I'm not denying any of this. I'm merely pointing out that we "control our own destiny". And more than that, we don't have to be anything special or become a different team. A win vs the Lions, Texans, Jaguars, and Bears can put us in the playoffs.

I'm only being optimistic, yet I don't feel it takes a ton of optimism to think we have a good shot at winning said 4 games.

"mattresell" wrote:

Matt.. I know and I am sorry for ranting in your positive thread.

Usually I am fairly optimistic in my approach.. but this team has had one problem after another this year... we are either less talented than I thought or we have to really look at the lack of leadership on this club..

We are better than we played tonight.. so hopefully this will light a fire.. well probably for only next week.. but after tonight.. I will take it.

"pack93z" wrote:

Wow that schedule is brutal for the Vikings. Too bad the Giants won't have anything to play for though.

"djcubez" wrote:

"mattresell" wrote:

This was a bad loss. No debating that. But I know how this board can get - really high after wins and really low after losses.

I just spent the past 15 minutes looking at schedules, so let me try to put thi in perspective. We are certainly not out of the playoff hunt. In fact, I see a decent shot at winning the division even with 1 more loss, so long as that loss isn't to the Bears or Lions.

Let's play out some scenarios real quick operating under the assumption that we win the two division games and two of the other three. (I don't think beating two of Carolina, Jacksonville, and Houston is a reach.) That would put us at 9-7. Lets take a look at the Vikings and Bears.

We'll start with the Vikings/Bears game next week and look at the ramifications for each team winning.

First up: Vikings.

A win vs the Bears gives them 7 wins, meaning they would need 3 more wins to win the division if we get out 9 wins. We hold the tie breaker against since the season series is tied, but we would have a better division record after beating the Lions and Bears. Their other 4 games look like this:

@ Detroit
@ Arizona
vs Atlanta
vs NYG

We could catch a bad break if the Giants have nothing to play for in Week 17, but even so, I don't see a 3-1 record as likely. Sure, it could happen, but I would still see our chances of winning the division as reasonable.

Next up: Bears

A win vs the Vikings next week gives them 7 wins, meaning they too would need 3 more victories to win the division. Again, this is assuming our win over them in Week 16 giving us the head-to-head tie breaker. Let's take a look at their schedule:

vs Jacksonville
vs New Orleans
vs Green Bay
@ Houston

Now we've assumed our win vs the Bears, so that means they would have to sweep the remaining three games. It could happen, but it's not likely.

So what does all of this show? It shows that if we beat the Bears and the Lions (not unreasonable victories), I still think we have the best shot to win the division, even if we lose one of the Carolina/Jacksonville/Houston games.

Now, if we don't beat the Bears and Lions, all bets are off. But I'm trying to bring some optimism to the board. Truth is, we're still in pretty decent shape. (So long as our defense doesn't ever play again like they did tonight.)

"mattresell" wrote:

we are not the 07' Packers that beamed consistency.. we have regressed as a team..

"pack93z" wrote:

"pack93z" wrote: