Palladino: McAdoo Helped Create Packers' Monster, Now Must Destroy It

By Ernie Palladino
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Ben McAdoo isn't the type who lets his emotions run wild. But this week, in answering questions about Aaron Rodgers, he has sounded downright detached.

That only makes sense. In the three days remaining before the Giants' wild card matchup in Green Bay, McAdoo has one major task ahead of him. He must destroy the Frankenstein monster he helped create before Tom Coughlin brought him east in 2014.

He must not only beat a quarterback who has become the hottest in football over the last six weeks, but one whose friendship he won and cherished over eight years coaching tight ends and quarterbacks in Green Bay.

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To do that, he must leave all feelings of camaraderie and shared accomplishment aside. He must put away the pride he took in claiming even a small piece of Rodgers' Hall-of-Fame pedigree.

It is the only way.

Football is like that. Rodgers and the 10-6 offense he has turned into an unbeatable machine are standing in the way of the 11-5 Giants' playoff advancement.

Cold calculation, not sentimentality must rule McAdoo's actions.

"I try to leave feelings out of it," McAdoo said this week. "It's football. We have a job to do."

Indeed, this is not the first time a coach has gone to the other side and been forced to disassemble his pride and joy. When Tom Landry served as the Giants' defensive assistant in the mid-1950s, he developed the 4-3 base defense, an alignment still in wide use today. The first thing he did when he took over the expansion Dallas Cowboys in 1960 was to design an offense to beat his beloved 4-3 brainchild.

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He went about it with the unimpassioned persistence of a NASA scientist. For Landry, it was probably easier than most, as he was naturally phlegmatic.

Regardless of personality, however, the act of assemblage and deconstruction has been re-enacted countless times over the course of history. But for McAdoo, it may be especially hard.

Working under Mike McCarthy, McAdoo had a hand in turning Rodgers into a two-time MVP, Super Bowl champ, and Super Bowl MVP. Some of the lessons McAdoo imparted to him during his 2012-2013 stint as quarterbacks coach helped Rodgers rebound from a 4-6 start to rip off six straight wins this season. Rodgers has thrown 15 touchdown passes against no interceptions during the streak.

His 40 touchdown throws led the league, and his seven interceptions ranked seventh among regular starters.

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Steve Spagnuolo, McAdoo's scalpel/defensive coordinator, will take the game day responsibility as the Giants attempt to neutralize the monster.

The front seven, with defensive tackle Damon Harrison providing pressure up the middle and defensive end Olivier Vernon and the linebackers cutting off his running outlets, must keep Rodgers from making yards with his legs.

The secondary, with a now-healthy Janoris Jenkins, an on-fire Landon Collins, and a wise Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, must plaster Jordy Nelson, Davante Adams, and an ankle-altered Randall Cobb to force a turnover or two against a quarterback ranked fifth in both postseason passer rating (98.2) and postseason interception percentage (1.71 on eight picks in 467 attempts).

Friendship and the coach/player bonds that helped Rodgers continue to excel in 2012, the year after he was named MVP, take a back seat Sunday. Destroying the Frankenstein he helped create means McAdoo has to sacrifice part of himself, part of his own accomplishments.

Emotions have no place for the Giants' rookie coach Sunday.

Not with the entire season on the line.

Follow Ernie on Twitter at @ErniePalladino