I’m sure you’ve heard by now that the Packers have made some coaching changes. And by some changes, I mean the Packers have pretty much fired all but one of their defensive coaches, including Defensive Coordinator Bob Sanders. While I applaud the move, especially considering most of our losses came in the late 4th quarter because of piss-poor defensive stands, I don’t believe we’ve gone far enough. 13-3 down to 6-10 needs to result in some bold & ballsy moves. Here are my suggestions for a successful 2009 season:
- Already done – clean house in defense. Time to hire a hard arsed Defensive Coordinator who has what it takes to put a stop to the opposing team run. The saying defense wins games isn’t just a saying…
- Now would be a great opportunity to beef up our linebackers. Nick Barnett seems to be on the decline (yes I know he was injured), A J Hawk is good but needs to get way better, and Brady Poppinga is just an afterthought. Thank goodness our corners had 22 interceptions this year.
- We need to energize the fan base (and the team) though a big name acquisition in free agency. Now, I’m sure I’ll get beat down on this one because it’s a coin flip if a free agent will provide a good ROI, but I think now, more than ever, is a good time to make this move. Stay tuned for my suggestions in a future blog.
- Re-sign Greg Jennings to a long term deal. He’s coming up on a free agency year. Enough said.
- Lay it on the line with Mike McCarthy. While I appreciate our 13-3 season last year, 6-10 just plain stinks. We can’t afford another losing season, let alone one without a playoff appearance.
- Crack down on penalties. 32nd in the NFL when it comes to team penalties. It seems like every other play was a penalty. Here’s a stat for you: 110 penalties for a total of 984 yards. Time to tell the team “shape up or sit out.”
- And last, but certainly not least, last chance Ted Thompson. This man has done virtually nothing to improve this Packers team. Last year we rode the wave of a phenomenal Brett Favre season and our defense was firing on all cylinders. This year, well, you see what happens when your GM does nothing to improve the team. Trading down in the draft to get little impact, no movement in the off season acquisition market, and an obvious lack of spark.
While this seems like a lot of work, it’s really not. It comes down to two men making some significant decisions into whether or not they want to keep Green Bay as their home. To quote a line from “The Matrix”:
“This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back. You take the blue pill – the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill – you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes.”
I hope for our sake they take the red pill.
