In an interview with Rich Eisen, former NFL WR Greg Jennings says the Packers coaching staff could take some lessons from the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Green Bay Packers haven’t really looked like the Green Bay Packers for a long time. Mediocrity has slowly become the reality for a team that boasts the best overall quarterback in football right now—sorry but it’s true—but it’s amazing that even the presence of Aaron Rodgers has turned out so little in the way of success in recent years.
Largely that blame has shifted to Mike McCarthy, a head coach who is taking his hits for his rather unimaginative playcalling. Rodgers has been frustrated with McCarthy’s predictable offense for some time and he’s not the only one. At this point, McCarthy’s name has become synonymous with rumors of a coaching hot seat for a while now and recent losses have only exacerbated those rumors that the Packers could move on after this year.
McCarthy has certainly earned the benefit of the doubt, as any Super Bowl winning coach should enjoy. McCarthy owns a very impressive 124-74-2 record over 200 regular season games in NFL history with a 10-8 record in the postseason as well. But the last season-and-a-half has looked less than stellar with middling results (10-13-1) and a lackluster offense despite the presence of Rodgers.
Now Rodgers is heading toward his late thirties and there’s limited time remaining for any window for the future Hall of Famer to earn some more postseason brass. The idea lately is that McCarthy might need to go to maximize current assets and reenergize things in Wisconsin.
Even former players have added to the criticism. Greg Jennings, who played seven seasons in Green Bay (which included two Pro Bowl appearances), recently spoke out about the vanilla offense of the Packers. Specifically, he said the team needed some “Andy Reid-like” help in a recent appearance on the Rich Eisen show.
Here’s the specific transcript of that section of the interview:
"Greg: It’s been problematic. It’s been an issue in-house, even when I was there. We would grow frustrated. [McCarthy] would say things like, ‘We could play doubleheaders.’ Yeah, you could, but we’re running the same plays. There’s no innovation.Rich Eisen: So that’s the problem? You’re running the same plays?Greg: There’s no creativity. There’s no Andy Reid-like effect. And I get it. Andy Reid is special. But when you have playmakers—Aaron Rodgers has alluded to this—you have a guy like Davante Adams. Obviously, he can get off the press, but sometimes make it even easier for your guy. Bring him in motion. Create plays that are suited for him that will just ignite your offense. Make it simplified, easier for them to get open. Now you’re putting the pressure and the stress on the defense to guess ‘What are you gonna do?’"
Jennings goes on to describe his concerns and issues among other things, but it’s clear that not only are the Packers the model of what not to do when you are gifted an elite quarterback, the Chiefs are also the model for what to do when you have one on hand.
So far this season, Reid has cemented his reputation as a true offensive genius, as if that was in question before this year. He’s able to take reclamation projects, low-level draft picks or promising bright young talents and maximize the results with each of them.
With Alex Smith, Reid was able to maximize his efficiency and create a very safe, secure and effective offense with occasional surprises thrown in. With Mahomes, he’s taken the lid off and the results are literally historic week after week. Even past efforts with names like A.J. Feeley or Nick Foles or Kevin Kolb or Mike Vick, Reid was a miracle worker—a coach with a keen eye on what exactly his quarterback could and could not do and he worked within those given parameters to ensure their success.
Rodgers has to look at Kansas City and wonder what it would be like to have such a creative genius at the controls with his intelligence, arm, confidence and vision. McCarthy is unlikely to change much after all these years, and he’s earned the right to do things his way. But it might be time for a change in Green Bay to make the Packers more like, say, the Kansas City Chiefs.