after that secondary.” Just keep pounding the rock Mike, you might find water.
What was really funny was that one of the quotes was from a defensive player who said the meeting was “good” making it sound like all the problems on the team were on offense. It wasn’t the offense that cost the Packers the game last week, it was a two-week old quarterback who ripped up the Packers’ defense, especially late when the game was on the line. It was Al Harris eating crow after taunting the Bucs’ QB all game. It was Jarrett Bush doing what Jarrett Bush does – give up touchdowns. It was the Packers’ blitz getting to Josh Freeman but not getting him down. I wonder if the “airing of grievances” shouldn’t have been held on the other side of the ball. Or maybe both.
Either way, I think the Packers will fall to 4-5 this weekend and we’ll see where they go from there with the 49ers and Lions following the Cowboys. We saw what happened last year at this time so confidence is not high. Since I’m on a Seinfeld kick, it is time for the Packers to do the opposite. So far pretty much everything McCarthy has done has been wrong, so the opposite must be right (side note – watching the game – wish the Packers had a kicker like Robbie Gould).
It has been an interesting week since the “Travesty in Tampa.” With eight games to go and low expectations, I’m looking forward to the second half of the season. I would love to see a win over the Cowboys Sunday which could be a springboard to a great second half, however, that wasn’t the case last year when the Packers’ ripped the Colts in Lambeau then proceeded to go 2-7 the rest of the season. This year will be the opposite. A Festivus miracle!