There are a ton of reasons to be upset with this season, this team, the "oh so close" feeling that this team endured this season.

But honestly, for a team that went for so many seasons with a constant figure on the field to a team that has to re-identify themselves.. some of this was to be expected.

I expected some frustrating games and losses this season, granted not this many or worse yet this string of defeats post bye.. but I gave it a little thought last night decorating the tree with the kiddos.

We had some lucky breaks last year and weren't as good as record.. this year we didn't enjoy some of those breaks and some of the real root problems on this team have been exposed.

Whether you see it as disipline, position coaching, weakness along both lines, or whatever you believe it to be.

But Ted and Mike McCarthy have plenty of film, breakdowns and examples to root it out in their minds.

So, it will be the proof time in both man's eyes to correctly identify the behind the curtain issues, develop a plan for resolution and execute that plan.

They have no excuses or no place else to lay blame.. I am confident that we will see a number of changes and I believe we will see some urgency this offseason to rebound.

I have confidence in those two yet.. go get them boys.

We have all the evidence to correct the problems at hand (two season worth of the same mistakes) .. good luck.

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I have confidence in them also.

They both could use some Dale Carnegie remedial training in order to quiet the masses, though.

I'm re-opening my "McCarthyisms" humor theme this off-season. I have a lot of new material to work with. This is not the same as having lost faith in either him or Mr. no-blink.

It is going to be a bitch-heavy off-season, but at least we don't have to look for cell phone records.

yeah, heres hoping that we went ahead and got the injury bug out at the same time we got the "transition of power" bug to deal with.

just a tough year.

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In a way, they're a bit screwed and don't have anyone to blame but themselves. It's pretty unfair, but the shenanigans this past offseason pretty much dictated that if we didn't have a good year they'd get some heat.

Personally I'm in the camp that still has some faith in them. I just don't see us having the same injury issues as this year, and I do think they'll go out and do something in the offseason to raise the talent level in those areas where it's lacking.

Having a 'normal' offseason shouldn't hurt, either.

But if the team doesn't perform next year, I think it's fair to say they will -- and should be -- on the hot seat.

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The interesting thing I noticed a while back, when I was in the mood to go and check it out, was that for the past few years (dating back to 2002), usually their is a 50% turnover concerning the teams that made it to the NFC and AFC Championship games.

And by that I mean 2/4 teams return to the playoffs next year, while the other two miss them completely. I've been contemplating whether or not to start a new detailed thread on this, so I'll leave that option open and just go a little deep here:

Some of the teams to make it to the Conference Championship, only to miss the playoffs all together include: Pats, Eagles, Chargers, Saints, Bears, Panthers... just to name a few.

The interesting thing is that those teams, for the most part, had terrible years following their Conference Championship births. And by terrible I mean below .500, usually going 7-9.

Now I'm not saying Ted and Mike McCarthy should just stand pat, because it's obvious we need help along the lines, and maybe a veteran SS that's dependable and assignment sure. And the Brett saga no doubt hurt this team too.

But it's interesting to see the path these 2008-2009 Packers have taken (i.e. fall from grace) is one that has been traveled before by many a team in the last few years. For all intents and purposes, teams like the Chargers, Pats, Eagles have bounced back and made strong playoff pushes.

So perhaps that Packers aren't in as steep a whole as it seems right now. That's not to say they don't need to fix some problems, but maybe, just maybe the problems aren't as big as we all think?

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They were as good as their record last year, good teams win the close games. This years team is playing sloppy with to many penalties and a defense that can't stop anybody.

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Go check out the stats last season.. 07.. I think we as a team were second in the league in penalty yards.

The Offensive line was just as sporadic in the 07 season as this season..

We trimmed down the roster count on the Dline, specifically the interior.. add in an injury, a player in Harrell that hasn't stepped up and KGB falling off.. simply put.. we need more and better depth there.

A linebacker corp that makes the same mental mistakes and can't cover my hopping ole ass.

Maybe over simplifying it.. but I see it as simple as that.

This year we couldn't get an ounce of pass rush inside or from the opposite side of Kampman..

Again.. we have all the evidence to make the necessary changes.. will they?

That is the franchise question for 09'.

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They still were as good as their record last season and the defense played better last season. Good teams win close games and play good defense. Yes they have plenty of film but we will see if they use it to make changes.

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That's the thing that surprised me the most. I expected the offense to struggle some, but I didn't expect the utter collapse on defense. The cornerbacks were the only group on defense that I thought played well.