Gameday 10/7/2007
Favre, McCarthy in synch
By JASON WILDE / madison.com
GREEN BAY — With his wife off on a promotional book tour, one daughter away at college and his other daughter with family, Brett Favre had the house all to himself Monday night. He could have watched all the hunting shows he wanted, or drank milk straight from the carton. Instead, the Green Bay Packers' quarterback spent 2? hours in a dark film room with coach Mike McCarthy. The session didn't end until almost 10 o'clock. Then on Tuesday morning, the players' off day, Favre was right back at Lambeau Field, again going 1-on-1 with McCarthy, in preparation for Sunday night's nationally televised game against the Chicago Bears. In deference to his two primary previous head coaches — Mike Holmgren, from 1992 through '98, and Mike Sherman, from 2000 through '05 — Favre was reluctant last week to oversell the bond he has built with McCarthy, who served as his quarterbacks coach in 1999 under Ray Rhodes. But if you're looking for an explanation for Favre's fountain-of-youth resurgence — the NFL's only three-time MVP enters Sunday night's game having turned back the clock during the first four games, completing 112 of 170 passes (65.9 percent) for 1,205 yards, eight touchdowns and two interceptions for a 97.3 passer rating — and the Packers' 4-0 start, the relationship between the two men as good a place to start as any.More >>
Physical fitness
Players adopt McCarthy's tough-minded approach
By GREG A. BEDARD / journalsentinel.com
Posted: Oct. 6, 2007
Green Bay - With offensive struggles to blame for much of their 1-3 start, the Chicago Bears will enter Lambeau Field tonight with most of their reputation intact on defense. They are, after all, the defending NFC North and conference champions. And they still have Brian Urlacher, Lance Briggs and Tommie Harris leading a tough and physical defense. At least that's the perception. The reality may be something different. "I'm not trying to provide bulletin board material here," said Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy. "But I always felt like you have the opportunity to be physical with that defense." More >>
Packers gaining fans by the day
By Mike Vandermause
greenbaypressgazette
Let's hope no one gets hurt in the stampede to jump on the Green Bay Packers' bandwagon this season. Where are the critics who were castigating General Manager Ted Thompson during the offseason? What happened to the skeptics who didn't believe Mike McCarthy had the head coaching chops to excel in the NFL? What's become of the crowd that considered Brett Favre washed up? Most are tripping over themselves in an attempt to leap on board the Packers' locomotive, which is picking up steam with each passing week. How crazy is it getting? At least one objective media observer has proclaimed the Packers could win as many as 14 games this season. It's one thing for gung-ho fans to get carried away; it's another when impartial members of the press express unbridled enthusiasm. With the hype running at a fever pitch, it would be easy for the Packers to become full of themselves. A stroll through the locker room this week, however, indicates that isn't happening. "We're rolling right now, but it doesn't really mean anything this early in the season," tight end Bubba Franks said. "Anybody could lose the rest of their games and then, hey, this would be a horrible team." More >>
Injuries nag Packers' secondary
Associated Press / Posted 10-6-2007
GREEN BAY -- At least on paper, the Green Bay Packers' starting secondary should be intact for Sunday night's game against division rival Chicago. The three defensive backs who appear on the injury report were listed Friday as being probable for the game. Whether the Packers are at full strength on the back end of the defense as they try to improve to 5-0 remains to be seen, however. Safety Nick Collins said after practice Friday that he won't know his playing status until shortly before kickoff at Lambeau Field. "It's going to be a game-time decision," Collins said. "It depends on how I feel and how the medical staff feels." Collins suffered a bruised knee in the Packers' win at Minnesota last Sunday. The injury limited his participation in practice the last three days. When asked whether he's still enduring soreness in the knee, Collins said, "Right now, I'm pretty mobile. That's all I can say about it." Collins is preparing to play against the Bears but acknowledged that being held out of the game is a possibility. More >>Thompson: No talk yet about
A contract extension for McCarthy
By Pete Dougherty
greenbaypressgazette.com
Mike McCarthy's 4-0 start this season and eight-game winning streak dating to last year have him well on the way to earning an extension to the short, three-year contract he signed last year to coach the Green Bay Packers. However, General Manager Ted Thompson probably will wait until immediately after the season to extend his coach's contract. In 1¼ seasons at the helm, McCarthy has won admiration in the organization for his leadership and coaching skills in the first head-coaching job of his life. Though the season is only one-quarter through, his young team is the surprise of the NFL. "We'll do it at some point," Thompson said Friday of extending McCarthy's deal. "I don't think it's something we're necessarily in a rush to do right this second. We haven't even talked about it." Bob Harlan, the Packers' chairman, said Thompson has not approached him about extending McCarthy's deal but suggested he's expecting him to sometime late in the season. Harlan said he would be all for the move, though it is Thompson's call, and that Thompson probably will want to keep the organization's focus on the team until the season's over. "Ted is really not one to have disruptions come up during the season," Harlan said. "If all at once there's a headline that they've started negotiations and so forth and then there's questions to him about it, I don't think Ted wants it, (and) I don't think Mike wants it. You've got plenty of time to do that in January."More >>
Published by PackerPundit On Sunday, October 07, 2007 at 5:32 AM.
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