Jim Souhan is Ridiculous

[SkunkedAgain]

This is the most ridiculous thing that I have ever read in my life. The first thing that gets me is his childish way of bullying the reader into believe him by saying that any fan "...who doesn't agree should get with the century and embrace modern developments." That's bush league journalism.

Second, the only proof that he provides is that these two guys coached in different eras. Based on this rationale, any coach in the modern era that has gotten their team merely to the NFC championship game twice is better than Lombardi.

Mr. Souhan sir, you are a moron.

Quote:

Packers coach McCarthy is better than legendary Lombardi

By JIM SOUHAN, Star Tribune

Last update: January 19, 2011 - 6:55 AM

Jim Souhan

If he wins his next two games, Packers coach Mike McCarthy will get to hold the Lombardi Trophy, that symbol of NFL excellence and homage to the presumed greatest coach of all time.

Which is funny, because if I had to win an NFL playoff game today, I'd rather have McCarthy on the sideline than ol' St. Vince.

McCarthy will need to win about five Super Bowls before most Packers fans will elevate him to Lombardi's exalted status. I say he's already a better coach than Vinny, and any Packers fan who doesn't agree should get with the century and embrace modern developments. Such as electricity, and the forward pass.

Lombardi dominated 14- and 16-team leagues. To win his first four NFL titles, he had to win either one or two postseason games. Today, becoming the best of 16 teams and winning one or two postseason games would get you to the conference title game, a level reached by such legends as Jim Mora, Denny Green, Brad Childress and Steve Mariucci.

Lombardi took advantage of a league that viewed the forward pass as an occasionally necessary evil. The Packers who won the 1961 NFL title ranked ninth in the 14-team league with 168 passing yards per game.

If a McCarthy-coached team ever averaged 168 yards passing, he'd be Macalester's offensive coordinator the following year.

In today's NFL, the quarterback is the fulcrum of an elaborate and intricate mechanism featuring dozens of formations and hundreds of plays. In Lombardi's NFL, the quarterback was a UPS man, required to deliver a leather object from the center to the halfback.

Lombardi dominated the NFL by demanding toughness from his players. That was easy when concussions were referred to as "seeing stars.''

In McCarthy's NFL, one more blow to Aaron Rodgers' head could end the season, and if he asked Rodgers to "gut it out,'' McCarthy would be subjected to public ridicule, if not legal action.

The NFL was so primitive during Lombardi's rise that he gained a marked advantage over the rest of the league by -- I'm not making this up -- making his players work out.

The level of physical fitness required by the average backup tackle in today's NFL made the Packers physically superior to the competition in the 1960s.

Remember, Lombardi dominated a league that had yet to embrace the concept of the short pass. Lombardi became a coaching giant by emphasizing -- I'm not making this up -- the "sweep.''

Imagine if a current NFL coach tried to win with a playbook designed around the power sweep. Even Childress, who wanted to build his offense around power running when he took over the Vikings, eventually acknowledged that an intricate passing offense was necessary to win in today's NFL.

In Lombardi's NFL, he could line up his assortment of indentured Hall of Famers and run over the opposition.

In an NFL filled with remarkably fast, powerful defenders, McCarthy has resorted to using three-back and five-receiver sets during the same drive.

Lombardi's team was never threatened by free agency or salary caps. McCarthy has been forced, because of free agency and injuries, to remake his team almost weekly. His best defender during the playoffs has been Tramon Williams, who was once released by Houston, and his best back has been James Starks, a rookie sixth-round draft pick.

Lombardi relied on one Hall of Fame quarterback, Bart Starr. McCarthy reinvigorated one Hall of Famer, Brett Favre, and may have created another in Rodgers.

Lombardi reaped the benefit of coaching on the Frozen Tundra, giving his players a dramatic home-field advantage. Today, Lambeau Field and its sidelines are heated, making Lambeau just another outdoor stadium to opponents.

Clearly, McCarthy is the better coach. But in the interest of even-handedness, we have to give Lombardi this: He was the better dresser.

McCarthy always looks like he just got done mowing the lawn. Lombardi dressed like a champ -- the champion of a small, backward, league.

Jim Souhan can be heard Sundays from 10 a.m. to noon and weekdays at 2:40 p.m. on 1500ESPN. His Twitter name is Souhanstrib.

[thatoneguy]

he's a columnist - his job is to stir the pot and encourage debate. For what it's worth, I agree with most of what he wrote.

[LMITOUT]

His main intention with that column was nothing more than to discredit past Green Bay championships, hid behind a flimsy veil of comparing Lombardi to McCarthy.

You can smell the fear in his words that GB has a real possibility of putting another notch in the ol' belt and another championship further ahead of the Vikings.

[thatoneguy]

take off the tinfoil hats, boys. Souhan was just (correctly) pointing out that the modern NFL is a much more challenging place to succeed today than when it was a small, unsophisticated, young league.

[LMITOUT]

That's exactly what I said, and in the process he's pooo-pooing any championships that aren't of the "modern era" status.

Souhan, Dennis Anderson, Star Trib et al...they are all shills who couldn't write a column that didn't have a hidden agenda if their job depended on it.

[SkunkedAgain]

take off the tinfoil hats, boys. Souhan was just (correctly) pointing out that the modern NFL is a much more challenging place to succeed today than when it was a small, unsophisticated, young league.

Sorry, you are wrong. If you were right, the title of the article would have been "Modern NFL Is Better Than Old NFL." However, his title was that McCarthy is a better coach than Lombardi but based his premise upon the eras which has nothing to do with the greatness of a coach.

In addition to writing a ridiculous article, he also failed Journalism 101 which is to tie the body of the article to the title of the article.

[Dylan33]

I amlost fell off my chair when I came across this P.O.S article yesterday. How does Souhan still have a job? Even if you could compare the different eras, (which you can't) Lombardi's ability to motivate his players and get them ready to WIN is unmatched in all of sports (with the exception of Herb Brooks)

[nonteepical]

there isn't a good sports journalist in minnesota media.

[Steve Foss]

Sorry, you are wrong. If you were right, the title of the article would have been "Modern NFL Is Better Than Old NFL." However, his title was that McCarthy is a better coach than Lombardi but based his premise upon the eras which has nothing to do with the greatness of a coach.

In addition to writing a ridiculous article, he also failed Journalism 101 which is to tie the body of the article to the title of the article.

One note. Writers may propose headlines, but it's the page designers/editors who usually make them up and place them. Many was the time I wrote a story that had a misdirectional headline on top of it. When that happens, the writer looks to the uninformed public like a fool. Not that Souhan needs any help to look like a fool.

[Dylan33]

there isn't a good sports journalist in minnesota media.

Hello? 3 letters for you S-I-D. SID!

[SkunkedAgain]

One note. Writers may propose headlines, but it's the page designers/editors who usually make them up and place them.

Good point

[zamboni]

Hello? 3 letters for you S-I-D. SID!

The crabby old man is a friend of mine on FB!!

On a Sid sidenote, anyone else watch the sports reporters show on sunday nights? Since I have DirecTv now, my CW is out of Washington, DC. I miss that show, I was always waiting for Sid and Dark Star to go to blows