Following the Green Bay Packers' historic collapse to the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship game, Packers head coach Mike McCarthy is making a notable change.
McCarthy will no longer be in charge of play-calling, leaving Packers offensive coordinator Tom Clements to take over play-calling duties [1] .
McCarthy was heavily criticized for his play-calling in the Packers' 28-22 overtime loss to the Seahawks. Green Bay blew a 12-point lead in the fourth quarter, but it was some conservative play-calling earlier in the game that put McCarthy in the spotlight.
On two-straight first quarter drives he decided to kick field goals from the Seattle one-yard line on 4th down. In the second quarter he kicked a field goal on 4th and one from the 22-yard line.
If just one of those drives turns into a touchdown instead, the Packers would have been in a much better position to win.
There were other smaller miscommunications during the game, as Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel notes [2] . Packers receivers reportedly didn't know Richard Sherman had an injured elbow, and Packers tight end Brandon Bostick fumbled the Seahawks' on-side kick, clearly not ready to handle the play.
Silverstein also notes that several of the NFL's top head coaches don't call plays for their team â€" Bill Belichick, Pete Carroll, and John Harbaugh, just to name a few. McCarthy giving up play-calling may let him focus on the finer details of the game, rather than devoting time in between downs to choose a play.
Green Bay led the NFL in scoring last season, giving Clements a pretty easy job to take over.
Links
- ^ take over play-calling duties (www.nfl.com)
- ^ Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel notes (www.jsonline.com)
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