Actually, Bob McGinn had a very interesting blurb in his article about injuries, and despite everyone with the Packers top brass downplaying their importance, they have to be taken into account.
This year, the special teams have probably been hit the hardest due to injuries. They've lost Neal, Martin, Bigby, and Poppinga to injuries, and on top of that have lost Peprah, Bishop, Zombo, and Jackson due to them being inserted into the starting lineup and being asked to play a bigger role on D / O.
I'm not saying we should give the Special Teams free pass - NSD points out they were consistently giving up the decent starting field position.
Yet, it may be a bit much to demand excellence from our ST considering we've had so much turnover on the units.
Giving up that long return, though, is inexcusable. You just cannot do that, especially when you know the circumstances. That is unacceptable. Unfortunately, if anything we're going to see downgrades in ST personnel since there is the possibility that injuries may happen on O or D. Coach Slocum has gotta figure out a way to make the ST units work consistently each and every play.
The NFL: Where Greg Jennings Happens.