The Packers, now down to 5-61 and coming off a semi-bye week after being embarassed by the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving, might have a glimmer of hope for the playoffs but would be better served by looking in the mirror instead. Ty Dunne of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinal joins us for a hard look at our favorite team down on its luck.
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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.
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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.
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.
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.
Embarrassing.
That is the word Mike McCarthy used to describe the Packers’ 40-10 loss to the Lions in front of a nationally televised audience.
Embarrassing.
The Packers had not lost a game in this dramatic a fashion since McCarthy’s rookie season at the helm, a 35-0 disaster to the Patriots. Many will remember that game was a disaster by many accounts.
Embarrassing? Most definitely. But no where near as bad compared to what happened yesterday. Not even close.
In front of the entire NFL world yesterday, the Packers got exposed for being what they really are: one of the worst teams in the league when Aaron Rodgers is not on the field.
Even worse, the man leading the team on the field got exposed as perhaps one of the worst coaches in the league when Rodgers is not on the field. And that is a problem that needs to be addressed immediately.
Removing Rodgers from the field has left McCarthy scrambling for answers on offense. This would be true for any coach in the league. Not having the best player in the league on the field is going to leave some opportunity for the offense to try and bridge the gap until his return.
So how has McCarthy responded to this adversity? Poorly, and that is being kind.
