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Green Bay Packers: Mike McCarthy’s reputation on the line

By Kevin Parvizi

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On the heels of a disastrous performance against Kirk Cousins and the Washington Redskins, the New Orleans Saints finally decided to fire defensive coordinator Rob Ryan in a move that was a long time coming. Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy has a much better resume and much higher standing within the organization than Ryan ever did, so it’s nearly impossible to see him getting the axe in the near future, including in the offseason. But Ryan’s firing yesterday is a reminder that decisions in the NFL come swiftly, and reputations come and go in the vein of a Martavis Bryant juke.

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Yesterday, the Packers dropped a third straight game, and while there isn’t too much shame in losing to the previously undefeated Denver Broncos and still-undefeated Carolina Panthers, there is simply no justification to losing to the Detroit Lions at home. This Lions team came into Sunday’s game in vast disarray, and yet the Packers looked like the less functional team.

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We’ve heard all season long about the Lions lack of a running game, inadequate offensive line play, and questions about quarterback Matthew Stafford. Instead, the Packers were the ones who struggled mightily, with Aaron Rodgers averaging just 5.5 yards per attempt and the entire running game putting up under three yards per carry. Despite the fact that the Lions defense allows the second-most points per game in the NFL, the Packers could only muster 16 points.

McCarthy and the Packers will undoubtedly tell us to “R-E-L-A-X”, but that’s difficult to do at this point. Lacy is either unhealthy or woefully out of shape, James Jones‘s play as fallen off precipitously after he looked like a revelation in the team’s first four weeks, Randall Cobb doesn’t look like himself, and Davante Adams has looked like a fraud after receiving plenty of offseason hype from the likes of Rodgers.

The entire Packers offense has been uncharacteristically poor over the past three weeks, and that extends from Rodgers’s less-than-superhuman numbers to Adams’s absolutely back-breaking drops in yesterday’s loss. Nothing is clicking, and the concerns mount more so than they would have in the past if Jordy Nelson were healthy.

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Tom Silverstein, McCarthy said that the Packers must “keep things in perspective”. It’s always important to have a measured reaction to even a three-game slide, but the Packers have to know just how high expectations are. Whenever you have a quarterback like Rodgers on the team with a playmaking, sack-happy defense, the goal is to win a Super Bowl. The Packers came agonizingly close to getting a shot at the New England Patriots last season, but, at this point in time, they seem even further from their goal.

This is the critical juncture where coaches are made and broken, and the microscope is never more focused on a head coach than when he’s at the helm of a team quarterbacked by an elite passer. Working with a quarterback like Rodgers or Tom Brady is a blessing, because they overcome so many issues. But it’s a curse, too, because you are always expected to win it all. I mean, when was the last time a team led by Brady, Rodgers, or Peyton Manning didn’t have Super Bowl expectations?

McCarthy is one of the NFL’s better head coaches, but that’s a designation that could slip away if the Packers continue to drop games. There are already some analysts and writers out there who have soured on McCarthy, particularly after yesterday’s debacle against Detroit.

We need to keep McCarthy’s past success in mind before taking things too far, but the fact of the matter is that the Packers offense cannot underperform like this. Moreoever, it’s hard to watch moments like this, when Rodgers can be seen yelling at McCarthy for a clock management blunder. Issues like failing to manage the clock or not getting the most out of a franchise QB are the stuff that costed Mike Smith his job with the Atlanta Falcons, which included an instance of being out-coached by Jim Caldwell in a close game.

McCarthy’s reputation is at stake as the Packers head into a stretch of games against the Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears, and Lions on the road. The Vikings are fielding one of the NFL’s best defenses, the Bears look like a legitimately improved team and are coming off of a blowout win over the St. Louis Rams, and the Lions are theoretically an even more difficult challenge on the road with a moral-boosting win over Green Bay already under their belts.

These division games, however, are obviously the Packers for the taking, and McCarthy has to win all of them. For the Packers to assert their dominance in the division and show that they are indeed deserving of a playoff bye and bona fide SB contender status, they need to get back on track.

Nov 8, 2015; Charlotte, NC, USA; Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy looks on during the second quarter against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

Cobb has a 57.7% catch rate, Adams a 55.1% catch rate with an embarrassing 5.55 yards per target (he’s been one of the worst receivers in the league this season, honestly), and Jones hasn’t caught more than two passes in a game since Week 4.

This is simply disgraceful, and McCarthy needs to find a way to get more production out of his wide receivers. That’s his job. Despite the poor play at the WR position, Rodgers has 21 touchdowns, three picks, 7.3 yards per attempt, a 103.4 QB Rating, and over 250 passing yards per game.

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But those are below-average numbers (aside from the TD:INT ratio that is simply outstanding given how poorly his pass-catchers have been) by Rodgers’s standards, and the lack of explosiveness in the offense starts with McCarthy. He’s the man at the top, and he’s the man in charge of finding the best way to get the most out of the players Rodgers has around him. The personnel is the fundamental problem here, but it’s hard for McCarthy to give excuses to the general populace when he has a legendary QB with a 100+ QB Rating on the season.

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