People can debate who should be held responsible for this turd of a Green Bay Packers’ season: Mike McCarthy or Ted Thompson.
We say both. In fact, let’s take it a step further and blame that Alfred E. Neuman lookalike Mark Murphy for letting mere playoff appearances be acceptable.
What, me worry?
Nope. Being slightly above average is good enough for us!
McCarthy is certainly taking most of the heat right now. It’s not as if there isn’t good reason for that. McCarthy’s coaching decisions have long been suspect and his offense hasn’t evolved much over the course of his tenure.
Thompson deserves his share of the blame too, though. There’s a definitive lack of star power on the Packers’ current roster. And hey, if you’re only going to build your team through the draft, then you better hit on a higher percentage of those draft picks than everyone else.
The Packers — and Thompson — haven’t.
Former Bills and Colts general manager and Hall of Famer Bill Polian, for one, clearly places the blame for this subpar season on the latter.
“That’s a combination of building a roster and injuries, which no one can control,” Polian said. “So no, that’s not Mike McCarthy’s fault. He’s trying to do the best he can with a very, very short deck. I don’t see any change in how this team is prepared or how they play. They don’t have a reliable tight end … and secondly they have no running game. That’s not coaching. That has to do with getting a roster that can compete, and it’s largely due to injury so there’s not much you can do about that other than try and suck it up and get better next year. I don’t see any problem with the coaching.”
Well, you’re not looking hard enough if you don’t see a problem with coaching, Bill.
And yes, injuries have hurt the Packers this season, but it’s no excuse. Injuries hurt the Packers in 2010 and they won a Super Bowl.
Coming into this season, this Packers team appeared to have more depth than any team since the 1990s. This is a team that should have been able to withstand injuries.
They haven’t been able to do that, so that goes back to personnel decisions and coaching.
Both Thompson and McCarthy.
Yes, McCarthy is playing with a short deck, but it isn’t a deck that should result in the recent embarrassments we’ve witnessed.
Lose by a couple points to a good team and you can blame injuries. Get blown out by less than mediocre opponents and it’s coaching and personnel.