Green Bay Packers: 3 Ways to fix team for stretch run
By Joe Kipp
Mike McCarthy needs to adjust to his personnel
The Packers don’t have a bad roster. In fact, it could be argued that this season’s roster has more talent than what coach McCarthy had to work with during the 2016 “Run the Table” stretch. That being said, talent is as good as useless if used incorrectly.
We’ve seen all around the league what inventive schemes can do for an offense. Take the Chicago Bears’ offense, for example, which has turned into one of the NFL’s most creative and dangerous units since the arrival of head coach Matt Nagy.
For the Bears, Mitchell Trubisky‘s job isn’t to win the game, it’s to execute one play at a time — something the Packers can’t say with Aaron Rodgers, whose shoulders have carried the brunt of the load for several years now.
You could also look at the job Sean McVay has done with Jared Goff, or Andy Reid with Patrick Mahomes. Even Carolina Panthers’ new offensive coordinator Norv Turner has helped bring Cam Newton back to his old MVP form this season. One thing all of these scenarios have in common is correct utilization of given talent.
The fact of the matter is that Mike McCarthy isn’t utilizing all of the talent at his disposal. He’s not making life easier for his offense by calling a shot pass play on a third-and-1. He’s not making life easier for his quarterback by only running Aaron Jones 11 times against the Seahawks. And he’s sure as hell not making life any easier by not trusting his offense on a fourth-and-2 with four minutes to go.
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McCarthy needs to get back to his roots: a west coast offense that relies on the quick passing game. He needs to give Jones 20 or more touches. He needs to let Rodgers know he has complete confidence in him by going for it on fourth down against Seattle.
McCarthy’s play calling and decision making is just one of the issues with the Green Bay Packers. The offense has been close to putting it all together all season. Rookie receivers and inconsistent quarterback-play have hampered the Packers all season. McCarthy could help turn it around by adjusting to his personnel.