Arizona Republic.
Bickley writes: “Twice, Whisenhunt has been irked by the audacity of the opposing coach.”The first time was a preseason game the Packers led 38-10 by halftime. There was a belief McCarthy overly gameplanned and continued to go deep when it was unnecessary.
The second case was last week, when Aaron Rodgers kept passing up 26-0 against reserves, probably in an effort to pass Brett Favre for second place on the Packers’ all-time single-season passing-yardage list.
We were pointed to Bickley’s article by the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, and we had the same thought Greg A. Bedard did there. It’s unclear if Bickley is stretching Whisenhunt’s words or if he got an off-the-record chat.
“They had their plan,” Whisenhunt said. “I guess they felt good about what they were doing.”
Whiz’s annoyance wouldn’t be a shock. The Cardinals have been lambasted twice by the Packers during inconsequential games. It would be more surprising if they didn’t quietly use that for simmering motivation.
The coaching duel is another component for a game shaping up to be the most intriguing of a great weekend.
Both teams look capable of making a run to the Super Bowl, which will make the result even more painful for one of them.