Packerholic

Another loss and the Packers are officially out of the playoffs. Like we were going to make it anyway. Another depressing loss that I honestly don’t really want to talk about. This team has no energy whatsoever and appeared to want to lose today. Well the good thing is that we will most likely have a top ten pick (we have the #7 pick right now) and we will also have an extra second rounder thanks to the Favre trade (if the Jets continue to play like they did today they will be headed home shortly after the Packers since it seems like they will be one and done in the playoffs).

So why did we lose today? This was a team loss. If anyone blames the loss on Rodgers they are sadly mistaken. While his late interception ended the game that is not the only reason we lost today. Before that injury he also played pretty well in my opinion. Even if Rodgers ended up leading the team down the field for another lead, as long as there was time on the clock the special teams and defense would ahve once again blown the game and we still would have lost the game.

The one good thing about our defense stinking it up once again is that Bob Sanders will be receiving his pink slip at the end of the season. He can also take all his assistants with him except for Lionel Washington. If Bob Sanders is not fired at the end of the season I think Mike McCarthy should be shown the door as well (that is how much Bob Sanders needs to be fired). The defense deffinently has some holes but there is no question whatsoever that Bob Sanders is not helping things. His scheme is predictable, he can’t even teach basic fundamentals like tackling, and his playcalling is downright terrible. I don’t know how many games this defense has blown in the last minutes of the game, but it has gotten way out of hand. I will be shocked if this defense can actually stop a team with the game on the line.

Along with the defensive struggles I have to say that McCarthy needs to give up playcalling since I don’t think you could find a much worse playcaller. McCarthy almost always seems to be able to find the worst possible play. I want to know why we call three runs and can’t even gain a yard. I also want to know why Brandon Jackson wasn’t given a chance. Brandon Jackson almost always makes a play when he gets his hands on the ball and yet he still doesn’t get any playing time. I have no idea why.

So what positives can be drawn from this game:

1. James Jones showed why he can be a very good receiver in this league if he actually stays healthy. I think James Jones will have a breakout season next year if he can actually stay healthy next season.
2. I thought Aaron Rodgers was having a pretty good game before the late game interception. I think the late game interceptions will be eliminated once Rodgers has more experience and doesn’t have the pressure of the whole team on his shoulders.
3. The Packers actually blitzed this week. I almost forgot what a blitz was since we never blitz. Our linebackers also showed that they can be sucessful if the defense actually gives them a chance to make a play. I think our linebackers could make a complete 180 next season if Sanders is fired and a defensive coordinator is brought in that will actually utilize the blitz and actually have some creative plays.
4. While Jeremy Kapinos didn’t get a lot of punts this week, he punted well once again. I think he could possibly have a future with the team. Obviously this is too early to make a decision but I like what I am seeing out of Kapinos. Hopefully he can continue to punt well the rest of the season.
5. As I mentioned earlier, Bob Sanders and Mike Stock’s jobs with the Packers are nearing their end. I personally wish we could fire both tomorrow but we will probably wait till the end of the season. Hopefully the Packers can find a good defensive coordinator that will actually run a defense that isn’t considered the most predictable in the league.
6. Changes have to be made this offseason. If the Packers made it to 500 there would have been less pressure to make needed changes. Thompson and McCarthy don’t really have any choice anymore. They need to fix the problems on both lines or this team won’t be any better next season.
7. Also as I mentioned earlier the Packers will have a top ten pick. The Packers now might be able to finally get either a dominant offensive lineman or defensive lineman. This team wasn’t going to make the playoffs anyway so in the long term it was actually best for the Packers to lose today’s game. People probably don’t want to hear this but losing next week would also be good for the future and there is also the added benefit that the Bears might then be able to win the division instead of the Vikings. Even if beating the Lions hurts the Packers draft pick, the Packers need to win that game since if we lose it, it will destory this team and this will be the worst Packers offseason in history.

Since the Packers season is finally over, tomorrow I will be addressing what I want this holiday season in order to turn the Packers around onto the right track again.

While this game really doesn’t mean anything to either team (unless a miracle happens and the Packers can win out while the Bears and Vikings lose out). While the game doesn’t mean a whole lot there is still things to look for in this game.

At this point some fans probably want to lose out (except to the Lions since no one wants to be the only team to lose to the Lions) in order to get a better draft pick and also encourage some moves to be made this offseason (some pink slips need to be handed out). Others want to win out and build momentum into next season. At this point I can see the validity in both statements and I honestly find myself somewhere in the middle. At this point in the season I really wouldn’t mind either choice. Even though I wish we weren’t in this position at least the outcome of every game can be seen in a positive way either towards getting a better pick or building momentum.

Since this game really doesn’t matter I am not really going to break down what the Packers need to win the game. Instead I am going to address what I want to see in the game. So here is what I want to see out of today’s game.

1. I don’t want to see anymore injuries. The injuries this season have been ridiculous. Hopefully our team can stay healthy the rest of the season so no other players will have to work back into playing shape next training camp due to an injury. Players playing with injuries also better not re aggravate injuries either.

2. Give the young players some time to show what they got. I don’t mean playing them the majority of the game but I would like to at least see what we could get out of some of the young players. For example I would like to see Brandon Jackson get some more opportunities these next couple of weeks. He has shown that he could be a good running back but the coaching staff for some reason is not giving him a chance to show what he can do. The problem is many of our young players are currently hurt so we won’t get to see as many of the young players as I would like.

3. Hopefully Aaron Rodgers has a good game. I am personally sick and tired of everyone blaming this season on Rodgers. He hasn’t been perfect this season but last time I checked Favre wasn’t either. Rodgers was obviously going to have some growing pains since there has never been a QB that hasn’t had some growing pains their first season. I just wish people would get off Rodgers back since he is no more responsible for the teams losing than any other starter. This is a team game after all and even if we had Favre I don’t think we would be much better at this time.

4. I want AJ Hawk to have a great game. AJ Hawk hasn’t had a great season but I am sick of everyone saying that he is a bust and such a horrible player. AJ Hawk has not had a good season but neither have any of the other LBs. This makes me think that the linebacker’s problems are at least partially because of coaching and the poor play of the defensive line. Combine that with the fact that Hawk has been playing with injuries the whole season and I think people are overreacting. Hawk hasn’t shown that he has been worth the #5 pick yet but I think with an offseason to get healthy and a defensive coordinator that actually knows how to utilize him properly; he could be a very good linebacker.

5. Hopefully Jeremy Kapinos continues to punt well. After a bad first punt last week, Kapinos had a very good game. While it is obviously too early to say for sure but if he plays well the rest of the season, I could see a future for him with the Packers. I would obviously still draft a punter (late round) and let the two compete since I don’t want to be stuck in a situation like the last couple of years where we have no competition at the punter position.

6. Mike McCarthy to actually open up the playbook. I don’t know why McCarthy has done nothing creative this year on offense. Where have the five wide receiver sets gone? I can see McCarthy wanting to take it easy on Rodgers for his first season but I think he has made a huge mistake. Rodgers can handle the whole playbook so I don’t know why McCarthy isn’t using it all. I think this is ridiculous since McCarthy has actually set Rodgers up to fail instead of suceed because for some reason he doesn’t want to call any of the plays that were successful last season.

7. I hope the defense continues to play bad enough that Bob Sanders loses his job. Yeah I know it’s bad that I have to root against the Packers (to a degree) but it is for the best. Bob Sanders needs to go. He is not a good defensive coordinator and the sooner he is gone the better. He doesn’t utilize any of our talent and even worse he can’t seem to even teach fundamentals since it seems like 90% of our defensive can’t tackle to save their lives. I fear that if the defensive plays well the next three weeks, Bob Sanders will be able to save his job (and I will be furious). Bob Sanders has absolutely no creativity in his defensive. I even remember reading once that a coach on another team said that the Packers defensive is the easiest defense in the entire league to gameplan around. When your defense is predictable it isn’t going to be sucessful. I want a defensive coordinator that can actually teach fundamentals and actually has some creativity in his scheme and playcalling.

Yesterday’s news of Aaron Rodgers extension was surprising but today’s news is even more surprising. As the title says Justin Harrell was activated today and KGB was cut. Obviously Harrell being activated wasn’t a surprise since it was almost guarenteed that he would be activated this week. I have to say that I am surprised that KGB was cut. I personally aren’t that upset with the move even though it did come as a surprise.

KGB was a great Packer (all-time most sacks for the Packers) and person in general but his time in Green Bay was coming to an end. You could tell he lost a step in the offseason. He just wasn’t effective anmore. Combine that with the fact that he was grossly overpaid and I knew this move was going to come soon. I thought it would be in the offseason though. With only 0.5 sacks this season, Thompson decided it was time to move on and cut ties with KGB. I know people will criticize the move since KGB was a Packer favorite but people need to look at how he was performing this season. You can tell his playing days are limited if not already over. KGB really wasn’t helping the team and now some of the younger DEs can get more playing time. Even if KGB wasn’t cut to activate Harrell I guarentee that he would have been cut in the offseason since there was no way we were going to keep him as the highest paid player on the team with the production so far this season.

While KGB is no longer a Packer I wish him luck. KGB might sign on with another team but I can also see him retiring. Either way I wish him luck and we will see him back in Green Bay in a couple years when he is inducted into the Packers Hall of Fame. I thank KGB for his service to the Green Bay Packers.

While things were tense this offseason the Packers chose to go with Aaron Rodgers. Aaron Rodgers rewarded that decision by having a great season so far. It now seems that Aaron Rodgers has been rewarded with a five year extension so Rodgers will be the Packers starting QB to 2014. While details haven’t been announced yet, this is a great signing in my opinion. Rodgers has shown throughout this whole debacle with Favre that he is a franchise QB. He has stayed calm and has been professional through the whole experience. That is just off the field.

On the field Rodger has played just well. He has been highly effective and has been one of the bright spots this season. While he might not bring the excitement or kooky plays that Favre brought the team, Rodgers has already shown that he is a accurate passer and avoids mistakes. Even if you don’t like how the whole Favre situation went down, you must admit that Rodgers has filled in very well for Favre. I kind of feel a little sorry for our NFC North foes especially since they have all had troubles finding QBs and then we replace a legend with another good QB.

As already mentioned details of the deal haven’t been announced yet, but I have a feeling that Rodgers’ deal will be highly frontloaded since the Packers have till November 2nd in order to apply more money to this year’s salary cap. The Packers have over $20 million to spend so I am guessing a lot of Rodgers guarenteed money will be moved into this season. I also wouldn’t be surprised if we see another player sign an extension before Sunday.

So are you as excited about this signing as I am?

It’s the Wednesday before the bye week and you wouldn’t expect much news regarding the Packers. Surprisingly there are a couple stories worth bringing up.

First we’ll begin with some good news. Early this morning Coach McCarthy became a father once again when his wife (Jessica) gave birth to his new baby girl, Gabrielle Kathleen. Congratulations to the McCarthy’s. It’s always good to hear a positive story after all the negative stories involving a certain player that used to wear #4.

Speaking of that Favre finally gave his side of the story. Obviously he denied the whole thing. Well that isn’t a suprise since he would be an idiot to say he did even if it is the truth. According to Favre, Millen actually called him to talk about hunting. He then asked Favre to give him some tips on the Packers. Favre also claims that the reports of him calling Tony Romo were also false since Romo actually called him. If these two reports are true it will definently take a load off the Favre hating. The problem is that Favre has pretty much no credibility anymore after this offseason. I hope he is telling the truth but at this point I have no idea if he is. I doubt we will ever find out the truth behind what really happened. Even if Favre wasn’t guilty of the latest accusations I sill need time to forgive him for what happened this offseason (he was at least partially responsible for what happened). Hopefully Favre can just learn to shut up for once and just play out the rest of the season. If he doesn’t ruffle anymore feathers, and these rumors are never confirmed I believe most Packer fans will eventually forgive him. I know I will but I need some time and that means that Favre needs to stop his vengeful ways.

Finally it appears that if things go as planned the Packers should come out of the bye pretty healthy. McCarthy is giving the team the week off but is forcing the injured players to get their normal rehab treatments. Al Harris was also medically cleared to resume playing. I personally think that during the Titans game we should play him as the #3 in order to get him back into playing shape. Tramon showed in the last game that he is a very good #2 so why not bring Al Harris back slowly. As long as there aren’t any setbacks I believe we will see all our players back (obviously not the IR players). Players like AJ Hawk, Aaron Rodgers, and Charles Woodson will also be able to fully heal from their injuries so they should be able to play at an even higher level.