The Packers need to take a long look at themselves to figure out what’s going on. The defense has shown they’re capable of stopping 
any team for about 3 minutes then they go to sleep. I’m not sure why Dom Capers keeps playing prevent defense when teams are eating them alive each time he tries it – 3rd and 16 and he sends 3 for a pass rush, Why? Then he has them stuck deep on a 3rd down play which would have forced a punt and given them excellent field position and he plays zone instead of blitzing and Newton hits a 20 yard pass in the middle of the field to give them a first down. And when he finally does turn the guys loose in the last five minutes of the game they almost pulled out a win so why not play a full 60 minutes the way they did the last five?
Same goes for Rodgers, he finally started throwing the ball into tight coverage trusting his receivers to make the play and look what happened. Not sure what is going on with this O line they can’t pass block to save their lives lately. Aaron had a chance to score a TD and bring them within two points to tie the game and with a two point conversion send it into overtime, which in my opinion they would have won since the momentum was on their side. But the line broke down so Aaron was forced to throw fast and instead of seeing a wide open Cobb in the corner of the end-zone he tossed an INT trying to hit Rodgers in tight coverage.
It seems like they played better last year when they were banged up, maybe someone should step on Sittons toe ( just kidding ) he is getting beat more these last few games than I can ever remember. Lang is also playing poorly which is a surprise from these two veterans. Linsley is making rookie mistakes now instead of when he was a rookie, Bakhtiari played better this game but he’s still getting beat on pass rush way to often, when it comes down to run blocking they’re very inconsistent.
I will get bashed for this but Lacy needs to be benched until he gets in the gym to get in shape. Carrying the extra pounds this year has slowed him down to a crawl he has no burst to hit holes like he used to, I say let Stark’s be the #1 and let Harris be #2 until Eddie drops the weight. I wanted to give him the benefit of doubt with a sore ankle but even he says it’s fine.
Let’s talk about play calling, the Pack gets right back into the game with an INT from Randall and Clements calls two run plays with time running out. Why? They were just getting momentum and he kills it with running the ball for little to no gain, I know you have to mix it up but come on even the announcers were like “What the heck are they doing?” Once again they used two timeouts for being out of sync which could of come in handy at the end of the game, I know a lot of people complained about McCarthy’s play calling last year but personally I would like to see him regain the role and get this offense back to where it was, I was reading in the comments section on a lot of packer posts how everyone wants Capers head again this always happens when they lose. I for one have defended him many times but these last three games it makes it very hard to do, over 1400 yards in three games is unacceptable, maybe it’s time to look elsewhere for some fresh idea’s because the way he is calling games now will be the team’s demise down the road.
Well they have the Lions at home next week which should be a easy win but even with a win I think most will say they can only beat bad teams, the Vikings are tied at 6-2 right now and in two weeks when they play it could be for the sole possession of the NFC North, hopefully they can get this teams shortcomings figured out before the matchup.
Well I could go on and on about what’s disturbing about this team as of late but would like to hear from you so comment below and/or on the FB homepage and don’t forget to give us a #GoPackGo
Thanks Jeff
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Yes, yes, and YES! I went through the first half thinking.. “they will come out of it” They will NOT play as badly as LAST week! Boy, was I wrong. Halftime.. ok, they will get things straightened out at half. Boy, was I wrong. I like you, thought (and yelled) “why didn’t you do THIS all game?!” Too little, too late. Please get back to where you were before the bye! I said it during home games, when it first started … WAY too many wasted time-outs because they can’t get it together for a play on offense…. unacceptable! Hopefully this next home game will give them their confidence back and work out the kinks that seems to have gotten even worse after the bye week. Common Pack, you are better than this! GO PACK GO!!!!!
get rid of tompson and spend some money on free agency like other teams
Look at the defense stats for the last three years. No improvement. If this was a corporation someone would have been gone a long time ago
Play calling was fine, execution was terrible and started with Rodgers. The 4th down INT at the end is a great example. It was a perfectly called and executed play by our receivers with Cobb being the primary receiver. Rodgers glanced to the right (Cobb’s side), then gave up on the play as it was developing and looked left. Cobb broke open as Rodgers was looking away. Had Rodgers stuck with Cobb, he easily gets rid of the ball before the pass rush causes a bad throw over the middle. Doesn’t Rodgers know how that play is designed to work? If he’s trying to look off a S, his first glance should have been left, not right.
Don’t get me started on Dom Capers. His same old and pathetic play calls have once again cost us 1st downs and eventually points versus a backed up offense. Thumbs down to Capers, and McCarthy and Thompson for continuing to support him.
The runs at the end weren’t bad calls either. Panthers were dropping into coverage with only 6 in the box. Every NFL team should be able to run in that situation, but our O-line is terrible at run blocking. A couple of big runs would have pulled the D back into the box and made passing easier. Had our O-line done their jobs, you’d be giving Clement compliments on the play calls. As fans, we have to be careful about blaming play calling on poor execution. It’s not Clement’s fault that our O-line can’t do their jobs correctly.
The screens to Starks were huge. That’s one play which has been missing from our arsenal for way too long. Hopefully we’ll see them used more often for the rest of the season. A well executed screen play is hard to stop, and has big play potential. It should be used early and often vs over pursuing Ds.
The biggest problem I have with how we’ve played this season is the lack of emotion and sense of urgency throughout games. We come into every game emotionally flat, and go down hill when the game isn’t going well. Players tend to take on the persona of their head coach, and that’s McCarthy. Down 17 early, even the announcers said our players looked deflated and shell shocked on the sidelines. Instead of getting fired up to play with more energy, they do the opposite. So it was great to see some emotion on the sidelines from Peppers, Raji, and HHCD – which I think transferred into better play late in the game. Just a shame that it takes frustration for them to get fired up. No player liked it when Lombardi rode their butts about mistakes, but they reacted to it. It all starts with the head coach and his temperament.
Rodgers does many things better than most QBs. He also does a couple things worse than most QBs. There’s a hot read on virtually every passing play, but he ignores them in favor of bigger plays down field. Bigger plays take longer to develop, putting more pressure on his O-line to perform on every play. And this is always after they’ve been forced to remain in their stance in hurry up, over and over again, until the play clock runs all the way down (other than when he catches Ds trying to substitute, this defeats the purpose of the hurry up). Bottom line is that there were 3 plays when Rodgers was pressured or hit before 3.5 seconds. 3 plays! They practice to a 3.5 second play clock, but Rodgers doesn’t play that way. So you can’t blame our O-line when Rodgers is trying to extend plays and it doesn’t work. That’s on Rodgers, not the O-line. They don’t have eyes in the back of their heads to know where he is at all times. Once he starts to move, they’ve done their jobs correctly.
I correctly picked the Packers to lose the last 2 games. Too many problems to fix on both sides of the ball. Unlike the Broncos game, the Packers offense and defense came alive at the end of this game. Now we have something to build upon. Rodgers should have some confidence in his receivers to make play. The D should have confidence to perform better. I expect we’ll start to turn things around with a home game vs the struggling Lions next week. And the Panthers aren’t likely to go through the remaining 8 games without a couple or more losses. So we’re still in this thing. We have the talent to win another SB this year. Our problems have always been a matter of getting our heads and attitudes adjusted, which this game should have helped. Go Pack go!
I think our boys need to remember the fun of this game. I have not seen smiles, the famous Rodgers photobombs or in fact any sense of the normal levity and poise of old. I know there are major fundamental problems that really need to be addressed, but I see a team that has forgotten a very wisely put mantra from last year: R E L A X! The God given talent on this team is incredible! I know you guys will get past this and remember your love and passion for this game! Bring your emotion, smiles and normal grace back to your playing, sharpen the fundamentals and go kick a little!
I’d rather have a scared and passionate team like the Lombardi Packers (5 Championships in 7 years, and the years they didn’t win were only by a few points in a single game).
The happy-go-lucky teams of McCarthy (1 Championship in 10 years and only making the NFC Championship game twice in those failed attempts) aren’t comparable for me.
Although I’ll admit that I enjoyed watching the celebrations and jokes of Favre much more than the even keeled Rodgers approach, I think it’s because because Favre was obviously passionate about the game. Fun is for the fans. The players should take this very, very seriously for the amount of money they’re making.