#19 Good Art and a New Start?

Episode 19 of APP

(Recap of Packers vs. Lions; segway into big changes in front office and coaching staff)

Topics:

X’s & O’s

The game started out with beautifully executed on-side kick by the Packers, who also recovered!

Alas, after the onside kick nothing happened. This game was over before the teams took the field as it turns out - the Packers looked like a team that had quit before they got off the bus.

This was Ha-Ha Clinton Dix’s worst game of the year and that is saying something.  I’ve never seen a player mail it in more than he did in this game - shameful performance.  I have never seen a player regress so far so fast as HHCD did this year

Brett Hundley was pretty bad, again.  I don’t think that the Packers can go into next year with him as their primary backup, but they probably will.

Let’s be clear - McCarthy wanted to win this game - if anything it would’ve kept him from having a losing season on his resume (8-8 looks a helluva lot better than 7-9).

Outside of Football stuff:

The loss to the lions set off a flurry of activity in the packers coaching & front office staff:

Dom Capers, who’s job security was tenuous at best, was fired a few days after the detroit loss

In a stunning development, Mark Murphy revealed that Ted Thompson would be out as GM and would be relegated to a head scout for the Packers moving forward.

Rumors swirled that Ted Thompson was aloof, and not all of his faculties were there as they say - this was according to reports from anonymous members of the Packers BOD

Mike McCarthy’s season ending presser was a passive aggressive plea to the front office to find a GM that will have a win-now mentality.  The TT way was failing and MM was sick and tired of being saddled with inferior talent and a dearth of impact free agents and high draft picks

The rumor mill and some reporting by Bob McGinn seemed to point to the fact that Murphy was strongly considering going with Russ Ball - who is much more of a finances guy vs. a scout.  Hiring Ball would be a big departure from the Ron Wolf tree.

The rumor mill also said that Mike McCarthy AND Aaron Rodgers were NOT thrilled about the prospect of Russ Ball as GM...drama unfolding!

Meanwhile, 19-year veteran scout Alonzo Highsmith left for a position with new GM John Dorsey with the Cleveland Browns

Murphy did try and get access to outside candidates but was denied at every turn, to include trying to get John Schneider, De Pere, WI native and current GM of the seahawks

Brian Gutekunst, 44 years old and a long time in-house scout/personel man was named GM on 1/7/18 - not many (including myself) saw this hire coming but it should be a good one as he is young and knows that the time to capitalize on Arod’s prime right now

UPDATE: new organizational structure announced by the Packers - Per Tom Silverstein:

In a departure from previous practice, #Packers will have Gutekunst, McCarthy and Ball all report to president Mark Murphy. It means Gutekunst has control over the roster but not head coach. There are 7 or 8 teams who do it that way.

More @JSComments!

“Fans need to sober up for at least a day and demand a refund for all non-voting stocks”

“One more piece of the evil empire to go! Listen to the bell McCarthy, it tolls for thee.”

“Bad name for a GM. Too ethnic, too hard to pronounce.”

Business/League stuff:

The Patriots are apparently in shambles.

50-TK-ELLIOT (508-535-5468)