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Well Packer fans can’t be too happy after yesterday’s loss. The Packers didn’t play well for most of the game and it showed in probably the worst loss of the season. The loss was big as well since it was to a division rival. While the season isn’t over yet, the Packers really put the postseason into jeopardy after yesterday’s loss.

The problem with today’s game is few players actually showed up. The offense was attrocious all day. The offense couldn’t block anyone it seems. It is sad when the Vikings consistently get pressure on the QB and most of the time they didn’t even blitz. The Packers really need to address the offensive line in next year’s draft. I wouldn’t even mind spending most of our picks on offensive lineman as long as we are able to finally able to shore up the offensive line.

Despite the offensive line’s terrible play, Aaron Rodgers deserves some of the blame. Aaron Rodgers holds onto the ball too long on some plays. You really can’t expect Rodgers to be perfect though especially since this is his first year starting. With more gametime he should be able to fix this problem. I guess Packer fans were a little spoiled by Rodgers’ early season play since he started out so hot. Rodgers’ was going to have some growing pains this season and they seem to be hitting right now.

While the pass defense was great (the secondary has to be the MVP of the season) the run defense is another story. Our run defense just seems to not be able to stop anyone. It is getting ridiculous. The Packers are thin along the defensive line but there is much more to blame than just injuries. The front seven doesn’t seem to be able to tackle anyone. If the front seven could just tackle the Vikings RBs would have probably had quite a few less rushing yards. I don’t know what has happened but the Packers need some tackling lessons.

Coaching also didn’t help in the game. I think McCarthy and Sanders really need to step up their playcalling. Their playcalling is so inconsistent and lacks any risk. While you don’t want to take too many risks you need to take at least some or it is hard to win. In yesterday’s game alone McCarthy showed perfect times where he should and shouldn’t have been risky. For example I have no idea why he decided to try for points at the end of the first half when we were in our own end zone. This decision lead to the second safety. Then at the end of the game McCarthy isn’t even willing to take a little risk in order to get better field position for the field goal. If we would have just gained 5-10 more yards at the end of the game we would be 5-4 right now. McCarthy might not be much of a risk taker but we are going to have to take risks (at the right times) if we want to have a chance of making the playoffs.

Finally I would like to bring up the refs. I don’t usually like to blame the refs for losses but I thought the refs were pretty terrible yesterday. While they weren’t the only reason we lost they definently didn’t help the Packers win. I don’t know what is up with this season but the officiating has been terrible league wide. I have always thought the officiating was pretty bad but this year has already reached a new level. The NFL needs to do something about the officiating since it should never impact the final outcome of the game and yet it has in many games this season. On top of that no one is even allowed to criticize it without being fined. If players are fined for complaining about the officiating I think refs should be fined or penalized in some way for all their terrible calls. There is no accountability in officiating and I don’t think the poor officiating will change until there is some accountability for bad calls.

Even those yesterday’s loss was ugly, I believe this season is far from over. The Packers dug themselves a big hole but I believe they can dig themselves out if we can eliminate the stupid penalties and actually makes plays in crunch time. While we are in third place in the NFC North right now, we could be in first place next week. All the Packers need to do is win and the Vikings need to lose to the Bucs (which is pretty likely in my opinion). The NFC North is weak and I personally think the division could be won with a 9-7 or even an 8-8 record. Down the stretch the Packers have four tough games (Bears (2), Saints, and Panthers) but I think the Packers could go the rest of the season with only one or two more losses. Meanwhile the Bears and Vikings both have tougher schedules the rest of the season. If we make the playoffs our record might not be pretty but with how this season is going I think the Super Bowl champs will be whichever team is hottest at the end of the season.

While the Packers season is in trouble the Packers can still turn the season around. The Packers just need to execute and stop shooting themselves in the foot.

Today the Packers fell to the Titans in a very close game. While it stinks losing, you realy can’t be that upset since the Titans are perfect after all. No one else has found a way to beat the Titans yet and we were able to take them to overtime so I personally have to say that I am feeling the best I possibly could after a loss.

So why do I think the team lost today? I personally can’t blame the loss on any individual player since I think the whole team contributed to the loss. The whole team failed to take advantage of opportunities. If the Packers would have just made one or two more plays I think we would have won the game. We didn’t though and that is why we lost.

I know quite a few people are going to blame Rodgers for the loss and I can see why. Rodgers didn’t have a great game with his two turnovers but besides those two turnovers he did have a good game. Rodgers deserves some blame for the loss because of the turnovers though. The rest of the offense needs to share in some of the blame as well though. While the running game did pretty well in the first half it fell apart in the second half. The receivers also dropped some balls and failed to get open on some plays.

I do have to give the defense credit for most of the game since they did do well containing the running game (against the best running team in the league). I know people will think I am crazy but I honestly think Harrell’s addition to the roster was one of the main reasons for the improvement. While he didn’t make a lot of plays he did give the other defensive line players some rest so they were fresh through most of the game. The Packers defense also did pretty well most of the game. The Packers were also able to get as many sacks on the Titans as they had given up the entire season.

Like the offense though, the defense failed to step up when it was truly needed. For example the Packers had the opportunity for 3-4 interceptions and they didn’t actually intercept any of the passes. If one of these passes were intercepted the game could have quickly turned in the Packers favor and lead to a victory. The defense also failed to hold the Titans on the last two posessions.

So I think this loss can be attributed to the entire team. The team just failed to step up at crucial points in the game. While it sucks to lose I don’t think this game will hurt the team that much as long as the team doesn’t let it. The Packers are only at 4-4 and are second place in the division but the season is far from over. This was the hardest game the Packers play the rest of the season so things should be easier the rest of the season. The next two weeks will be crucial for the season. The Packers play the Vikings and the Bears so this will be a crucial for the Packers season. All the Packers need to do is win the division to make the playoffs and I think this two game stretch could be big for the division. If the Packers can win the next two games I think they will be a good position to win the division and you never know what will happen when the playoffs begin (especially how strange this NFL season has been so far).

While it is never good to lose I really can’t be upset since no one else has been able to beat the Titans either. I think the Packers just need to move on and be ready for the next two games since they will be crucial for the division and ultimately the Packers playoff chances.

I doubt I am alone in saying that the Packers downright dominated yesterday’s game. If yesterday’s game is any indication last year’s Packers are finally back. Many Packer fans didn’t think the Packers could win yesterday and even if they could it would be a very close game. Obviously we were all wrong since the Packers won and totally dominated the Colts. While most of the media is wondering what is up with the Colts, I am giving credit to where it is deserved, the Green Bay Packers.

Yesterday’s game was total domination for the Packers. The Packers essentially dominated every facet in the game. Some telling stats include Manning throwing more touchdowns to us than his own team and throwing more yards to our team until the fourth quarter. While there were a couple mistakes there was really no one to blame for this loss so I am only going to talk about the positive coming out of this game.

The stars of yesterday’s game was the secondary. I knew our secondary was good but I never imagined them to be this good. If yesterday’s game is any indication our secondary is donwright scary and is easily one of the best in the league. That was also with two starters out. I can’t even imagine how good our secondary could be once we get Al Harris and Atari Bigby back. At this point the Packers should have two shoeins for the Pro Bowl (Nick Collins and Charles Woodson). It is downright amazing that our secondary has scored five touchdowns themselves. This is the type of defensive play that Super Bowl teams rely on.

The secondary was the star of the defense this week but the rest of the defense also played pretty well. The run defense could have done better but I was impressed with the pass rush. We didn’t get any sacks in the game but you could tell that Manning was feeling the pressure. What I was most impressed with was the push up the middle. It is good to finally see the defensive tackles get some pressure. This should only improve once Justin Harrell gets back into the rotation.

While the defense was the star of the game, the offense also had a great game. While the stats might not say it, Aaron Rodgers had another great game. I don’t know if it is me but I think the Packers made the right choice this offseason. While Rodgers might not be a flashy as Favre what I like is that he doesn’t make all the stupid plays that Favre used to make. Even though this is his first season I feel more confident that Rodgers won’t turn the ball over as I ever felt when Favre was behind center. I think this is crucial for our team. I can’t imagine how good Rodgers can be when his shoulder injury is fully healed and he has more experience under his belt. I think our NFC North opponents are already fearing having to face another great QB after finally getting rid of one of the best QBs in the league.

While the running game could have played better I say improvement this week. As long as we are seeing improvement you need to be at least encouraged about the future. Grant seems to finally be back at full speed. Maybe after the bye week the running game will finally turn the corner and play as well as it did at the end of last season.

My final props go out to Green Bay fans everywhere. I think the fans had a huge impact on the game. You could tell Manning had trouble communicating with his team. While every Packer fan couldn’t be there yesterday I would like to give credit to all Packer fans around the world. Packer fans have been tested this offseason like no fanbase should be and it is good to see the fanbase stick together. This is just another reminder why the Packers have the best fanbase in professional sports.

While the next two weeks will be boring without any Packer football, I think it is good for the team. The team had a huge win going into the bye which should propel them into the second half of the season. The Packers will hopefully get healthy over the bye week and we will finally be able to show people how good the Packers truly are.

After a three game losing streak, it is good to say that the Packers have finally won again. In the matchup of easily the two most injured teams in the NFL, the Packers wound up with the victory. While some people might discount the win since it was against the injured Seahawks, I still think it could be a very positive turning point for the season. Winning leads to more winning so every win is obviously positive. With a tough game next week against the Colts the Packers needed this victory and they got it.

While the game was far from perfect, there were plenty of positives and negatives to take out of this game.

Positives

Aaron Rodgers is the real deal. I don’t know if it is just me but I think we are in for plenty more years of great play from the quarterback position. It is so rare to replace a legend with another good/great quarterback but I think we have. While Rodgers won’t be as good as Favre (the best quarterback in the history of the NFL in my opinion) I think he will be a very good quarterback for the Packers for many years to come. After the last two weeks no one can question Rodgers toughness. You can tell that the shoulder injury is hurting him but he still goes out there to play and is still willing to sacrifice his body for every last yard. While the Packers have had quite a few problems this season, you really can’t blame any of them on Aaron Rodgers.

Greg Jennings is the best receiver in the league. I don’t know why he is still not receiving the credit he deserves. Greg Jennings is leading the league in almost every receiving statistic. He also always seems to step up when the team needs him. If the Packers need a big play you can pretty much tell that Greg Jennings will be there. At this point Greg Jennings had better be a Pro Bowler and if receivers had an actual shot of winning MVP I think he should be in the running for that as well.

Charles Woodson is the team’s MVP at this point in the season. I have no idea how he is doing it but Charles Woodson is playing at the top of his game even with a broken toe. You can be the biggest Ted Thompson hater around but you need to admit that he made the right decision signing Charles Woodson. At this point he has to be one of the best cornerbacks in the entire league. This entire season he has probably only given up a handful of catches. Combine that with the 4 INTs (tied for tops in the league) and the 2 TDs and Charles Woodson is easily the Packers best defensive player at this time.

Nick Collins and Tramon Williams continue to shine. After Bigby and Harris went down I will admit that I was worried about the secondary. I guess my fears were unwarranted though. After three mediocre seasons, Nick Collins has finally learned how to become a playmaker. I will now officially admit that I underestimated Nick Collins. This season he has really turned the corner as he has improved his tackling, coverage, and playmaking ability. Meanwhile Tramon Williams has shown the last three weeks why he will be a future starter for the Packers. With tight coverage and and INT every game he has played, Williams has actually made a case to retain the starting spot once Al Harris gets back. While I don’t think it will be permanent, I think Williams could start the first couple weeks after Al Harris gets back so he can get reacclimated to playing. As far as next year I actually think there is a very very good chance that Tramon could unseat Al Harris as the starter.

Our defensive line really showed up in this game. It’s nice to see Kampman get back to sacking the quarterback. The defensive line put quite a bit of pressure on Seattle and also did a pretty good job stopping the running game. While this might be a little early, I think Jeremy Thompson has the potential to be a very good DE in this league. While he made mistakes yesterday, I think he gives us the most with the DE’s we have left. He will also get valuable playing time which should only help in him developing quicker.

I couldn’t believe it but the Packers mostly got over their stupid penalties. The Packers did have a couple penalties but that can be expected while playing at one of the loudest stadiums in the entire league. I was worrying that we would never get over the stupid penalties but at least we showed what we can do as long as we don’t shoot ourselves in the foot.

Negatives

I honestly don’t know if the running game will ever get going. I don’t know if it is Grant of the Offensive Line (my feeling is it is a little bit of both) but the running game really needs to get going. Hopefully the running game will act like last year and just take half the season to get going. If we want to have a shot at the Super Bowl the running game is going to have to be fixed really quickly.

At first I thought we had finally got out of a game healthy but I was wrong. What do the Packers have to do to actually get out of a game without a significant injury. This week Ryan Picket left with a triceps injury. I don’t know if it is just me but this is not good. Hopefully it isn’t a serious injury since this defensive line can’t afford another injury. We were just about to get as healthy as possible along the defensive line (Harrell is returning this week) and then this happens. Hopefully we luck out on this one since it would be nice to actually have a semi healthy defensive line for once.

The Packers need to seriously start looking at adding a new punter. While Frost isn’t as terrible as some people think, I think the Packers can find a better punter. Hopefully we can find a stopgap this season and then draft one next season. Hopefully we will get lucky and find another Mason Crosby (this time as a punter).

After another tough loss the Packers need to start worrying about the season. While the season isn’t over the team really needs to make some changes or we will be lucky to win 8 or 9 games this season. The good thing is that there is plenty of time left in the season and we are only one game behind the Bears for the division lead. I think the Packers currently have four problems and if at least some of these can be fixed I think we can still salvage the season.

First is the stupid penalties. These penalties are toatlly killing us. I don’t know why but every game we have to have several killer penalties that lose the game for us. I don’t know if it is just me but I am getting sick and tired of it. I don’t know how the team needs to keep shooting themselves in the foot by committing stupid penalties. Once again this game was lost due to stupid penalties. For example if Jermichael Finley didn’t hold on the first field goal we would have made it and we could have been tied at the end of the game. I don’t know what McCarthy needs to do to get these players to play smart but he needs to try something. If it breaks down to players having to take laps for every penalty in practice so be it. This is getting rediculous and needs to be eliminated if this team has any shot at making the playoffs.

Problem number 2 is the injuries. These injuries are really starting to take their toll. One good thing to come out of the game is that it appears no one else was hurt in the game which is a good thing. I will probably wake up tomorrow to discover another player got hurt. I don’t know if it is just bad luck or bad training but this injury situation is getting rediculous. Hopefully the Packers can somehow make it through a couple weeks without anymore injuries and get some of our players back. If this happens (very unlikely at this point) I think the team should improve.

Problem number 3 is the running game. While the running game showed a little life in this game it is still rediculous. The running game really needs to get going. Aaron Rodgers and the receivers can’t keep bailing out this offense. The running game really needs to step up. The offensive line needs to open up some holes while Grant and Jackson try to actually gain more than a couple yards each run.

Finally our run defense is downright terrible so far this season. At this point any running back could easily get 100 yards rushing on us. This can’t continue. I don’t know exactly why we are playing so terrible but I think it is mostly due to the defensive tackles. I don’t know if they are just tired for playing more this season, or what but they are getting absolutely no pressure up the middle and letting running backs run right by them. I know I am asking for a lot here but hopefully Justin Harrell will be able to come back and really help the run defense.

While things are looking really bad at this point there are some positives to draw from this week’s game:

First if anyone ever challenges Rodgers toughness again I will be furious. Throughout the game you could tell he was playing through pain but he kept going because he knew it was best for the team. To top that off I thought Rodgers had a great game. He did through that late INT but I don’t put much blame on him. He is allowed to make some mistakes since the defense and running game didn’t give him any support at all.

While some people might bring up if we had Favre things would be different. I personally don’t agree with that. This is a team game after all. While the QB is important, there are 52 other players on the team and if they don’t step up it really doesn’t matter what the QB does. First of all we will never know. Second with all the other troubles on the team I don’t think Favre would have made much of a difference. For example can Brett Favre block without getting penalty after penalty? I don’t think so. Can Brett stuff the run on defense? Another no. Can Brett magically heal all of our injuries? One final no. While Favre possibly could have helped the team, he could have also made things much worse since Brett always seemed to make mistakes when the team was behind.  People need to give Rodgers a break since most of our current problems have nothing to do with Rodgers. I thought except for last week he has had a great season. Too bad few other players on the team are willing to help him out. While we are playing much worse this season I still don’t regret going with Rodgers and if I had to make the choice after everything that has happened I still would have picked Rodgers since Rodgers has a bright future in front of him while Favre has at max one more season left in him.

A second positive is that we did start playing better in the second half. While it isn’t that reassuring, if we continue to grow on the second half I think we could possibly turn the season around.

A final positive is that the pass defense is stepping up this season. With so many injuries this season, many (including myself) thought the pass defense was going to crash and crumble. So far the pass defense has held pretty well with the help they have been getting from the defensive line. If the defensive line would just get some pressure I think we would have a top pass defense. In my opinion Tramon Williams has shown the last two games why he will be the future starter at CB. I actually wouldn’t even be surprised if Al Harris isn’t the #3 for a couple weeks once he comes back in order to get readjusted to the game. Speaking of future starters I think Pat Lee has a bright future. While he still makes some mistakes (he is a rookie after all) he has shown so many flashes of brilliance that I think he just needs to time and he will be a very good CB. Finally Nick Collins has had an amazing season. As most of you probably know I am far from a Nick Collins fan. I actually didn’t want to start him this season. While I was wrong. He seems to have finally turned the corner and has finally learned how to catch a football. With the sad state of safeties in the NFC I honestly think Nick Collins has a chance of making the Pro Bowl this season.

While things aren’t looking good at this point, I wouldn’t give up on the season just yet. The Packers are obviously a talented team it’s just that we keep shooting ourselves in the foot. If we can just correct our stupid mistakes and get some of our players back from injuries I think we can turn this season around and be a threat in the playoffs. How this season is going I personally think the winner of the Super Bowl will come down to who is hotest at the end of the season. Remember that the Giants had far from a good start to their season last year and we all know how that happened? While things aren’t looking great there is still some hope left in this season.