Not In the Family

Holmgren, Packers tired
of being linked to the 49ers

How long is it going to be until the Packers get the credit they deserve for building a top franchise on their own? Another year or two? Five years? Or will it never end as long as Mike Holmgren is at the helm?

Last season was bad enough: the Packers knocked the 49ers silly in Green Bay en route to winning the Super Bowl, but at that point, they were treated almost as a novelty by Niner fans and media. "Well, Holmgren used to coach for the Niners, so we're happy for him," many fans opined. "He's like part of the family. The Niners, obviously, are directly responsible for the success of the Packers. But it doesn't matter anyway, because the Niners will be back again next year."

Well, next year is now this year, and it's over for the Niners. And the "novelty" of the Packers has worn off faster than you can say "West Coast Offense."

All the pre-game hype this year revolved around the "family" aspect of the game. Holmgren used to be a Niner assistant. San Francisco coach Steve Mariucci used to be the Packer quarterbacks coach and legend has it he built Brett Favre into the man he is today. The players and coaches all love one another and in the offseason they can often be found hanging out with each other, finding some middle ground between Green Bay and San Francisco to take their families on picnics together amongst the summer daisies.

Yeah, right. The reality is that Mike Holmgren is six years removed from San Francisco. Aside from a playbook to which he has made some signficant modifications, Holmgren has no affiliation with the 49ers whatsoever. Neither do his staff or players. Green Bay, nicknamed "Titletown" due to their NFL-leading 12 championships, has built another great team with no assistance at all from any other team, including San Francisco.

Why, then, doesn't the media treat this accomplishment with the respect it deserves? We've been wondering ourselves. Last year we exhorted Niner fans to wise up and stop taking credit for Green Bay's success. We're not sure if Holmgren ever checks in with the NHS, but it sure seems like he's reaching the end of his rope with regards to the constant comparisons to the 49ers.

"We have two different teams and two different cities. It's time we're recognized as the Green Bay Packers and the Green Bay Packer organization," Holmgren recently said of the comparions to the 49ers.

But wait, Mike -- don't you run the same offense that the Niners do? The West Coast Offense, which Bill Walsh adapted from the offenses of Sid Gillman and Paul Brown? Doesn't that mean that the Niners are just like family to you, and responsible for your success?

"I get tired of hearing [about] the 'West Coast offense,' " Holmgren said. "I think that's kind of a lazy term, really. I mean, it was kind of a cute little deal at one time, and now it's been six years. It's not the same. If I got out and showed you plays from our playbook then and our playbook now, you'd go, 'It's quite different.'"

Apparently not different enough for Niner fans and some members of the media. To them, the Niners have the copyright on two-yard slant pattern, and if Green Bay uses it, they are merely copycats. Forget about the obvious differences in the offenses, differences that were underscored as the Packers romped on the 49ers on San Fran's own turf last weekend. Differences that include Green Bay's success at running in between the tackles, their insistence on throwing the ball deep more than once a half, and their crazy notion of running intermediate routes to convert a third-and-long situation, as opposed to the 49ers' habit of completing the short hitch for a three-yard gain on third-and-eight.

Sure, there are similarities. Antonio Freeman proved this by taking the staple of the 49er diet, a quick slant, past flailing SF defenders on his cruise to the end zone. Holmgren noted that philosophically, San Francisco and Green Bay have similar styles of offense. But that's where it ends. To wit: both teams have a lot of success with the short passing game. But since Green Bay can also throw the ball deep and pound out a consistent ground attack -- something the Niners can't do -- there's as many differences as similarities.

The comparisons between San Francisco and Green Bay also always conveniently forget any notion of defense, which is half the team, and where in no way can San Francisco take any credit for Green Bay's success. Sure, the Packers have a great offense, but it's defense that wins championships, and if Green Bay prevails in the Super Bowl again this year, their defense will be a big reason why. For the record, Green Bay defensive coordinator Fritz Shurmer has never been a 49er coach, so thoughts of any comparisons can end right there.

The bottom line is that as much as the fans and media would like to portray the Packers and Niners as one big incestuous family, they simply aren't. NHS summed it up well last year, so we'll say it again in case some people have forgotten:

MIKE HOLMGREN IS NOT A 49ER AND NO LONGER HAS ANY CONNECTION TO THE 49ERS WHATSOEVER. He is a Packer. He is competing against you. He doesn't give a crap about any "family", he wins for Green Bay and only for Green Bay, and when he wins a Super Bowl, that means the 49ers did not win a Super Bowl. When he's a winner, you are a loser-- such is the nature of competition.

As such, it's time for the media to dole out a little bit of respect and drop the silly Niner-Packer comparisons. The Packers are at the top of the mountain now; the Niners aren't, and it's time for everyone to accept this. Green Bay safety LeRoy Butler probably summed it up best this week:

"The 49ers organization . . . accomplished a lot. But it's the Mike Holmgren era now, they got to sit back and watch a little while."

At least eight months, to be exact. And if the Packers do walk away with their NFL-record 13th title, it won't have anything to do with the 49ers -- unless, of course, Steve Mariucci and the other Niners buy tickets to San Diego to loudly root for their "family".

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Not In the Family

Holmgren, Packers tiredof being linked to the 49ers

Holmgren, Packers tired
of being linked to the 49ers