Zero2Cool
14 years ago
At season's halfway point, Green Bay Packers more upbeat than same time last year 

A year ago, the Green Bay Packers were sitting at the .500 mark halfway through their regular-season schedule and were coming off one of the worst losses of coach Mike McCarthys tenure, falling at previously winless Tampa Bay.

The next day, Packers President Mark Murphy publicly expressed disappointment in the way the first half of the season went and put the onus on McCarthy and General Manager Ted Thompson to turn things around.

Theyre only one game better at the midway point of this season, but after Sundays 9-0 road victory at the New York Jets and given the circumstances surrounding this season, theres a different feeling around Lambeau Field.

McCarthy was unusually jovial in his Monday news conference and while Murphy declined to discuss the season, saying through a team spokesman that he preferred to leave that to the general manager, Thompson praised McCarthy and his staff for weathering a wave of injuries yet still keeping the teams championship hopes alive.

I think hes (held the team together) the way hes always done it, Thompson said. I think the coaching staff does a great job of being focused on whats next, and they have a good eye for the big picture. But in the NFL, youve got to get ready for the next play. Thats what we do. Thats what they do a great job of, and I think thats what the players do.

At 5-3, the Packers have a half-game lead over Chicago (4-3) in the NFC North and are tied with New Orleans for the fourth-best record in the NFC behind Atlanta, Tampa Bay and the New York Giants (all tied at 5-2). Halfway through last season, the Packers were tied for the eighth-best record in the NFC.

Last season, McCarthy said he rallied the team to an 11-5 finish and a wild-card playoff berth by sticking to his principles and staying consistent with his approach. That had to be especially challenging this season after losing 10 players, including five starters, to season-ending injuries.

Thompson has had to shuffle the roster, while McCarthy and his assistants have had to spend more time teaching schemes to new players, something normally reserved for training camp. Last week alone, Thompson acquired four new players two off waivers and two off the street. All but one played against the Jets. Defensive lineman Howard Green played nearly half the snaps, and linebacker Erik Walden played on some key third down snaps.

Between the final roster cuts on Sept. 4 and the eighth game, Thompson and his personnel staff have been busy. They have signed five street free agents, promoted two players from the practice squad, claimed two off waivers and made one trade. Through eight games last season, they had signed three free agents and promoted one from the practice squad.

Youre always doing the work and preparing, and (scouts) Reggie (McKenzie) and Eliot (Wolf) and Tim (Terry) and those guys do a great job, Thompson said, Theyre always comparing lists and scenarios and things like that. Its rare that we have to go through so many different scenarios, but its part of the process.

If the make-or-break point of last season came following the loss to the Buccaneers, perhaps this year it came after the consecutive overtime losses at Washington on Oct. 10 and home against Miami seven days later. Since then, the Packers have come up with masterful defensive performances to beat Minnesota with a stop on the Vikings final drive and shut out the Jets, who came into the game tied for the best record in the NFL. Almost no one in the state press or national media picked the Packers to win in New York.

We appreciate the negative stories, so if you can keep that up, thats always helpful, McCarthy said with a smile. Its all part of our business. Its important to stack successes. The hardest thing to handle in my opinion in the NFL is handling success, and by no means do I think winning two games is a success. But its definitely in the right direction, and that will be part of our language this week when we get together as a football team.

Much like his even-keeled general manager, McCarthy didnt spend much time being introspective on Monday. Theres one more game, Sunday night at home against the struggling Dallas Cowboys, before the much-anticipated bye week. Theyre not going to get the 10 players on injured reserve back this season, but the bye should allow some ailing players to heal for the stretch run.

There are things to fix, too, during the bye. Priority number one likely will be figuring out whats holding back what was expected to be an explosive offense.

Weve been fighting through a tough spot, McCarthy said. To go on the road into New York, very pleased with particularly our defense and our special teams. Its definitely something we can build on. Our approach moving forward is its a seven-day season.


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Fan Shout
beast (1h) : Rip the Packers and getting the fans yelling and booing him
beast (1h) : Super competitive Bears fan and WWE "superstar" wrestler, Seth Rollins is supposed to announce a Bears pick and absolutely rip Packers
packerfanoutwest (14h) : Golden
beast (15h) : I want DT Derrick Harmon, Oregon
Mucky Tundra (16h) : And I can't be looking at my phone
Mucky Tundra (16h) : Hey I'm at work lol
Zero2Cool (17h) : btw, new site chat won't delete auto like
Zero2Cool (17h) : because everyone left like wimps
TheKanataThrilla (17h) : I am wondering if there is some type of autoclear when there isn't activity after a certain amount of time.
Mucky Tundra (18h) : What happened in the chat? Me and Zero posted a few things earlier and they're all gone
dfosterf (18h) : 10-15 min bs plus flyover
dfosterf (18h) : Yes
Zero2Cool (18h) : 7pm is when this kicks off????
buckeyepackfan (18h) : I told him. IT'S VONTE MACK , no matter what!
buckeyepackfan (18h) : He asked me who I thought The Browns were taking.
buckeyepackfan (18h) : 2. Would of had to wear Browns gear all week. NOPE I'll watch from my living room.
buckeyepackfan (18h) : He wanted to know if I would go. 2 things, would have had to fly from Detroit to Green Bay. Nope
buckeyepackfan (18h) : All expense paid trip to the draft. He will be in the Browns section. I told him to say hi to J-10VE for me 😃😃i
buckeyepackfan (19h) : For a call from my nephew, he won an sllexp
TheKanataThrilla (24-Apr) : Hope to see everyone in the Chat tonight!!! Go Pack Go!!!
TheKanataThrilla (24-Apr) : Jeanty would be a great pick-up for the Bears. I see Warren mocked to them as well who I think would be a great selection.
Zero2Cool (24-Apr) : GameDay Chat is open. Posting bits an tids in there.
Zero2Cool (24-Apr) : Excellent Source: The Bears have a deal in place to move up to 5 if Jeanty is there.
Zero2Cool (24-Apr) : Probably not until 10pm will be making pick
dfosterf (24-Apr) : But it is still not tonight. Lol
wpr (24-Apr) : Today is finally here.
dfosterf (24-Apr) : I should have put it in quotes
dfosterf (24-Apr) : It is the title of a you tube video.
dfosterf (24-Apr) : I'm not assuming anything
beast (24-Apr) : If they aren't doing it, then why are you assuming they know how to do it?
dfosterf (23-Apr) : Mackelvie
dfosterf (23-Apr) : Michael Macelvie- NFL teams know how to draft- Why don"t they?
dfosterf (23-Apr) : Youtube
Zero2Cool (23-Apr) : Packers were not selected for the 2025 Hall of Fame game.
dfosterf (23-Apr) : PFOW Out of our division would be a good thing imo
Zero2Cool (23-Apr) : Jameson Williams is done at 24 years old? What? He's a WR, not QB. I'm missing something here haha
wpr (23-Apr) : Tomorrow is almost here.
packerfanoutwest (23-Apr) : would you want him if Pack needed a back up qb?
packerfanoutwest (23-Apr) : JW is done......stick a fork in him
Zero2Cool (23-Apr) : You should. He goes to AFC that helps Packers.
packerfanoutwest (23-Apr) : don't care
Zero2Cool (22-Apr) : Lions shopping Jameson Williams?
packerfanoutwest (22-Apr) : Packers General Manager Brian Gutekunst says Green Bay’s roster can win, even without adding anyone in the draft.
Zero2Cool (22-Apr) : It's a poor design. New site has SignalR like our gameday chat
wpr (22-Apr) : Ah today's Shout was very quick to post.
wpr (22-Apr) : now 3
Zero2Cool (22-Apr) : Who? What?
beast (22-Apr) : What is he supposed to say? He doesn't want players currently on the team?
Martha Careful (21-Apr) : meh
Zero2Cool (21-Apr) : Sounds like Walker and Wyatt will be with Packers for beyond 2026
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