Packers don't play fear card by shuffling roster

[Cheesedog]

Packers don't play fear card by shuffling roster

Accountability and availability are near the top of Mike McCarthy's team-building necessities. Presumably, Ted Thompson is in full agreement.Yet, the Green Bay Packers almost never make players that fail to measure up to those standards pay the ultimate price.
In the National Football League, that means being cut. Loss of employment. Out the door.
Fear of being fired drives people in every walk of life. It's a motivational technique that no longer applies in Green Bay, and the franchise is worse off for it.

When the decision was made to bring back defensive end Letroy Guion from a three-game suspension, Thompson had no one available to stash on injured reserve and clear a roster berth.
He had to cut someone, and so he cut defensive end Bruce Gaston. He is the only player to be released from the 53 since the final roster was established three months ago.

What caused Wolf to oversee a constantly revolving door in Green Bay was his thirst to upgrade the bottom three to five slots on his roster.
Some coaches scream bloody murder about newcomers not knowing the system and the teaching time required to catch them up. That argument always fell on deaf ears with Wolf, who benefited from a coaching staff led by Mike Holmgren that went along with a degree of upheaval.
"If you're a better player you're a better player, and the team will benefit from that," Wolf said this week. "Now if they came in and they had a learning deficiency or a learning disability, they were jettisoned. They're no different than anybody else.
"Obviously, there were some guys we had evaluated improperly that weren't good enough. We brought them in and saw that. Probably a lot of guys in that category.
"But at least we knew. We also knew the player we were letting go couldn't play for us anymore so why compound the issue? To me, it's very simple. You try to get better."

Interesting article.. Kind of a "hey it's a slow news day what else is there to write about" piece. But he brings up some valid points.

 

[realitybytes]

i thought it was a great piece and i think the packers could use a little bit of that kind of fear right now. the team is exhibiting obvious signs of complacency.

 

[Frozen Tundra]

That's a great article, and very revealing. It's always been pretty clear that the the players aren't afraid of the coach. I've wondered for many, many years just exactly what McCarthy thinks the word "accountability" means, because even though he uses it a lot, I don't think it means the same thing to him that it does to most other people.

 

[realitybytes]

... I've wondered for many, many years just exactly what McCarthy thinks the word "accountability" means, because even though he uses it a lot, I don't think it means the same thing to him that it does to most other people.

 

[GBP4EVER]

Yep no one on roster has to be scared for spot no matter how bad you screw up.

Look at the NEP the PR muffled the punt that allowed Denver to get ball back and tie the game. Next day he's cut.

Packers need to hold players accountable. But TT won't ever cut a guy of his to bring in someone in off the street. This team is stale and needs fresh thinking in the front office and coaching.

 

[Cheesedog]

Also have to look at this from the perspective of how MM approaches the season too. With this GM/HC everything is set at the beginning of the year. There is no need, or ability, to change once the season starts. Offense/Defense is too complicated for new guys to learn mid season. You go with what you have, damned the torpedoes full speed ahead.

When an NFL executive in personnel friendly with the Packers was asked Tuesday what the pro scouts did in Green Bay this time of year, he laughed and said, "They're probably working on the draft."

I don't think that was a compliment

 

[rpiotr01]

I hate playing amateur psychologist, but I think some of this goes back to TTs perspective as a former bubble type of player himself. He's very sensitive to cutting those types of guys because he remembers what it was like to be in that position. For better or worse.

 

[Budman]

Good post FT. I often see the same thing in shout where people chide the accountability of the,coaching staff and front office, instead they ask about player accountability. Are they supposed to bench themselves? Its up to the coaches to hold them accountable. This staff is lacking in that category.

 

[57packer]

OK, I'll play devil's advocate. I think the article has "some" validity but oversells this in a big way. They mention Wolf churning the roster, but that was the bottom 3-5 roster spots. How many guys did Wolf cut, in season, that were part of the 2-deep - the guys that actually make a difference.

Does anyone think that sending Lane Taylor, Kennard Backman or Anthony Mulumba packing is going to put fear in the hearts of the starters and primary back-ups who are screwing up week after week. I really don't see it. It's not like the Packers are some massive outlier in this respect. How many teams that are any good are regularly cutting top-40 roster guys during the season.

Sorry, but for me the answer lies in the off-season. Draft well and often at positions where you have weakness. Bring in some decent depth free agents to send a message. Don't just fill the last 25 spots with UDFAs.

Of course, now that the article is out, they cut Alonzo Harris and brought Crockett up from the practice squad.

 

[Budman]

Good reply 57 and very valid points. I do however that accountability can be dealt with during the season. No need to cut people in season, to get the point across but how about benching someone who's underperforming? Accountability could and should be part of the coaching staff's responsibilities during the season