Mike McCarthy likes the way quarterbacks Ben Roethlisberger and Drew Brees are thinking.
That said, the Green Bay Packers coach said Wednesday that the two-point conversion conundrum isn't as simple as just believing you'll convert more than half your attempts -- even though he's certain that Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and his offense would succeed more often than they'd fail.
"Personally, I definitely agree with Ben and Drew," McCarthy said before the team's minicamp practice. "I think especially with Aaron being our quarterback, I would have zero issue as an offensive coach going for it every single time."
Roethlisberger said Tuesday he'd like to see the Pittsburgh Steelers go for two after every touchdown this season. The Steelers converted 8-of-11 attempts last season for a league-leading 72.7 percent success rate.
"Put it in our hands. I want the ball. Any player would relish that opportunity," Roethlisberger said.
In an interview on The Dan Patrick Show on Wednesday, Brees said he believes the New Orleans Saints would be just as successful, even though they converted only 1-of-4 attempts last season.
"Personally, I feel like if we went for two that we could make it more than 50 percent of the time," Brees said. "So, I'm all for it."
McCarthy, whose Packers went 5 of 7 in two-point attempts last season after converting 2-of-12 attempts in the past five seasons combined, said his defense has spent more time on defending the two-point conversion.
"We practice it a lot more. I think that was evident in training camp. I think it's evident just the way we train our football team. It's definitely [a larger] part of our training," McCarthy said.
Thorny Rose
Pete Rose had plenty of success against the Chicago Cubs during his playing career with the Cincinnati Reds. All these years later, he's still finding ways to get under the skin of Cubs fans.
Rose appeared on Fox Sports' Outkick the Show with Clay Travis and was asked about the Cubs, who entered Thursday's games with a 9½-game lead over the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Central Division.
"The Cubs right now, no question, have the best team, but I can't root for a team that hasn't won since 1907," Rose said. "The Cubs will find a way to screw it up, I think. They've got a good ball club, probably the best ball club in the league right now. They're playing like it, but again, they can be pitched to, their pitchers can be hit. It's just a matter of who's going to give them a fight at the end of the season, in the playoffs."
"No one would expect Rose to root for the Cubs to end their 108-year-old streak without winning the World Series. He's a Cincinnati guy through and through," Kyle Ringo wrote for the Big League Stew blog on Yahoo.com. "And he probably isn't alone in thinking the Cubs will 'find a way to screw it up.' These are the Cubs, after all, and they have a long history of back luck and bad decision-making that this year's team is trying to put behind the franchise once and for all. Heck, plenty of Cubs fans will certainly have to see it to believe it."
Sports quiz
What is the Green Bay Packers' worst finish in the NFC North under Coach Mike McCarthy?
Answer
The Packers finished third in 2008 with a 6-10 record.
Sports on 06/17/2016