Packers fire defensive coordinator

JSOnline ^ | 01/11/04 | self

[brewcrew]

Five days after the Packers bowed out of the playoffs in frustrating fashion, Ed Donatell was fired as the team's defensive coordinator. Tight ends coach Jeff Jagodzinski was also let go. Story to come

[brewcrew]

Wow!

[vetvetdoug]

Its a good thing for the SEC and Mississippi State that they got Croom before the axe fell......

[Tricorn]

This doesn't surprise me at all. In fact, I advocated it.

The Packers offense spent way too much time watching helplessly while the defense blew yet another lead: They blew a 17-pt 4Q lead over KC, a 4Q lead over Philly, a 7 pt lead over Seattle in the playoffs (when they failed to come with pressure and just allowed an easily rattled Matt Hasselbeck to pick them apart) and a 14 pt lead over Philly in the playoffs. Giving up that 4th and 26 play alone is grounds for firing.

I think the Packers defensive personnel is good. They must have scheme problems.

[BenLurkin]

Lessee . . .the Packer season ends with an interception from Favre and they respond by firing the defensive coordinator?

[blackdog]

The Packer defense has the talent, but the called defenses really sucked. The offensive coaching was even worse.

Sherman is firing the guy as an excuse for his own poor play selection.

They remind me of Buddy Ryan's analysis of a "Prevent Defense". That is it that it "Prevents you from winning".

A few Andre Waters type safety blitzes from a guy who knows how to hit would have knocked McNabb into a fetal posed, trembling scaredy-girl. Instead, they treated McNabb to "observe but don't touch status".

[stevio]

I think they blew it when they didn't go for that last 4th and inches.

[mallardx]

It was the 4th and 26th, coupled with the defensive breakdown in the regular-season Philly game, in case you're not paying attention!

[Libertarian4Bush]

HAHAHAHAHA!

fly eagles fly.

[over3Owithabrain]

Agreed - the buck stops with Sherman. His coaching was awful and was directly responsible for the loss. He can fire all the subordinates he wants.

Passes on 3rd and short twice in 3rd quarter with running game humming;
Needs 1 yard rushing to win the game - punts for a 20 yard net;
Sits 27 yards back on 4th and 26.
This game had all the look of a fix if I believed in that. Not since UNLV folded against Duke in the NCAA tourney did a game look this rigged.

[Libertarian4Bush]

A few Andre Waters type safety blitzes from a guy who knows how to hit would have knocked McNabb into a fetal posed, trembling scaredy-girl.

You mean like ALMOST getting hit by Ike Reese did to Favre? Ohhhh, I'm out of Vicodin and don't wanna get hit, lemme just throw it up to Dawk!

[BenLurkin]

Who me - pay attention?

Seriously though, I was working that day (actually making myself useful).

[Libertarian4Bush]

This game had all the look of a fix if I believed in that.

you can fix drops and misses, not catches and kicks. the packers lost to a better team, why can no one deal with this?

[Godfollow]

Hey, tell me about it... I'm a KC fan, you may or may not know how bad our defense was... in our playoff with the Colts, our defense could not prevent a a single third down conversion the whole game... no forced punts... made me sick... the only bright side is that our DC is outa'here now, but he should not have ever been retained from last year.

[joesnuffy]

It ended by not going for a field goal...and messing up the TD

[kevao]

Any coach whose defense gives up 4th and 26, deserves to be fired.

But the offensive coach should be sacked, too. It is inconceivable for a team with one of the best running backs in the league and an excellent offensive line to pass on 3rd and 2. Ridiculous!

[over3Owithabrain]

I don't really think it was a fix. But the truth is the Eagles were outplayed by the Pack in that game. It wasn't even close. The Pack ran the ball down the Eagles throat all day. They sacked the QB 8 times. Yes, the Eagles deserve credit for finding a way to stay in the game, and McNabb pulled a couple of miracle plays out of his butt. But they weren't the better team as you put it. They needed a near-miracle 27 yard hail mary to avoid a defeat that would have left all of Philly cursing McNabb and his team once again. Not to mention a gift of a floated pass by Favre, and the refusal of Sherman to go for 1 yard to seal the game.

[Freebird Forever]

Instead, they treated McNabb to "observe but don't touch status".

A conspiracy theorist might suggest that this is exactly how the NFL wanted it to play out.

[southernnorthcarolina]

Of course, we Panthers fans were pulling for the Packers over the Eagles, because it would've meant the NFC Championship Game would've been played in Charlotte.

Ah, well. We must now go on the road in an effort to win one for Rush by knocking McNabb off his pedestal. It won't be easy, but we'll give it a shot.

GO PANTHERS!

[Libertarian4Bush]

But the truth is the Eagles were outplayed by the Pack in that game.

a "game" is longer than 14 minutes.

[over3Owithabrain]

Favre is overrated too I think. That int he threw would have been universally condemned if it was thrown by practically anyone else. He threw a record 6 ints in a playoff loss 2 years ago. He has had quite a few great moments, but he is not the awesome QB the media makes him out. That said, I'll take him for my Cowboys over Quincy!