Packers Thought Josh Sitton Created Poisonous Atmosphere
As we watched the Green Bay Packers play in week 1 the topic of conversation, other than the game itself, was often Josh Sitton. There was plenty of speculation as to what ultimately got him tossed out of town with one year left on his contract.
Here’s some more speculation from Pete Dougherty that’s a bit more damning to Sitton.
The source said Sitton at times was a fun and engaging presence, but he also was brash and highly opinionated. He openly disparaged personnel moves, coaching decisions and his teammates’ abilities in any and every setting at the Packers’ facilities, regardless of who was in earshot. He also could be argumentative in meetings and refused to do some blocking techniques and drills on the practice field.
The source said that while Sitton was at the top of his game, the Packers acquiesced. But as the 30-year-old’s play began to slip in the last year or so, in part because of his chronic back condition, the team felt less compelled to accommodate him. And when the coaching staff saw some of that behavior filtering to the younger linemen, the team parted ways.
One thing we know about the Packers’ brass is they cannot take criticism, so you certainly don’t want to accuse Mike McCarthy or Ted Thompson of screwing up. Dougherty goes on to suggest that the Packers felt Sitton would create a poisonous atmosphere because they told him they weren’t going to extend his contract.
Essentially, the Packers thought Sitton would become a malcontent and that would somehow throw the season off the rails.
And perhaps that’s the whole story, but probably not.
There have been rumors that someone — Sitton, we presume — said something to someone else. It has also been suggested that what was said wouldn’t have been a big deal in another place or another time.
But it was with the nancy boys that run the Green Bay Packers.
Toe the company line, never question authority. Long live Mike and Ted!
22 Comments
Recent Posts
Mordecai,
I echo a previous post: “Please stop!.”
No, Knucklehead, this time he is right. The Packers are run by nancy boys.
Honesty and/or differentiation of opinion threatens them. Heil Ted! Heil Fat Mikey!
Agree. I’m getting tired. All i read in the last months in Total Packers is criticism…
Rumors circulating that sam barrington was going to sit during the national anthem, sitton confronted him and a big fight occurred in the locked room
Care to post a link with this story?
My thoughts exactly. What is the source?
I did hear Barrington and Sitton got into it and it’s been mentioned that an N-word was uttered.
You hear that from your neighbor? You have a source?
I remeber the time against the lions with 10 flynn amd he ran his mouth giving them bulliten board matetial. I that was stupid to say at the time
I remember graduating High School.
Ok, i apologize for that, that was completely unnecessary. :)
Nobody likes a dickhead in the office. Maybe we should be happy the Bears picked him up and blew a bunch of money on a guy that has a bad back.
Once again, its not what the Packers did was wrong, its that its wrong because the Packers did it. Let me be clear, I do NOT agree with the Sitton release either, but lets stop acting like the Packers dont know what they’re doing. Every day now its MM has done this wrong or TT did that wrong. Its at the point where they’re damned if they do and damned if they dont. But usually theres enough info to know both sides of the story. Here? Its such a weird move to release Sitton that its almost as if MM or TT had a stroke, which realistically speaking is unbelievable. I dont like it, but im just willing to give them the benefit of the doubt here. Everyone thought releasing Desmond Bishop made absolutely no sense either at the time.
Maybe Sitton was his own man. I don’t think Sitton voiced anything different than Rodgers has in the past. If i remember right, it was Rodgers getting up in McCarthys face on the sideline.
Maybe McCarthy was trying to show the team that he is their Daddy, don’t question Daddy, and used Sitton as an example, idk.
I know 2 things. 1) All indications are the lineman liked Sitton, a lot. 2) I stick by my previous post that they should have put the best talent on the field, and that they should have put any differences behind them for the good of the team as he was leaving after the season anyway. The team should come first, that clearly didn’t happen.
I’d be willing to bet, that most of the offensive players have issues with the offense, but feel they cant say anything.
We as Packer fans bitch about the offense constantly, 10’s of thousands of us across the Country, it’s naive to think a lot of the players aren’t feeling the same way.
PF4L- if not now, there will be more murmuring by midseason if the offense is still struggling. Some of it is certainly on McCarthy, but some of the onus is on the players to go out and get the job done.
There sure are a lot of EGOS running around 1265 Lombardi Ave for winning a SINGLE NFL CHAMPIONSHIP, aren’t there?
Yes.
What hasn’t been picked up here by anyone who posted (including me until now) is that this “explanation”, if true, still makes zero sense. With a “bad back” he was the #6 guard in the NFL last season. I’d take a guy with a bad back who achieves at#6 level over the best back in the world achieving like the 64th guard.
They say he was some kind of cancer (apparently for speaking the truth and being respected by his teammates) for years… but wait until after the final preseason game and suddenly cut him…. at the worst time for the team and, just coincidentally, giving him the worst chances of finding another team or a good contract….
The Barrington thing is either another red herring or proof of idiocy. They cut Barrington. Ooooh, can’t have Sitton and Barrington fight… the only possible solution? Let’s cut them both!!
FYI Mordecai…….You wrote…”Dougherty goes on to suggest that the Packers felt Sitton would create a poisonous atmosphere because they told him they weren’t going to extend his contract.”
But your headline reads….”PACKERS THOUGHT JOSH SITTON CREATED POISONOUS ATMOSPHERE”
One is suggesting a possibility..(would create)…The other is written as fact (created). You good with poisoning the readers here with false statements?
You’re a professional writer correct?….., then you wonder why you get blasted…smh
As far as Pete Dougherty goes, a bigger Packer apologist you cannot find. If you think the Packers did something wrong, he will tell you you’re wrong. If the Packers actually did do something wrong, he will try to spin and manipulate the facts trying to convince you they were right, even when they were wrong.
I love all these speculative comments. No one on these boards was in the locker room to see what kind of guy Sitton really is. It is a HUGE, HUGE move and I would like to believe our management had a damn good reason to jettison him. Sorry they won’t explain it to you to make you feel better about it. They don’t owe us any soothing remedy talk.
Agreed, although to be fair, it’s us the fans that give them the ability to do what they do. Where would the be without us? Half of them would be working at Wal-mart, the other half working the Football chain line at the college level at best. We just wanna know why they did something that on the outside makes next to no sense. There are only so many possible reasons for withholding information from a move like this, and one of those possibilities includes the coaches and the management being just incredibly insecure which obviously wouldn’t sit well with the fans.
Yea, they don’t owe us a damn thing. That’s how arrogance works right?
I was a Packer fan long before TT and MM got here, and i’ll be a Packer fan long after they leave. I could care less if they both left tomorrow.