What really happened in GB

2 things:

1. You let your new HC install his culture. You make sure as a FO that EVERYONE knows he's in charge and we are running his system/his way. No exceptions. Very doable but changing that culture takes time and the willingness to cut dead bait if needed.

2. My take: Matt Lafleur will take kill shots. Matt Lefluer will run wrinkles not seen here since Lindy. Matt Lefluer will run the FB to set up play action and neutralize the pass rush. Matt Lefluer will let Rodgers run his 2 minute O his way. Aaron Rodgers will love Matt Lefluer. This won't be an issue. Matt Lefluer will also let MP run the defense his way.
 
Mark87 said:
2 things:

1. You let your new HC install his culture. You make sure as a FO that EVERYONE knows he's in charge and we are running his system/his way. No exceptions. Very doable but changing that culture takes time and the willingness to cut dead bait if needed.

2. My take: Matt Lafleur will take kill shots. Matt Lefluer will run wrinkles not seen here since Lindy. Matt Lefluer will run the FB to set up play action and neutralize the pass rush. Matt Lefluer will let Rodgers run his 2 minute O his way. Aaron Rodgers will love Matt Lefluer. This won't be an issue. Matt Lefluer will also let MP run the defense his way.
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I think ML will be fine ... He has chance to build his roster. Bring in his guys. And I'm pretty sure Murphy won't let this toxic culture happen again. He already gave Arod notice.
 
The concerns about Aaron's ego are not unique to him. Many great QBs struggle with that aspect. Tom Brady basically forced Belichick to trade Garoppolo, refuses to work with the Patriots medical staff, and has shown up his assistants multiple times in public settings. Roethlisberger's reputation for being a self-entitled, arrogant prick is well-established. On multiple occasions, Favre directly ignored what Holmgren ordered him to do during their partnership in GB, which led to animosity that could have derailed that relationship. Those egos unquestionably cause locker room problems. But, they also help make those QBs better at what they do - they drive them to prove the doubters wrong, to make courageous throws that no one else makes, to win in pressure situations.

In order to get the most out of those guys, you need to have a HC who was a leader that commanded respect and knew how to manage those egos towards making their teams better. That's the case throughout sports, really. The Phil Jacksons, Steve Kerrs, Joe Torres, Bill Belichicks, and Mike Holmgrens of the world who were effective at managing those personalities such that they limited the negative aspects and drove the best aspects of those egos.

So while Aaron is certainly NOT exonerated for his part in this dysfunction, I place the primary responsibility for the problems on the HC who doesn't even bother to show up to team meetings. Because say what you want about Aaron and his ego, but no one has ever accused him of not busting his ass in order to be the best player he can be.
 
Another interesting piece of the article is that Rodgers and McCarthy just let the resentments simmer and never addressed them. Conflict avoidance at its finest and when the pressure is so high as it is in professional sports it's toxic to the entire team. All of this makes complete sense the more I digest it. Any other outcome would have been shocking.

They both felt powerless over their situation because no one was really in charge. They avoided addressing that and it started a vicious cycle of passive aggressive behavior. It was a very toxic relationship that no one intervened on. Rodgers sounds to me like someone who is on the intellectual level of someone incredibly bright but in his teens when it comes to emotional IQ.

It's not just Rodgers and MM. Other players and front office execs (Murphy) were culpable. This is where Mark Murphy's role comes into play. He should have been the guy monitoring this and addressing as well. His part is important as well. Otherwise this will just happen again until there is honesty about conflict at the organizational level.
 
ML have already sat down with Rodgers told him I don't give a podo( what happened between you and McCarthy. This is my team I will run it. If you have a issue with my play calling feel free to come to my office and we can discuss it. But don't pull the same crap you did before with changing plays all the time and yelling about them on the field as I won't put up with that.
 
Defensewins said:
Interesting piece from Dunne. Regardless of how you care to assign blame or who you choose to believe it's pretty clear the organization was dysfunctional. Just another indication of Mark Murphy being oblivious to what was happening and apparently asleep at the switch. Interaction between the new coach and AR should be very revealing.
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Thi is a great summation and hits the nail on the head. There was a lot of dysfunction and a lot of blame to go around. Culture needs a rehab, on the double.
 
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Rodgers is a diva, but every HOF-level QB anywhere is.

A 40 year old Tom Brady clearly went over his coach's head and got Jimmy Garoppolo traded last year. Shoot, Brady has his own personal trainer that travels with the team. It's just that Bill Belichick overcomes all the shit going on by out scheming everyone else and not worrying about whether his offensive coordinator or QB coach gets too much credit. The Van Pelt comments in the article are one of the most underplayed so far - he got fired because he was too close to Rodgers and too smart for McCarthy to not be threatened.

Big Ben managed to contribute to running two superstar skill position players out of town. Actually, I think the Big Ben example is a good one, because both Brown and LeVeon Bell hate him. Why do they hate him? Because Big Ben got the big money compared to them. Why do Jennings and Finley hate Rodgers? Because AR got the big money and then didn't. In the article, Jennings has the audacity to complain about Rodgers telling the 49ers they should sign Jennings AFTER Jennings admitted during a game he was dogging his routes because he was in a contract year? That tells you all you need to know about Jennings. He was a POS teammate who had his sister do his bashing for him. Finley has multiple baby mamas and keeps getting into the news for not supporting them. He has zero credibility on this. The majority of the AR bashing is from those two clowns. AR gets criticized for not complaining more often and more publicly (internalizing it)? That's one where AR can't win.

Underneath all of this is the fact that MM was crappy coach who designed a great offense with the talent he had in 2009-2011 and then refused to adapt when the league evolved. I feel stupid for defending him as a coach. It appears he was a Chauncey Gardiner type (look up the movie "Being There"). Rodgers was going to be a challenge for anyone to coach - but it's a good problem to have. When MM got complacent, he relied on AR to save his ass and didn't really complain until the wins stopped.
The fact that TT was not engaged didn't help.

One final thought - Tyler Dunne was in Green Bay from 2011-16 and never wrote about any of this before?
 
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