January 31st, 2008

Bob Sanders Isn’t Going Anywhere

packeraaron in Bob Sanders, Mike McCarthy

So sayeth Mike McCarthy in interviews with the guys from the Milwaukee-Journal Sentinel.

This is the start. The start of McCarthy’s very own “Shoop Phase”. What’s that you ask? A “Shoop Phase” is where a head coach refuses to recognize the deficiencies of one of the coordinators on his staff, how that coordinator is holding the team back, and how that coordinator really just isn’t very good. Named (by yours truly) for the one-time offensive coordinator of the Chicago Bears, John Shoop was widely regarded as terrible by everyone in and out of football, save for Bears head coach Dick Jauron. After years of refusing to replace Shoop, Jauron was fired by Jerry Angelo, making way for the hiring of Lovie Smith.

Now, I’m not saying McCarthy is going to get fired any time soon. I am saying his team will continue to disappoint on the defensive side of the ball because of his faith in Bob Sanders. The only way this team wins a championship with Sanders as its defensive coordinator is if the defensive line goes 8 quality guys deep for the whole season. No injuries period. Because otherwise, you’ll always get what we got this year - a great pass rush from the front four the first half of the season that fades away in December and January due to worn down personnel.

Good luck with that.

2 Responses to “Bob Sanders Isn’t Going Anywhere”

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As a New York guy I was listening to Mike and the Dog the other day. I forget which team they were talking about (I think it was the Eagles), but they were talking about how it’s easier to be an aggressive, press coverage, blitzing defense when you know your offense can stand toe to toe with anybody.

This is something McCarthy should be discussing in meetings with his coordinators during the offseason. He needs to say “listen, our passing game is extremely proficient and after an offseason in our program, Grant should be even better next year… so we’re going to score. We can’t just rely on our front 4 to put pressure on the QB next season. Let’s get more aggressive and dial up some more blitzes.”

Keith said in January 31st, 2008 at 3:54 pm

While perfect in theory, the bigger concern is how those blitzes are coached and called. Go back and watch the few blitzes the Packers ran this season. Terrible. Hawk truly is a terrible blitzer. Is that innate? Coaching? I don’t know. But you see it again and again. Look at Collins in the NFC Championship. If he just creeps forward toward the line of scrimmage before the snap of the ball, he lays Manning out, rather than getting there 3 seconds late and getting a 15 yard penalty. That’s coaching and design. Sanders has proven deficient at both.