Who in the hell are we kidding?
The Green Bay Packers, Mike McCarthy’s Green Bay Packers, are perennially one of the most injured teams in the NFL.
It’s where we got the “next man up” phrase from. Because McCarthy’s teams ALWAYS need the next man. The guy who was supposed to be the man is on frickin’ injured reserve!
This has been a constant in McCarthy’s tenure. Do you know how many guys were on IR when the Packers won the Super Bowl after the 2010 season?
Fifteen!
That’s nearly a third of the damn roster!
When it’s all said and done, we are confident that McCarthy’s legacy will be this: won a Super Bowl, had one of the most injured teams in the league each and every year.
But hopefully… hopefully… that isn’t going to happen this year. Because holy hell would the Green Bay Packers be dangerous if a third of their players didn’t go to IR every year!
“… I stay focused on the grind,” McCarthy said. “Every team is different. The thresholds are going to be different. Hopefully the injuries are not a huge factor, but it’s part of the game. All those variables, you just fight through them.”
Yeah.
The funny thing is, we all know that the teams who stay the healthiest in a given season are usually the teams that make a nice playoff run. When you look at a team who won the Super Bowl, you can usually remark on how healthy they were throughout the season.
That will never be the Green Bay Packers, though. Not under Mike McCarthy.
We’re just gonna hope for the best and go with that “next man up” philosophy.
Change something?
Pssssssssch!
So here’s a challenge. Name the 15-20 players on the Packers’ roster who will go on IR this year. If you can name all of them correctly, we’ll give you $500.