Packers Calendar: Waiting for McCarthy to Address "Recurring Issue"
There's no shortage of speculation on the job security of defensive coordinator Dom Capers in Green Bay.
Mike McCarthy was fuming on Sunday after the Packers' second consecutive loss at Lambeau Field on Sunday, being cryptic but vowing to address an unspecified issue.
"I'm disappointed as the head coach of this team because we have a recurring issue that I have to get fixed, and we'll get on that tomorrow," said McCarthy in the aftermath of the 27-13 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that the "recurring issue" is on the defensive side of the football.
Everyone expected the Packers offense to struggle when Aaron Rodgers was lost to injury, but the defensive struggles have come as a surprise the past two weeks.
Whether the problem has to do with missed tackles, or stopping clock-killing fourth quarter drives, or stopping the run or allowing opposing quarterbacks to operate like Johnny Unitas is up for debate. Perhaps it's all the above.
There's no shortage of speculation on social media that the Packers will or should fire defensive coordinator Dom Capers and maybe other assistants, but such a move would be unprecedented. Mike McCarthy has never fired an assistant coach in-season.
Perhaps Capers and the defensive coaching staff will receive an opportunity to patch their leaks, but it would appear jobs are squarely on the line. The Packers have intercepted the fewest passes in the NFL this season with only three.
Mike McCarthy is scheduled to address the media on Monday at 3:00 p.m. CT. Only McCarthy knows how much he will choose to divulge, but the media won't let him off the hook without at least asking. His press conference will be streamed live on the Packers official website.
The Packers are scheduled to work out quarterback Matt Flynn on Monday, according to Ed Werder of ESPN.com, but there's been no definitive word on whether they'll sign him. Perhaps it will depend on the health of Seneca Wallace, who injured his groin in Sunday's game.
Wallace was one of six players injured on Sunday, including Nick Perry, Casey Hayward, Johnny Jolly, Evan Dietrich-Smith and Don Barclay. Observers will also be waiting on an update on the health of the walking wounded.
Following his press conference, the Packers coach will record his weekly Mike McCarthy Show at 4:00 p.m. inside Lambeau Field on the 4th Floor Associated Bank Club level in front of a studio audience. Wide receiver James Jones will be the guest, according to host Lance Allan, but the show won't air on television until Tuesday.
Also inside Lambeau Field is Packers Live with Larry McCarren, which is also shot in front of a live studio audience inside the Legends Club at 6:30 p.m.
Packers Live is shown on a statewide network of seven stations, including NBC26 in Green Bay and TMJ4 in Milwaukee. Complete listings can be found on the Packers official website.
At 5:30 p.m. on Monday evening, Inside the Huddle airs on Fox 11 in Green Bay, hosted by Jordy Nelson.
Inside the Huddle appears on a statewide network of television stations on other days of the week with the entire schedule listed at LammiSports.com. It is recorded in front of a live audience at The Bar in Green Bay.
In other Packers television programming, the Locker Room Show airing at 6:30 p.m. on CBS affiliate WFRV channel 5 in Green Bay, will have linebacker Mike Neal on as a guest, according to the station's website.
The show airs in front of a live studio audience at Purcell's inside The Radisson in Green Bay.
Over in Appleton, cornerback Micah Hyde is the guest on Clubhouse Live, held at the Clubhouse Sports Bar & Grill in Appleton in front of a live studio audience and streamed online at ClubhouseLive.com.
Hosted by fullback John Kuhn, the show starts at 6:30 p.m.
Player guests on local radio on Monday include linebacker Nate Palmer on The Fifth Quarter from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. at Screamin' Head Buzz in Green Bay, which can be heard on WTAQ 1360 AM and streamed live on WTAQ.com.
Then at 6:00 p.m., cornerback Davon House and offensive lineman David Bakhtiari take turns hosting In The Huddle held live at Tanner's Grill and Bar in Kimberly and heard on 95.3 FM WSCO in Appleton, streamed on 953WSCO.com.
Comments (8)
November 11, 2013 at 09:35 am
How about replacing Capers with Mike Trgovac? Wasn't he D-Coordinator in Carolina at one point? Something needs to be done.
November 11, 2013 at 10:02 am
I would be astonished if Capers was fired, but play calling may be re-assigned. With the plethora of decent dlinemen, I'm not impressed with the amount of 2 man fronts. Since Safety seems to be thin, maybe a 3-5-3 if enough lb'ers are available. More pressure is the answer, how to attain it is the question.
I also read between the lines that maybe TT has had too deep of a thumbprint on the QB position. Just too much churning on the roster. MM had a quick hook on Wallace, and while his decision on next weeks starter is very defendable, me thinks if Wallace can't play next week that he'll be gone and either Flynn or Harrell or even Coleman will be the backup. Not ideal but MM, in my view, isn't happy with Wallace.
November 11, 2013 at 10:28 am
If Wallace can't go next week, the Packers have no choice but to get rid of him/IR him. They simply don't have the roster space to carry a 4th QB.
November 11, 2013 at 10:19 am
3 words.
Not. A. Chance!
One of the dumbest things I've read here yet.
November 11, 2013 at 11:03 am
In a QB driven sport we have had at least a top three QB for over twenty years and have only three respectable post season runs.Moral:
you can't fall in love with what you hope some one is going to do. Our kicking game should illustrate that.
November 11, 2013 at 02:01 pm
Nice to know that McCarthy has a pulse!
Let's see if he actually knows what to do!
November 11, 2013 at 09:38 pm
You cant just fire a coach with no idea of who to hire. If nobody better is available it would be stupid to fire Capers, especially in-season. Wait till offseason and then look around some. Capers is not great but he has his moments.
November 12, 2013 at 07:51 am
packer til death, I'm curious how you only get 3 respectable playoff runs from the Favre and Rodgers eras. From 1993-2012, the packers:
Made the playoffs 15 of 20 seasons (75%)
Won at least one playoff game 10 of 20 seasons (50%)
Went to the conference championship 5 of 20 seasons (25%)
Went to the superbowl 3 of 20 seasons (15%)
Won the superbowl 2 of 20 seasons (10%)
Do you really only count superbowl appearances as respectable playoff runs?
For comparison, here are the 49ers during the Montana/Young years (79-99), probably the best a team has ever played over such a span [and note that the first 15 years of this, where the bulk of their success was, were before the NFL had a salary cap!]:
Made the playoffs 16 of 21 seasons (76%)
Won at least one playoff game 12 of 21 seasons (57%)
Went to the conference championship 9 of 21 seasons (43%)
Went to the superbowl 5 of 21 seasons (24%)
Won the superbowl 5 of 21 seasons (24%)
So even a team that's stacked as hell misses the playoffs entirely or goes one-and-done at about the same rate. The Packers over this span don't match what I will grudgingly call the best ever in the 49ers, but it's hard to say they underperformed especially when you account for the greater parity in the NFL during the era the Packers have had to shine.