Packerholic

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With most of the whole country watching a worthless game, the Packers face the Detroit Lions tomorrow. With one more game left in the Packers season, the Packers have very little to play for. In the long run it would actually be better for the team to lose. The Packers will fight for their pride though and hopefully not embarrass themselves. History will be made on Sunday either way and hopefully the Packers aren’t stuck on the wrong side. After tomorrow’s game hopefully the Packers will be the first team ever to send a team to an 0-16 season instead of being the first team ever to lose to an 0-15 team. While you would think you should be confident facing a team with zero wins on the season, I am honestly frightened for tomorrow’s game.

Losing would probably help the team in the long term (check out my post on the Packers Draft Pick Scenarios) but there is something to say about embarrassment. The team has already embarrassed themselves (and their fans) but if they end up losing tomorrow it will reach a whole new level. It’s bad enough winning only 5 games but it would be even worse being the first team to lose to an 0-15 team. The Packers fanbase will splinter even more (not that it isn’t splintered enough already) and the offseason will be miserable. Hopefully all this can be avoided with a victory tomorrow. While the game will be pretty pointless (except for history possibly being made), there are some things for Packer fans to watch.

First their are several Packers that are nearing milestones. First Aaron Rodgers can continue his great season (even though he could do anything and still not get some fans approval) and reach 4000 yards and 30 TDs which are both great accomplishments for QBs. Rodgers only needs 270 yards and 1 TD in order to reach the milestones. Donald Driver can also set a team record tomorrow if he is able to get 99 yards. 99 yards will give Driver his 6th 1,000 yard season which would put him tops of any Packer receiver for 1,000 yard seasons. Finally Greg Jennings is 1 TD away from 10 TDs on the season which would be two seasons in a row.

Second McCarthy must have finally ralized that the season is over so he is trying something new with the offensive line. Moll was benched (after the last two weeks that was inevitable). Colledge will take over for him and all I can say is about time since we should really start seeing what Colledge can do at tackle since I think his future is at tackle and not guard. With the switch Sitton is also put in the starting lineup and Spitz is moved to the other guard position. It’s about time that Sitton was given a chance especially since the coaching staff was raving about him, now we might get to see what they have been raving about. While I am happy with the changes, I personally would have liked to see some more. First I would have either moved Spitz to center or benched Spitz in order to see what we have in Barbre. All the coaches were raving about him last season and he was given a chance to start in the preseason. Then out of nowhere he appeared to disappear into thin air. I don’t know what could have happened in such a short time that he should even be given a shot to see what he can do. One final thing I would have liked to see was Giacomini given some time. The coaches appear to like him and yet he has been given no time to show what he can do. SInce he is injured I doubt we will see anything out of him tomorrow either.

Finally this the last game for several players and coaches to show why they deserve to keep their jobs for next season. I would have already fired Mike Stock and Bob Sanders but I wasn’t given my wish. Now they are given one last chance to save their jobs even though at this point I don’t think anything they could do tomorrow could save their jobs. Even if their respective units look great tomorrow, it would be against the Lions after all who have yet to win a game. Some players also have their jobs on the line as well though. Clifton’s day is coming and if he has a bad game tomorrow I could see the Packers either bench him next season or let him go in the offseason. The Packers appear to be in a prime position to pick Clifton’s replacement and tomorrow’s game could make it that much easier. Other players on the hot seat in my opinion include Brady Poppinga, John Kuhn, Tory Humphrey, Tony Moll (even though he probably won’t play), Michael Montgommery (free agent after season), Colin Cole (free agent after season), Jason Hunter, Jarret Bush, and Aaron Rouse (will lose starting job for next season if he plays poorly).

I am not going to predict who I think will win tomorrow since I don’t want to jinx the Packers. I do hope the Packers win though which will hopefully lead to a successful offseason which will bring the Packers back to one of the best teams in the league.

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With tonight’s game fast approaching and the Packers having nothing left to play for except pride, is it really the best thing for the Packers if they win tonight? Some people believe that a team should always try to win in order to build momentum for the next season. Others believe at this point the Packers should be playing for a draft pick. I am not here to say which thought is better (since there are valid points in both arguments). Let’s just take a look at what will happen to the Packers draft pick in the three possible outcomes for the rest of the season.

We’ll begin with the optimistic outlook that the Packers will win both games and end the season with a 7-9 record. If this were to happen the team should go into the offseason with confidence and that could move into next season. The Packers would end up with a pick between 10-12 overall based on how games go next week. Hopefully if this scenario is to happen the Packers end up winning the Bears game in the final seconds on an Aaron Rodgers TD drive because I am sick and tired of people saying that Rodgers will never be a good QB since he can’t close out the game. It takes time to be a good 2 minute drive QB.

If the Packers end up losing one game (which would preferably be the Bears instead of the win less Lions) the Packers probably won’t end the season with a lot of momentum but they would at least have some dignity left (unless the loss is to the Lions). The Packers would also pick either 9th or 10th in the draft and should either get a great player or have more trade bait if Thompson decides to trade down in the first round (which at this early stage of the draft looks like a good idea). In this scenario the Packers should be able to get at least one impact player that should help the team a lot next season or at least in the long term.

Finally there is the situation where the Packers end up losing the last two games. If this happens the Packers will be the laughing stock of the NFL (for losing to the Lions) and the team will be beaten down. The offseason (until at least free agency) will be miserable as Packer fans will most likely bicker more than ever. The one good thing to come out of this situation would be that we would get either the 7th or 8th pick in the draft.

So now you are informed on what will happen as far as the draft in the three different scenarios. I really don’t have much of a preference. If we win out we will have confidence going into next season and will still have a good pick. If we beat the Lions and lose to the Bears we will save our dignity (beating the Lions) and we will have a higher pick. Finally if we lose both games we will have no dignity left and the offseason will be miserable. While I think the Packers could use a higher pick, I don’t think the embarrassment of losing to the win less Lions is worth it.

Since I don’t have strong feelings either way about today’s outcome, let’s discuss what I want to see in today’s game:

• As mentioned earlier, if the Packers win tonight I want it to be with a game winning last minute drive. I am sick of people thinking Rodgers will never win a close game. It is is first season and even the former #4 said that it takes a couple seasons to be good at the 2 minute drill. Rodgers just needs to be given time and he will start winning these close games. I wouldn’t mind a game winning drive though to shut up those who think he can’t do it.
• Just like last week I would like to see the youngsters get more playing time. Too bad it probably won’t happen. While I can see playing your hardest to win even though you have nothing to play for, I don’t know why you can’t at least give some of the younger bench players some playing time to see what you have. We will never know for sure what we have in these players if they are never given the opportunity to prove themselves on the playing field. The outcome of tonight’s game really doesn’t matter so let’s get some of the younger players some experience. At least we will get to see Rouse more since he is getting the start this week. Hopefully McCarthy also gives Jackson some more time (not likely).
• I want to try the 3-4 and power run blocking. There could be some changes in schemes this offseason and I want to see which of our players are equiped to play a new scheme. I want to see how our current offensive lineman would do if we dropped the zone blocking scheme and moved back to power blocking. On the defense we really won’t get to see how well the linebackers would do in a 3-4 since most of them are hurt, but we could see which of our defensive lineman could make the switch.
• While I know this won’t happen but I would like to see McCarthy give up the playcalling duties for the game. McCarthy is not a good playcaller so I would like to see if we currently have anyone on the current coaching staff that is a good offensive playcaller. The same goes for the defense since I would like to see what Winton Moss can do. He is a possible replacement if and hopefully when Bob Sanders is fired. I would like to see if Winton Moss can at least call an aggressive game for the defense.
• Finally I want to see a game where no players sustain an injury. I am sick and tired of seeing players helped off the field. Hopefully the team can stay healthy the rest of the season and continue to be healthy next season.

So despite this being a worthless game, what do you want to see out of this game and the rest of the season? Do you want the Packers to win out, win one game, or lose them both?

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.

While officially still not out of the playoffs, the Packers chances are all but gone. I am probably the most optomistic Packers fan and I am ready to admit the season is over. With a pathetic performance all around the Packers deserved to lose today. The Packers still should have won the game though due to the refs (who shouldn’t have a job any longer). I need to only look at the two last series to show how the refs blew the game. We begin with Tony Moll being called for holding even though he clearly didn’t hold. The next series Kampman is grabbed and even thrown to the ground by the jersey and yet surprisingly no penalty is called. While you would think that two holding calls wouldn’t make a big difference you would be wrong in this situation. The non holding call on us essentially ended our drive, while the non called holding penalty was on the big play which would have been nullified if the refs could actually see holding on both sides of the field. I don’t know if it is just me but I will be furious with the league if several reffing crews aren’t fired this offseason. This has probably been the worst officiated season in NFL history. It’s not even just Packer games. Refs have blown so many games this season. I thoughts the refs were just supposed to enforce the rules. I guess the refs got sick of doing that since they are acting like they are playing the game as well. I bet the next thing will be refs tackling players on teams they don’t want to win. While the Packers have been athetic this season, the refs have even been worse. Why couldn’t the NFL have just kept the college refs they used a couple seasons ago since the refs have been getting worse week after week.

While the refs were terrible today, the Packers really didn’t help themselves. It is actually pretty sad when the punter was the MVP of the game. While the game was terrible, one positive to come out of the game is that we might have actually found a punter in Jeremy Kapinos. While I am not getting my hopes up at this point, if he continues to punt like he did today he could be a very good punter.

That’s about all the positives that can come out of the game. The offense and deffense had pretty poor games. Rodgers and the offense started the game out slow. The defense actually did a pretty good job at the beginning of the game. Then things switched. The offense got hot and the defense got worse. I don’t know why this team can’t play well together. Essentially only half of the team can play well at a time. This is so fustrating since you can tell if both sides of the ball could actually play well together this could actually be a good team. Since they can’t do that, we are 5-8.

While I know all the Favre fans will say that things would have been different with Favre, I don’t think so. We might have won an extra game or two but there is no way Favre could have fixed all the problems this season. First there is all the stupid penalties. It is annoying when almost all of our big plays come back due to penalties. Second the defensive line can’t get any pressure on the QB. I think Cullen Jenkins’ injury hurt us more than anyone could ever imagine. Third the offensive line continues to play inconsistent football. Fourth Al Harris and Charles Woodson appear to be the only people that can actually tackle on defense. Fifth the special teams have been pretty pathetic except for Crosby and Blackmon (Kapinos could join that list if he continues to kick well). Sixth the playcalling on both sides of the ball have been pathetic this season. I think both need to relinquish their playcalling duties this offseason.

While this season is not going to end like everyone wanted it to, I think with some changes this offseason the Packers could be back next season. Rodgers will have a year under his belt, the Packers will hopefully add some players in key positions in the offseason, and hopefully the injury bug won’t hit once again. Check back tomorrow to see what I think the Packers need to address this offseason. With regards to the rest of the season I don’t really care what happens as long as the Packers beat the Lions. I don’t want to be the only team to lose to the Lions. If the Packers win out the rest of the season it will provide momentum for next season. If the Packers lose out the Packers will get a better pick and should get a better player that should help either the offensive or defensive line. Well the Packers have three more games left. Hopefully the Packers can build some confidence along with some more experience for the young players.

While the Packers season looks pretty bleak at this point, the season is not yet over and the Packers need to win tomorrow in order to keep their chances alive. While they won’t be mathematically eliminated if they lose, they might as well pack up the rest of the season and start looking to the offseason if they lose tomorrow.

So why is this team struggling this year. While some people will say it is because of trading Favre, I honestly don’t think this is the problem. This team has been hit hard by injuries. I think Cullen Jenkins injury was critical since the team hasn’t been able to don anything along the defensive line since he has been out. Special teams have also been terrible (hoping with Frost’s departure things can at least get a little better). Finally the offensive line is way too inconsistent. So for those of you who think the struggles are all because of Favre leaving, I would like you to explain how Favre would have fixed the problems along the offensive line, defensive line, special teams, and all the injuries this season. Favre was a great player but he wouldn’t have saved the season. In order to save the season, the two lines and special teams really need to step it up.

So how do I think the Packers and Texans match up. When I look at both teams I look at two inconsistent teams that look really good when they are on the top of their games and pretty bad when they aren’t. I guess that is what you get when you have a 5-7 matchup.

I think the winner of this game will come down to who wants it more and who can play more consistent football. The Packers have more to play for so I think they will get the victory (if that means anything with how this season has gone).

Since we rarely play the Texans (this is actually the first time the Texans will ever play in Lambeau) not a lot of Packer fans know a whole lot about their team (myself included). While the texans haven’t played great this season they do have some players that the Packers will need to keep in check.

First up is Mario Williams who has become one of the best defensive ends in the league. Facing Mario Williams scares me especially since our offensive line can play very poorly at times. Hopefully the offensive line can actually step up for once. The best way to stop him is to get a running game going along with a bunch of short passes. If we can stop him early I think the Packers could be in a good position.

Second the Texans actually have a pretty good passing attack. Andre Johnson (1,146 yards and 4 TDs) is almost having as good of season as Greg Jennings (1,057 yards and 7 TDs). Andre Johnson is a threat and the Packers secondary needs to shut him down. Owen Daniels (608 yards and 2 TDs) and Kevin Walter (705 yards and 7 TDs) are also having good seasons. The Texans’ have a pretty good passing attack but I think after two bad weeks the Packers secondary will have a big rebound week.

Finally the Texans’ actually have a pretty good running game as well. After Ahman Green got hurt again (it seems like the Packers made the right choice letting him go), Steve Slaton has been having a very good season and appears to almost be getting better every week. If there was a week for the Packers defensive line to finally step up, this would be the week. We can’t have another RB tear our defensive line apart.

After this analysis you might be thinking that the Packers are in some trouble this week. While the Texans’ have some great players they are really in the same boat that we are in. They are just as inconsistent as we are so it will come down to who actually wants to win this game. Combine that with homefield advantage with expected highs under 10 degrees (I doubt many of the Texans’ players are used to that) and the fact that Matt Shaub is coming off missing the last couple weeks due to injuries and I think the Packers have just as good of chance of winning as the Texans do.

Playoff lives are on the line (the Texans’ don’t really have one right now anyway) so whoever can actually step up this week possibly extends their season while the other team might as well start looking towards next season.

Finally I am going to go out on a limb here and say that I think the Lions will upset the Vikings