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Aug 02, 2023

Mailbag: How will McCarthy handle defense?

Ask a question! Head coach Mike McCarthy said that he's spending his time almost exclusively with the offense. On the one hand, that make sense since he's now calling plays. But on the other, is that

Ask a question!

Head coach Mike McCarthy said that he's spending his time almost exclusively with the offense. On the one hand, that make sense since he's now calling plays. But on the other, is that going to make it more difficult come game days? After all, he has to manage the whole flow of the game, including the defense. _– Randy Serrano/Los Angeles, CA

Nick Eatman: Let's go back a little bit first. To me, the reason why Kellen Moore is no longer the OC is because McCarthy just has a different overall philosophy when it comes to calling plays and managing the game. With that, he wanted to take over that part of the game and that's why he's calling the plays, alongside an OC he's worked with before. Now, as for the defense, it's pretty obvious that there is a big trust level with Dan Quinn. I think he's going to let DQ do his thing on that side of the ball. I'm sure late in the game, McCarthy will have a hand in any necessary defensive calls but for the most part,

Patrik: I see where your concern lies here, but I'd counter with this: it shows just how much trust he has in Dan Quinn and the defensive staff to make sure that side of the ball is barreling forward in top gear. It's obviously also trust that's been earned in spades, allowing McCarthy the time to truly dive in wholeheartedly to tweaking the offense and making sure it's at the same caliber as the defense in 2023. That should be exciting to all versus McCarthy having to put on the head coach hat more than he needs to, knowing full well the offense requires a lot of his attention right now. Quinn and Co. are still debriefing McCarthy daily/regularly and so it's not as if he's in the dark on anything. It's as simple as him having a DC that is so spectacular that he knows he can toss him the keys to the defense and say "holler if you need me".