GREEN BAY Sherman concerned only with wins



MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Green Bay Packers coach Mike Sherman isn't concerned that Monday night's lopsided loss to Baltimore will jeopardize his future with the team.
Even after an embarrassing defeat in a nationally televised game got one of his colleagues fired last month, Sherman is confident the success he's had with the Packers won't be overshadowed by a single loss.
"I don't think one loss dictates someone's future," Sherman said in a teleconference Tuesday, one day after a 48-3 loss to the Ravens. "We've been there going on six seasons, and we've had five pretty successful ones. So I don't think one loss dictates a career."
Just got extension
The Packers gave Sherman a two-year contract extension in August. But as this season has unraveled, general manager Ted Thompson has sidestepped questions about Sherman's future -- leading to speculation that the coach might be fired despite leading the team to three straight division titles.
Sherman, whose team fell to 3-11 with the loss in Baltimore, says he hasn't given much thought to how people will judge him.
"I'm more concerned about this team and us winning football games, and can't get caught up in that," Sherman said.
The Detroit Lions fired Steve Mariucci on Nov. 28 after a 27-7 loss to the Atlanta Falcons on Thanksgiving Day. But Sherman says it's rare for any team to go through an entire season without having at least one game get out of hand.
Sherman says he believes the Packers aren't as bad as they looked on Monday.
"For 13 weeks, we've been very competitive," Sherman said. "And we've been disappointed that we haven't won more ball games. I'm not making excuses for that. But [we've been] very competitive all the way to the end. And very seldom does a team go through a season where you don't have a game like that."
Didn't execute well
After reviewing game film, Sherman said his team didn't execute well. But he doesn't think his players stopped trying.
With the game out of reach in the third quarter, Sherman sat Brett Favre to allow rookie quarterback Aaron Rodgers to gain experience.
"I think he understood it," Sherman said of Favre, who didn't address the media after the game. "We [got] a chance to look at the young quarterback. We figured out how many possessions we had left in the ball game, and we would have had to score on just about every possession to get back into it."
Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.