McCarthy The right coach at the right time

McCarthy The right coach at the right time

If history has taught us anything it's taught us that timing is everything. In the case of a small blue collar city in the midwest and a blue collar guy from the steal city of Pittsburg this was a marriage made in heaven. Coach Mike McCarthy of the super bowl champion's Green Bay Packers has turn out to be a perfect fit as the leader of this story franchise from Green Bay Wisconsin. McCarthy has brought a no nonsense hard working approach to playing the game of NFL football back to a city that expect's nothing less from it's team.

In a time when money and ego's has gotten in the way of how football is played on the field, this coach has found a way to instill a team first concept with this talented bunch of players. You only need to listen to his pre and post game interviews to gain a sense of the value he puts on team. He talks of how we prepare as a team, " it's about what we do as a team " not what the other team is going to do. Like their coach, McCarthy's team has brought into his way of thinking that if you out work your opponent leaving no stone unturned in preparation there is nothing your opponent can throw at your team you won't have an answer for.

Now by no means does this mean Green Bay can't be beaten, however it does mean it will take a huge effort to get the job done at their home or on the road. Another way in knowing Mike McCarthy was in the right place at the right time, was the arrival of now all world quarterback Aaron Rodgers to his young team in 2005. With hall of frame quarterback Brett Favre still on the roster and playing at a pro bowl pace, McCarthy was given the time it took to develop this raw but talented QB into the player we see today. Being in the right place at the right time is all about luck, but knowing how to handle that luck take's a lot of hard work and a believe's you can get a team to see you have what it take's to get the job done.

You only have to look at McCarthy's first 5 seasons in Green Bay ( one losing season, 3 playoff appearances, 2 NFC finals, and a super bowl win ) to know that GM Ted Thompson did his homework in bringing this blue collar coach to this blue collar city at the right time to lead this team. Thompson knew there were changes coming to the city of Green Bay and it's beloved Packer team, and knew he needed the right coach with thick skin in place to handle the fallout. I don't know if it was just dumb luck or some kind of Devine intervention, but for fans of the Green Bay Packers Mike McCarthy has turn out to be the right coach, at the right time, for their team in the tiny blue collar city of Green Bay Wisconsin.

Brought to by: AJ Jones from Cambridge
"Let's Talk Football" Visit- www.ajstakeontheNFL.blogspot.com

Aaron Rodgers Has The Three C's To Be A Great Quarterback.

Aaron Rodgers Has The Three C's To Be A Great Quarterback.
( Confident, Cockiness and Coolness under pressure )

Just when we through it could't get any better, Green Bay's super bowl MVP, championship belt wearing star quarterback Aaron Rodgers is showing teams around the NFL his 2010 drive to the super bowl was just a sample of things to come. Rodgers has started the 2011 season as hard as it might seem to believe even better than last season's remarkable march to the super bowl. Aaron has shown in the first quarter of the season, there's another gear to his game and has shifted it to the next level. In my opinion a QB needs the three C's ( confident, cockiness, and coolness under pressure ) to be an elite quarterback in the NFL.

Confident

A quarterback has to not only have confident in his-self, but also earn the confident of the GM, head coach, fans, and the players he's trying to lead. Rodgers has shown everyone inside and outside of the organization from day one confident was one thing he was not lacking. Call it rookie arrogance or letting anger of having to sit and wait while 22 other rookies were drafted before him in the 2005 draft get the best of him. Aaron spoke with a clam confident when interview after being drafted that he would make all the teams that past on him regret their decision.

Cockiness

I don't think you can be a great player in any sport let alone an elite quarterback in the NFL without having some kind of cockiness attacked to your personality. The great one's had it, Joe Montana had it,as did Troy Aikman, and Dan Marino showed that cockiness of an elite QB day one he step on an NFL field. Aaron Rodgers has that cockiness that it's takes to be great. He walks with that swagger that tell's his opponents, I'm good, you know it, now try to stop me. Cockiness without performance mean nothing in sports, in the early stages of his NFL career his performance has live up to his cockiness.

Coolness under pressure

To be a great quarterback in the NFL a quarterback has to have that coolness under pressure. That ability to slow a game down, know where he is in a game, and what it will take to win that game. From the first minute GM Ted Thompson and coach Mike McCarthy informed Rodgers he would be replacing Packer's icon Brett Favre as their starting quarterback, it seem as if Rodgers had a coolness and calmness about himself that he was indeed ready to take on the task at hand. Even after facing the distain from fans and media when Favre out of the blue decided he wanted to end his brief retirement and get his old job back; when his GM an Coach had Handel it the only way they could by telling Favre he had to compete ( wink wink to get his job back, it was never going to happen ) show a coolness under pressure that had to make playing in an NFL game seem easy.

While it is way to early to put an hall of frame tag on Rodgers, it's very easy to see he has the three C's to get him there. his first three and a quarter season's as Green Bay's starting QB has been nothing short of remarkable knowing all he had to endure to get to where his is. The only thing I can tell fans on NFL football is don't blink, because we are seeing something special.

Brought to by: AJ Jones from Cambridge
"Let's Talk Football" Visit- www.ajstakeontheNFL.blogspot.com

Thank you # 4

Thank you # 4

I would like to personally thank Brett Favre for helping to change the face of a somewhat dead NFL franchise in Green Bay Wis. I have been a die hard Packer fan for almost fifty years, I've seen my team at the top of the football world in the 60's ( winning the first two super bowls played ) to being one of the biggest jokes in the NFL in the 70's & 80's. Then Green Bay decided it was time to rejoin the NFL, so they went outside the box and hired a football man in Ron Wolf.
Wolf's first point of business was to find a head coach with a winning background, so in walks Mike Holmgrem an unproven head coach but off a San Francisco 49ers staff that dominated the NFL in the 80's.

The only piece missing that might restore the Packers back to greatness was a franchise quarterback. When Ron Wolf decided to give up a first round draft pick to go the end of the Atlanta Falcons bench to acquire a QB who's name couldn't be pronounce properly; it had all Packer nation believing here we go again. ( That was the beginning of the in Ron we trust era ) From the first minuet # 4 hit the field in 1992 against the Cincinnati Bengals to his last game against the New York Giants in the 2007 NFC championship, # 4 bought pride and relevance's back to the State of Wisconsin and a tiny NFL city of Green Bay.

Thank you # 4 for two super bowl appearances, a super bowl win and the fact of knowing every time you took the field we had a chance to win. You were the true meaning of what an elite quarterback is.
So on behalf of myself and hopefully millions Packers fans everywhere I say thank you # 4 for putting our team on your back and giving us some of the greatest football played in NFL history. Without you coming to Green Bay and helping to bring back championship caliber football to our franchise, we would not be the team we are today. # 4 you will always and forever be a Green Bay Packer in my heart and mind.

Thank you Brett Favre for 16 wonderful season.

Brought to by: AJ Jones from Cambridge
"Let's Talk Football" Visit- www.ajstakeontheNFL.blogspot.com

Can the NFC west really be this bad?

Can the NFC west really be this bad?
( yes it can )

With the NFC west already eliminated from super bowl contention, the only question that need's to be answer is which team will be the sacrificial lamb in this year's playoff. As hard as I find it to believe the NFL west division may be worst than is was last season. The only thing NFC west fans can be assured of is that by NFL rules one of their teams has to go to the playoff. Last season's preseason favorite San Francisco 49ers has a new coach ( Jim Harbaugh, ) no quarterback and no chance at all winning this bad division.

The Seattle Seahawks last season division winner with a 7&9 record, ( first time in NFL history that a team made the playoff with a losing record ) let their leader of ten seasons quarterback Matt Hasselback go to the Tennessee Titans to help tutor Titans first round draft pick Jake Locker. Than to make matters worst the Seahawks acquire Tarvaris Jackson of the Minnesota Vikings. The Vikings through so much of this quarterback that they sent three players to kil Mississippi to talk Brett Favre off his tractor out of retirement with a bad ankle. The Seahawks will need a lot of luck to win three games.

The Arizona Cardinals made a big move in the division by signing Kevin Kolb the displaced quarterback of the Philadelphia Eagles to a free agent contract. But with only a hand full of starts on his resume, the Cardinals are taking a huge leap of faith that all this hype of Kolb is real and not just fool goal. The Cardinals will be better than they were last season, however they won't see a 500 record or the playoff.

That leave's the ST Louis Rams the best team in a pretty bad division. With second year quarterback Sam Bradford looking to take another step forward after a very good rookies season. The Rams clearly have the best team in the NFC west, however they may be the next team in the west to win the division with a sub 500 record. The Rams have a nice young team, with a young quarterback you can built around, but the key word is young. The Rams will need to feed on their own division to have any chance of reaching 8&8 this season.

If there's a silver lining the NFC west can look forward to, is the fact of knowing the sweepstakes winner for Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck will be coming out of it's division.

Brought to by: AJ Jones from Cambridge
"Let's Talk Football" Visit- www.ajstakeontheNFL.blogspot.com

When the body says " time's up "

When the body says " time's up "

As Colts fans wait and hope with all their mind power that their hall of fame quarterback can come back from a second neck surgery in 15 months, it has me wondering how hard it must be for a player to listen to their body when it's says it's time to go home. Payton Manning is going to go down as one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game of NFL football, but now in the twilight of his career his body is telling him it's time I don't think I can do this anymore.

As we have seen with other great great player in the NFL knowing when to listen to your body can be a hard thing to do. I remember watching Joe Namath and Johnny Unitas at the end of their careers barely able to walk as their body's had been telling them for years to hang it up. On the other side of the coin I watched Troy Aikman, Steve Young, and Sterling Sharpe listen to their body's and as hard as it was walked away from the game they loved.

The game of NFL football and the Indianapolis Colts need Manning to come back and play at the high level we have come to expect from him. My only hope is that his mind is not cashing a check his body can't handle. If there's a lesson to be learn from this listening to your body, you need go back to Brett Favre last season in Minnesota.

Brought to by: AJ Jones from Cambridge
"Let's Talk Football" Visit- www.ajstakeontheNFL.blogspot.com

The Minnesota Vikings are going to pay a huge price for the Favre factor ride.

The Minnesota Vikings are going to pay a huge price for the Favre factor ride.

How much is a chance to play in the Super Bowl worth and is getting to the door of the big game a good price to pay if it could mean years of rebuilding? Well the answer to that question will play itself out over the next few seasons in Minnesota. With a chance to get what they believed to be that missing piece for their first ever Super Bowl Championship, the Vikings decided to take a ride on the Brett Favre marry-go-round. It's not til an amusement ride is over that you fill the full affect that it might have on you and in this case your team. Now that the ride call the Favre factor is over we can now take a look back and see if it was worth getting on.

This ride didn't cost the Viking draft picks or players, but It just may have cost them any chance of being playoff relevant in the tough NFC north in the foreseeable future. The Favre factor wasn't a total dud of a ride, it was possibly one errant pass away from taking them to the place they wanted to go when they got on. And as that saying go's, close is for horseshoes and hand grenade it has become pretty obvious this ride was not worth the price of admission. Brad Childress like a few other NFL coaches before him ( Mike Sherman, Ray Rhodes, and Eric Mangini ) found the price of this ride was their jobs.

I don't know if former Green Bay Packer head coach Mike Holmgrem saw he had road this ride as far as he could and decided to get off before it took him to a place of no return; or power was his real reason for walking away from what looked to be a great marriage. Sorry I'm a Packer fan, don't know if I'm taking a shot at Holmgrem or Favre. The Vikings may not have paid a huge price to get on the Favre factor, however the price they look as if they might pay now that it's over may have Vikings fans sick to their stomachs for some seasons to come.

Brought to by: AJ Jones from Cambridge
"Let's Talk Football" Visit- www.ajstakeontheNFL.blogspot.com

Has Andy Reid tied his-self to the right guy?

Has Andy Reid tied his-self to the right guy?
( Is Mike Vick a Super Bowl QB? )

The Minnesota Vikings did it, the Washington Redskins did it, and now Andy Reid and the Philadelphia Eagles are doing it. It cost Brad Childress his job, it cost Mike Shanahan a ton of respect, and now it has put Eagle's coach Andy Reid in the unenvious position of having a very big part of his coaching legacy tied to a quarterback choice. Brad Childress tied his-self to two time Super Bowl quarterback Brett Favre. The Vikings got one year of production out of Brett ( just missed going to a Super Bowl ) then went to the well one to many times with Brett and Childress go's down with his quarterback.

You might think Mike Shanahan would get a pass ( because of his two Super Bowl wins with John Elway ) but I say not so fast. Shanahan was in a prime position to veto a trade for Donavan Mcnabb, but signed off on the trade and tied his-self to Mcnabb. The 2010 season turn out to be a total nightmare for not only the Redskins, but maybe one of the most embarrassing moments in Mcnabb's great football career. His coach not only called him lazy, but also dumb. One would think before this trade would be made coach and his quarterback should have sat down and talk about the offense his new QB was going to run. And if this was all Owner Dan Syner's idea to bring in Mcnabb, than Mike Shanahan is not as smart as people think he is.

Now in my opinion Eagles coach Andy Reid has the biggest and brightest spotlight on him in this coach-quarterback situation, because of the way it came to be. I mention the Redskins in this blog because it was Andy Reid who traded Mcnabb to Washington to make room for his quarterback of the future Kevin Kolb. After trading Mcnabb coach Reid came out and all but gave the starting quarterback job to Klob knowing he had Mike Vick on his roster. There was no talk of a battle at the QB position to see who the starting quarterback would be. Andy Reid tied his-self to Kevin Klob though-out the hold off season and training camp and even the preseason football games. Now bad things happen to good guys, for Kevin Klobit was the Green Bay Packers. One hit by Packer's pro bowl linebacker Clay Matthew turn a dream of being a starting QB in the NFL for Klob, into a season of you've got to be kidding me for the young QB.

I want to state Mike Vick did nothing wrong, he was the right guy in the right place. He work his tail off to get back into the NFL and with the help of former Indianapolis Colts head coach Tony Dungy show Rodger Goodell and the Eagles he indeed had reformed himself and deserved another opportunity to play in the NFL. Mike Vick had a great season in 2010 ( made the pro bowl ) but this is about a coach tiring his-self to the right quarterback for his team. I'm not in Andy Reid head, but you have to wonder how a guy go's from being his QB of the future to trade bait that a minimum of 5 teams in the league wants as their guy. I can't figure out how a team can invest a second round draft pick for a pretty highly touted college QB, groom him for three years give him the keys to the car and than take them away after one game.

Coach Andy Reid has put his-self in a tough position, this quarterback-coach situation has to have a happy ending. Because with the immanence departure of Kevin Klob and his tie-ing his-self to Mike Vick this has to work. If Kevin Klob take his new team to the NFC playoffs or may I say to many playoff games over the next few seasons; the Reid-Vick combination needs to have at least one or two real shots at going to the Super Bowl in order to keep Eagles fans who already think Reid been there to long happy. Or Andy Reid will go down with a long list of coaches who tried theirselves to the wrong guy.

Brought to by: AJ Jones from Cambridge
"Let's Talk Football" Visit- www.ajstakeontheNFL.blogspot.com

Preparing for the future

Preparing for the future

I've been reading and listening to all the pre-draft talks about who each team should take and why. With this year's draft being highly spotlighted ( with the Players lockout and the Players Union asking draftee to stay home ) and draft picks not knowing how this could impact their lives the days and maybe months after draft day is over. I keep going back to a story I read on the ESPN Webb sight, John Clayton one of the best in the business at getting the inside scoop on what is happening in the NFL; had two opportunities to address the question of the New England Patriots drafting a young Quarterback in the early rounds of this year's draft to have him mentor behind Tom Brady and maybe one day take over.
In my opinion he missed badly on both answers to this question, first he believe's it might upset the veteran QB that a quarterback has been drafted ( IMO a horrible answer ).Given a second shot at the same question he soften his take on the subject, by saying yeah maybe it's ok but don't look for any help from the veteran QB in the mentoring of a guy who might be his replacement one day. He feels the veteran QB may be unwilling or unable to help in the development of the Quarterback who could be drafted as a look to the future for his team. He sighted the Aaron Rodgers, Brett Favre situation as a reason it might not work out. I know its has been talked about over and over again about the fact that Brett wanted nothing to do with the mentoring of his replacement.However taking a young QB by the hand and saying here let me show you how to take my job, is neither realistic or what a true team player has or needs to do to help a young Quarterback to grow into an NFL QB.

As I stated in my earlier blog sitting and watching is just as Important to a young QB's development than anything a veteran QB might say. One would hope a veteran Quarterback at the end of his career ( when ever it might be ) should want to see his team in good hands because it's not if, but when that day is going to come. We're not talking about a lot of Quarterbacks here we're talking about the Payton Manning's, Tom Brady's, or the Drew Brees's of the NFL. The hard true about this game is all careers come to an end ( by the Players choice or the team's ) and the team who most prepares for that ending will be the one who will sustain that winning edge.

Brought to by: AJ Jones from Cambridge
"Let's Talk Football" Visit- www.ajstakeontheNFL.blogspot.com

Destined For Greatness

Destined For Greatness

( Will Aaron Rodgers take that next step to NFL greatness? )

There is no such thing as a sure bet in pro football, however Aaron Rodgers just may be the closes thing to fast money as you can get. After three seasons as the starting Quarterback of the Green Bay Packers; Rodgers has gone from the guy who replace a Packer's living legend in Brett Favre, to possibly the most dangerous Quarterback in the NFL. With a strong pinpoint laser arm and feet nimble enough to someday get him an invite to appear on dancing with the stars, Rodgers has put the whole national football league on notice that he will be a force to deal with for years to come. After setting a NFL record by recording 4000 yards seasons in his first two years as a starting Quarterback and missing a third by less than a hundred yards. Rodgers did something his predecessor had not accomplished is his Hall Of Fame career ( win a Super Bowl MVP ) with his near perfect performance against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLV.

One could see how it might easy for Rodgers to get caught up in all the hype that's been coming his way, after having just reach the pentacle of any young Quarterbacks's dreams. No only playing in and winning a Super Bowl Championship, but also taking home an MVP award to boot. However as most of us who tune in and witnessed on draft day 2005, Rodgers had that look and let it be known that he would not let any of the 20 teams who passed on him in the first round ever for get they under valued his talent. So after having in my opinion a Pro Bowl coming out season in 2008, Rodgers even had Chicago Bears fans who were counting the days until # 4 Retired; believing lighting was about to strike twice in Green Bay WI.

Rodgers not only proved to all cheesehead nation but also to a lot of NFL expert na- Sayers that Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy were right to give him the keys to the car. So after what has to now look to him like a small bump in the road on draft day, and after handling a Quarterback controversy that could have turn into an all out turf war with nothing but class. Aaron Rodgers who now has one championship belt around his waist, has put his self in a position to give the fans of Green Bay something they haven't seen in the team's story history, Back to Back Hall of Fame Quarterbacks.

Brought to by: AJ Jones from Cambridge
"Let's Talk Football" Visit- www.ajstakeontheNFL.blogspot.com

Time For Healing To Start

ATime For Healing To Start

It's my hope somehow this blog reaches both; Brett Favre and the power to be in the front office of the Green Bay Packers, to let them know the time has come to put the past behind them, so the healing can begin.There's two sides to the game of Professional Football, there's the " Fun" side of the game we as Fans get to see a minimum of 20 weeks a year. The game itself, ( Td passes, Sacks, Interceptions, and the Punt and Kickoff return for touchdowns) this part of Professional Football even the casual Fan understands.Than there's, the ugly side of Professional Football, the " Business " side that even the most knowledgeable of Fans with an emotional attachment to their Team has a hard time grasping. (the hiring and firing of General Managers and Coaches, Players Contracts, Free Agency, and the very harsh reality of the " Business " side of Professional Football, when do you need to part ways with a beloved Superstar Player?

Now the Packers are not unique in this ugly side of Football ( Joe Montana, Jerry Rice and Ronnie Lott with the San Francisco 49's Emmett Smith with the Dallas Cowboys, Joe Namath with the New York Jets, and even Johnny Unitas with the Baltimore Colts). All Superstars, all Hall Of Famers, all parted ways with the Teams that made them famous. Not one of these Players wanted to leave their team's and many of their fans were very upset when the " Business " side of Football hit these Players. As a life long Green Bay Packer fan and a huge Brett Favre fan, the " Business " side of Football had a tremendous emotional effect on me.

I had mixed emotions on if the time had come to part ways with Brett; he had just missed a chance of going to a third Super Bowl. The team won 13 games, why now? We were so close! I got caught up in the " Fun " side of Football. Than I step back and look at it from a " Business " standpoint and it became clear, It Was Time! As close as they came to the Super Bowl, Brett did not fit the mode of the leader Ted Thompson or Mike McCarthy felt they needed to lead this Packer team. With this team being so young, you need a leader to lead by example ( attending mini camps, starting training camp on time, and just showing a commitment to wanting to be there) this was not the case with Brett.

This is where the " Business " side started to win me over, could see Brett still had a lot left in the tank, he was playing at a very high level in 2007. But on the other hand he was becoming a distraction to the team. We must remember 2007 was the end of the odyssey with Brett not the beginning. For 4 years leading up to the parting of the ways, all fans and the team herd from Brett was he didn't know if he wanted to play. I remember him crying at his press conference telling us he was retiring, that's when the " Business " side of Football reared it's ugly head. I knew Brett's days as a Green Bay Packer was over( very sad day ) and it was time to move on. Even when Brett wanted to un-retire, you could see Green Bay wanted no part of it.

As we have seen when Superstar Players are told it's time to move on, it's gets real personal. Fans across the State of Wisconsin had Brett's back, though he got a raw deal. There are fans who still think the Packers were 100% wrong in letting Brett go, and there's no way they will ever see past the " Fun " side of the game. I think both sides handle this situation horrendously!! Packer's management ( Ted Thompson, Mike McCarthy ) showed no real confident in their decision to move past Brett. When they entertained the idea of bringing him back, they open a door that would be very difficult to close. You don't tell a Hall A Fame Quarterback he can come back, but he will have to compete for His job. It's his job or you move on!!!

Brett show little or no professionalism in how he handle his on again off again attitude about playing ( this went on for a few years ) football. He gave you the impression the Packers needed him more than he wanted to play for his team. I like to take this time to say, I am old school when it comes to sports. Veteran Superstar Players of Brett's stature having the right to go out on their own terms when it doesn't interfere with team progress. Brett took advantage of his aments popularity and Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy lack of history with fans of Green Bay; to gather support for his thinking he had more power than they did. Brett underestimated the " Business " side of the game, you can't back your team into a corner and think there won't be repercussion.

The time has come fro Brett and Packer's management to shake hand and move forward, so he can come back to Green Bay and retire and go to the Hall Of Fame as a Green Bay Packer. Both sides in the end got what they wanted, Brett got to play in the NFC North, got his payback. Packer's management got to build the team they wanted, won the Super Bowl proving they made the right " Business " decision. The Green Bay Packers are not the first and certainly will not be the last team to part way with a Hall Of Fame Player. And as we have seen with the Players mention in this blog, they all went back to and retire with the teams that made the Hall Of Famers. It's time for the " Fun " side of Football to take over in Green Bay, and make thing right for Brett, the Packers, and most certainly for the fans who want nothing more than the healing to begin.

Www.ajstakeonthenfl.blogspot.com

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The growth of a coach

The growth of a coach

I've been a Green Bay Packer fan for over 40 years, and this is the first time in all of those years that I have been happy to be wrong about a coach. When Mike McCarthy was first hire as head coach, I like most Packers fans had no real clue who he was. I went to the 49ers media guild to find out something about this guy. I thought Ted Thompson had just lost his mind, how could he hire a guy no one heard of for this team. We had a great quarterback who's going to the hall of fame, there were other parts in place too that had me wondering, why give my team to an unknown? When coach McCarthy was introduce to us fans, you could see he had something, what, you just didn't know.

The first thing I needed to know was how would he get along with Brett, did he have the stones to coach him? We found out early he had what it took. He had no problem pointing out Brett's short comings as his quarterback, that got him off on the wrong foot with a lot of fans(me included). The bottom line, he was right and we were wrong, a coach is the head of a team, the quarterback is one of it's leader.

He had to take control of his team, and sometimes you need to start at the top. Brett had a lot of years doing things his way and it really wasn't working. Yes he won a lot of games, but he lost a lot of big games with Brett being Brett ( New York Giants, Dallas Cowboys, Chicago Bears twice in 07. I know it's not right to put a loss on one man,But all you need to do is remember with your head and not your heart and you will see I might be right. Brett will always be a hero in Green Bay and around the NFL, but his unwillingness to change and get on the same page with his coaches and team mates cost the Packers, big games.

It's became apparent very early there was a power struggle between coach and quarterback, something had to give. Now as a fan it's hard to watch a great marriage come to a end, but there was no way this was going to work without both party's parting ways. It wasn't that Brett had lost it or could not play at very high level, he just could not play for coach McCarthy. I think both Mike McCarthy and Ted Thompson wish this had ended better for Brett , the Packers, and the fans who had to sit back and watch it unfold in front of us.

Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy took a huge gamble letting Brett go after a 13&3 season and just missing a chance to play in the Super Bowl. But they knew something none of us had even thought was possible,they could make this team better. By moving past Brett they show the rest of the team they were in control of the team, and coach McCarthy would be calling the shots(good or bad from now on)Now enters the biggest piece to the puzzle Aaron Rodgers, a man in a very bad spot, he had to replace a living legend, how hard can that be?

We can't forget, Brett did say he wasn't coming back( yes I know they really did not want him back ) so they moved on with Rodgers and no one was happy. Fans calling for Ted&Mike's head on a patter, hated Aaron for just being the next man in line. Now coach had his quarterback and the team seem to be ok with it. Just as Mike Hologram&Ron Wolf tied their self's to Brett, Mike McCarthy&Ted Thompson did the same with Aaron( how can you not love that kind of leadership at the top ) made me think back to how it was before Ron&Mike got here.

Remember that old saying be careful what you wish for, you just might get it, that's exactly what happen to Mike McCarthy. He wanted his own team,that he could put his own stamp on( I know. He had players from the old regime but it was going to be his way) as we have seen in the past it all start with a quarterback who has the potential to be great. Who knew when they drafted this guy late in the first round he would be that guy. Ted did. you don't pick a QB in the first round unless you think he will start for your team one day. Mike saw Aaron had that "it factor"that it take's to win in the NFL, there's a lots of QB's with strong arms, guys with great legs, some with both, but without that "it factor" they just can't win when you need it. Aaron proved to Ted&Mike with his hard work and that big chip on shoulder that he didn't just want to play good, he wanted to be great. In hind sight sound simple, but we all know that wasn't the case.

While his quarterback had outstanding seasons in 2008&2009, Mike McCarthy's haters were everywhere. He could have been like a lot of bad coaches we have seen over the years, take everything said about him personally, cry to the press that he was being treated unfairly by them and the fans... The only thing we saw was a coach talk positively about his team and where they were going. I'll be the first one to say I had a problem with his playing calling in the red zone. But the one thing I didn't question was that this coach had the attention of his team. He had instilled in these guys he was there for one reason to win, and he would work as hard as them to get it done!

The 09 season I think help ease some of the tension between coach McCarthy and fans, not all, some fans will never get over #4 not being part of the Packer family. I though you could see a more confident coach in 2010, he knew he had a good team, and didn't care that people knew he loved his team's chances to win it all. But like with all great plans, he saw bad injury after bad hit his team, not one time did he make an excuse or ask any fans to feel sorry for his team. All he said was "next man up"( the growth of a coach) he didn't let his players off the hook by saying how hard it might be to win games without key players. What I watch this team do over the last 8 games of the season was nothing of short of remarkable. Yes I know we lost to Detroit and New England, if not for those losses they never make that run. We saw a coach grow up right before our eyes, he let the whole football world and anyone who would listen to him know he had a championship team. I know as a fan I love his grit. Through out the whole playoff run, even the Super Bowl he only talked of winning, not I think we can win, he said the only reason we're here is to win and take the Lombardi trophy home! It took a few years and some thick skin but I think we might have witness the growth of maybe one of the best coaches in football

ONLY TIME WILL TELL

Ajjones

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