Initial reactions are certainly the easiest to write about, and this one still stings and very well could for the next week or so.
Yes, the Green Bay Packers didn’t show up at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta Sunday even though they had an NFC Championship game scheduled and in turn were handed an ugly 44-21 loss.
No, it’s not the end of the world. Packers Nation is grieving, like it lost a pet or a best friend moved to another school.
I’m not going to sugarcoat things. I was upset. Here’s a taste of my first thoughts from last night, as evidenced by a good-natured Facebook rant:
“Soooo done with TT. Late round defensive picks and undrafted free agents ARENT GOOD. Randall and Rollins were MISSES. Jake Ryan is just a guy. Matthews and Peppers are declining. Make a splash for the love of God. Fire Capers. Get a big free agent. Do something. This defense ISN’T ENOUGH. Period. Aaron Rodgers going 10-6 every year is pathetic. He’s not blameless, either.”
Yup, a true Packers homer here, born and raised in Burlington, addicted to Wisconsin sports teams since I was a baby watching my older siblings playing high school sports in the stroller.
But I was sick to my stomach watching Sunday’s game. I was left speechless and really didn’t want to be around anyone, let alone the couple of Bears fans I was watching the game with.
It’s important to critically analyze when things are broken, explore options for a solution, and talk to fellow fans about ways the team can escape the nightmare.
No saving this defense
Unfortunately, a silver lining simply didn’t exist Sunday.
Atlanta’s Matt Ryan looked like the greatest quarterback ever to pick up a pigskin, and Julio Jones made Jerry Rice look ordinary.
The Packers, injury-plagued, talent-deficient and in desperate search of leadership, allowed 500 total yards in the biggest game of the season – a week after completing an eight-week miraculous win streak where the offense was unstoppable and the defense did just enough to win.
It began against Dallas in the divisional round.
Once the Cowboys figured out how to move the ball against Green Bay, the Packers offered little resistance. Give Dallas one more quarter, and it probably finds a way to pull out the win.
Fast forward to Sunday, where guys weren’t even lined up correctly, on the opening drive. That’s not only on players for lack of communication, but that’s on the defensive coordinator, Dom Capers.
Capers calls the defensive schemes, and you would think a week of preparation would at least have the Packers’ defense able to shift its coverage based on the Falcons’ personnel.
Atlanta spread things out with five receivers, guys would be wide open, uncovered, and wouldn’t be touched until they ran a good five to 10 yards after the catch.
In desperation, Capers only sent two rushers and dropped nine into coverage.
The nine Packers couldn’t contain five Falcons’ receivers, as Mohamed Sanu made a 16-yard grab for the first down.
That’s all you need to know about Sunday. Even when they had the advantage, the secondary was too clueless to make a play.
For 10 years now, Capers has been dialing up the same defense, which relies on Aaron Rodgers and the offense to build a big lead early so teams won’t have enough time to catch up.
Consistently, Capers’ defenses have been torched in the playoffs, minus the Super Bowl run in 2010 of course.
In seven playoff losses under Rodgers, Green Bay has allowed more than 36 points per game.
Sunday’s 44 was the third-most allowed in franchise history.
With No. 1 cornerback Sam Shields out, Damarious Randall, Quinten Rollins and LaDarius Gunter were testing their inexperienced luck all season, but it all came crashing down to reality Sunday.
Capers relies on a pass rush and an occasional interception, which were both missing Sunday.
I’d like to see Green Bay bring in a young, progressive coordinator that can infuse a new system where the defense can carry the team and doesn’t need to rely on Rodgers.
However, Packers General Manager Ted Thompson, who has been rumored to possibly step down in the near future, is notoriously stubborn, along with head coach Mike McCarthy, and I can see Capers keeping his job.
Thompson has been missing on defensive draft picks of late (Kenny Clark, Randall, Rollins, Blake Martinez), and stars like Julius Peppers and Clay Matthews seem to be losing a step.
More than ever, Thompson needs to dip into the free agency pool and make a splash. A big-name free agent cornerback and possibly a linebacker would be a good start.
Offense looks offensive
Sure, Rodgers threw for 287 yards and three touchdowns, but when it mattered, the offense didn’t show up.
Green Bay fell into a 31-0 hole, thanks in part to a costly Aaron Ripkowski fumble and a Mason Crosby missed field goal.
Down 10-0, Ripkowski burst through the line and tried to bully through a host of Falcons defenders with only one arm holding the football.
Failing to wrap up with both hands, the ball was stripped and recovered by Atlanta, thwarting a potential touchdown.
Ryan and the Falcons marched down the field and pushed the lead to 17-0, and the game was essentially over.
Rodgers kept fighting, but an interception along with multiple dropped passes from Jared Cook and Jordy Nelson were too much to overcome.
Keep in mind that Nelson was playing with broken ribs, and Davante Adams had been wearing a walking boot all week to protect his hobbled ankle.
In the end, injuries caught up to the Packers, as eight players were sidelined during the game Sunday.
But in a game that was supposed to be a shootout, the offense didn’t really do anything.
With this team, if Rodgers isn’t playing like Superman, which he did for eight straight weeks, the Packers can’t win.
Green Bay played like the 4-6 team it was in November.
Big game woes
Now, the Packers are 1-3 in their last four NFC Championship games, and McCarthy and Rodgers dropped to 1-2.
In three games against Chicago (2011), Seattle (2015) and Atlanta (2017), Rodgers hasn’t played particularly well and the Green Bay offense has only averaged 21 points.
Is it a pressure thing?
Are good defenses simply too much for Rodgers to overcome when the lights are the brightest?
Or do the Packers not have enough around Rodgers?
“We need to reload, I don’t think we need to rebuild,” Rodgers said after the game.
Rodgers’ comments hinted toward an active offseason, almost like he realizes there is wilting garbage around him, and he’s tired of being the trash man.
Rodgers will be 34 years old in November, and his style of play, with his dancing in the pocket and dynamic running, won’t be as prevalent in his later years.
Quarterbacks last until their late 30s, and that’s it. Brett Favre is one of the only exceptions, and he’s a freak of nature.
It’s time for the Packers to find the urgency to go “all in,” as Rodgers eluded to in his post-game comments.
Make a splash in free agency, get rid of Dom Capers and continue to draft defense.
If the Packers don’t win another Super Bowl ring with Rodgers, one of the greatest of all time, it’s on Thompson and McCarthy.
Rodgers is the rarest of the rare unicorns, and he deserves some help.
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