Amanda and Chris look back on the Thanksgiving Day debacle in Detroit and try to find if there were some things they were thankful for. After not finding much, they swear off More »
Facing the uncertainty of Aaron Rodgers’ status come Sunday, Adam and Chris debate this week whether or not Rodgers should play against Atlanta and for the rest of the season. However, that is More »
The Packers, now down to 5-61 and coming off a semi-bye week after being embarrassed by the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving, might have a glimmer of hope for the playoffs but would More »
In the wake of the Thanksgiving debacle in Detroit, Mike and Dan try to tackle exactly why the defense has been gobbled up in recent weeks. They also reflect back upon the More »
Chris asks Amanda about her experience at Lambeau and informs her that she’s to blame for the tie, then they discuss whether Scott Tolzien or Matt Flynn should be under center and More »
Randall Cobb suffered a fractured fibula Oct. 13. He is scheduled to return in Week 15.
Lost in the chatter about the world’s most famous collarbone.
Forgotten after the defense allowed the Lions to convert 9 of 12 third downs and the Bears to roll up 442 total yards — with a quarterback no less.
The Packers have one the most dynamic players in the NFL on their team, and he hasn’t played since Oct. 13 before leaving with a fractured fibula.
Of course, I’m not talking about Aaron Rodgers. I’m talking about Randall Cobb.
Estimates have Cobb returning around Week 15.
Rodgers is arguably the best quarterback in the league but Cobb is the most multi dimensional. Yet, I wonder why people have been pleading for the Packers to shut Rodgers down but I haven’t heard anyone say that Cobb should sit for the remainder of the season?
According to makeNFLplayoffs.com, the Packers have an 11.6 percent chance to make the postseason. Obviously that number doesn’t look very promising but without its top two weapons, I don’t see that number getting any higher.
Through the first four games, Cobb saw 40 targets while Jordy Nelson totaled 30. Like a lot of smaller receivers like Wes Welker, Cobb is an exceptional route runner that doesn’t shy away from contact. (Of course it helps when you have a fifth gear that takes you to ludicrous speed).
In the wake of the Thanksgiving debacle in Detroit, Mike and Dan try to tackle exactly why the defense has been gobbled up in recent weeks. They also reflect back upon the downward spiral that has taken place since Aaron Rodgers left the lineup, and brainstorm about what may need to change moving forward.
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For the best in Packers’ talk, join Mike and Dan Conklin of Packerpedia.com as they tackle each issue from a “thinking man’s” perspective. Both are lifelong Packer fans who are dedicated to bringing you the best in Packer perspectives and opinions. Join them each and every week on the Packer Talk Radio Network.
Also, be sure to check out their website, packerpedia.com and follow Mike on twitter at @Packerpedia and Dan at @frogmandan61
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It has been a very difficult five weeks for the Green Bay Packers and their fans.
Currently in the midst of an 0-4-1 streak, the Packers have gone from potentially representing the NFC in Super Bowl 48 to potentially one of the worst teams in the NFL.
Nothing has worked well for them during this stretch.
The offense has ground to a halt since Aaron Rodgers was lost due to a broken collarbone. The Special Teams have been average at best. And the defense cannot stop anyone.
It has been a miserable couple of weeks in PackerNation.
Everyone is looking for someone to blame for what is happening to this team right now.
Is it Ted Thompson’s fault, because he has not added the right players to the team to win?
Maybe Mike McCarthy is to blame, for not having an effective offensive game plan designed to win without Rodgers.
It could be Dom Capers’ fault, for having the defense completely fall apart.
It very well could be a combination of the above factors.
Whatever the case is, let’s do something different today.
How about we all put down the torches and pitchforks for just one day, and take a trip back to happier times:
Much happier times indeed.
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John Rehor is a writer at PackersTalk.com.
He can also be heard as one of the Co-Hosts of Cheesehead Radio.
I feel robbed. I think we all do. This season was going so well. Not 2011 well, but it was certainly going better than last year. We were 5-2 and 13 point favorites over the hated Bears at home. The team was all but certainly going to move to 6-2 and then into a cakewalk of a schedule the rest of the way out. Aaron Rodgers was hitting his stride, and more importantly with Rodgers at QB and Eddie Lacy at RB teams absolutely had to respect two aspects of the Packers offensive game. This led to playing with the lead, which regardless of what you think of Coach Capers and the defense is the way that this team is designed.
I don’t blame Bob McGinn. Really, I don’t. I couldn’t believe that he wrote the article that he did. I didn’t understand the point of throwing that kind of thought out in to the world in the middle of a normal regular season but I kind of brushed it off. It is unfortunate, however, that about every point that he made in that article turned out to be wildly incorrect. The Packers were not and are not capable of winning without their MVP QB. Maybe they could if they had Randall Cobb and Jermichael Finley to terrorize the middle of the field, but they don’t. Maybe they could if they had an acceptable answer at RT (oh I don’t know, Bryan Bulaga?). Maybe they’d be more effective running the ball if they still had DuJuan Harris as a change of pace. But this team? With their double digit contributors on IR (again). Can’t do it without #12. It isn’t going to work.
Aaron Rodgers is recovering from a broken collarbone he suffered Nov. 4 vs. Chicago.
The Packers still have a beating playoff heartbeat only because the NFC North has turned into the Three Stooges falling all over themselves.
Even after getting smoked by Detroit on Thanksgiving, I cannot give the Lions my full endorsement only because they lost to a bad Tampa Bay team a couple weeks ago.
But now the Packers are at a crossroads. Do they try and salvage the season by inserting the best quarterback in the NFL, who may are may not be 100 percent? Or do they just say enough is enough, shut him down and start anew for 2014?
Obviously season ticket holders never want to hear the Packers wave the white flag but sometimes you have to risk the short term in order to maintain the future.
I don’t think Aaron Rodgers should be forced to sit the rest of the season just because of a freak injury. If the team doctor clears him to play and he wants to play, he should play. The longer he sits out the more he’s going to have time to think about what his collarbone would feel like if a defensive lineman fell on it in the bitter cold.
But let’s not forget that Rodgers’ injury isn’t the only reason this team has been struggling. The Packers cannot stop the run with poor interior defensive line play and secondary has been getting torched all year.
The Green Bay Packers season started with optimism all over the place, as is the case with most teams going into an NFL Season. That optimism was met with a 5-2 start with a balanced offense, and a defense that appeared to be improving.
Since that time everything that has been possible to go wrong for the Packers, has, and now they sit at 5-6-1 and look to be a long shot to get to the playoffs.
So where have things gone wrong? What changes need to be made?
We will start with the offense
First of all, the biggest loss, by far was the loss of Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers broke his collarbone on the first possession of a Nov. 4 matchup against the Chicago Bears. The Packers would go on to lose that game, and the from that moment forward looked bleak. The Packers have long employed the philosophy and mindset of “next man up” under Mike McCarthy. It has been met with success as they have overcome so many injuries each of the last two seasons, but as I wrote a few weeks ago, next man up does not apply when it is the franchise quarterback. That has definitely been the case in the Packers season. Rodgers went down, and they have not won a game since. They were embarrassed by the Philadelphia Eagles and Detroit Lions. Combined with another loss to the New York Giants, and a tie with the Minnesota Vikings, the promising season has now turned sour. The Packers have scored a total of 76 points in the last four games, an average of under 20 points per game.
It was not that long ago that many-including myself-were singing the praises of Dom Capers, who had seemingly found his way again after having less than stellar results the past several seasons.
It is amazing what a different tune is being sung these days.
The Packers defense, which was supposed to help carry the team while the Packers were without the services of Aaron Rodgers, has been reduced to a complete laughingstock during their current 0-4-1 streak.
The stats over the past five weeks speak for themselves.
2,199 yards allowed (440 YPG).
926 rushing yards allowed (185 YPG).
147 points allowed (29.4 YPG).
No team is going to win with a defense performing at such a poor level. Period.
The worst thing about the current state of the Packers’ defense is their performance against the Lions this past Thursday.
The Packers entered the game with all eleven starters healthy for the first time in several weeks. And in their first game at full strength, the Packers responded by forcing four turnovers and sacking Matthew Stafford once.
They also allowed 40 points, 241 rushing yards, and 561 total yards.
To say this was an underwhelming performance would be a disservice to the word underwhelming.
It was embarrassing, for the team, and for the man responsible for running the Packers’ defense.
Thursday’s game was an all too familiar sight for Packers fans since Dom Capers became their Defensive Coordinator in 2009.
