• Packers’ Playoff Chances Take a Huge Hit

  Filed under Packer Previews
  Nov 30

  After a tough loss to the Panthers today the Packers chances of making the playoffs are as close to gone as possible. While I am not totally ruling the Packers chances of making the playoffs out, I think the chances are pretty slim. We do have the Bears and Vikings in our division though so I am not going to totally rule out the chance until we are officially eliminated from the playoffs.

  While the chances are pretty slim a couple of things are working for us the rest of the season. First the Packers have an easy schedule the rest of the season. The Packers also have the ability to gain a win on the Bears when they play them later this season. If the Packers win that game and the Vikings lose tonight the Packers have a tiebreaker over both teams so that will obviously help in any tiebreaking situation. Next the Vikings have a pretty hard schedule the rest of the season so I believe they could easily lose two more games this season. The Bears are also insanely inconsistent so they could probably lose a game or two as well. While my hopes aren’t that high, there is still a slim chance the Packers could make the playoffs. Once you make the playoffs anything can happen as well. If the team would all play well at the same time I think we could be a very dangerous team. It’s just too bad that the team is so darn inconsistent.

  So after today’s loss there isn’t a whole lot of positives to talk about. One thing that does have to be mentioned is that Rodgers really can’t be blamed much for this loss since it seems like he was the only player to show up this week. Packer fans should be pleased that Rodgers had a good game since it shows Rodgers can play well in the bad weather of Lambeau Field. Some people might blame Rodgers for the late game interception and he deserves a little blame for it but I want someone to honestly say that there wasn’t a good chance that Favre would have thrown that exact same interception if he was in the game. While Favre was great at bringing the team back earlier in his career, the last couple of years he threw many more game ending interceptions than touchdowns.

  Another positive to come out of the game is that Brandon Jackson is a pretty good running back if the team would actually give him a chance to run the ball. I don’t know why but McCarthy never seems to play Jackson. It takes Ryan Grant getting hurt for Jackson to actually get some playing time. I think the team really needs to start playing him more.

  The rest of the offense played pretty well most of the game but the same can not be said about the defense and special teams. The defense and special teams were almost exclusively responsible for today’s loss. The defense continues to fail to stop anyone and the special teams doesn’t seem to be able to stop returner until they have gotten to at least the 45 yard line. It is pretty sad when the kicker is responsible for as many stops on kickoffs as the rest of the special teams. Combine that with probably having the worst punter in the league and our special teams are pathetic. Today’s performance should also hand Mike Stock his pink slip since after today’s pathetic performance and the signing of Frost (I have heard it was mostly his decision) and Mike Stock cannot keep his job after this season.

  Along with Mike Stock I believe almost all the defensive coaches should be fired. Bob Sanders defense is just not getting it done. Our defense is not playing up to their potential and the playcalling on defense is totally pathetic. We have to have the most unoriginal defense in the entire league. We rarely call blitzes and when we do they are so unoriginal that the offense can quickly pick up on them. Hopefully if Sanders and his staff are actually fired (pretty unlikely in my opinion) I hope we ring in a defensive coordinator that is actually original and innovative since I think that is something this team is really missing.

  So why are the Packers so much worse this season. While a little might be because of Favre, I don’t think that is the main reason we are worse this season. The reason we are bad this year is that the team isn’t motivated, it is way too inconsistent, both lines are terrible, injuries have piled up, and luck just hasn’t been on our side this season.

  While the Packers might appear to have a lot of problems I think they could be mostly fixed this offseason and I think the Packers can be back next season. First Thompson really needs to address the defensive and offensive lines in both the draft and free agency. I also think since we are going to have to make a lot of changes in the offensive line anyway, I think we might as well drop the zone blocking scheme.

  I believe if the Packers can mostly fix both lines, I think the team can be very good next season. We obviously have an explosive offense (which was shown today) and with Rodgers having a year of experience under his belt I think the offense can tak another step next season. Meanwhile I believe most of the defensive problems are coming from the defensive line. The defensive line can’t stop the run and it get next to no pressure on the QB. If both of these aspects can be improved I think the defense could be pretty good next season.

  While the chances are slim, Packer fans should hope for a little help in somehow still making the playoffs this season. If the Packers don’t make the playoffs this season hopefully they will dedicate the offseason to the offensive and defensive line.

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  Tagged as: Green Bay Packers, Packers, Packers vs Panthers
  

One Response to “Packers’ Playoff Chances Take a Huge Hit”

1. I Don’t See It | Cheesehead TV said on December 2nd, 2008 at 11:26 am

   [...] you turn in the Packer Blogosphere and even in the accredited media you find pieces about the Packers playoff chances, [...]

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