The NFL is changing. Gradually but definitely, the 100-yard version of the game is becoming more like the 50-yard indoor variety, with plenty of points and yards and defenses that merely hope to make a periodic stop.
The Packers have epitomized that style in recent years, and coach Mike McCarthy embraces it.
“Running the football is important, but at the end of the day, the offense’s responsibility is scoring points,” McCarthy said Wednesday regarding the perceived decline of the run game, via Packers.com. “You have to score as many points as you can. . . . I don’t play keep away. I want to play as fast as we can, throw as many punches as we can and beat you as bad as we can.”
In Green Bay, that approach arguably is a necessity, since the defense has been not so good in recent years. The emphasis on scoring points arguably has put more pressure on the team’s defense.
“What you do has to complement whatever your team’s philosophy is. It has to tie in with the head coach’s philosophy. When you have a quarterback like Aaron [Rodgers], you’re going to try to play to the strength of your personnel,” defensive coordinator Dom Capers said.
And so the goal has become creating turnovers.
“Our No. 1 goal is always going to be to lead the league in scoring defense. We’ve got to create more fumbles,” Capers said.
Ultimately, they’ve got to allow fewer points. In so doing, they need to figure out how to stop the read option, which the 49ers used in the playoffs last year to bury the Packers, prompting strong opinions that someone other than Capers should be running the defense.