December 27th, 2007

Mike Misses the Obvious

packeraaron in Mike McCarthy

McCarthy is missing the point.

(Is there any real way to prepare for wind like that? Had you practiced outside last week, would that have even helped?)
If I felt practicing outside would help our football team playing in poor weather, trust me, we would have been outside a long time ago. I prefer to go outside, I prefer to be on grass, those are things. But there’s a point where the returns are not there. When people are not focusing on practice, and the quality of practice decreases because you want to appease the weather pattern, that’s counter-productive in my opinion. That’s why we practice inside. I don’t think being outside would have factored at all as far as our preparation.

(You said their focus, if you practiced outside, would lag a little bit?)
Well, I just think because when you’re playing outside is different than when you’re practicing, in my opinion. You’ve got the heaters and this and that. When you’re practicing, certain guys are up, and now the guys that are not in the period, what are they doing? Are we going to pull the benches out there? I don’t think it’s practical. We have an excellent facility, it’s clearly one of the best indoor facilities I’ve been involved in. Opening the doors, you could make a case we need to close the doors after the way we played this week. I don’t think that factors.

Is he serious? Look, I understand it might put-out the grounds crew, but YES you need to bring out the benches. Yes you need the guys to be miserable. Did you see them on Sunday? I knew after the first shot of the Packers sideline we were going to lose. You just had to see the players all huddled up on the bench and the coaches all bundled up in their ridiculous Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man winter jackets to know they were more focused on the weather than the game. Say what you will about Mike Sherman, but that S.O.B. never wore more than long sleeves and a sweatshirt, saying it was unfair of him to ask his players to go out on the field in nothing but their uniforms and to see him on the sideline all bundled up.

Mike McCarthty needs to get a handle on this. His team plays in Green Bay. It gets damn horrible in December and January. His players need to thrive in those conditions, not be scared of them…


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4 Responses to “Mike Misses the Obvious”

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I really don’t think the cold was the major factor. I think the wind was. It disrupted the special teams and passing games. I really don’t know how you practice playing in that.

The cold is uncomfortable. There is no doubt about that. But having your MVP Qb talking before the game how this was the worst weather he’d ever played in, couldn’t instill confidence in the troops either.

I can see MM’s point on practice being productive indoors from a x’s and o’x point of view. I think one day outside would have been enough to aclimate the players to the cold.

But it was the wind that changed the game, and the bears have played in that wind many times. That was the difference.

j4a1 said in December 27th, 2007 at 2:58 pm

MM said, “But there’s a point where the returns are not there.” …So what returns did we get from staying inside? Well, we certainly shut down the Bears’ punting returns, albeit that it was because they blocked all our punts and waltzed into the end zone.

Yes, perhaps the “quality of the practices decreases”, but when you are playing in extreme weather, your adaptability to it increases as you spend time outdoors. You learn to respect the footing, how to navigate, how to adjust, etc. You learn what works and what doesn’t, and how to compensate. You hate it, but eventually the shock wears off and it becomes your domain. Better to deal with such shock in practice than on game day. Let the other team deal with shock then, as it is already a comfort zone (although quite uncomfortable) to your team.

WWVLD? What would Vince Lombardi Do? PRACTICE OUTSIDE!!!

PackSmack said in December 27th, 2007 at 4:30 pm

Well…unless they had the grounds crew set up several hundred oscilating fans to simulate the swirling 40 mph winds, I really don’t think it would have helped much.

I can’t put this loss on MM. The Bears have played in that kind of wind several times before. They were at home, which helps. And they are a more veteran team that has experienced the need to adapt to such conditions before.

The Packer players live in GB during the season. They know about cold. Practicing outside a time or two might have helped, but it was the wind that really caught them off guard.

I’m also not very gassed about Favre attitude before the game. If your going to be a leader…lead. Don’t whine.

j4a1 said in December 27th, 2007 at 4:45 pm
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