The Packers can get to the playoffs for the 7th time in a row with a win on Sunday. That would be a feat never before accomplished by a Green Bay Packers head coach. Not Curly Lambeau, not Vince Lombardi, not Mike Holmgren.
All head coach Mike McCarthy has to do is lead the 9-4 Packers passed the Oakland Raiders. A job, which superficially, seems like a breeze. But as the head coach has said before, December football is dangerous. And the Oakland Raiders are dangerous, too.
Part of what makes Oakland so dangerous is a man who not too long ago was wearing the Green and Gold: Charles Woodson.
"I really believe he's a generational player," Coach McCarthy told Wisconsin's Morning News, "and the way he's going he can go for another five years."
With Woodson still on the top of his game, and the offense clearly looking to keep an eye on him all game long, they will need to stay flexible with the game plan.
This is a challenge that falls again on Coach McCarthy, who's wrested control of the play calling from his Assistant Head Coach. But it's a challenge he's relishing in.
"It's always a part of the game I enjoyed," he says, "it's a totally different role. Your thought process, your checklist...are all totally different."
But regardless of who's calling the plays, he says, it comes down to one thing:
"It always comes down to execution. It's important think about the players, not the plays."
Packers fans will see if the gameplan matches up to the execution on Sunday when the Packers take on Oakland with a 3:05 kickoff.
Hear all of the coach's thoughts by clicking on our Soundcloud player.
