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Transcript - Mike McCarthy Conference Call With Chargers Media - Sept. 19
posted 09/19/2007
With Brett Favre on the verge of making history, do you fear at all that the individual milestones might deflect what you're trying to accomplish as a team?
"I don't think it's something that at all deflects from our football team. I think it's something that you embrace when an individual achievement like that is on the forefront. It's something that we talked as a team this morning, but it won't deflect at all as far as our energy and our preparation for the game."
How much of the success the Packers are having can be traced to how you finished the season last year?
"I think you can say a big part of our success today is built off of the way we finished the season last year. With the four wins, that was something we used as a foundation to build off of as we went into our offseason program. We had tremendous energy and participation throughout the offseason program. It was something that we continued to build on as we went into training camp and so forth. I think definitely our four-game finish is something that we're using as a springboard into this season."
Was there any particular thing that happened late last season that helped fuel that four-game finish?
"I think number one it started with our preparation. Our best weeks of practice were probably the last four or five weeks of the season. That carried over to the playing field, particularly on defense. I thought our defense really set the tempo for our football team down the stretch there. They played lights out with the turnovers and so forth. Then our special teams came on and offensively we were just okay at the end of the year. We played our best football at the end of the season, and that's what you'd like to do."
You've been around some great quarterbacks in your career. Do you think Brett Favre is the best you've seen?
"That's a loaded question. No disrespect to Joe Montana, but I think Brett Favre is the best football player that I've ever coached. When I think of players that just play the game a certain way with tremendous passion, I think of the way Brett played, I think of the way Marcus Allen played. Those guys just played at a different level of intensity. I thought Montana was clearly an unbelievable quarterback as far as the precision and accuracy, the exactness of everything that he did. Brett's style is different at the quarterback position. Having the opportunity to be around him in 1999, he's different today than he was then. He has more patience. He's playing more in tune with the type of football team we have. I think Brett Favre is clearly the or one of the best football players that I've ever been around."
Are you amazed at Favre's toughness with the way he plays through injury and refuses to miss a start?
"I think it's like anything else that happens in life, when you're around it all the time and when it's an everyday function, you just kind of get used to it. You don't even think about the normality of the position because he's been playing that position for 17 years straight. In a sense, in working here you're almost a little bit immune to it."
Which of Favre's records is more impressive, the wins or the upcoming touchdown record?
"I think that makes for a good conversation. I think when you look at individual records, people are going to say the touchdowns a lot like the homeruns. In my opinion, clearly it's the wins. I know it's a team statistic, but I'll just say this: any time number four runs out of our tunnel, the whole football team and the whole stadium knows that there's a very good chance the Green Bay Packers are going to win that day. I think he brings tremendous confidence to our football team. He's brought tremendous continuity over the years to this football team. So in my opinion, the wins, to say he won more games than any other quarterback in NFL history, I think that record stands alone."
What are your thoughts on the Chargers offense?
"They're very explosive. They had a tremendous year last year. I know they probably haven't hit the goals they'd probably like this year, but when you talk about playmakers, one thing that impresses me about the whole football team is they have individuals that have incredible big-play ability in all three phases, special teams, offense and defense. Talking about their offense, you start with 21 (LaDainian Tomlinson), the League MVP. What he's done speaks for itself. (Antonio) Gates is about as special of a tight end that we'll see during the course of the year. Those two guys alone create you a lot of problems. Philip Rivers is a young, good quarterback, a Pro Bowl quarterback if my memory serves me correct. It's a tough offensive line. I know Jack Henry is doing a great job there with the offensive line. It's an offense that plays football the right way, 'Power O,' downhill, spread you out and try to take advantage of mismatches. It will be an excellent challenge for us this week."
Are you at all concerned about playing a talented Chargers team when they're coming off such a disappointing loss?
"I know momentum is a big part of our business and so forth. Frankly, if we keep our eye on the target here, the momentum that we've generated with our play is something that we're concentrating on. I can't really control how the other team plays or when they're coming in, when they're not. We've done some positive things the first two weeks, but we still have a ton of work to do. That was really our focus in practice today and so forth."
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You've got some young guys handling the football for you. Can you talk about your situation at running back?
"I think our young guys are getting better. We're having some growing pains because we really didn't have the structure of it in place coming out of training camp because of the injuries. Going into the first week with Brandon (Jackson) having the concussion and so forth, we were a little disjointed as far as how we're structuring it and how we're playing these guys and so forth. I think from Week 1 to Week 2, we've done a much better job of that. It's a young, talented group, a hardworking group, a tough group. We're trying to get them as much experience as we can in the preparation part of it. We're trying to get better."
How did you get from Pittsburgh to Baker University in Kansas?
"Just like a lot of guys. It was an opportunity to continue to play football. I went to Baker through the junior college route. It was an excellent experience at Baker. We played for a national championship my senior year. I kind of saw the country through my collegiate days."
What do you see in the Chargers' defense that can give you some problems?
"I kind of view the whole team the same way. It's kind of what I said earlier. They have a number of big-play individuals in all three phases. When you talk about the defense, it's probably in my opinion the most talented aspect of their football team. You look at their front, Jamal Williams is the nose guard that you build your whole defense off of in the 3-4 system. I think he's an exceptional player. Luis Castillo, you can make an argument that he may be the best guy in the whole front. Their pass rushing outside linebackers are what you're looking for in that design. I think their front seven is a tremendous challenge. I like what I see in their corners. I think their corners are talented, and the young man from Utah, I think Eric Weddle has made an impact in the sub packages. It's a talented group. It's going to be an excellent challenge for us on offense."
courtesy San Diego Chargers |
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