Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy finally took back play-calling duties from associate head coach Tom Clements and the team’s offense finally looked like it could put up points again.
The Packers had a balanced attack against Dallas that resulted in 28 on the scoreboard.
McCarthy said he told Clements of the decision on Monday, but he kept it from the media and the team until game day.
“Personally, it didn’t feel very good, it didn’t’ feel good at all,” McCarthy said of informing Clements of the change. “That’s a challenge with these types of decisions, but professionally it was what I felt I needed to do.
“And regards to Tom Clements, he’s a big part of our success here, has been since Day 1, and will be as we continue forward. So this is an adjustment in our process and this is the way we’ll go forward.”
Our only question is what took so long?
The Packers’ offense has been floundering all season. McCarthy, meanwhile, has been adamant that he was going to stick to the program and the plan. That being that Clements is the play caller for better or worse.
He talked about being less involved with the offense as recently as last week. In hindsight, that was just double talk.
McCarthy was seemingly protecting his pal, much like he did with former special teams coordinator Shawn Slocum all those years.
That sense of loyalty, while an admirable quality in most instances, has cost the Packers this season.
You could see the difference with McCarthy calling the plays. The offense was more creative and the team was able to build a flow. McCarthy is much more adept than Clements at running plays that set up other plays later on.
With Clements, the theme was isolation.
Isolate these receivers out wide and isolation in terms of plays themselves, meaning one play had nothing to do with the next.
Dallas isn’t very good offensively, but their defense is solid. Hanging 28 points on that team is nothing to scoff at.
We now have some hope for the playoffs. This decision, more so than anything that Hail Mary could have done, could be the turning point of the season.
It’s about damn time.