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The Final Thesis


Brit Pack

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The last three days I have hardly slept and ate. For 90% of the time I was the only fan at the hotel and in reality I had an been opportunity most fans would never have.

Over this period I became part of the crew, well liked, the NFL organising event team got to know me as did the staff and security. However, being part of this environment I had a unique position that I was there as a fan, so it was okay for me to approach and chat to the players and ask for photos, I wasn’t on a job.

Over a period of time I have had a chance to observe this team. Most of the players and coaches I saw multiple times, a few them got my name and remembered it. Based off body language, how people talked and acted I reached some conclusions. These are skills I feel I have developed in my working life where I have to hire and fire people, make deals, a lot of it is non-verbal communication and building understanding to make judgements.


1) There is no one to fear

Gutey was so nice, twice I hollered him over to where I was standing about 20 yards away and he obliged, and he didn’t shy away from answering anything. He learnt my name and even if he passed me by he would refer to be by my name and say hi. Same with coach Barry. When I saw Mark Murphy again lovely guy, like your grandpa. He really looks his age, he shouldn’t be in a role.

With MLF I saw him twice. Once in the bar and I missed my opportunity to chat to him because he was wearing a back pack and he looks young and he is not built like an NFL player and I though he was a college kid, by the time I clocked who he was, he was too far away . Then I saw MLF on game day and pulled him over from about 10 yards away, he was wearing a lovely suit, and he was very affable. Comes off as a bit of a geek.

Add into all this that Green Bay is a nice place. It is not big city and all the other support staff I spoke to were super nice and down to earth, just really good people. The security even said, they had the Saints in the week before and they were all really brash and no way as nice as the Packer crew.

Now nothing wrong with being nice but not one of these guys in leadership had an edge to them or side to them that you thought I should be scared off. Fear or the threat of fear is a great way to motivate and keep order, especially in highly competitive environments. I don’t see anyone in that organisation that anyone, especially Rodgers, is scared to cross. There is no owner that pays the wages that can throw his weight around. It’s all too nice (having said that Rich Bisaccia does look mean and when I said to him good work on the ST unit he pounded his fist and said there is more to do).

2) Rodgers is not meant to be the Alpha

When you are looking for happiness, peace and contentment in life it doesn’t mix well with passion and the hunger and sheer desire to win at all costs, there is a confliction. And I was burning to ask Rodgers that very question, how do you resolve the zen side with the all or nothing side? That was actually my prime goal if I got the chance to speak with him, as I have personally been there and done that.

It is not his nature to be the alpha male and at the same time it is lacking in the organisation. He plays QB1 and so naturally he has taken on that position of being the big dog and the defacto leader. However, it is not his nature and he doesn’t do it well. I have seen nice guys try to lead and wield power and they do it badly as they overcompensate for their niceness by acting and pretending to be tough to be taken more seriously. This confliction comes out in passive aggressive comments which you get in the pressers and some of his outbursts in games, which comes from frustration.

As it is not his nature to be the alpha he has imposter syndrome, so he gets defensive when leadership, his ability, decision making is questioned. He has to make a show of his alphanness, which isn’t there. It must make him tough to be around in the team, kind of a split personality and you are not sure what you are going to get as he is the authority which is also unchecked.

Compare Rodgers to Brett, you could tell the players loved Favre. His press conferences were fun. He was comfortable in his own skin and he was an alpha and he had a head coach that was an alpha too. I don’t get the same vibe with Rodgers at all, there is more respect of ability and a forced nicety. I obersved that. The passion and love when players talked about Brett, which was so palpable when Brett’s father passed and the team played that game against the Raiders, is simply not there with Rodgers. He has an insulated crew that he hangs with. When the coaches came to take the players, which have over 50 seats, Rodgers and only a handful of players were in one.

In sports this is common, the headcoach or at least someone in the organisational structure has to have bigger balls than the star players and thus set the culture to keep everyone in line. BB was like that and is like that in New England. In soccer Sir Alex Ferguson was like that at United, he got rid of Beckham and countless other stars when their egos got too big. At the very elite and pinnacle of anything, authority, fear, order has to come from the top.

To think that Gutey and MLF flew over to pacify Rodgers. That right there tells you where the power lies. Gutey bent over and gave Rodgers a terrible contract. MLF bends to Rodgers and is scared to get mad at him defends him in press conferences. Mark Murphy can’t do it. No one can. This affects the whole culture of the team. I feel MLF with Love would be a better combination than what we have now but it is too late.
 

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16 minutes ago, incognito_man said:

I'm ready for @Packerraymond to try and tell you that you are out of touch because you have too much real world experience and football is somehow 'different'.

I enjoyed your takes, however.

Seems like LaFleur was enjoying himself according to a first hand account, so maybe we didn't lost because of his poor leadership?

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The lack of alpha dogs in GB has been evident since TT took over. It's a prob. Woodson was one. I agree it's an organizational problem, not really an AR prob. You can't change what he is. He's headsy but melancholic. Where you're wrong though is that AR does have the drive to win, and guys do play for him. He gets them up to his level: we've seen that over the years. And the Packers are pretty good at finding guys in the draft with that want to on offense. You can see him turn it on during games. Subtle but there, and you don't get to his level without it.

 

I'm not worried about the offense (except the line): given what they have there will be growing pains. It may not become superbowl caliber. We'll see. It's the D that bothers me, as many right now.

 

As to MLF flying to "pacify" AR. I don't see it that way. They were going to trade him, and MLF didn't want to lose him. AR had made it clear he wanted to retire in Green Bay. That's a different matter. And I have no problem with his contract. Two time MVP deserves to be the highest paid: that's just business.

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11 minutes ago, Packerraymond said:

Seems like LaFleur was enjoying himself according to a first hand account, so maybe we didn't lost because of his poor leadership?

MLF wasn't enjoying himself, at least at the bar. On the Saturday night the team had a meeting at 8pm, which was cool as players were coming back from an afternoon out and I got to see and chat with a fair few. The team meeting lasted till 8,45pm, Aaron Jones told me as I asked him to see Rodgers would come out to say hi, and he said inly possible after the meeting.

By 9pm I figured no point hanging around anymore and I went into the bar in the hotel. They had sectioned off the bar and put a divider screen in between the public use and where the players were. This screen very occasionaly opned to let staff in or in this case MLF out. What was interesting as it was just a divider screen which was about head height and not made of anything put platic was that the players who were in the bar were watching soccer and that there was very little noise coming from that side. Seemed a little flat. MLF walked out of the bar, across from where I was sitting to his room about 9.15pm. So I doubt he was in there for more than 15minutes.

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2 minutes ago, Brit Pack said:

MLF wasn't enjoying himself, at least at the bar. On the Saturday night the team had a meeting at 8pm, which was cool as players were coming back from an afternoon out and I got to see and chat with a fair few. The team meeting lasted till 8,45pm, Aaron Jones told me as I asked him to see Rodgers would come out to say hi, and he said inly possible after the meeting.

By 9pm I figured no point hanging around anymore and I went into the bar in the hotel. They had sectioned off the bar and put a divider screen in between the public use and where the players were. This screen very occasionaly opned to let staff in or in this case MLF out. What was interesting as it was just a divider screen which was about head height and not made of anything put platic was that the players who were in the bar were watching soccer and that there was very little noise coming from that side. Seemed a little flat. MLF walked out of the bar, across from where I was sitting to his room about 9.15pm. So I doubt he was in there for more than 15minutes.

Damn. Did MLF realize you were tracking him?  :)

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1 minute ago, JaireAlex said:

Where you're wrong though is that AR does have the drive to win

I'm not as convinced as before, when he certainly had it. And it is not a switch from on to off. It just erodes a little bit at a time. It happens with age too.

When you go through a journey of self-fullilment and self-realisation it takes the shine off things and that level of desire and motivation slips. That has happened in my business life, it is very hard to reconcille the two energies and it edges away at you little bit at a time.

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I think you're playing armchair psychologist. 

Lord knows I have my issue with Rodgers, but mindset isn't really one of them when it comes to Alpha-ness

This team isn't playing up to its potential for a bunch of reasons.

It's defensive scheme isn't up to snuff from a schematic standpoint and matching personnel to responsibility.

It still lacks the standout interior rusher that it needs from the UT role.

It's got a RT coming back from an ACL who isn't playing as well as we need him to yet. 

It's interior offensive line lacks any standouts.

The WR room is really damn young and also doesn't have any standouts. 

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4 minutes ago, AlexGreen#20 said:

Lord knows I have my issue with Rodgers, but mindset isn't really one of them when it comes to Alpha-ness

He's always seemed a bit insecure. The whole chip-on-the-shoulder thing is just another way of stating that. I thought it's always been kinda obvious he tries hard in this way. It's not natural for him. 

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Very interesting read Brit, thanks.  The Packers problems right now are indeed multi and varied.  Not only some of the young players, the coaching staff itself starting with Frenchy are still in growth mode.  They need to accelerate that growth, it is costing them games against inferior teams.

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RE: Gutekunst- remember, he is NOT the head of football operations like TT was.  LaFleur, Gute and Ball are report to Murphy, and from a hierarchical standpoint, Murphy is in the natural position to be the alpha.  

I don’t believe Gute planned on acquiescing to Rodgers last summer, I believe he was forced by Murphy and LaFleur to do so.  Nothing about Gute’s preferred method of team building jives with what they’ve done with the cap and the contract they’ve recently given to Rodgers.

I have a feeling there is a lot more behind the scenes drama than we know about… Jason Wilde has hinted at this in the past… maybe one day a reporter will get somebody to talk.  

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You don't do what Rodgers has done without talent and drive. He has mentioned on several occasions that the drive to win carries over to everything. Dominos, cards, etc. The "I hate to lose more than I like to win" is there. Just because he mentions appreciating things more often doesn't mean the edge is gone or that he's soft. That's a normal reaction to seeing the end of his sports road. Marcedes Lewis isn't soft - yet he is beloved as a leader - and you never hear boo from him in the media. You also heard from multiple players how everything gets amped up when Rodgers is in camp. Would hate to see how things would be if he hadn't shown up.

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5 hours ago, Brit Pack said:

The last three days I have hardly slept and ate. For 90% of the time I was the only fan at the hotel and in reality I had an been opportunity most fans would never have.

Over this period I became part of the crew, well liked, the NFL organising event team got to know me as did the staff and security. However, being part of this environment I had a unique position that I was there as a fan, so it was okay for me to approach and chat to the players and ask for photos, I wasn’t on a job.

Over a period of time I have had a chance to observe this team. Most of the players and coaches I saw multiple times, a few them got my name and remembered it. Based off body language, how people talked and acted I reached some conclusions. These are skills I feel I have developed in my working life where I have to hire and fire people, make deals, a lot of it is non-verbal communication and building understanding to make judgements.


1) There is no one to fear

Gutey was so nice, twice I hollered him over to where I was standing about 20 yards away and he obliged, and he didn’t shy away from answering anything. He learnt my name and even if he passed me by he would refer to be by my name and say hi. Same with coach Barry. When I saw Mark Murphy again lovely guy, like your grandpa. He really looks his age, he shouldn’t be in a role.

With MLF I saw him twice. Once in the bar and I missed my opportunity to chat to him because he was wearing a back pack and he looks young and he is not built like an NFL player and I though he was a college kid, by the time I clocked who he was, he was too far away . Then I saw MLF on game day and pulled him over from about 10 yards away, he was wearing a lovely suit, and he was very affable. Comes off as a bit of a geek.

Add into all this that Green Bay is a nice place. It is not big city and all the other support staff I spoke to were super nice and down to earth, just really good people. The security even said, they had the Saints in the week before and they were all really brash and no way as nice as the Packer crew.

Now nothing wrong with being nice but not one of these guys in leadership had an edge to them or side to them that you thought I should be scared off. Fear or the threat of fear is a great way to motivate and keep order, especially in highly competitive environments. I don’t see anyone in that organisation that anyone, especially Rodgers, is scared to cross. There is no owner that pays the wages that can throw his weight around. It’s all too nice (having said that Rich Bisaccia does look mean and when I said to him good work on the ST unit he pounded his fist and said there is more to do).

2) Rodgers is not meant to be the Alpha

When you are looking for happiness, peace and contentment in life it doesn’t mix well with passion and the hunger and sheer desire to win at all costs, there is a confliction. And I was burning to ask Rodgers that very question, how do you resolve the zen side with the all or nothing side? That was actually my prime goal if I got the chance to speak with him, as I have personally been there and done that.

It is not his nature to be the alpha male and at the same time it is lacking in the organisation. He plays QB1 and so naturally he has taken on that position of being the big dog and the defacto leader. However, it is not his nature and he doesn’t do it well. I have seen nice guys try to lead and wield power and they do it badly as they overcompensate for their niceness by acting and pretending to be tough to be taken more seriously. This confliction comes out in passive aggressive comments which you get in the pressers and some of his outbursts in games, which comes from frustration.

As it is not his nature to be the alpha he has imposter syndrome, so he gets defensive when leadership, his ability, decision making is questioned. He has to make a show of his alphanness, which isn’t there. It must make him tough to be around in the team, kind of a split personality and you are not sure what you are going to get as he is the authority which is also unchecked.

Compare Rodgers to Brett, you could tell the players loved Favre. His press conferences were fun. He was comfortable in his own skin and he was an alpha and he had a head coach that was an alpha too. I don’t get the same vibe with Rodgers at all, there is more respect of ability and a forced nicety. I obersved that. The passion and love when players talked about Brett, which was so palpable when Brett’s father passed and the team played that game against the Raiders, is simply not there with Rodgers. He has an insulated crew that he hangs with. When the coaches came to take the players, which have over 50 seats, Rodgers and only a handful of players were in one.

In sports this is common, the headcoach or at least someone in the organisational structure has to have bigger balls than the star players and thus set the culture to keep everyone in line. BB was like that and is like that in New England. In soccer Sir Alex Ferguson was like that at United, he got rid of Beckham and countless other stars when their egos got too big. At the very elite and pinnacle of anything, authority, fear, order has to come from the top.

To think that Gutey and MLF flew over to pacify Rodgers. That right there tells you where the power lies. Gutey bent over and gave Rodgers a terrible contract. MLF bends to Rodgers and is scared to get mad at him defends him in press conferences. Mark Murphy can’t do it. No one can. This affects the whole culture of the team. I feel MLF with Love would be a better combination than what we have now but it is too late.
 

I have no idea how accurate your takeaways are, but it was an interesting read.  You certainly had the kind of access most Packers fans only dream of.

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