In my last column I addressed the issue of coaches in sports and how they really make the difference with the success of a team. Within that idea, I would like to clarify that I am not saying coaches are the single determining factor of a championship team, but they are a necessary component for a title contender. It is for that reason that I have no choice but to rule out my beloved boys from Green Bay of any sort of contention for the 2003 Super Bowl and maybe even the playoffs.
It was sickening for any Green Bay fan to watch Sunday's contest against the lowly Arizona Cardinals. Frankly, the game was so entirely irritating that Brett Favre's intercepted pass at the end was something I not only anticipated but also hoped would happen.
What? How could I hope for Favre's ill play?
Well, to put it simply, I wanted Favre to throw that interception in order to back my point that it is not just Favre's errant throws, but mainly the ridiculous play calling of the coaching staff that is leading to Favre's awful play and that of the entire team.
Mike Sherman, for the past four years, has single-handedly brought the Green Bay franchise down from one of the game's elite to just plain mediocre.
Although Sherman finally decided not to run the stinkin' draw play on third and long, his offense has not gotten any better. Sherman's offense consists of running the counterplay on first down and then having Favre throw a short route to either the running back or tight end and asking them to work their way for a first down. That's it, it's that simple. Anyone can stop it and that's what Arizona proved.
Even from playing video games you know not to run the same plays over and over again against your opponent, or they will figure it out and stop you.
Week in and week out for the past two years, the play calling has been atrocious. No imagination, no creativity and plain and simple, no risks.
You have Brett Favre, one the league's best arms, in addition to a solid core of young, fast wide receivers that need touches in order to make plays. How is this a difficult offense to lead then? Why is it we can't muster any sort of consistency offensively or defensively?
It's really not on the shoulders of Favre, Ahman Green or Donald Driver. It's on the shoulders of the coaches. These guys cannot expect to put up numbers when everyone opposing them knows what is coming.
