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ESPN Interviews Kid Who Watched Favre Throw at Mississippi High School

Brett FavreThis seems about right. Brett Favre, who will outlive us all, showed up at Oak Grove High School (Mississippi) yesterday to throw the ole pigskin around. Just like last summer (and the four before that), right before he unretired, made life miserable for Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy, and worked a trade to the Jets.

The Favre rumors change daily, but other than agent Bus Cook, no one "close to the situation" is willing to say much on the record. Which is why somebody at ESPN thought it would be a swell idea to get Oak Grove quarterback James McMahon on the horn to talk about watching Favre throw a football. Video is after the jump.

Packers Discuss Kampman, 3-4 Plans

The Green Bay Packers' transition to a 3-4 defense is not likely to be complete in 2009. There are some personnel shifts that have to take place, and the change is an adjustment for most of the players who will return.

Sure, the Packers will play a base 3-4, but that won't be the only thing they do defensively. Head coach Mike McCarthy and general manager Ted Thompson discussed the team's plans over the weekend at the NFL combine, this time offering more depth and detail than they have in the past.

Packers Confirm Aaron Kampman Will Play OLB in New Defense

It wasn't a terribly shocking day Tuesday in Green Bay. At last, head coach Mike McCarthy introduced his overhauled defensive coaching staff to the media. As expected, former Carolina defensive coordinator Mike Trgovac and former Pittsburgh defensive starters Kevin Greene and Darren Perry are key members of the group.

With the 3-4 defense coming under new coordinator Dom Capers, McCarthy also made official what we talked about here a couple weeks ago. Star defensive end Aaron Kampman is going to move to outside linebacker.

Former Linebacker/Pro Wrestler Kevin Greene Joins Packers' Staff

The Green Bay Packers have spent the first part of the offseason fine-tuning their coaching staff, especially on defense. Anyone who watched the team play in 2008 knows this was work that needed to be done.

With Dom Capers in as defensive coordinator and former Carolina defensive coordinator Mike Trgovac now coaching the defensive line, things were looking up. Capers and head coach Mike McCarthy weren't done, however, and they've now made a hire that could be fairly described as "interesting."

Is Aaron Kampman a Good Fit in Packers 3-4 Defense?

Earlier this week, the Green Bay Packers hired Dom Capers to run their defense. Capers replaces Bob Sanders, who ran the defense into the ground for three years, and he'll bring with him a new way of doing things. Part of the reason behind the coordinator change was a decision by head coach Mike McCarthy. Even though there are rumblings he may be sitting on an increasingly warmer seat, McCarthy is overseeing a changeover in defensive strategy. The Packers have been a 4-3 team for some time, but the head coach wants to make the switch to a 3-4. That's why he hired Capers, who is well-schooled in that scheme.

However, does Green Bay's best defensive player fit the scheme?

NFL Veteran Dom Capers Named Packers' Defensive Coordinator

Perhaps it took longer than expected for Mike McCarthy, but the search is over. The Packers canned defensive coordinator Bob Sanders after a miserable season, and speculation on a replacement immediately began to center around former San Francisco head coach Mike Nolan.

When Nolan took the job in Denver, the talk turned to former Redskins and Jaguars coordinator Gregg Williams. He ended up going to New Orleans, leaving McCarthy to what was presumably his third choice for a coordinator.

The third choice for McCarthy is a veteran coach with a ton of credibility around the NFL. Former Carolina and Houston head coach Dom Capers, a very successful defensive coach, is going to take over the Packers' defense.

Nolan to Denver; Who's Next for Packers?

Last week, we mentioned a report that former San Francisco head coach Mike Nolan was on the verge of becoming the Green Bay Packers' new defensive coordinator.

That report appears to have been premature, as Nolan is headed instead to Denver to run the Broncos' defense under new head coach Josh McDaniels.

With Nolan apparently out of the picture, the Packers now have to move in a different direction.

Report: Mike Nolan to Coach Packers' Defense

We told you earlier Monday of the firing of Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Bob Sanders. It was hardly a surprise, but the fact that head coach Mike McCarthy waited a full week after the end of the season made it possible that he had someone specific in mind to take over.

I mentioned then that former San Francisco head coach Mike Nolan was close to McCarthy, and there were already rumors that he was a candidate for the gig.

Now, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk is reporting that Nolan is rounding up defensive assistants, and he is preparing to become the Packers' new defensive coordinator.

While this is certainly good news for Packers fans, as Nolan is an accomplished defensive coach, things aren't all rosy. There are some serious questions that surround this potential move.

Namely, what scheme will the Packers play?

Thomas Jones Calls Out Brett Favre, Another Teammate Calls Him 'Distant'

Brett Favre probably should've taken the $20 million. Instead, he un-retired, strong-armed his way out of Green Bay, and landed in New York to lead the Jets back to the playoffs. That was the plan, anyway.


In reality, the Jets performed well enough to win the division but Favre's Favre-ness played a nontrivial role in the team's 1-4 finish and another offseason of organization-wide introspection.

And unlike Green Bay, where Favre could go Natural Born Killers on his way to work and the locals would just assume the victims had it coming, Jets fans tend to be more cynical. Teammates too, apparently. Running back Thomas Jones, one of the quietest, most respected players in the locker room, took some not-so-subtle jabs and Favre during a Wednesday radio appearance:

Can Packers' Mess Be Blamed on McCarthy?


The temptation is there.

After a 13-3 season that ended just short of a spot in the Super Bowl, the Green Bay Packers are going to miss the playoffs. In fact, 2008 will only be Green Bay's second losing season since 1992. The other losing season resulted in a new coaching staff, as Mike Sherman was fired.

We do live in an era where coaches get all the love when things are going well, and then get tossed out like last week's trash when life gets rough. The job calls for success early and always, and no one seems to understand that not everything can always go well.

Mike McCarthy probably knew that already. If he didn't, he has learned it now. His Packers have lost four straight, will not be in the playoffs, and can't seem to catch a break. Of Green Bay's nine losses, eight have come by a total of 38 points. Take out losses by nine and 11 points, and six of the Packers' defeats have been by a total of 18 points.

With this year's Packers poised to finish no better than 7-9, should McCarthy be feeling any heat?

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