Go ahead, question the play-calling of Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy all you want. You wouldn’t exactly be alone in that exercise. His best player even threw in a little between-the-lines sideswipe after the Packers’ win over Buffalo last Sunday.
Keep in mind throughout the second guesses, though, that McCarthy has a well-considered handle on the Packers’ position one-fourth of the way through the season.
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers was unhappy about a lot of things after the game, including what he regarded as a wasted opportunities to bury the visiting Bills. There were too few plays involving wide receiver Davante Adams and tight end Jimmy Graham, Rodgers said.
When asked to address those remarks, McCarthy quickly stiff-armed any talk of internal discord, taking a subtle, metaphysical tack instead.
“I’d rather focus on good news than the stress points,” he said.
Focusing on the good to the exclusion of stress may sound like an excerpt from a health spa brochure, but McCarthy’s refusal to air the intramural squabbling was as easy to understand as his view of the big picture also should be.
Namely, this is an amazing time to be a pro sports fan in Wisconsin. The red-hot Milwaukee Brewers erased a five-game deficit over the last month, adding to the fevered anticipation that accompanies every Packers season. Octobers like the one in front of us don’t happen every year.
McCarthy began Monday’s press conference with words of encouragement to the Brewers, who would later complete their unlikely comeback and clinch their first National League Central Division title in seven years.
Then he pointed out some facts that were being obscured by the unremarkable performance of his team’s offense. Seven sacks by the defense — the week after losing Muhammad Wilkerson for the season — and only 145 yards allowed told an uplifting tale of redemption. The Packers have just one loss, and own the head-to-head tiebreaker edge over the present division leader. Always look on the bright side of life.
Rodgers had already made it clear that as one of the team leaders he will not suffer lightly any perceived lack of effort or focus.
“I’m getting older and grumpier,” Rodgers said after the first preseason game, when he called out the lackluster effort from some of the practice squad personnel.
In an attempt to rally the troops prior to the Bills game, Rodgers participated in a full practice last Thursday despite the injury to his left knee sustained on opening day.
He has called this offense a “work in progress,” a phrase with long-playing potential to join the likes of “R-E-L-A-X” and “Run the table” in the inspirational mantra anthology. After the 22-0 win over Buffalo, Rodgers called the performance by the Packers offense terrible.
“Why do I say it was terrible?” Rodgers was asked. “You saw the game. I played it.”
I saw the game, too, and I would say 22 points may be unimpressive, but not terrible. Zero points is terrible.
Whether the offense was awful or just meh, it didn’t matter because the defense came up huge. One week after losing Wilkerson for the season, concerns of how the loss would affect an already shaky pass rush were raised. The answer was the first shutout since the 2010 season.
“The defense was championship level, the offense was non-playoff team level,” Rodgers said.
Weekly state-of-the-union hand-wringing isn’t an uncommon thing among contenders. It’s about as rare as a block in the back penalty on a kick return.
Rodgers wasn’t saying the wrong things; the words just sounded ill-timed coming off a shutout win. His point was clear, though. With a grueling schedule following the Week 7 bye, the Packers need to make hay, now. Detroit may be 1-3, but the Lions are not Buffalo. Sitting on a lead isn’t a safe recipe for winning. Neither are dropped passes and off-target throws. Too many more of those and the trip home from Ford Field really could be terrible.
Veteran sportswriter Gary Seymour’s column appears weekly in the Leader. He can be contacted at sports@newmedia-wi.com.