Tim_VanVooren's Blog

Packers coach Mike McCarthy drew tremendous applause when he stepped to the microphone during the team's shareholders meeting at Lambeau Field Thursday.  The coach rarely addresses this group, but then again, a coach rarely has had to deal with an offseason like McCarthy's.  This is a guy who had made his name in the NFL by coaching quarterbacks and especially young quarterbacks.  He calls the plays in his offense, he designs most of the plays and formations.  So he designs an attack for Aaron Rodgers to run, all the while wondering if Brett Favre was unretire or not.  That situation mushroomed into something that is the lead story on sportscasts locally and nationally day after day.  When most coaches were getting what ever kind of time off an NFL coach can get, McCarthy was dealing with an ever-escalating problem.  Mike McCarthy was seen by many as the league's coach of the year in 2007 and there is no doubt in my mind that he deserved that recognition.  But he'll show even more this season if he is able to be on top of his game late in the season.  Will he have anything left in his tank when it matters most ?  If so, the Packers will be able to separate themselves from the messy Favre saga of late July.  If not, the saying that what happens in the offseason dictates what happens in the regular season will never have been more correct.