McCarthy’s Offensive And Defensive Gameplans Terrible In Loss To Giants

Packer coach Mike McCarthy, who typically has done a good job of adjusting when things do not work, had terrible offensive and defensive gameplans in the Packers’ overtime loss to the Giants in the NFC Championship Game.  I will list the problems, and then provide the specifics.  The fact that they lost in overtime with these gameplans is evidence they could have won easily with smart gameplans.

1. The tone of a game can be set in the first half, and McCarthy’s gameplan took Favre out of the game, frustrated him, and made very little attempt to score in the first half, keeping the Giants in the game.  Teams need to be aggressive in the first half and try to build big leads, and the Packers made little attempt to score, letting the Giants hang around.
2. The defensive gameplan of having the cornerbacks play press coverage was exploited all game by the Giants, and allowed them to continue drives, have an overwhelming time of possession advantage (the Giants had the ball over 40 minutes), and tired out the defense, which cost them at the end.  In the first few minutes of the game, I said they needed to adjust and back off, but they played this defense the entire game.

OFFENSIVE GAMEPLAN:

Here are the Packers’ first-half series:

1. Throw on first down for 12 yards and a first down.
2. Throw on first down for 11 yards and a first down.
3. Run on first down for 2 yards resulting in a punt.
4. Throw on first down at line of scrimmage (not downfield) for 1 yard resulting in a punt.
5. Run on first down for 2 yards resulting in a punt.
6. Throw on first down to Driver for a 90-yard touchdown.
7. Run on first down for 2 yards.  Got first down on a pass.
8. Throw on first down for 14 yards and a first down.
9. Throw long on first down, incomplete, resulting in a punt.
10. Run on first down for no gain.  Got first down via penalty.
11. Run on first down for 1 yard.  Got first down on a pass.
12. Run on first down for 2 yards.  Got field goal.

It is obvious from the above that the Packers were not as aggressive as they should have been on first down, and were successful the times they did throw.  The history of this team is they do not score when running on first down, but do score when throwing on first down.  Favre’s interception in overtime was after a first-down run for 2 yards, putting the Packers in second and long.

The Packers never threw slants, which was a big part of their offense this year.  These and other short and medium high-percentage passes keep drives going, result in scores, and negate the pass rush of the defense.  The other passes they threw were also not high-percentage passes, which you need to do in cold and windy conditions, and when the quarterback’s hand might be numb from the cold.

If you take away the 90-yard first-down TD pass to Driver, the Packers only had 174 yards on 48 plays, a pathetic 3.63 yards/play.  Grant ran the ball 13 times for 29 yards, and many of these were drive-stopping first-down runs.  Despite the fact that the Packers moved the ball in the first half with first-down passes, they continued to try to run.

DEFENSIVE GAMPLAN:

The entire game, the Packer cornerbacks played up in the receivers’ faces, which prevented them from making plays as they could not react to receiver moves and had their back to the quarterback when the ball was in the air.  I have complained about this coverage for years, and it was obvious the Giant gameplan was to exploit it.  Time after time, the Giants took advantage of this, and the Packers never adjusted.  They played this coverage the entire game.  Plaxico Burress had 11 catches for 154 yards as a result, it prolonged drives, and it kept the Packer defense on the field and their offense off the field.  The Giant gameplan was obvious from the first few minutes of the game, and I immediately said the cornerbacks needed to back off and play about 4 yards off the receivers, not 1 or 2.  It is extremely easy for a receiver to get open against press coverage if there is no safety help, and the Giants took advantage of this the entire game.  Defensive backs are unable to turn and react on these plays.  How could McCarthy and Bob Sanders, the defensive coordinator, not adjust out of this coverage?  They were burned all game.

I repeat, with absolutely horrible offensive and defensive gameplans, the Packers still took the game to overtime.  This was a game that could easily have been won with intelligent gameplans.