Green Bay Packers' offense must get its act together
BY MIKE VANDERMAUSE MVANDERMAUSE@GREENBAYPRESSGAZETTE.COM DECEMBER 12, 2010
[img_r]http://cmsimg.greenbaypressgazette.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=U0&Date=20101212&Category=PKR07&ArtNo=101212053&Ref=AR&MaxW=318&Border=0[/img_r]The Green Bay Packers picked a terrible time to turn in one of their worst offensive performances during the Mike McCarthy era.
How can a team locked in a heated playoff battle and with so much on the line play such uninspiring football on offense?
The Packers 7-3 loss to the Detroit Lions Sunday at Ford Field in Detroit dealt their playoff hopes a serious jolt. The Packers tumbled to the No. 8 seed in the NFC and with their division defeat stand a good chance of losing any tiebreakers with the first-place Chicago Bears in the NFC North.
But lets forget about the playoffs for now, because unless the Packers shake themselves out of their offensive funk, they will be headed home when the regular season ends.
The Lions (3-10) entered the game ranked No. 25 in the NFL in scoring defense and had been allowing nearly 26 points per game, yet the Packers made them look like world beaters.
The Packers offense got manhandled in the trenches, and the lackluster performance casts serious doubts on their ability to play efficiently against higher-ranked scoring defenses down the stretch.
The Packers had no running game to speak of, with their backs gaining 31 yards in 15 carries. Adding to their list of woes, the Packers committed inexcusable turnovers, the status of quarterback Aaron Rodgers is uncertain after he was knocked woozy on a reckless second-quarter scramble, and backup Matt Flynn fell flat when given the chance to take charge in the second half.
At least the Packers defense came ready to play against the Lions, although it couldnt score any points to offset the offenses startling inadequacy.
Rodgers absence for just over half the game due to a concussion was no excuse for the Packers awful showing. The offense produced just two first downs with Rodgers at the controls.
In the second half it became a quarterback showdown between the Lions third-stringer (Drew Stanton) and the Packers second-stringer (Flynn).
Both drove their teams into the red zone in the second half, but with the outcome hanging in the balance, Stanton tossed the game-winning touchdown pass and Flynn threw up the game-losing interception.
The Lions have improved, but they still had been beating themselves all season with critical mistakes, so it was shocking that the playoff-contending Packers were the ones who gagged.
Greg Jennings turned an almost certain touchdown pass into a momentum-killing drop and Lions interception in the first half, and tight end Andrew Quarless also coughed up the football in Lions territory.
Those are the kind of blunders that lose games, whether they come from a seasoned veteran like Jennings or inexperienced players like Quarless and Flynn.
Two years ago McCarthy jettisoned defensive coordinator Bob Sanders and special teams coach Mike Stock when their units werent performing up to acceptable standards.
In assessing the current state of the offense, McCarthy must look first in the mirror and hold himself accountable, since thats his area of expertise and he calls the plays.
This isnt the only time the offense has sputtered this season. Something isnt right, and if McCarthy doesnt get it fixed, the Packers will miss the playoffs for the second time in three years and the third time in his five years as head coach.
Things wont get any easier with New England, the New York Giants and Chicago looming on the schedule. This is no time for the offense to go in the tank.
Mike Vandermause is sports editor of the Press-Gazette.