Oh, it could have. At times, it probably should have. And for most teams, well, it unquestionably would have.

Injuries mounting at an (almost) comedic rate. Disappointing losses to teams they should have crushed. The weight of colossal expectations. Yeah – they were all there.

And that was [...]]]> None of it mattered to the 2010 Green Bay Packers.

Oh, it could have. At times, it probably should have. And for most teams, well, it unquestionably would have.

Injuries mounting at an (almost) comedic rate. Disappointing losses to teams they should have crushed. The weight of colossal expectations. Yeah – they were all there.

And that was before the calendar turned to January.

Adversity was the name of the game for this team. The road less traveled? How about the road you don’t travel on unless you’re insane?

But that was the road this team would have to take, due mainly to a regular season full of obstacles, ones that seemed destined to alter a season that’d begun with so much hope. That hope never fully pulled up its stakes and left town, mind you. No, it just moved into the background to make way for something else, something much more important.

Heart.

The heart the 2010 Packers earned – it’s never just handed to you, of course – served them well, even when everyone was ready with shovels and epitaphs at hand. And it was even more handy when every game they played could be their last.

When they were told they’d have no choice but to head on the highway and win…and win…and win some more just to get to North Texas, well, they leaned heavily on gameplanning and talent. But they relied on heart. The difference is subtle, but oh so important.

See, heart is what gets you by when you have to defeat the top three seeds in your conference in their own buildings. Heart is what allows you to dig deep and come up with a key first down or a crucial game-ending stop. There were other teams that had just as much talent, just as much intelligence as these Packers. But they didn’t have the heart.

No – not even close.

And when they got to North Texas, they knew what they had, even if others wanted to put their money on the team with the experience.

They knew what they had when key players were heading down that long ramp into the lockerroom, seemingly after every other play. They never lost sight of it because they couldn’t. By this point, it was long within them.

Someone else would just have to make a play. So what? Did that really matter now? Someone else always had to.

And someone else did. A whole hosts of “someone else” stepped up on a February evening in North Texas. And the result was that beautiful, heavenly confetti shower we’d spent 13 years wondering if we’d ever see again.

We saw it because it just didn’t matter to the 2010 Green Bay Packers. Not because they didn’t care, but because when you have heart, nothing else really matters.

And when they come blasting out of the tunnel on a warm September evening to an announcement that they are now the 13-time world champion Green Bay Packers, we’ll once again be reminded that the heart is the most important thing. If you have that, the rest really does just fall wonderfully into place.

-Chris Lempesis

–AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! THE PACKERS ARE WORLD CHAMPIONS!!!!!!!!

–With that out of the [...]]]> We’ll have much more on this tomorrow — the Packers’ 13th world championship hasn’t sunk in yet for me, as it probably hasn’t for most of you — but in the meantime, here are some quick thoughts on the 31-25 Super Bowl win over the Steelers:

–AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! THE PACKERS ARE WORLD CHAMPIONS!!!!!!!!

–With that out of the way, think for a second about everything this team overcame: 15 players on IR, two must-win games against playoff hopefuls to get in the playoffs, three road playoff games against the three highest seeds in the NFC and a Super Bowl matchup with a team that had won two in the last six years. In the end, isn’t it almost fitting that they had to win it without Woodson and Driver? In the end, there’s almost nothing else that could have been thrown at this team. They dealt with it all, and they conquered. Couldn’t be prouder to be a fan of this team.

–It’s probably because of recency bias, but at the moment, this is sweeter than ‘96. This team was expected to win it all, until it was ravaged with injuries. To overcome everything they did, and to win it in Jerry World — against the Steelers, with Favre watching at home — well, it just doesn’t get much better.

–Aaron Rodgers: What can you say? To win a Super Bowl MVP, with a three-touchdown, interception-free day, and to put together two drives with the game hanging in the balance…quite simply, it’s something Brett Favre never was asked to do in 1996, and couldn’t do in the Super Bowl in 1997. He’s the same age as Favre was when he won his championship, and unlike Favre, Rodgers isn’t playing with an aging defense. Holy cow.

–I don’t think too many of us would have faulted Ted Thompson if he’d taken the Lombardi Trophy, grabbed the microphone from Terry Bradshaw and yelled, ‘Does anybody have any questions about that Favre trade now?’ But he didn’t do it, and I don’t think he ever will. Thompson will get plenty of accolades for building this team, and he deserves all of them. This team was built in his image, and after weathering every test it could have possibly faced, it proved Thompson as one of the game’s best GMs.

–Lastly: You cheer for a team that dealt with more injuries than any squad in the league, and never complained about them. You cheer for a team that spotted its archrival a Hall of Fame QB, and still won a Super Bowl before said rival. You cheer for a team that’s poised to be the dominant team in the NFC for a long time, and you cheer for a team that proved, once again, there’s value in conducting business with class and professionalism.

And you cheer for a team that has a NFL-record 13 world championships.

Enjoy it, Packers Nation. We did it, and it couldn’t be any sweeter.

–Gene Bosling

I can not stop smiling.

Laughter emits from my body every three seconds, for no reason whatsoever.

And, frankly, I’m not sure if anything I write in this space is going to make much sense.

But, really, how could it make any sense? It’s unbelievable.

We did it. We did it. [...]]]> I can’t lie – my hands are still shaking.

I can not stop smiling.

Laughter emits from my body every three seconds, for no reason whatsoever.

And, frankly, I’m not sure if anything I write in this space is going to make much sense.

But, really, how could it make any sense? It’s unbelievable.

We did it. We did it. Good God almighty, we did it.

The Green Bay Packers are going to the Super Bowl.

Let me say that one more time, with feeling: THE GREEN BAY PACKERS ARE GOING TO THE SUPER BOWL!!!

It’s unreal, isn’t it? Well, isn’t it?!

This team – this ragtag group of stars and players no one had ever heard of before – pulled together to get it done. Facing win-or-go-home scenarios for literally five straight weeks, the Packers never blinked. They never gave in. They battled. And battled. AND BATTLED.

The end result was a gritty, gutty 21-14 win over the Chicago Bears. A win that, like the Packers’ season, hung in the balance more than a few times. But, as has been the case most of the season – and ALL of the last five weeks – this Green Bay bunch just found a way to get the damn thing done.

Sam Shields. B.J. Raji. Greg Jennings. Tim Masthay. Does any foursome better personify the 2010 Packers? Two guys who you expected to be great. Two guys you’d never heard of a year ago. But it works. The dang thing just works.

They’ve come together as one. This team is united. They will win. They will fight.

If we wondered if it was ever going to happen – if you were still scarred from 2008 and slightly afraid to push all the chips to the center of the table, as a result – well, be afraid no more. This team is for real.

And we’re headed to Dallas now. Oh Lord, help us all – the cheeseheads are headed to Dallas.

It’s going to be two weeks of speculation. Two weeks of waiting. And analyzing. Okay, overanalyzing. But, let’s have fun with it.

We’ve waited 13 years – 13 LONG years – to get back to this moment. There have been more than a few kicks to the teeth in that time. I was a sophomore in high school the last time this happened. I didn’t understand how hard it was. I didn’t appreciate it.

Now I do. I know what this means. I know how hard it is. As a result, I’m ready. I’m excited.

We sit 60 minutes away from being world freakin’ champions. Mike – you’ve nailed 12 of the 16 quarters. Go get the last four.

I have no idea who we’re going to play. Honestly, I don’t care. I believe in this team. I believe. And if you don’t, well, your loss.

Whew. Again, I don’t know how much sense that all makes to you. Really, it doesn’t make that much sense to me, either. But, I’m cool with that.

Okay, I can hear Adam and the fellas repeatedly saying, “We’re going to the Super Bowl!” That sounds fun. I think I’ll go join them now.

Soak this all in everyone. It doesn’t happen often. GO PACK GO!

(And, oh yeah, share your thoughts below. Let’s rejoice together!)

-Chris Lempesis

The Green Bay Packers - the “most dangerous team in the playoffs,” according to some – had just suffered yet another crushing, instant classic-style playoff loss. The highest scoring game in playoff history failed to go their way, leaving us [...]]]> Think back to a year ago. The date doesn’t really matter, since you likely remember the day.

The Green Bay Packers - the “most dangerous team in the playoffs,” according to some – had just suffered yet another crushing, instant classic-style playoff loss. The highest scoring game in playoff history failed to go their way, leaving us with a long, cold offseason to ponder what might’ve been.

For this writer, the defeat could not have come at a worse time. Stuck in a dead-end job. Recently dumped. Not handling any of it particularly well. 

In more ways than one, questions of when my time would come filled my worldview.

Then the 2010 season rolled around. Things started looking up. The Packers appeared ready for a monster campaign, one that many saw ending in Dallas in early February. It coincided with a new, much-improved job for the writer. Reasons to believe were all around.

Not long after the season began, however, doubt crept in. The injuries mounted. Aaron Rodgers was regressing. The wins were still coming, for the most part, but not at the rate any of us would’ve liked. Dang, shouldn’t there have been more?

Once again, the Packers’ showing seemed to mirror that of my life. I was much better than I’d been, yes – but something was missing. After awhile, I began to think things were just as good as they’d ever be. Perhaps that was how the chips would fall for me and I’d have to just accept it. An early December embarassment in Detroit led me to write that Green Bay had leveled off. A 10-6 record and a first-round playoff exit was all this team would ever be. Truthfully, that’s how I felt about myself, as well.

A loss the next week at New England didn’t help matters much for the team, but by then things had begun to turn my way. I met someone and, man, did she seem special. There was a connection unlike any I’d felt before. Hope had worked itself back into the picture for me, personally, even if I had little left for my beloved Packers. That allowed me to stand back and re-examine my approach to the team.

Yes, these games matter. A lot. And, yes, I was hoping the Pack could turn it around over the final two weeks to reach the postseason. But, really, even if that didn’t happen, it was not going to be the end of the world. She made me feel so incredibly amazing and lucky that asking for anything more, particularly from a football team, just seemed, well, sort of greedy.

And, it was at that moment, that time, that the Packers began to save their season. A home drubbing of the Giants. A close, gutty win over the “all-in” Bears. Postseason, here we come. Funny how things work out.

Then came Sunday. The Packers, staring down a stadium-sized lot of ghosts, went into Philadelphia and exorcised damn near every one of them. No more 4th and 26. No more Vick. No more heartwrenching, instant-classic road losses (well, at least for one week). A 21-16 win, keyed by the heart this team has shown at every single instance of adversity. Do not point to the offense, defense or Mike McCarthy when you want to determine why this happened. Point to the heart. That’s where this one came from.

As great as it felt to rid ourselves of the ghosts that had dogged us for the longest time, the biggest reason I’m smiling from ear-to-ear as I write this is because of what next week means. A chance to get back to the NFC Championship Game? Well, not exactly.

It means I get a chance to watch the game with the most amazing woman I’ve ever met. Win or lose, it’s a moment we can share, ’cause, see, that’s what I’ve learned over the past year or so. These games, this team, they do matter. But they can only take you so far. It’s the people in your life – the ones that come along and change you for the better, for the best – that mean everything.

See you soon, kiddo. I’m counting down the minutes.

And, oh yeah – bring on the Falcons.

-Chris Lempesis

The game recap you’re about to read will have little to do with what transpired Sunday night at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro. No, Gene (as always) covered that brilliantly earlier Monday. A 31-27 loss that should have been a win. Green Bay Packers 8-6. Losers [...]]]> Before we begin, dear readers, I feel I must warn you.

The game recap you’re about to read will have little to do with what transpired Sunday night at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro. No, Gene (as always) covered that brilliantly earlier Monday. A 31-27 loss that should have been a win. Green Bay Packers 8-6. Losers of three of four (their second such streak this season).

No, this recap is going to be about me. About you. About us. This one might get a little ugly, but remember, we’re family. We’re all in this together. If we can’t vent to each other then, I mean, what’s the point of all this?

In other words: Get ready, ’cause I’m laying it all on the table.

First, me. In short, I’m beginning to lose my religion with regards to this current bunch of Packers. They’re burning me out. For five years, each and every loss this team has suffered has felt like a punch in the face. The type of losses that leave you on the floor in front of your television set, looking up and screaming for a reason why that week’s disaster unfolded.

How could they have blown it again? Hadn’t they spent the past (fill in the blank) minutes dominating their opponent? Is this ever going to change?

That’s not to say there haven’t been highlights because, of course, there have. My outlook is realist, not glass-is-all-empty. But, at a certain point, those highlights only make you want more. Because, if you’re like me, you feel this team has that in them. I wouldn’t ask for more if I didn’t think it was possible. Without fail, though, whenever this team is forced to hit another level in a huge game against a truly great opponent - and moral victories DO NOT COUNT – the Packers just seem to fall short.

Coulda. Woulda. Shoulda. Yeah, but as my mother always says, you didn’t.

It’s getting to the point where a 38-13 loss almost seems a welcomed change of pace. My God, at least that’d be new. As mediocre as the 2010 Packers have been – and make no mistake, they have been mediocre – the reason this year has been the worst I’ve experienced as a fan is because, well, they’re becoming boring. You know how the script is going to unfold most weeks. By my count, there have been exactly two pleasant surprises (beating the Jets in New York and Favre at Lambeau). The rest has either gone like I thought it would or, worse, been a crushing disappointment. Destination: Dallas, indeed.

And yeah, I know this team still has a shot at the postseason. But honestly, who amongst you thinks this team can do ANYTHING come January? If I were to bring that pesky mistress known as history into the mix, I’d say this team is destined for yet another soul-crushing, wrong-end-of-an-Instant-Classic loss, even if it makes it in (which I don’t think it will). I’d love to say things would be different this time. But, you know, I’ve been saying that for 10 years. Honestly, I’m not up to saying it anymore. And, really, a big part of me isn’t even up to witness it.

That’s because, again, everytime I expect greatness – true greatness – I get almost-greatness. Frankly, that’s not enough for me. I don’t root for the Arizona Cardinals or Detroit Lions – I root for the freakin’ 12-time world champion Green Bay Packers. I want excellence. And when I don’t get it, I’m pissed. That’s absolutely as it should be.

Sadly, a scan of Twitter and the comment sections of certain fan sites on Sunday night and Monday show me that a good portion of you guys don’t feel the same way.

You’re happy with moral victories. You praise the effort, say how proud it makes you. You love Mike McCarthy’s gameplan (you know, the one that didn’t have a two-minute drill involved in it). No one expected this result earlier in the day, so we should just be happy with what we got. Oh Chris, you’re being too unrealistic. This team is just too beat up with injuries. What did you expect them to do, go 16-0?

Funny, I had no idea the Packers were in the same conference as Green Bay Southwest and Ashwaubenon High. I thought they were an NFL team comprised of professionals who are paid exhorbitant amounts of money to get the damn job done. I didn’t know they were above being held accountable. I didn’t know I was supposed to be content with where this team is at because, after all, at least it’s better than the 1970s and 80s, right? What the hell – why even bother keeping score, right?

Maybe I’m crazy, but I’m tired of everyone making excuses and covering for the “good ol’ Packers.” The same people who blame the injuries in 2010 blamed the switch to a 3-4 or the offensive line last year. The same people who blamed Bob Sanders and Aaron Rodgers’ youth in 2008. The same people who blamed Favre in 2007. You can blame your whole life away if you so choose. I’m more interested in fixing the damn ship than I am in pointing out why it’s sinking or trying to decide who to cover for. I guess some of you don’t see it that way.

But you know what happens if you keep on making excuses? You settle. You settle for mediocrity. You settle for 10-6 and a first-round exit. You’re just happy to have the Packers, a cold six-pack of beer and a Sunday with some friends. Asking for anything more is just being greedy. And greedy is not a good old-fashioned Midwestern quality.

Well, this guy’s greedy. And so is this website. We will never settle for mediocrity. We will expect wins every time out. Do we expect the team to go 16-0 every year? Of course not. But do we want it? You bet your tail-end we do. If we didn’t, we’d go do something else with our time on Sundays.

And when we don’t get it – particularly in the fashion that we continue to not get it – we will hold people accountable. A friend of my brother’s once referred to our site as, “the voice of the silent minority.” That’s something we’re damn proud of. The three of us will never stray from that. If that’s too much for any of you to handle, well, plenty of other blog options on the table. Like Mike Mac, we are what we are.

And, sorry, but more of you guys need to be that way, too. This is OUR team. WE own it. They answer to US. Too many of you look at it the other way around.

So, consider this a call to action. Take off the green-and-gold glasses. Don’t be so Polydanna (copyright KFAN). Doing so can make the losses a lot tougher. But it makes the wins a hell of a lot sweeter.

-Chris Lempesis

Do you want to win championships? Or do you want to be the cute, loveable team that’s always sort of in the running, but never really in the running?

In other words, are you the New York Yankees or the Minnesota Twins?

Once [...]]]> What’s the ultimate goal of any football team? What are you really in it for?

Do you want to win championships? Or do you want to be the cute, loveable team that’s always sort of in the running, but never really in the running?

In other words, are you the New York Yankees or the Minnesota Twins?

Once again, Green Bay Packers fans learned the hard way that – as long as Mike McCarthy is the head coach of this team – the Packers will always – repeat: ALWAYS – be the latter.

At countless times in Sunday’s utterly embarassing 7-3 road loss to the Detroit Lions (the Lions – let that one sink in), McCarthy showed he has neither the intelligence nor the understanding to guide the Packers to a Lombardi Trophy.

And that is why, when the 2010 season comes to its merciful end, he must be relieved of his duties. It’s time, people.

There will be some who will suggest that the deck has been stacked against McCarthy from the beginning, that the Packers have just been done in by bad luck on the injury front. Okay – really bad luck. Those same people will point to Aaron Rodgers’ concussion, one that caused him to miss the second half, as a reason to give McCarthy a pass for this most recent disaster. He was working with a backup quarterback, after all, so what did you expect?

Sorry, but that’s all a bunch of garbage.

Remember, Rodgers was healthy for the first half, guiding an offense that was out of rhythm, out of synch and just plain disinterested. Detroit cared. The Lions battled. The Packers, particularly on the offensive line, never matched that intensity. Facing one of the worst secondaries in the game, Green Bay’s receivers failed to break free. Even 30 minutes against that defense would have been enough, had the team been prepared. But it was not, and that’s on McCarthy. 

Then there’s that little matter of his abilities as a playcaller. In short, he has none.

Once Matt Flynn entered the game, things needed to be simplified. When they were, Flynn had a fair amount of success. But, once again, at the most crucial time of the game, McCarthy decided to drop that approach, instead carrying on with his moronic idea that Flynn could run the plays like Rodgers.

On Green Bay’s last two offensive plays, needing only one yard to keep the drive going, McCarthy let Flynn air it out, Flynn missing on both attempts. Now, perhaps Flynn made poor decisions, but who was the one that gave him an opportunity to make such decisions? Oh yeah – the man calling the plays, the same man who decided to stick with the ground game, even though it had exactly zero success.

Fans argue about McCarthy’s approach to the running game often. He needs to go with it more. He needs to ditch it. Neither side is wrong, really, but McCarthy usually is. Football games are fluid. From week-to-week, your approach has to change based on the flow of the game. The best in the business do this. In five years as head coach of this team, he’s shown no ability to do this and the running game is the perfect example. He’s stubborn when it’s uncalled for and he’s too quick to drift away from it when it’s needed. Do you see that changing? Show me the progress he’s made.

As for the injury excuse, sorry, but that holds no weight, either. In Green Bay’s five losses – by a combined 16 points – the Packers have been downed by four teams that they are out-and-out more talented than, even with the injuries (Atlanta being the lone exception). They lost to Chicago because of sloppy play (another wonderful trademark of these last five years). They lost to Washington and Miami due to poor playcalling. Sunday was a combination of both. Four wins left on the table, a lack of talent factoring in none.

This is nothing new, either. In his time as head coach, Green Bay has been blown out very few times. More often that not, the Packers lose by the smallest of margins, usually done in by rotten playcalling or by being sloppy and unprepared. McCarthy’s really good about standing up at the podium and putting the blame on himself. But you know what he’s terrible at? Correcting such failures.

Oh, sure, he can get his team to bounce back for stretches, maybe even gaining a playoff berth or two out of it. But the same mistakes, the same failures, well, they always creep back in. Because at a certain point, a guy just is what he is. McCarthy’s there now. His teams will always be the same. Pull off an upset or two, crush most of the bad teams and lose some heartbreakers they had no business losing. Playoff entry. Earlier than necessary playoff exit. Super Bowls? Not a chance.

And, if that’s the case – if we know that beyond a shadow of a doubt, which we do - then what the hell is the point in keeping him around? Don’t you want to win a championship? Isn’t 11-5 or 10-6 and a playoff game or two just not good enough, particularly with the talent on this roster moving forward?

Speaking only for myself, I dread the idea of becoming the Twins or the San Diego Chargers. That’s not enough for me. I went through this with this last guy coaching the Packers. I don’t want to be “in the mix.” I want that damn trophy.

And I know he’s never going to bring it to us. So the time to move on is now. The Packers may go forward or they may go backward. But at least we won’t be middling. My God, I’ve had enough of middling.

-Chris Lempesis

Instead, I’ll be focusing on where the Packers stand, as a team, as they begin the final assault on the 2010 NFL season. Some things from the Niners [...]]]> Since the Green Bay Packers’ 34-16 win over the San Francisco 49ers ended, oh, roughly 30 hours ago, this recap won’t be about the particulars of that one.

Instead, I’ll be focusing on where the Packers stand, as a team, as they begin the final assault on the 2010 NFL season. Some things from the Niners game will be included in there, of course.

(Note: In case you weren’t sure, I was at the game Sunday and was just too busy to write anything until I returned home from Titletown.)

The Packers, three-quarters of the way through the season, stand as a team with twice as many wins as losses. But there certainly aren’t twice as many things to like about this team as there are concerns.

Since you already think I’m taking a trip to Negativeville with that last graph, I’ll just continue on (but, dont’ worry – we’ll head back to Postivetown soon enough).

First, I do not like the way this team has been starting games recently. Against both Minnesota and San Francisco, the Packers basically air-mailed in the first 15-plus minutes of the contest. Things weren’t as bad against Atlanta, but still, the team had a shot to grab the momentum early and failed. With a tough final four games, against some elite competition, the Packers must correct this. Wait too long to get going against Mr. Brady and, well, don’t even bother trying to kick it up a notch.

Consider the circumstances Sunday. At home. Against a bad team. Coming off a crucial loss. Throwback Sunday. Should have been more than enough for the team to come out firing. It wasn’t. Even when the Packers got going in the second quarter, they continued to let the Niners back in the contest. Green Bay’s superior talent level ultimately overwhelmed San Francisco, as you’d expect, but what happens when the talent levels are equal?

Secondly, I’m starting to have some real concerns about certain aspects of this defense. The pass rush is really vanishing for stretches. Clay Matthews has been a fairly hefty non-factor over the past three weeks, perhaps being affected by his shin injury that’s caused him to sit out Wednesday and Thursday practices recently. Cullen Jenkins is out a couple of weeks now (calf), which only furthers my worry.

And, as I saw firsthand at Lambeau Field on Sunday, this secondary isn’t nearly as good without that pressure. I know, what secondary isn’t, right? Still, the Niners receivers got behind the secondary on numerous occasions, only being done in by quarterback Troy Smith’s complete lack of accuracy. A better quarterback – say, a Brady, Eli Manning or Jay Cutler – hits a lot of those throws. Dom Capers has done wonderful things with such a depleted group. He needs to dig into his bag of tricks one more time, though. Can he do it?

Lastly, I know I’m not breaking any new ground here, but again, being at the game up-close, I saw just how horrendous this special teams group really is. Good God almighty are they bad.

The lanes allowed on returns are not only vast and wide, but also quickly developing. I began to worry about every kickoff coverage within about two seconds of the returner getting the ball. Tim Masthay was terrible yet again, also. Yeah, the bad weather played a part, but…um…three of the last four games are in bad weather. So, there’s that. And it was nice to see Mason Crosby revert back to his unreliable ways, missing a short field goal. This unit could very well cost the Packers another big game, I’m sad to say.

Now, let’s turn this train back to Positivetown, shall we?

First, you’ve got to love the way Aaron Rodgers is playing. Five games in a row without a pick is nothing short of astounding, especially in today’s NFL. His confidence is higher than I’ve ever seen it before and he continues to hit almost every big throw he has to hit. After a rough start – okay, a really rough start – to the 2010 season, Rodgers has emerged as a viable MVP candidate 12 games in. As the old saying goes, when you’ve got a quarterback, you’ve got a chance.

Then there’s that Jennings guy he’s got at his disposal. Ever since Greg Jennings blew up on the sidelines at Washington, he’s been unstoppable. Granted, I don’t watch every NFL game every week, but I don’t need to – no receiver in football has been better than No. 85 over the past seven weeks. He’s simply beating every corner that lines up against him. His route-running, always top-notch, seems to have hit another level.

The rest of the receiving group has improved, as well. The drops still happen more than they should, but overall, this group is rounding into form nicely. The passing attack will give this team a chance in any game it plays.

Okay, I know some might kill me for this because it was only one game, but James Starks has me excited. He’s the perfect runner for this scheme – a straight-line runner who hits the hole, looks for his cut and goes. That’s what Ryan Grant was and Brandon Jackson – as much as I like him – will never be. Starks’ presence, as we saw Sunday, allowed Jackson to move back to the role he plays best: pass-catcher, blitz buster and occasional rusher.

And while you might think I’m completely down on the defense, I’m not. The group is still doing well on third downs, for the most part, and continues to take away the run for long stretches (outside of the Atlanta game, of course). Players like Tramon Williams (another outstanding showing Sunday) and B.J. Raji are still going strong.

But, mostly, it’s the offense that has me feeling good going into the final stretch. And that’s okay, because when I wrote the season preview for this site, I said it would be the offense leading the way. The defense carried this team through the first half, which was great but never really part of the plan. This team was always designed to be powered by the offense. That’s happening now, so it’s okay if the defense declines slightly (which it likely will, because now is the time when all those injuries start to hurt).

So, as this team heads into the final month of games at 8-4, I’d say I’m cautiously optimistic. I see things that can bring this team down and things that are good enough to guide the Packers through some really tough games. With Green Bay currently a half-game out of the final playoff spot in the NFC, the margin for error here is thin. Really thin. The Packers have to win at least two of their final four games. Anything less won’t be enough, but in the end, I think they get it done.

Bring on the mountain. I’m ready to climb.

-Chris Lempesis

After all, coaches don’t block, tackle, fumble or grab facemasks. The players do that, so they’re ultimately more responsible than guys with headsets, bad comb-overs and beer guts.

Most of the time.

Sunday afternoon in Atlanta, Georgia was not one of those times.

Atrociously bad coaching in all three phases [...]]]> Most of the time, coaches take more blame than is appropriate.

After all, coaches don’t block, tackle, fumble or grab facemasks. The players do that, so they’re ultimately more responsible than guys with headsets, bad comb-overs and beer guts.

Most of the time.

Sunday afternoon in Atlanta, Georgia was not one of those times.

Atrociously bad coaching in all three phases was the key factor in the Green Bay Packers’ 20-17 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. The Packers now sit at 7-4, a full game (plus the tiebreaker) behind the Chicago Bears in the NFC North. Green Bay is also currently out of the playoffs with five games to go.

The man in charge of it all is, of course, most to blame for the defeat. Two critical Mike McCarthy errors in a span of 10 plays led to a 14-point swing, ultimately the difference in the game. They also carry on the nearly five-year long “two steps forward, two steps back” dance that is becoming McCarthy’s signature move.

On second-and-goal from the Atlanta two-yard line midway through the second quarter, Aaron Rodgers appeared to audible out of the original play call, instead going to a quarterback sneak. The play gained a yard, but no score. There is no harm in what Rodgers did, as he clearly saw something he felt he could take advantage of. But, once that play did not work, McCarthy had zero – repeat: zero – business calling it again on third down.

Yet there he was, calling for a sneak. Rodgers did not protect the ball as well as he should have and it was punched out. That’s on him, but again, it should never have gotten to that point.

McCarthy was given a chance to redeem himself on the ensuing Falcons (9-2) drive. On a fourth-and-three from the Green Bay 36, Atlanta tight end Tony Gonzalez was given credit for a six-yard catch that he clearly did not make. While it’s unknown exactly what camera angles are available to teams’ replay officials in the Georgia Dome, the fact remains that, even live, the play looked close. Several Packers’ defenders seemed upset with the call also. That should have been enough for McCarthy – on a recent challenge hot streak – to throw the red flag.

He didn’t. Five plays later: 10-3, Falcons. In games like these, that’s usually enough.

But, as the old saying goes, wait – there’s more!

McCarthy’s failures trickled down to the men in charge of the remaining two units. Defensive coordinator Dom Capers did not have his men ready to play in any sense Sunday. You can’t blame him for the Lingerie Football League-style tackling shown throughout, true, but you can blame him for consistently poor scheming.

Early in the game, outside of a few instances, Capers went soft far too often. Against a solid, if unspectacular Atlanta line, his approach was to drop a lot of players in coverage and, hopefully, trick Matt Ryan into a mistake or two. Only problem with that is, Ryan doesn’t make mistakes. Heck, he doesn’t even miss that many passes, going 24-for-28 on the day.

That soft approach also allowed bruising Falcons running back Michael Turner more than enough opportunities to smash and bash his way through the defense, which he did to the tune of 110 yards and a score on 23 carries.

Then, late in the game with Atlanta driving, Capers went 180 degrees the other way, throwing blitz after blitz at Ryan, all coming from seemingly the same place (up the middle). The blitzes failed as Ryan, probably giggling on the inside, calmly sat back and hit a series of short throws – mostly out routes – that set Atlanta up for the game-winning field goal. Capers has been unquestionably brilliant this season. Sunday, he was unquestionably anything but.

Of course, the man who heads up the “unquestionably anything but” department – special teams coach Shawn Slocum – also had a hand in things. Doesn’t he always?

Chalk up another loss in which a crucial special teams error doomed the Packers. This time, it was poor coverage and a foolish, foolish facemasking penalty on Matt Wilhelm on Atlanta’s final return. There were other returns allowed, of course, the Falcons racking up a 31 yard average on the day. And, outside of one nice Sam Shields kick return, there were none to be found for the Packers.

There were also numerous returns Shields had no business making, as he instead should have opted to take the touchback. Rookie mistake? Maybe. But who tells the rookie what to do in such spots?

None of this is a surprise, really, as special teams blunders have cost Green Bay dearly in each of its four losses. Don’t bother banging the “Fire Slocum” drum too much, though, fans; he isn’t going anywhere. McCarthy seems deadset on keeping him around, only furthering the notion that the Packers care exactly zero percent about special teams. And don’t bother blaming the absence of players like Donald Lee, Atari Bigby and Anthony Smith on Sunday, either – even with them present, this group stinks.

If you’re trying to find reasons why the Bears sit as the team to beat in the North, look no further than special teams. Chicago puts an emphasis on it. The Packers do not.

In the big games – which this most certainly was – coaching makes the final difference. In this big game, the Packers coaches failed in every crucial area.

More than anything else, that will be what keeps the 2010 Packers from getting out of their own way.

-Chris Lempesis

‘Cause, well, I’m rather upset.

Here are some quick thoughts on the Green Bay Packers’ 20-17 loss to the Atlanta Falcons in the Georgia Dome earlier today. As always, these are in no particular order and I’ll be back later tonight with a (hopefully) more level-headed take.