Toby from Lincoln City, NE
I think McCarthy pencil-whipped Tomlin, but it still wasn’t enough. Anyone who thinks Mike McCarthy isn’t a good coach has an agenda or is just uneducated. I enjoyed watching this one. Hundley played well under extreme pressure and the team responded. All is not lost, but we have to run the table. With Rodgers coming back, there is a chance.
I agree. McCarthy out-prepared the Steelers. The pop passes are a great example of how to beat a fast defense. The Packers didn’t turn it over and committed only three penalties. They played a nearly perfect game. It took an exceptional performance from Ben, Bell and Brown to steal the win. The Antonio Brown catch in the final drive is one of the greatest receptions I’ve ever seen. The Packers found something in Pittsburgh.
Mike from Juneau, AK
It’s hard to be too disappointed. Packers scratched and clawed and a young QB came of age. What do you see for Hundley’s future now?
There’s reason to believe he can be the future, for the Packers or for another team willing to return a high pick. That’s what happened last night: Brett Hundley’s value shot up.
Salvador from Metepec, Mexico
Do you think a flag should’ve been thrown on the T.J. Watt hit on Hundley?
Yes.
Kevin from Greenacres, WA
What did you like most and hate most about last night’s game?
I like that I saw something I’ll remember. I hate nothing about it.
Brandon from Marshfield, WI
Vic, extremely happy that you are back writing. Watching college football this weekend, I just feel like they have the better TV product right now. I think the NFL should bring back you don’t have to be touched to be down. Just seems to create a quicker and safer game. Are there any changes you would like to see them go back to how it was?
Really? Which college game this past weekend was better than last night’s game? You must like blowouts.
Mike from Bella Vista, AR
Help me understand how Mike McCarthy is still rated as a top NFL coach. You were close to the team for several years and maybe you can share your insight. Admittedly, I am just a fan. My observation is that McCarthy is riding the Rodgers train. Under McCarthy, the only part of the team that has been good is Rodgers and some receivers. Everything else seems like an afterthought. Matt Flynn scalped the Seahawks, but what stars have McCarthy’s QB school produced? Lastly, why does Capers catch all the heat for the defense’s problems and McCarthy is rarely mentioned? Is McCarthy not responsible for the whole team? I am enjoying the new blog, Vic. Thanks.
It bothers me when fans talk about coaches needing to be accountable. What fan’s life is judged by a scoreboard for all to read? Coaches live according to their record. If it’s bad, they’re fired. Look at the firings in college football this past weekend. Kevin Sumlin was 51-26 at Texas A&M. Fired! Talk about tired of winning. McCarthy is judged to be a top coach because his record says he’s a top coach. I think it’s possible he could finish his career as the winningest coach in Packers history. I have my own reasons for judging him as highly as I do: 1) He’s an offensive genius. 2) He’s won with marginal talent that’s been forced to play due to injury. 3) He develops young talent. 4) He schemes personnel, not schemes. 5) His attention to detail exceeds Chuck Noll’s. 6) His teams’ preparation rivals that of Tom Coughlin’s, who I thought was the best at preparing a team I’ve ever covered. There are more reasons, but those jump out at me. Penalize McCarthy for having Rodgers? Then you have to penalize Holmgren for having Favre, and Shula for having Griese and Marino, and Brown for having Graham, and Noll for having Bradshaw, Walsh for having Montana and, maybe most of all, Belichick for having Brady. Belichick didn’t win with Testaverde, did he? I think the questions you’ve asked are insensitive and too many. It all comes down to one question: What’s his record?
Brandon from Milwaukee, WI
Do you think the Packers have a legitimate shot at making the wild card this year?
I think it’s very slim, primarily because the Packers have already lost the head-to-head tiebreaker to the Saints and Falcons. The Packers would have to win out, which would include a win in Carolina that would give the Packers that head-to-head tiebreaker. It’s the only way. I think we need to adjust our expectations.
Jim from Maple Grove, MN
I assume your chief rooting interest on Sunday night was for your December friend. Do the Packers have any realistic hope of seeing him this year?
If they beat Tampa and Cleveland, I think the Packers will go to Carolina with their playoff hopes on the line. I think it would be a must-win game. I think that game will be our December drama.
Scott from Sauk City, WI
Hi, Vic! How are you doing? As this college season has worn on, I’ve tried to let the eye test tell me what the Badgers have going for them, and how far they can go. So far, my eyes tell me the defense has played off the charts for two weeks in a row against powerful, powerful teams. My eyes tell me we have a quarterback who bounces off the turf when he gets knocked down, but that sometimes the knockdowns are because of poor decision-making. My heart and mind say bring on Ohio State, bring on Alabama, put us in the CFP and let’s do this thing. But then my doubts kick in, and I wonder if we’d even compete against Alabama. What do your eyes tell you? How does this Wisconsin team stand up against the nation’s best? Can they do it? For the first time in my lifetime, the Badgers have a shot at playing for a national title, and I don’t believe it. It’s so surreal. Tell me they belong, Vic.
Ohio State will tell us whether the Badgers belong or not. If the Badgers win, they belong. If they lose, then critics of the Badgers’ schedule are right. I tend to believe they are a product of their schedule. I hope they prove me wrong.
Marcus from Kenosha, WI
Hey, Vic, loving the blog. In all of your years covering professional football, have you ever seen a player turn his back on his team the way Bennett did? Anything close? I find it shameful to leave your brothers-in-football hanging for any reason.
LeGarrette Blount walked out on his teammates, causing the Steelers to cut him. The Patriots signed him and he’s been rewarded handsomely for his mutinous act. Life isn’t always fair. Sometimes misbehavior is rewarded. New England is the land of the misfit toys. Brady makes it work.
Tim from Jacksonville, FL
Would you rate this Jaguars defense the best in franchise history? How does it compare to the 1999 team?
The ’99 defense was a Dom Capers scheme creation, which is to say it was a 4-3 playing as a 3-4. Heading into the final month of the season, it had a chance to set an all-time fewest-points-allowed record, and then it collapsed. This year’s defense is better.
Sam from Jacksonville, FL
Do you ever look back and appreciate how good the ’07 Jaguars team was? They had two running backs which could be considered for the Hall of Fame.
If Dennis Northcutt and Matt Jones don’t drop what should’ve been touchdown catches, the Jaguars would’ve beaten the Patriots in the playoffs and ended their undefeated season. I also believe if the Jets hadn’t traded up ahead of the Jaguars to draft Darrelle Revis, the Jaguars would’ve picked him and I think he would’ve been the difference-maker on the defense; I think the Jaguars would’ve gone to the Super Bowl.
Bill from Sheboygan, WI
What did you think of the big college football weekend?
Out of all of those “big” games this past weekend, only a few were close enough to be worthy of viewing. I enjoyed Miami-Pitt and USF-UCF, and that’s about it. Blowouts dominated, and that’s why college football TV ratings, despite intense hype, are terrible. The NFL product is vastly superior, yet, college football fans will call the Alabama-Auburn and Ohio State-Michigan games great games. Why? The fourth quarters were anti-climactic. The announcers spent the fourth quarter of those games and nearly all of the other games debating who the four teams should be in the playoffs. Does it really matter? The ratings will be terrible, which they were last season.
John from Green Bay, WI
I was looking through the arrival pictures of the Packers at Heinz Field and noticed at least 90 percent of the players were wearing headphones. My question is do players converse at all on the plane and or bus rides?
Not much anymore. When I began covering the Steelers in the ’70s, we’d play the card game Bourre on the airplane. I mean, players and reporters. Terry Bradshaw was a Bourre crazy man. In my final years covering football, I’d look around for someone with whom I could have a conversation, but everybody was wearing headphones, even non-football personnel. So, I’d sit back and think about life. I kind of miss those quiet moments on return flights.
Dylan from Morgantown, WV
Do you think the Rams can survive in LA? It seems like they have done everything right in their first year. They have a good young coach that looks the part for LA, it appears they have a franchise QB, and they are winning. However, they are struggling to fill the stadium.
The Coliseum is huge and terrible. For the last game I covered there, in 1994, the press box was condemned and I had to sit outside in a makeshift press box. Don’t judge LA until the Rams and Chargers are in a new stadium. Also, success in LA won’t be defined by ticket sales. It’ll be defined by what the market provides in the way of commerce. It was an embarrassment the NFL didn’t have a team in LA.
Mike from Chicago, IL
Vic, I turned off football this weekend because of the ridiculous celebrations. Any chance this goes away. I really just don’t want to watch anymore.
A lot of people feel as you do.
Jon from Bloomfield, NJ
I’m really waffling on how I feel about all the celebrating. I see the Eagles doing a 10-man electric slide by their own sideline, and don’t find myself particularly offended. It looks like a group of guys having some fun. But then, within a few minutes, I see the Panthers have to burn a timeout because their players have wasted so much time celebrating. How will coaches get celebrations under control so they don’t hurt the team? How would Coach Vic do it? The celebration circle?
Yep. I’ve been saying it for years. They could dance until their jocks fell off, as long as they were on our sideline. That would be my request. Incurring a penalty for a look-at-me celebration is a morale killer and an outrage to every fan whose happiness is dictated by the outcome of the game.
