Murphy: "I'm disappointed about where we are"

Captain Erv · Post #1 » by **Captain Erv** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 4:06 am

Pretty PC, but at least he isn't trying to sugarcoat anything.

Disappointed Murphy wants to see improvement

Packers President Mark Murphy isn't ready to write off this season yet, but in a phone interview today, he expressed his disappointment in the Packers' 4-4 start and perhaps put General Manager Ted Thompson and coach Mike McCarthy on notice.

Here are the highlights from that interview:

Question: The season hasn't gone as way you hoped, do you think this can be saved this year?

Murphy: "Yeah, I do. I've seen enough football and been involved in the NFL long enough that I can see it happening, sure. But obviously I'm disappointed about where we are. The number one goal as an organization every year is to win, but obviously we've got half the season left, and it's really premature to do an evaluation. At the end the season, I'll sit down and see how we performed."

Q: At this point, can you judge Ted and Mike based on where you’re at?

Murphy: "You really need to wait until the whole season is completed. I've seen it both ways. Teams get off to great starts and collapse, or struggle early and play well at the end. But obviously I'm disappointed in where we are now, especially the loss to Tampa, very disappointing to everybody, but we'll see how we respond."

Q: Do you still have faith in Ted and Mike’s program?

Murphy: "Yeah, I do. I still have confidence in Ted. Obviously for me, I work through Ted, and he and I are always in touch with each other, and I have a lot of confidence in Ted."

Q: Do you sense that Ted has that same confidence in Mike?

Murphy: "You'll have to talk to Ted, but my sense is that he does have confidence but (is) disappointed in where we are right now. We're all hoping that we can make the changes that are needed to get us to where we want to be at the end of the season."

Q: What are those changes?

Murphy: "That's what Ted and Mike (do); that's what we're looking for from (the) football (operation). I know it's not easy, winning in the NFL is very challenging from week to week, but I'm confident that we can do it."

Q: Why hasn't this season gone as well as many expected?

Murphy: "Well I guess the main thing I'd say is you can't too much weight on the preseason. I think we've known that all along, but yeah to me it's still a work in progress. Again, I think we've had some disappointing losses, but we're 4-4 halfway through the season, and I think we can still have a successful year, just making sure that we make the changes that are necessary to get us to that point."

Q: Is the Board of Directors or the Executive Committee pressuring you to make changes?

Murphy: "No, no. They're involved, and they provide all kinds of advice, but at the end of the day, it's going to be my decision."

-- Rob Demovsky, rdemovsk@greenbaypressgazette.com
http://twitter.com/RobDemovsky

posted by PackersNews.com at 6:07 PM | 70 Comments

Flames24Rulz · Post #2 » by **Flames24Rulz** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 4:23 am

Great news to hear.

MM's gone if we miss the playoffs this year, I have to believe. Music to our ears.

Ryan5UW · Post #3 » by **Ryan5UW** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 4:55 am

I'm not as excited as you are. When asked if he still has faith in Ted & Mike, he said yes about Ted, but didn't mention McCarthy. Sounds like he's on board with TT still being the guy, which I'm not so certain about anymore.

eagle13 · Post #4 » by **eagle13** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 5:12 am

He said all the right stuff you'd expect at this point. It would be dumb to give ultimatums or undermine regime by expressing a loss of confidence at this juncture. Most hopeful is - "and it's really premature to do an evaluation. At the end the season, I'll sit down and see how we performed." and "But obviously I'm disappointed in where we are now, especially the loss to Tampa, very disappointing to everybody, but we'll see how we respond."

IF we suck then???

Flames24Rulz · Post #5 » by **Flames24Rulz** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 5:20 am

Read between the words. If we suck the rest of the year, he's going to be even more disappointed by the results.

Murphy's going to feel a ton of pressure to make a move considering MM and Thompson in the offseason if we continue to tread water and miss the playoffs.

Post #6 » by **paulpressey25** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 5:26 am

I think Murphy is an administrative placeholder. Let's hope there are some smart guys on that board.

El Duderino · Post #7 » by **El Duderino** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 5:33 am

paulpressey25 wrote:I think Murphy is an administrative placeholder.

Based on what?

Murphy seems more behind the scenes than Harlan, but i've heard nothing to think the call on TT/MM isn't his.

eagle13 · Post #8 » by **eagle13** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 5:48 am

Flames24Rulz wrote:Read between the words. If we suck the rest of the year, he's going to be even more disappointed by the results.

Murphy's going to feel a ton of pressure to make a move considering MM and Thompson in the offseason if we continue to tread water and miss the playoffs.

That's what I was implying. I think (maybe colored by hope) that Murph is biding his time, hoping for improvement but knowing he'll have to act if there isn't.

PkrsBcksGphsMqt · Post #9 » by **PkrsBcksGphsMqt** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 5:50 am

This is how I read his comments...

Make the playoffs = MM and TT are safe

Miss the playoffs = bye bye MM and TT you better fix this NOW or your out next year

trwi7 · Post #10 » by **trwi7** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 6:12 am

PackBuckGophZag wrote:This is how I read his comments...

Make the playoffs = MM and TT are safe

Miss the playoffs = bye bye MM and TT you better fix this NOW or your out next year

That's how I see it as well.

Thought the same thing as Ryan on the question about Ted and Mike and he only mentioned Ted. Very telling imo.

BucksRuleAll22 · Post #11 » by **BucksRuleAll22** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 8:11 am

I hope the Packers lose every game just so TT and MM can be gone. Season is already over and if you can't see that you don't know anything about football or the Packers. Can't have the worst offensive line in the NFl and expect anything.

I will consider this season a success is Rodgers stays healthy and TT and MM are fired.

bucks59 · Post #12 » by **bucks59** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 12:55 pm

BucksRuleAll22 wrote:I hope the Packers lose every game just so TT and MM can be gone. Season is already over and if you can't see that you don't know anything about football or the Packers. Can't have the worst offensive line in the NFl and expect anything.

I will consider this season a success is Rodgers stays healthy and TT and MM are fired.

Would you rather that the Packers make the playoffs but that means that TT and MM are here for probably at least 3 years or that the Packers lose every game and MM/TT get fired?

mnstinks · Post #13 » by **mnstinks** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 1:04 pm

I hope the Packers lose every game

Lame

Post #14 » by **Wade-A-Holic** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 2:20 pm

BucksRuleAll22 wrote:Can't have the worst offensive line in the NFl and expect anything.

Tell that to last year's Steelers. Their line wasn't quite as bad as ours is, but it was pretty awful and easily the worst offensive line I can remember on a winning Super Bowl team.

Post #15 » by **MickeyDavis** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 2:20 pm

I can't root for losses. I still want playoffs even if it's unreasonable and even if it means TT/MM stay another year (at least). In the NFL if you make the playoffs you havea reasonable shot at the SB. It's not like the NBA where the lower seeds have no shot.

an_also · Post #16 » by **an_also** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 3:07 pm

mnstinks wrote:
I hope the Packers lose every game

Lame

Newz · Post #17 » by **Newz** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 3:09 pm

BucksRuleAll22 wrote:I hope the Packers lose every game just so TT and MM can be gone.

And I used to think the Packers had the best fans in pro sports.

Ryan5UW · Post #18 » by **Ryan5UW** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 3:57 pm

trwi7 wrote:
PackBuckGophZag wrote:This is how I read his comments...

Make the playoffs = MM and TT are safe

Miss the playoffs = bye bye MM and TT you better fix this NOW or your out next year

That's how I see it as well.

Thought the same thing as Ryan on the question about Ted and Mike and he only mentioned Ted. Very telling imo.

Yep, those are the exact lines I read between, and that's what I came up with as well. It seems like, at least right now, he still thinks TT is his guy and can turn this around. I'm not jumping on TT based on the Favre thing, I'm ok with how all of that went down, but looking at just about everything else he's done as the GM here, I just don't think he has it.

Ryan5UW · Post #19 » by **Ryan5UW** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 4:03 pm

mnstinks wrote:
I hope the Packers lose every game

Lame

Agreed, that is lame. I still want them to win games, always will. I just don't think this can be a winning organization as long as MM and TT are still in place. And, I don't think just replacing MM is the answer, if the coach isn't getting the personnel to compete, there's only so much he can do. Yes, a good coach should be able to do more with this roster than MM (even if it's just eliminating the stupid mistakes, implementing some discipline, or trying to change things to make some improvements), but with this roster, I don't think they would be significantly better.

Newz · Post #20 » by **Newz** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 4:04 pm

If you eliminate the stupid mistakes and make the team more disciplined... We would likely be 6-2 instead of 4-4.