I personally think it would be great if we could actually have an honest debate about the Packers state of the union. This board gets so bogged down with the 2 opposing extremes where one side seems to believe that the Packers are perfect and you should not dare criticize them in any fashion while there is another side believes everything sucks and apparently the team should be blown up. When the truth is, if you look at objectively there is a middle ground. Now don't get me wrong, I completely understand that people are not always going to agree not matter how much debate happens, but there is no reason why it has to devolve into "you suck, no you suck" type arguments. So with that being said I am going to give my thoughts on the "State of the Union" of the Packers organization and invite anyone from either extreme or directly in the middle to debate my points. Especially if you can do in a logical, intelligent fashion without it resulting in a flame war.
The Good:
The Team - This team is built to win and it does win year in and year out, that can't be denied.
Ted Thompson - There is no denying that this guy has done a marvelous job of building a continual winner. His decision making has created a perennial powerhouse in the NFL continuing the tradition that Wolf started but a few others began to destroy leaving TT to pick up the pieces.
Mike McCarthy - Again, this guys has been a fabulous coach and constantly puts his team in a position to win, year in and year out and that really can't be denied. He has a Super Bowl to his name and is the 2nd winningest coach in Packers history.
Offense - All the tools are in place for this offense to become a juggernaut. The continued maturation of Adams and R. Rodgers, combined with the hopeful resigning of Cobb and Bulaga will make this team and absolute powerhouse. The offensive line came into in its own and will only get better and they will not only be able to protect Aaron, they will be able to continue to gel and maul people in the running game. If Adams and R. Rodgers can continue to improve and Abbrederis can come back and contribute (which mentally and football IQ wise I believe he is already there) the Packers can open up an array of offensive formations that have been missing since the days of Jennings, Jordy, Cobb, Jones and Finely. Throw in the Lacy? Ya that offense could be record breaking.
Aaron Rodgers - What is there to say? The guy is the best. Hands down.
Defense - to be honest with you, it is hard for me to find good things to say about the defense but I will say these guys did show that they can play top notch defense a few days. There are some good tools in place. Our safety position is looking more like a future strength instead of its biggest weakness.
The Bad:
The Team - This team is not built to win. WHAT?!? I know, I know, I am contradicting myself so let me explain. This team is built to win regular season games, it is not built to win championships. It is built to win games, win the division, and hope all the stars align for a Superbowl run similar to 2010. While there is something to be said for that, the last 5 years of playoffs would highly suggest that it is not working. I am not really sure how anyone could think otherwise.
Ted Thompson - Unfortunately he has had some abysmal failures on putting together a defense. There have been some completely wasted and missed picks that have hurt the team. However he has had some recent picks that if continued should show a turn around.
Mike McCarthy - In my opinion his belief in himself and his game plan is complete arrogance at times. He has a stubborn refusal to move away from things that are not working even when it is hurting the team. I know a lot of people think he is too conservative but I don't believe that to be the case. I believe he is often a very aggressive coach, what I do believe is he gets too conservative at the wrong times. Using the NFCCG as an example, this is not the time to be conservative. If you don't win, your season is done. When the game is over, you should be able to say we gave it our all, we left it out on the field. However, the Packers did not do that which is evident by the player reactions. How many of them said "we gave it away", if the players are saying that, they don't believe for one second they left it all out on the field, they gave it away.
Offense - I have used this term in other posts and I will use it again. This team is soft when it matters most. That is not to say they are always soft, but they flat out are soft when it matters most. I will use the NFCCG as an example again. The goal line stands, FG's on 4th and one. We should not have even been in 4th and 1 positions, with this o'line, Kuhn and Lacy and the backfield they should be able to line up and punch it in the end zone the majority of the time. Unfortunately they do not and it really hurt in this game. Another example, the last drive, game on the line, they did not get it done, they got into Seattle territory quite easily and into field goal range and then just completely collapsed and failed to move the ball anymore. A fired up, mentally and physical strong team would have at the very least come much closer to finishing that drive off with a TD for the win.
Aaron Rodgers - uh oh, when you read my criticism of Rodgers please refer to what I said about him above. Here is my one and only criticism of A-Rod. He is absolutely, positively too concerned with NOT throwing interceptions. I am sure a lot of you do not look at this at as a bad thing, but it is. He takes unnecessary sacks, and does not take chances when chances are needed. Think about this. A-Rod has never in his entire career led the Packers to victory after being down by more than 9 points. The reason being? He is unwilling to take a chance. I won't go as far as to say he would rather lose than throw an interception. But I will say he would rather have some sort of miracle happen to win a game than to take a chance where there is a higher probability of throwing a Pick.
The greatest come from behind QB's interception % nearly doubles when playing from behind 8 points or more. A-Rod's stays exactly the same which is why he is actually one of the poorest come from behind QB's out there. He refuses to the chance you need to take to win ball games. And let's face it, when you are down by 8 points or more, the chances of winning the game are usually pretty slim so you are either going to lose playing conservatively giving yourself no chance to win, you are going to lose throwing a pick trying to give you a chance to win, or you are going to take that chance and win the game.
Aaron needs to learn to take chances when the likelihood of losing anyways is already pretty high.
Bulaga - One good year after a lot of injuries and he is likely to be the best available tackle in free agency which means even with the injury history, some team may very well thrown and obscene amount of money that TT simply will not (and rightly so) match as we all know TT will not overpay for players, which is a good thing. However, having to start over at right tackle again would not be a good thing either.
Defense - Again, soft, the defense is soft when it matters most. Just look at the NFCCG, when it mattered most the defense completely imploded and could not stop a single freaking play. It was absolutely ridiculous. I know some you will argue they were not soft for 55 minutes of that game and you would be right but my reply to you will be so what? This defense once again, completely crumbled and fell apart when it mattered most. That is the very definition of a soft football team. A strong -willed football team NEVER would have allowed what happened to happen. Period.
The Ugly:
Wait, what? There is no ugly with the Packers. Unfortunately I think there is some ugly.
As already said, this team is soft in crunch time, it is lacking leadership and accountability when it matters most and that starts at the head coach. As bad as this defense has been, Dom Capers should not have a job. Period. It is his job to have the players prepared. It is his job to make sure the players do not allow the comedy of errors that they commit and he has not and McCarthy has yet to hold him accountable. If the coaches are not held accountable how are the players going to be. This team believes too much that they are infallible and that if they just "execute" they will win. And while that is true, whose job is to make sure the players execute? The coach, plain and simple. If you don't think a good coach can make a difference, they I highly doubt your understanding of team sports. A good coach can make a below average unit really good, they can make a good unit great and they can also make a unit completely underperform.
In 2011 in the midst of a run at a perfect season, the lowly Kansas City Chiefs display the blue print on how to beat the mighty Packers, something that no one else had done yet. What is that blue print you say? Line up and punch the Packers in the mouth. Play man defense, and control the line of scrimmage and the chances of beating the Pack are very, very good. Just ask the Giants, the 49er's, the Seahawks, the Lions (1st game of this season), the Bills. These are all teams that followed the exact blueprint to a T. I suppose you wonder why if that is the blueprint to beating the Packers, why doesn't everyone do it? Well I will tell you why, because they are just like the Packers are defensively, they are simply not built to man up and punch you in the mouth.
This team needs stronger leadership, they need someone that will stand up with 3 minutes left to go in the NFCCG and say "Enough is Enough, this is not acceptable, we will pull our heads out or our ***** and we will win this football game." That did not happen, instead we saw players in pseudo celebration mode. In other words, players being soft...
So in closing of this ridiculously long post, the Packers are in a great position. They have the tools in place. There is no real cause for concern other than this teams needs to find some fire, some passion and some leadership that will push this team over the top and get them back to a Super Bowl. They have to decide that playoff games like occurred vs the Cardinals, Giants, 49er's and Seahawks are no longer going to happen, scratch that, games like that will happen but they will learn to win in those kinds of games instead of lose.
One last thing I want to say is that I know some of you might want to say I am spoiled, you can't win them all, etc... but you would be wrong about me, I realize you can't win them all and the fact the Packers have been bounced out of the playoffs is not what bothers me. What bothers me is the embarrassing, unbelievable fashion that it has happened against the Cardinals, Giants, 49er's and Seahawks.
The Good:
The Team - This team is built to win and it does win year in and year out, that can't be denied.
Ted Thompson - There is no denying that this guy has done a marvelous job of building a continual winner. His decision making has created a perennial powerhouse in the NFL continuing the tradition that Wolf started but a few others began to destroy leaving TT to pick up the pieces.
Mike McCarthy - Again, this guys has been a fabulous coach and constantly puts his team in a position to win, year in and year out and that really can't be denied. He has a Super Bowl to his name and is the 2nd winningest coach in Packers history.
Offense - All the tools are in place for this offense to become a juggernaut. The continued maturation of Adams and R. Rodgers, combined with the hopeful resigning of Cobb and Bulaga will make this team and absolute powerhouse. The offensive line came into in its own and will only get better and they will not only be able to protect Aaron, they will be able to continue to gel and maul people in the running game. If Adams and R. Rodgers can continue to improve and Abbrederis can come back and contribute (which mentally and football IQ wise I believe he is already there) the Packers can open up an array of offensive formations that have been missing since the days of Jennings, Jordy, Cobb, Jones and Finely. Throw in the Lacy? Ya that offense could be record breaking.
Aaron Rodgers - What is there to say? The guy is the best. Hands down.
Defense - to be honest with you, it is hard for me to find good things to say about the defense but I will say these guys did show that they can play top notch defense a few days. There are some good tools in place. Our safety position is looking more like a future strength instead of its biggest weakness.
The Bad:
The Team - This team is not built to win. WHAT?!? I know, I know, I am contradicting myself so let me explain. This team is built to win regular season games, it is not built to win championships. It is built to win games, win the division, and hope all the stars align for a Superbowl run similar to 2010. While there is something to be said for that, the last 5 years of playoffs would highly suggest that it is not working. I am not really sure how anyone could think otherwise.
Ted Thompson - Unfortunately he has had some abysmal failures on putting together a defense. There have been some completely wasted and missed picks that have hurt the team. However he has had some recent picks that if continued should show a turn around.
Mike McCarthy - In my opinion his belief in himself and his game plan is complete arrogance at times. He has a stubborn refusal to move away from things that are not working even when it is hurting the team. I know a lot of people think he is too conservative but I don't believe that to be the case. I believe he is often a very aggressive coach, what I do believe is he gets too conservative at the wrong times. Using the NFCCG as an example, this is not the time to be conservative. If you don't win, your season is done. When the game is over, you should be able to say we gave it our all, we left it out on the field. However, the Packers did not do that which is evident by the player reactions. How many of them said "we gave it away", if the players are saying that, they don't believe for one second they left it all out on the field, they gave it away.
Offense - I have used this term in other posts and I will use it again. This team is soft when it matters most. That is not to say they are always soft, but they flat out are soft when it matters most. I will use the NFCCG as an example again. The goal line stands, FG's on 4th and one. We should not have even been in 4th and 1 positions, with this o'line, Kuhn and Lacy and the backfield they should be able to line up and punch it in the end zone the majority of the time. Unfortunately they do not and it really hurt in this game. Another example, the last drive, game on the line, they did not get it done, they got into Seattle territory quite easily and into field goal range and then just completely collapsed and failed to move the ball anymore. A fired up, mentally and physical strong team would have at the very least come much closer to finishing that drive off with a TD for the win.
Aaron Rodgers - uh oh, when you read my criticism of Rodgers please refer to what I said about him above. Here is my one and only criticism of A-Rod. He is absolutely, positively too concerned with NOT throwing interceptions. I am sure a lot of you do not look at this at as a bad thing, but it is. He takes unnecessary sacks, and does not take chances when chances are needed. Think about this. A-Rod has never in his entire career led the Packers to victory after being down by more than 9 points. The reason being? He is unwilling to take a chance. I won't go as far as to say he would rather lose than throw an interception. But I will say he would rather have some sort of miracle happen to win a game than to take a chance where there is a higher probability of throwing a Pick.
The greatest come from behind QB's interception % nearly doubles when playing from behind 8 points or more. A-Rod's stays exactly the same which is why he is actually one of the poorest come from behind QB's out there. He refuses to the chance you need to take to win ball games. And let's face it, when you are down by 8 points or more, the chances of winning the game are usually pretty slim so you are either going to lose playing conservatively giving yourself no chance to win, you are going to lose throwing a pick trying to give you a chance to win, or you are going to take that chance and win the game.
Aaron needs to learn to take chances when the likelihood of losing anyways is already pretty high.
Bulaga - One good year after a lot of injuries and he is likely to be the best available tackle in free agency which means even with the injury history, some team may very well thrown and obscene amount of money that TT simply will not (and rightly so) match as we all know TT will not overpay for players, which is a good thing. However, having to start over at right tackle again would not be a good thing either.
Defense - Again, soft, the defense is soft when it matters most. Just look at the NFCCG, when it mattered most the defense completely imploded and could not stop a single freaking play. It was absolutely ridiculous. I know some you will argue they were not soft for 55 minutes of that game and you would be right but my reply to you will be so what? This defense once again, completely crumbled and fell apart when it mattered most. That is the very definition of a soft football team. A strong -willed football team NEVER would have allowed what happened to happen. Period.
The Ugly:
Wait, what? There is no ugly with the Packers. Unfortunately I think there is some ugly.
As already said, this team is soft in crunch time, it is lacking leadership and accountability when it matters most and that starts at the head coach. As bad as this defense has been, Dom Capers should not have a job. Period. It is his job to have the players prepared. It is his job to make sure the players do not allow the comedy of errors that they commit and he has not and McCarthy has yet to hold him accountable. If the coaches are not held accountable how are the players going to be. This team believes too much that they are infallible and that if they just "execute" they will win. And while that is true, whose job is to make sure the players execute? The coach, plain and simple. If you don't think a good coach can make a difference, they I highly doubt your understanding of team sports. A good coach can make a below average unit really good, they can make a good unit great and they can also make a unit completely underperform.
In 2011 in the midst of a run at a perfect season, the lowly Kansas City Chiefs display the blue print on how to beat the mighty Packers, something that no one else had done yet. What is that blue print you say? Line up and punch the Packers in the mouth. Play man defense, and control the line of scrimmage and the chances of beating the Pack are very, very good. Just ask the Giants, the 49er's, the Seahawks, the Lions (1st game of this season), the Bills. These are all teams that followed the exact blueprint to a T. I suppose you wonder why if that is the blueprint to beating the Packers, why doesn't everyone do it? Well I will tell you why, because they are just like the Packers are defensively, they are simply not built to man up and punch you in the mouth.
This team needs stronger leadership, they need someone that will stand up with 3 minutes left to go in the NFCCG and say "Enough is Enough, this is not acceptable, we will pull our heads out or our ***** and we will win this football game." That did not happen, instead we saw players in pseudo celebration mode. In other words, players being soft...
So in closing of this ridiculously long post, the Packers are in a great position. They have the tools in place. There is no real cause for concern other than this teams needs to find some fire, some passion and some leadership that will push this team over the top and get them back to a Super Bowl. They have to decide that playoff games like occurred vs the Cardinals, Giants, 49er's and Seahawks are no longer going to happen, scratch that, games like that will happen but they will learn to win in those kinds of games instead of lose.
One last thing I want to say is that I know some of you might want to say I am spoiled, you can't win them all, etc... but you would be wrong about me, I realize you can't win them all and the fact the Packers have been bounced out of the playoffs is not what bothers me. What bothers me is the embarrassing, unbelievable fashion that it has happened against the Cardinals, Giants, 49er's and Seahawks.
