For the Green Bay Packers and coach (for now) Mike McCarthy, this is starting to feel like one of those star-crossed seasons that teams and coaches have during which things just seem to go wrong at every turn.

A story in yesterday’s Journal-Sentinel provides yet another example, and honestly doesn’t make a damn bit of sense from the Packers’ perspective.

A longtime Packers employee, Mike Wood, was fired by the Packers because McCarthy claimed that Wood told him not to “lay an egg” a couple of days before the epic Packers-Vikings game at Lambeau. Wood claims that he said nothing of the sort and merely told the coach to have the team ready to “kick some butt.”

I wonder why the hell it even matters, especially in relation to the employment of a loyal, 22-year employee.

Of course, this is the same coach who famously pushed for another longtime Packers employee to leave…but I digress.

Here is an excerpt from the story in all of its absurdity:

Longtime Packers employee Mike Wood fired for alleged comment to Mike McCarthy — (Journal-Sentinel)

Wood said he was sitting in a maintenance cart in a stadium tunnel when McCarthy was talking with members of the grounds crew.

With the season’s most-hyped game only three days away, Wood said he yelled to McCarthy, “Hey coach, let’s get the boys ready to kick some butt this weekend.”

…

Wood said he was told that McCarthy thought he heard him make a comment along the lines of “don’t lay an egg” in the game.

…

Reached for comment, the Packers released a statement: “The organization has standards of conduct that apply to all employees, full-time and part-time, in order to maintain a respectful workplace. Mr. Wood’s supervisors determined he made an inappropriate comment, and he was relieved of his duties.”

If there is not more to the story, like say Wood trafficking Packers’ playbooks to opponents or something, then this is just an asinine move by McCarthy and the Packers.

Florio has a great take on the firing of Mike Wood by the Packers over at PFT that echoes most of what I thought immediately after reading the story. In addition to wondering why McCarthy was even worrying about something like this during such a pivotal week for the franchise, it sounds like it was a snap decision with no due diligence whatsoever:

And here’s the most obvious question the native sons and daughters will be asking:  Why not meet with the guy and hear his side of the story?  Maybe Wood is telling the truth.  Maybe McCarthy, his blood pressure likely sky high as his plan to nudge Favre into retirement was about to explode in his face once and for all, didn’t accurately hear what Wood said.

I think a 22-year veteran of the organization — which, it should be noted, is a hell of a lot longer than McCarthy has been there — deserves to at least face his accuser.

As reported, this story makes McCarthy look like a petty jackass on a power trip. Even if the guy did say “don’t lay an egg,” I don’t see why it would bother McCarthy that much. (This is especially true in hindsight, considering McCarthy and the Packers did lay an egg against the Vikings, and then laid a whole carton of them last week against Tampa Bay.)

Seriously though, if you’re a head coach and you can’t handle someone telling you not to lay an egg, you might want to get into another profession.

Anyway, it’s a good thing I don’t work for the Packers because I’d surely get fired for this:

Get a clue McCarthy. Firing loyal employees for no good reason is not the way to make fans forget about the fact that you’ve turned the Packers into nothing more than a mediocre franchise while Brett Favre has helped to turn your division rival into a juggernaut.

At this point I think it’s safe to say that Mike McCarthy’s tenure with the Packers has been, at best…scrambled.

Update: I didn’t catch this earlier, but Mike McCarthy has responded, and it was actually more than just “Cluck, cluck, cluck,”…although not by much.

As reported by Greg Bedard at the Journal-Sentinel (via 620WTMJ):

Question: Can you talk at all about the story in this morning’s paper?

McCarthy: “Well, really, I haven’t seen the story. I’m not really abreast of what was in the paper, so I don’t really…I’m not in charge of the maintenance department, I can tell you that.

Question: It concerned a comment this maintenance worker supposedly made to you and then a couple days later he got fired.

McCarthy: “Well, I did not fire anybody in the maintenance department, I can tell you that.”

As I sat in the Edward Jones Dome Sunday afternoon and watched the Green Bay Packers beat the hapless St. Louis Rams, I couldn’t stop a wandering eye from glancing up at the far side of the building.

There on the ring of honor, beside Rams greats like Marshall Faulk and Merlin Olsen, and other St. Louis football icons like Dan Dierdorf, were digital displays providing scores and stats from around the league.

Packers fans delighted in seeing the Minnesota Vikings trailing San Francisco late at home. Former Packers quarterback Brett Favre was having a yeoman’s day, completing 50 percent of his passes for a pedestrian 221 yards.

At the same time inside the Edward Jones Dome, new Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was hitting big plays to Donald Driver and Greg Jennings, and leading the Packers to a 36-17 win.

Rodgers had a sparkling passer rating of 126.9 by virtue of his 13-for-23 day with 269 passing yards and touchdown tosses to Driver and fullback John Kuhn. Rodgers also ran for a score, and picked up another 38 yards with his legs.

What the thousands of Packers fans in St. Louis were unable to see was the switch in Favre’s head they had grown so accustomed to seeing for 16 seasons get flipped.

Favre had engineered 39 fourth-quarter comebacks for the Packers, displaying the intangible ability to take over a game when it was on the line. Sure he lost a few along the way, but his talent for dominating a game, and the exuberance in which he did so, is what made him a sure-fire Hall of Famer. It’s also the reason he grew to become arguably the most beloved player in Packers history.

Now donning the purple of the hated Vikings, Favre reminded Packers fans of his greatness, and proved to the rest of the league that he still has it.

Taking over at their own 20 with 1:29 remaining and trailing by four, the Vikings were without a timeout. Favre, who had been 18-of-36 for 221 yards with a touchdown and interception, engineered a 10-play, 80-yard drive to lead the Vikings to an improbable win.

Two weeks before his 40th birthday, Favre led his 40th career fourth-quarter comeback. He was 6-of-10 on the drive, with two incompletions as a result of having to spike the ball to stop the block. The drive ended with a remarkable 32-yard fastball to Greg Lewis in the back of the end zone with just two seconds remaining.
Favre had done it.

He pumped left, rolled right, avoided a sack by skipping backwards, then rifled a pass with pin-point accuracy between two defenders. Lewis did his part, too, laying out for the ball, and getting both feet in bounds.

Following a review, the touchdown was upheld, and the Vikings knew now why their coach had pursued Favre so heavily.

Brad Childress was often chastised for dissing the two quarterbacks he had in camp, incumbent starter Tarvaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfels, a player they traded for to push Jackson for the starting job. But, at the end, there was Jackson right next to Favre giving him a congratulatory hug.

Even Jackson realized that neither he nor Rosenfels would have led the Vikings to a victory that day.

Brett Favre is Brett Favre for a reason. He’s a bonafide Hall of Famer for a reason.

As well as Rodgers has played for the Packers, they are still a team that has won just eight of 19 games since Favre led them to 13 wins in 2007. People are still second-guessing the decision of general manager Ted Thompson and head coach Mike McCarthy not to welcome Favre back after he changed his mind about retirement in June of 2008.

On Sunday, the old, grey-haired quarterback gave those naysayers another reason to say, “I told you so.”

**********

* – Brett Favre photo credit: City Pages

The first implosion I witnessed on Sunday came when the Packers had the chance to put a stranglehold on the game with a third and goal at the Jags’ 5 late in the 2nd quarter. And yet somehow, during a Jags timeout, the offense failed to relay to their tight end what play they were about to run. The ensuing disaster led to a sideline meltdown involving Aaron Rodgers, Mike McCarthy and rookie Tight End Jermichael Finley and a chip shot field goal in lieu of a touchdown. It would prove to be a costly error in yet another close loss.

At the start of the second half, the wheels started to come off, this time on the defensive side of the ball. The Jags lined up on their second play from scrimmage, and the Packer defense left a wide open weak-side slot receiver. In the ensuing confusion, David Garrard managed to connect on a 35-yard completion, leaving the Green Bay defense only one option. Scream at each other.

Unfortunately, yelling at each other seemed to be the only answer the players could come up with on Sunday. The whole demeanor of the team seemed to say “This is not MY fault, this is YOUR fault.” It was such a heart wrenching sight to see, since the reality is, they should be saying “this is OUR fault.”

Forget the lousy defense, forget Aaron Rodgers, forget the lack of short yardage grit, and forget the inability to close out games. This team stinks because they are not a team. At least, they don’t play like one and they sure as hell do not act like one. Come on fellas, this is December! This is when teams that have as much talent as you do are supposed to come together and get wins. Or at the very least, come together after your losses, find ways to mend, and learn HOW to win. At least that’s what the good ones are supposed to, and the last four weeks have more than exemplified that this team has no business calling itself good because they seem to have no idea how to win games.

Some people might say the residual effect of the Brett Favre drama is rearing its ugly head, but I would hate to believe that summer drama would manifest itself in November and December. This team had time to shake that debacle off, and move on. What they face now seems like an inner turmoil that has managed to break the team from the inside like water frozen inside of a rock.

So what’s the cause and how can we fix it? Perhaps the close losses have begun to haunt the locker room and maybe all the finger pointing has reached its boiling point. Maybe the coaching staff isn’t doing it’s job or maybe injuries have stalled the team this year. While these are all contributing factors to the mediocrity, heck downright lousiness, of the 2008 season, the real cause of the Packers’ problems is a lack of leadership.

My only hope is that this was the high water mark for the Packers’ frustrations and what follows can be a turning point for the young Packers. As I recall, in 2006 the Packers started winning again after a 4-8 start led to a very similar spat of inner turmoil. We all knew who the leader was who pulled them out of that disaster but he can’t help us anymore. So, the only thing we can ask ourselves is who will it be now? Who can bring this talented young team together and get them back into the win column? I think we all know who it should be, but is #12 ready for it?

Jacksonville started strong. They scored on their opening drive with a 30 yard touchdown pass to Dennis Northcut. Maurice Jones-Drew ran well on the dive and David Garrard, the Jags’ quarterback, looked comfortable in the pocket and was virtually under no pressure from the Green Bay defense.

The Packers’ first possession got off to a dismal start. However, Ryan Grant ran the ball well and James Jones had a huge reception, the first of the game for the Packers. In spite of Green Bay’s impressive red zone statistics, they were stopped and had to settle for a field goal attempt by Mason Crosby, which was good from 22 yards out.

Mike McCarthy, a coach who doesn’t use the challenge flag all that often, challenged a completed pass made by Jacksonville in the second quarter. The call was overturned, which set up a Jacksonville field goal attempt. The ball was 51 yards out, but hit the left upright and bounced back into the center of the field. Jacksonville was still on top, 7-3.

Because of the missed field goal, Green Bay took over on downs. A personal foul (roughing the passer) against Clint Ingram of Jacksonville and good running by Grant put Green Bay in good field position. On this drive Ryan Grant had his first 1,000 yard rushing season. Aaron Rodgers connected with James Jones to put the Pack on top, 10-7.

Green Bay went into the locker room after the first half with a 13-7 lead.

The third quarter of the game was virtually defunct. Both teams handled the ball poorly and as a result, neither side scored. There was a positive for Green Bay, however. Their defensive line had not been doing so hot for most of the season, but during the third quarter, they were able to put pressure on Garrard.

The fourth quarter is where the Green Bay collapse finally happened. The Jags started out the quarter by stopping the Packers’ fourth down attempt. On Jacksonville’s subsequent drive, after taking over with good field position, Jones-Drew scored a touchdown, putting them on top of Green Bay, 14-13. The score was set up by a fourth down conversion by Garrard.

Green Bay answered by putting up 3 points late in the fourth. The Packers were unable march down the field with as much authority as they had earlier in the game. A few dropped passes and a sack of Rodgers made a try for 7 impossible for Green Bay. Crosby’s kick put the Packers up, 16-14.

Jones-Drew scored his third touchdown of the season just inside the two-minute warning. This fortuitous event was set up by a 40 yard pass to Northcut and aggressive running by Jones-Drew. The Jacksonville offense came alive in the fourth quarter and the Green Bay defense seemed to take a nap.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Aaron Rodgers has no two-minute drill poise. Sure, this loss was not entirely his fault, but he didn’t help. Driver and Jones both made good catches to keep the drive alive. However, Rodgers put a pass too high, and it was intercepted with only 40 seconds left in the game. The booth reviewed the call, but anyone with eyes could see that it was a spectacular interception of a poorly-thrown ball.

Jacksonville took their victory knee, sealing the Packers’ fate. There will be no appearance in the playoffs for the Packers. This game was as much of a disappointment as many others had been this season. However, some good things happened. It was the first time in a while that I had seen the entire team come together. The offense played with passion even though they could not translate that energy into points and the defense even found it in themselves to stop the run some of the time and put pressure on Garrard.

But I can’t help but die a little inside after watching so much promise vanish in the final 15 minutes. Even though Green Bay is first in the NFL in scoring fourth quarter points, past success could not inspire victory. Maybe I should ask Santa to give the Packers some fourth quarter courage. With the outcome of Sunday’s game, it really looks like they need it.

by Ryan Russell

After watching the latest press conference with Green Bay Packers head coach, Mike McCarthy, I have concluded that Brett Farve is, in fact, a gigantic tool (as many of the more intelligent NFL analysts have suggested).

Perhaps it’s because I have always thought that Brett Favre was vastly overrated, but I agree with both the decisions made & positions taken by McCarthy, Murphy, and the Packers organization in light of the drama that has unfolded.

Figuring out who the “asshole” is in this situation depends solely on what you believe. Did Favre decide to retire only to change his mind a few months later, or did he plan this entire clusterf#$k from the beginning? If you believe the latter, that his “retirement” press conference was a tear-soaked hoax designed to either relieve him of any offseason duties or simply to gather as much as much attention as humanly possible, then you must agree that Brett is the asshole.

Watch this clip from his appearance on Letterman on April 24th, less than 60 days after he cried like a bitch and declared his retirement (for the supposed last time).

It seems to me that whether or not he knew in March that he wanted to return, he most definitely knew in April. He waited to apply for reinstatement until late July because he is a self-centered dick, and he didn’t want to go to mini camp. Mike McCarthy is a standup guy, who treats all of his players the same. Brett Farve thinks he is better than everyone else and “owed” something from his team, as well as his teammates. I can only imagine how pissed off Brett had to be when McCarthy came to town and started treating him like he was a football player, instead of a living legend.

It is my estimation that Brett tried to manipulate the Packers into giving him what he wanted: special treatment. Favre seems to have expected all along than when he got older, he would be allowed the type of leniency that was awarded to Nolan Ryan or fat-cheater-douche Roger Clemens. When it was made clear that the Packers, in an effort to perhaps WIN again, would not allow any “I’s” in their “team”, I believe that Favre tried to rig the system and trick the organization into giving him his way.

If this is true, and Farve screwed with the heads of the players, coaches, and fans for his own selfish self interest, than it should not be forgiven OR forgotten. He should be remembered as the big-game losing, not-as-smart-as-he-thinks-he-is TWAT whose fame and recognition are based on little to nothing.

Obviously, he was a pretty good quarterback at one point. He did win 3 MVP awards from ‘95-’97, and he did win A Superbowl. But he only won one Superbowl. Trent Dilfer won one, too.

He also holds the league record for career passing yards and completions, but those records seem somewhat insignificant considering he also holds the record for the most pass attempts, as well as interceptions (288 to date). It seems like simple logic to assume that WHOEVER has the most pass attempts, will also have the most completions AND interceptions. If Favre had those “positive” passing records without the “negative” ones, I could forgive his arrogance. Similarly, if he had a handful of Championship rings, i think he could get away with some of his horse-shit. Unfortunately, neither of these situations are the case.

He did win 13 games last year, something he hasn’t done in over a decade. He also threw for 4,155 yards, ending his season with an impressive 95.7 QB rating after connecting on 66.5 percent of his passes. Not to shabby, considering that he hadn’t produced as many passing yards since the 1998 season and had not earned a higher QB rating since 1996. In addition, his completion percentage last year was his career best. Seriously.

This information ultimately poses the question: is Brett Favre getting better (despite years of gradual decline), or is Mike McCarthy an intelligent and successfull head coach whose rules about team unity (and equality) should not be fucked with?