Something that is easy to lose sight of is how well the defense played today. Yes, they were chewed up in the run game, but so be it. Teams typically live and die by the pass these days. The Lions were average 29 points per game at home all season, and they were held to 7 points today. That is phenomenal. The Packers will still easily be the #1 scoring defense in the league after this week.
As for the offensive line, if our line coaching staff isn't summarily fired after that performance, it might be time to call into question the judgment of their superiors. I've been calling for their firing all season (the reduction in sacks notwithstanding), and this just confirms my conviction. Whether it's a lack of talent provided by Ted Thompson, which I doubt, or their inability to coach up the talent they have available, which I suspect, someone needs to take responsibility for the perpetual mediocrity and frequent ineptitude of this line. Rodgers has not shown any significant level of trust in his line in any game so far this season, and the primary reason for the reduction in sack numbers has been his own intrepid evasiveness, which ultimately failed him today. As I've said before, if Aaron Rodgers is lost for any significant period of time this season (by which I mean more than one or two games) due to a lack of protection by the line, the entire offensive coaching staff needs to go. And as far as I'm concerned, this is Ted Thompson's last year of grace in the draft. If this forthcoming draft doesn't SIGNIFICANTLY bolster the level of protection afforded Aaron Rodgers, the offensive scouting staff -- perhaps even Ted Thompson himself -- need to go, his apparently amazing ability to pull together unheralded defensive personnel notwithstanding. At the very least, Thompson should bring in someone dedicated to scouring the ranks for offensive line talent; preferably also an offensive line coach.
And what is it with Mike McCarthy in key moments? Aaron Rodgers gets his bell rung. The Packers, very appropriately, call a timeout so he can be evaluated on the sidelines. He returns to the line of scrimmage looking like a punchdrunk boxer trying to hold it together in the corner, and they go with five wide, empty backfield? Of
course he gets slammed to the turf and is out for the remainder of the game. Why wouldn't they call a run in that first play to give Rodgers a chance to get his feet back under him? I suppose Mike McCarthy will tell us that they didn't get the replay with a clear view of his face until several plays later. Andrew Quarless deserves to be benched for his performance on that play alone. He didn't make the slightest attempt to block his man; he looked like he didn't even want to be on the field.
Can I say again that it's embarrassing to watch this team passing time after time on 2nd-and-1, not to mention 3rd-and-1? This offense is painfully inept in short yardage situations.
After today's abysmal showing, the Packers' road to the playoffs becomes immeasurably more difficult. The tiebreakers are quickly stacking up against the Packers. Both the Giants and the Buccaneers move ahead of the Packers in the standings. If the Packers and Bears finish the season with the same record, the Packers are probably out of the playoffs. They all but have to win out to make it now. Unless the Packers get a tremendous amount of help from other teams, today may have been the day their playoff chances evaporated.