Nonstopdrivel
15 years ago

Mike Vandermause column: Declarations of Green Bay Packers' 'lost' season premature 

JANUARY 2, 2010

The insults were flying, and the bulls-eye was painted on my back.

Fool. Stupid. Media hack. Wimp. Jerk. Pathetic excuse for a journalist.

Those lively words were directed at me seven weeks ago after the sputtering Green Bay Packers slipped to 4-4 with a loss to the previously winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In the midst of fans clamoring for the dismissal of General Manager Ted Thompson and coach Mike McCarthy, I had the audacity to suggest it was too soon to give up on the Packers season.

Im not here now to take credit for predicting a Packers resurgence, or to shove an I told you so retort in someones face.

No one could have foreseen the same Packers team that looked so awful against the Buccaneers would bounce back to win six of its next seven games and qualify for the playoffs. My point back then was that similar turnarounds had taken place in the past, and the Packers at the very least deserved the chance to finish out the season before demands for mass firings were appropriate.

The criticism I received was nothing compared to what Thompson and McCarthy endured. Heres a sampling of fan sentiment from mid-November:

This reeks of 1970's and 80's terminal mediocrity, and unless this GM and head coach get removed soon, this stench will linger for a long time.

It's hard to believe this season could be salvaged. The offensive line is the worst in the league, with a possibility of being the worst of all time.

This season is lost and you can't tell me different. There is no fire in the eyes of the players because they have lost faith in the leadership.


The beauty and curse of the NFL is that so much stock is placed on the result of one game. Its good that passionate fans live and die on each win and loss, but its bad when hard and fast conclusions are drawn from any given performance.

The irrational determination after the loss to the hapless Buccaneers was that the Packers would be hard-pressed to win another game. It didnt seem logical the Packers would rebound the next week and soundly pummel a hot Dallas Cowboys team and embark on a five-game winning streak.

Even a pattern of success or failure over a series of games tempts us to draw overarching assumptions. The Packers offensive line struggled for nearly half a season and gave up sacks at an alarming rate, which led some to utter the worst line in the history of the NFL proclamation.

After the Packers allowed 503 passing yards against the Pittsburgh Steelers Ben Roethlisberger two weeks ago, the natural reaction was to believe the secondary wont stand a chance against a top-flight quarterback in the playoffs.

Yes, the Packers cornerback depth is thin, and yes, the potential for trouble exists against the likes of Kurt Warner, Drew Brees or Brett Favre. But one bad game of pass defense against the Steelers doesnt mean theres an ironclad certainty it will happen again.

There are few guarantees in this league, except the knowledge that frustrated fans will sound off after agonizing defeats like the Tampa Bay game:

The Packers will finish 5-11 or 6-10. Any Packer fan that thinks otherwise is either brain dead or in serious denial.


And so it goes in the NFL, where the question what have you done for me lately? is constantly being asked.

Mike Vandermause is sports editor of the Press-Gazette.


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zombieslayer
15 years ago

It's hard to believe this season could be salvaged. The offensive line is the worst in the league, with a possibility of being the worst of all time.



OK. This statement was made at a time when it was true. Rodgers was on pace to break the most times sacked in a season record.

Now, I do believe that the people who kept the faith have every right to say "I told you so." I also believe that at the moment when we lost to the Bucs, the doomsayers had some facts to back them up.

I'm very thankful this season turned around. It was getting really ugly at more than one point.

When we almost shut out the Cows, that really turned morale around. The Cows are a playoff team and at the time, they were somewhat hot. I was stoked after that game and regained hope.

As for Big Ben getting 503 yards, I put more of the blame on Capers going soft, something we cannot do in the Playoffs. I'm advocating someone breaking into his office and ripping out all the mentions of a 3-man rush from his playbook.
My man Donald Driver
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(thanks to Pack93z for the pic)
2010 will be seen as the beginning of the new Packers dynasty. šŸ‡¹šŸ‡¹ šŸ‡²šŸ‡² šŸ‡¦šŸ‡·
Since69
15 years ago
Touch, Mike...
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porky88
15 years ago
I think everyone was getting impatient.
djcubez
15 years ago
The most interesting part of our 7-1 win streak to me is that the one game we lost was by 1 point on a miraculous and unbelievable final play. 1 point.
Nonstopdrivel
15 years ago
If 11-5 and a playoff appearance is terminal mediocrity, my God, give it to me again next year.
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Wade
  • Wade
  • Veteran Member
15 years ago

If 11-5 and a playoff appearance is terminal mediocrity, my God, give it to me again next year.

"Nonstopdrivel" wrote:



even if the team goes one-and-out both this year and next year?

:)
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Romans 12:2 (NKJV)
djcubez
15 years ago

This reeks of 1970's and 80's terminal mediocrity, and unless this GM and head coach get removed soon, this stench will linger for a long time.

I think that is still pretty accurate. I would add that Vanderschmander also reeks of the 70's and 80's WI sports reporters who fueled the terminal mediocrity with their fluff pieces. "All is well!" "Just wait til next year!"

The fact is that the Pack has had a pretty easy schedule, have beaten just one decent team this year (Dallas, and that's even arguable), and lost to some teams that they should have walked over.

That said, this really is a pretty good team, but I still have no confidence in the un-jerseyed leadership. Just as Mike McCarthy and Capers found a way to lose to Pittsburgh, so will they find a way out early from the playoffs. I hope I'm wrong but I suspect we'll all be here gnashing our teeth in a week, maybe two.

"I-Love-Zero" wrote:


How wonderfully pessimistic.

I agree we may have had an "easy" schedule to a point but a 7-1 streak going into the playoffs is nothing to sneeze at. Especially when our one loss was against the previous super bowl champs and it took them one hell of a play in the final seconds to win by one point.
RaiderPride
15 years ago
I-Love-Zero

Your Thinking Is Stinking.

Try to look at things from a positive aspect. List 10 things you like about Green Bay then say them over and over again tonight until you fall asleep.

Tomorrow you will wake up and realize you had the best sleep in a year.
""People Will Probably Never Remember What You Said, And May Never Remember What You Did. However, People Will Always Remember How You Made Them Feel."
nerdmann
15 years ago
Let's be real. The Packers Oline really really sucked, as it always seems to for the first 10 games of the season under MM.
But that's not all that happened to disillusion fans, such as myself. Ted Thompson and MM let Favre shove shit in our faces TWICE. After all the support we gave to the team and all the bullshit we endured with the F'd up way they handled the situation, we deserved better.
Hell, we still do. I hope and pray for another shot at Favre. (And don't think we can't beat them, because if we play them, we will win. MARK IT DOWN!)
ā€œWinning is not a sometime thing, it is an all the time thing. You don't do things right once in a while…you do them right all the time.ā€
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dfosterf (25-Jul) : Maybe a low flying drone
dfosterf (25-Jul) : Did Savion Williams run into a goalpost or something?
Mucky Tundra (25-Jul) : also, no bueno when a guy starts getting concussions right off the bat in his career
Zero2Cool (25-Jul) : Concussion is worse. Banks probably vet off day via back booboo claim
Mucky Tundra (25-Jul) : @AndyHermanNFL Jordy Nelson out at camp today. No word if he’s in play for one of the two open roster spots ; )
dfosterf (25-Jul) : Is that better or worse than Banks bad back?
Zero2Cool (25-Jul) : Savion concussion ... not good.
packerfanoutwest (24-Jul) : Aaron Rodgers’s first pass of first team period was picked off
Mucky Tundra (24-Jul) : tbh I didn't hear of his passing
Zero2Cool (24-Jul) : Cosby Show. Malcom Jamal Warner I think is real name
Mucky Tundra (24-Jul) : I was thinking of Ozzy and Hulk
Mucky Tundra (24-Jul) : Who's Theo?
Zero2Cool (24-Jul) : How is Theo alliteration?
Mucky Tundra (24-Jul) : Bad week for people whose names are alliterations
Zero2Cool (24-Jul) : Hulk Hogan gone too.
Zero2Cool (24-Jul) : Oh, it's toe injury
Zero2Cool (24-Jul) : Hope it's not serious. that would stink
dfosterf (24-Jul) : Sounds like an ankle not a knee for Fields
dfosterf (24-Jul) : Ya Flaccp on Browns
Zero2Cool (24-Jul) : Maybe Tyrod Taylor instead
Zero2Cool (24-Jul) : He's on Browns, right?
dfosterf (24-Jul) : They would probably go with Flacco is my guess if Fields out
dfosterf (24-Jul) : Fleece 'em again!
Zero2Cool (24-Jul) : Malik Willis might be someone Jets come after
packerfanoutwest (24-Jul) : Packers introduce 1923-inspired classic uniform, leather-look helmet
Zero2Cool (23-Jul) : Both LB Quay Walker and Rookie DB Micah Robinson have passed their physicals
Zero2Cool (23-Jul) : Happy to see site feels more snappy snappy
Zero2Cool (23-Jul) : No sir. I did not.
dfosterf (23-Jul) : You didn't get free childcare when you were at work?
wpr (23-Jul) : These guys make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. Pay for their own childcare.
dfosterf (23-Jul) : 2nd issue. Number 1 issue was no gameday childcare. 1 of 3 teams not providing it
Zero2Cool (23-Jul) : Suppose if locker room is main issue, we sitting pretty
wpr (23-Jul) : I thought so Mucky. In those useless player polls GB always rates high overall. Locker is a part of it.
Mucky Tundra (23-Jul) : Wasn't the locker room just updated like 6 or 7 years ago?
Zero2Cool (23-Jul) : I have forum updated on different site. We'll see how this one goes before going to that
Zero2Cool (23-Jul) : Elgton Jenkins has a back injury, is expect to end contract dispute
wpr (23-Jul) : It's funny the PA complained about the locker room. It wasn't that long ago it was top shelf. Things change in a hurry.
wpr (23-Jul) : The site is much more better.
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