Addendum to No More Super Bowls for Green Bay
Since the above musing was written things may have changed a bit for Green Bay: they might have found a reasonable defensive game. In the last 4 or 5 games Green Bay defense has been reasonable, not great, but not as bad as they have been for several years now. True, some of the teams were not offensively too good but they did keep the score down against Philly and New England. This provides Aaron Rodgers enough support for him to win the game. Time will tell whether this defensive side of the game can hold up for Green Bay. If it does then Green Bay is dangerous against anyone.
Interactive discussions of this topic with others has, not surprisingly, added some dimensions to this topic which I had not done. Sport debates are rarely about facts but which player is better than another, which coaches are better, which teams are better, what kind of behavior is acceptable, and so it goes, on and on——often to the point where anger surfaces and personal insults get thrown into the mix and to any observers it seems rather pointless and silly-ass. On topics like this, any facts are layered on top with endless uncontrollable variables, and the uncontrollable variables are often more important to the outcome than any ‘facts’. How accurate anyone’s opinion is on these debates depends on the evidence they can generate to support their opinion. Even then nothing becomes fact.
In this case I started with the observation that for some time Aaron Rodgers has had to score 40 pts or more to beat any team with a potent offense. That sort of situation doesn’t bode well for Green Bay. Like with any team, the buck stops with the Coach, and since McCarthy has made few, if any changes, in the defensive coaching staff, I figure he must be part of the problem.
But it does admittedly get a little complex. Green Bay spends a small fortune of their salary cap on offense, not the least of which is Rodger’s salary. That makes a case for maybe Green Bay hasn’t the money available to attract as many quality defensive players as other teams can. Also, while Green Bay did not make any major changes in the defensive coaching staff, they were sent (I forget where) to study up on offensive schemes with which they were having trouble defending against. There is something to be said for stability on the coaching staff. And loyalty has it’s good points too.
There is no objective way, with any degree of accuracy, to judge just how much of the Green Bay offensive plans come from Rodgers and how much from McCarthy. Rodgers seems awfully smart on offensive football, and at least he orally expresses himself in better fashion than McCarthy. It really doesn’t matter. The offensive football by the Packers had been great and a lot of that came from Favre and Rodgers in successive fashion. If Rodger’s is as smart as he seems to be, then when he is done with playing football I would guess he might become a Head Coach somewhere. Time will tell.
Even though Green Bay is not controlled at all by any aspect of the public or stock holders, the top administrators hardly ever change. I assume they make good salaries and there is no reason to think they do not give the job their all. Another aspect of the Green Bay operation which is worthy of note is their tendency to groom their own players via the draft more so than free agents. There is something to be admired in this also.
Finally, injury plays a part, more so today than ever, injuries determine just how ready any offense or defense is for any particular game.
Thus, the only part of my original musing about the Green Bay Packers and Super Bowls which is operative in my mind is that Green Bay, some way or other, must come up with a defense which is good enough to keep the score well below 40 pts with the better teams. Aaron Rodgers can only be expected to carry the team so far. What is not so clear, and more debatable, is just how the best way is to fix the weak defense.
And the final kicker is this. Given the nature of a football game and all the uncontrollable variables that affect the outcome, any of the better teams can beat any of the other better teams on a given day. If anyone bets on football it is like horse racing, no money can be made betting on the favorites, the only hope, and that can be evasive, is to bet against the odds. Then again, Rodgers, especially of late, seems to have mastered the art of reading defenses better than anyone, makes more accurate throws than any other quarterback, throws with bullet like speed when necessary, can dodge pass rushers better than any other quarterback, is the most accurate on deep passes, and knows when to take off and run as well as anyone. This quite a package, enough of a package to make one wonder if Rodgers might win no matter now mediocre their defense might be.
The bottom line at this point seems to be this. The Packers have improved their defense to a certain extent BUT a team like Atlanta can still score 37 pts against the Packers. Worse, the weakness seems to reside in long passes. A team whose quarterback is accurate with the long ball, on given day, can have a field day against the Packers. Can this be corrected overnight? That’s past my pay grade, but my guess is probably not. What I still don’t understand is how the Packer pass defenders can so often be no where near the thrown ball. That must be coaching. Perhaps it is raw talent in that these pass defenders are simply not capable of adjusting quick enough or have the speed to keep up. Being a football coach is really, really tough. With 17 assistant coaches and 4 dozen players, a mountain of rules, and endless play possibilities, plus computerized input, and diverse player personalities, this would for sure be more than I could ever handle. And I need to ponder things. No time to ponder in football. I think I would need a half hour between plays, and coach from a skybox surrounded by computer geeks to decide on the next plays.
