The Stink of the Packers is Getting Worse

Current home to the Packers offense

I'm going to end my week on a sour note.

I've been giving love and skepticism to two different teams this week. I love the Warriors and I'm very suspicious of the Panthers. Today, it's straight up hate for my favorite NFL team, the Packers.

They have looked incredibly lost four of the past five weeks. First, Denver, with an injured, old and past his prime Peyton Manning, absolutely crushed them. This was the lone game of the season thus far where Manning looked like himself. He shredded Green Bay's secondary, and Denver's running game looked the best it has all season in that game. Aaron Rodgers was rushed, pressured and beaten into submission. His throws were off target and he was missing wide open receivers. The run game wasn't much better. They couldn't hit the holes or there were no holes for them to hit. Denver is a better team than Green Bay and that game proved it. I thought this was going to be a one time thing. They were playing a very good team, on the road, so the loss didn't bother me as much. It was a bump in the road, or so I thought.

The next week, they went to Carolina to play the undefeated Panthers. I had a bad feeling about this game, but I thought the Packers could win. Then, the Panthers pulled out to a huge lead in the second quarter, scoring 24 points. The Packers defense, for the second straight week looked absolutely abysmal. They couldn't stop the run or the pass. Cam Newton and Jonathan Stewart ran and passed all over them. And, all the way until the fourth quarter, Green Bay's offense was non existent. They, once again, couldn't run or pass. In the fourth quarter, they finally put together some offense, pulling to within 8 with about 2 and a half minutes left. They drove all the way down to the red zone, but Aaron Rodgers missed a wide open receiver, instead flushing out of the pocket and throwing a stupid interception to a linebacker. It was yet another frustrating loss.

But, the silver lining was still around. They lost two straight, but they were both on the road to two undefeated teams. Something like this happens to every team at some point during the season. Also, they had the Lions upcoming at Lambeau. The Lions hadn't won there since 1991 and they looked bad. Their offense was just as inept as Green Bay's, and their defense, not that much better. Surely, they'd right the ship. I figured it would be a blow out and the Packers would be back. Then, the game happened. Once again, Green Bay couldn't move the ball on offense. The run game was nowhere to be found. Rodgers was getting pressured constantly and he was, once again, missing open receivers. The defense played better, but it was the Lions. Everyone was shutting them down. The game was boring too. At halftime Green Bay was winning, but the score was 10-6. One touchdown and four field goals. Terrible. Then, the Lions scored an early second half touchdown due to a Packers turnover. No big deal I kept telling myself. They'll figure it out I kept telling myself. The Lions even missed the extra point, so the Packers were only down three. But, they just couldn't move the ball. No run game and Rodgers running for his life and throwing errant pass after errant pass. The Lions scored later in the half, but missed the extra point again. So, that left the score at 18-10 with about 4 minutes left. They still had a shot. And, wouldn't you know it, they put together a drive and scored a touchdown. It only took them three and a half quarters to score a second touchdown against a mediocre defense. They cut the lead to 18-16. They had a chance to tie with a two point conversion. They had a great play call, but the pass was late, and the defender batted it away. I thought the game was over there, but they recovered an onside kick and had a chance to win with a field goal. But, they missed the kick and lost the game. It was inevitable. They lost this game early in the third quarter. So, the Lions snapped a 23 year losing streak in Lambeau. The Packers were a mess.

The Vikings continued to win, and actually took over first place from them leading up to their showdown the following week in Minnesota. Everyone, including me, thought that this was going to be a beat down from the Vikings. Green Bay was reeling and Minnesota was on a win streak, shutting down every opponent and chewing up the clock with long drives. But, the Packers actually came out with a fire and a passion. They completely shut down child abuser Adrian Peterson. They rushed and hurried and hit Teddy Bridgewater all game. Their corners were lock down. It was a great effort from the defense. The offense showed up too. Eddie Lacy ran for over 100 yards. Rodgers hit open receivers and had time in the pocket. They cruised back into first place with an easy 30-13 win. Now, everything seemed to be back on track.

They were back in first place and had an upcoming Thanksgiving home game against the sorry Bears. Surely they'd win. They were retiring Brett Favre's jersey, they were at home, they came off a big road win and they were playing the Bears, another team they own at Lambeau. But, they crapped away an easy win last night. They looked great in the first quarter, Eddie Lacy capping it off with a 25 screen pass for a touchdown. But, they couldn't do anything after that. And, the Bears found enough offense to take a 14-13 lead into halftime. In the second half, Green Bay did zero with the ball on offense. At one point, Rodgers took a sack after a botched shotgun snap, and he came up holding his left wrist. Now, I'm sure the wrist hurt, but I also think his pride was hurt too. He's looked pretty bad at times these past five weeks. He's not the same QB I picked to win the MVP. He definitely misses Jordy Nelson and the run game is non existent, but that doesn't explain his drop off in accuracy. He's dancing around too much in the pocket. He's not getting a lot of time from his line, but he's getting enough. He's either hurt, or he is struggling, maybe both, but he's not the same QB he was in weeks one through six.

Something is wrong in Green Bay and it may be too late to fix it. I picked them to win the Super Bowl, but I have no faith in them anymore. They can't sustain drives and they can't stop anyone. They look really bad right now and the blame goes to everyone. The players, the coaches and the organization all deserve equal blame. They better fix what ails them quick, or they won't make the playoffs, much less the Super Bowl. They are maybe the fifth or sixth best team in the NFC. They aren't on Carolina or Arizona or even Minnesota's level right now.

The Packers stink and it hurts my soul to say it.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man podcast. If the Packers continue their losing ways Ty will have to deal with the Head Editors gloating. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

This is the End. The End my Friend Peyton Manning

I bet Peyton could float the ball over those mountains

Sometimes we miss the best time to say goodbye.

Yesterday, while watching the NFL, I witnessed the death of a legend. It was brutal and very, very tough to watch. This guy has been a staple in the NFL since 1996. He was on the radar since he was playing college football. He was the Heisman runner up in 1996. He was and definitely will go down as one of the greatest to ever play quarterback, but Peyton Manning probably played his final NFL and football game yesterday.

It was excruciating to watch. First, he surpassed Brett Favre for most passing yards, but it was less than impressive. The pass that broke the record just floated very slowly through the air until it finally landed in his receivers hands. Lots of cheers were showered down and the players all congratulated him, but his day got far worse after that. Manning couldn't move in the pocket. His passes, as they've looked all season, had no zip. They literally float through the air. When rushed, he almost looked flustered and would just throw the ball to no one in particular. He threw for 35 yards and 4 interceptions before Gary Kubiak and the Broncos coaching staff mercifully pulled him in favor of Brock Osweiler. Osweiler's passes looked great compared to what Manning was putting out there. This was pretty much a mercy kill that's been put on hold for 9 and a half weeks now.

Manning has not looked like himself since the midway point of last season, but yesterday, and this whole season, has been brutal. He looks old. The game looks too fast for him now. It was revealed that he has an injured foot today, but he's looked hurt since the playoffs last year. To give a comparison, Charles Woodson, taken in the same draft, is the leader of the Raiders defense, I know they got throttled yesterday, but he's still performing at a fairly high level. No, Woodson is not the same player he was three or four years ago, but he's not hurting his team.

Now, the Broncos are 7-2 after the Chiefs beat them yesterday, but they're winning with defense. They have no running game at all, they lost Julius Thomas in free agency, and Demaryius Thomas is giving his all, but the ball is not getting to him when it needs to be there. The offensive line isn't good either. Make no mistake, this team is led by its vaunted defense. Who would have thought this just two years ago? The Broncos were in the Super Bowl. Their running game was on fire and Peyton Manning was crushing it. He opened that season with a 7 touchdown performance. He was on fire. The ball was were it needed to be. It was on time and had plenty of zip. Julius and Demaryius Thomas were a lethal combo. Then, in said Super Bowl, they got destroyed by the Seahawks. Last season, they played well in the regular season, but got beat, at home, by an inferior Colts team. And, this was when Manning started to look bad. I thought this was a one time thing, he'd fix it in the off season and be back to his old self when this season started.

I couldn't have been more wrong.

The first time I watched the Broncos play, I was appalled at how bad Manning's throws looked. As I've said many times, the ball just floated very slowly through the air. Receivers just waited on the ball, or had to fight through defensive backs to get to the ball. There were times that receivers looked like they'd get blown up by corners and safeties if they attempted to catch a pass. It's a shame what has happened. It looks like Manning has played longer than he should have. This isn't like Michael Jordan when he was with the Wizards or Brett Favre with the Vikings. At least those two lead those teams to the playoffs. The Broncos will make the playoffs, but not because of Manning's leadership. It's because of their defense. In the case of Jordan, he was still a 20 point per game player. Brett Favre led the Vikings. Without him, that team wouldn't have made the playoffs. It's a bummer.

I watched Manning in college and the pros. He seems like a good guy. I'd much rather hang out with him than Eli. But, his time has come. He needs to retire. He needs to do it now too, not wait until the end of the season. The Broncos need to move on from him and he needs to move on from football. You're one of the greats Peyton Manning, but Father Time has taken over and your career is done. It was a great career. You've won multiple MVP's, shattered records, won a lot of football games and won a Super Bowl. Quite a careerindeed.

Go and enjoy your retirement, you've earned it.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man podcast. He feels bad for Peyton since he will always be number 2 (runner up in Heisman and runner up to Brady - Go Blue). Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

You Would Not Take Alex Smith over Aaron Rodgers in Your Fantasy Draft.

NFL scout deep in thought

Last night I watched the Packers play the Chiefs on "Monday Night Football".

The Packers, and most importantly Aaron Rodgers, shredded a pretty good Chiefs defense. I know that the Chiefs have some injuries in the secondary and they start a rookie back there, but Rodgers looked invincible last night. Throws were on target. He hit receivers in stride. He moved around the pocket with a mastery I haven't seen since Brett Favre. Basically, in my opinion, Rodgers has surpassed Tom Brady and Peyton Manning as the best quarterback in football.

On the other sideline, the Chiefs have a very different situation at quarterback. Now, I'm an Alex Smith fan. I think he's a serviceable quarterback. At his best, he's a decent game manager. But, last night, he looked lost and scared. His offensive line could not block the Packers defensive line last night. When he did have time, he danced around in the pocket and usually ended up scrambling for small to no gains. When he had open receivers, he either under threw or flat out missed them. The Chiefs did break their streak of no passing touchdowns to receivers, but by that point in the game, it was moot. Jamaal Charles played well, he always does, but the Chiefs need Alex Smith to do more if they want to compete in the AFC. Jamaal Charles can only do so much, he needs help from his quarterback.

The game and the Packer win is not the point of my column today. While watching this game last night, the commentators for ESPN(the god awful team of Jon Gruden and Mike Tirico) brought up the fact that Alex Smith and Aaron Rodgers were in the same draft class. One of them was the first overall pick in the 2005 draft, the other was the 24th overall pick. Watching this game, you'd think that Rodgers was clearly the first overall pick, right? Well, you'd be wrong. Alex Smith was the overall number one pick in that draft by the San Francisco 49ers. After the 49ers took Smith, 22 other teams passed on Aaron Rodgers. He had a funky delivery and he didn't have a ton of highlights as the quarterback of the Cal Bears. At least, that's what the "geniuses" said on their scouting reports. Rumors also surfaced that the Packers picked him out of spite. They didn't want the Chicago Bears to draft him, who had the next pick, which they then immediately traded after the Packers took Rodgers. People in Green Bay and fans of the Packers all over the world were furious that the Packers took Rodgers, my father and I included. We didn't want a quarterback, we had Favre. And if they were going to take a QB, why Rodgers? We all thought he wouldn't amount to much of an NFL player. He would also have to sit behind Favre until Favre was done playing. The pick didn't make any sense to anyone, except for the editor of this website, RD. He called me and my dad after the pick and said that the Packers got the steal of the draft, and that Rodgers was going to be a star. We told him he was nuts. He had no idea what he was talking about.

I'm glad that I was wrong. I'm thrilled to have Aaron Rodgers quarterbacking my team. But, Rodgers did have to sit for the first four years of his career and learn from Favre. The same couldn't be said for the first overall pick, Alex Smith. He was going to be the savior of the 49er franchise in the early 21st century. His blend of athleticism, he ran the spread at Utah before almost every team was running it in college football, was going to change the position. Unfortunately, the 49ers were not a good team and Smith's first five years were rough. The 49ers lured Jim Harbaugh away from Stanford in 2011 and that changed Smith's NFL career, for one and a half seasons. In Harbaugh's first season, he needed Smith to be a manager of the game, and that's what he got. Smith became a guy that didn't turn the ball over and could move the chains with short passes and his legs. He led the 49ers to the playoffs for the first time in a long time. During that same season, 2011, Aaron Rodgers coming off a Super Bowl win in 2010, won the MVP. He was no game manager, he was a game winner. The very next season, the 49ers had one of the best starts of any team in the NFL, and Smith was leading the way. He suffered a concussion midway through the season, and lost his starting job to second year "phenom" Colin Kaepernick. As athletic as Smith was, Kaepernick was younger and more athletic. Harbaugh rode Kaepernick all the way to the Super Bowl, the Ravens beat the 49ers, and Smith was relegated to back up duty. Meanwhile, Rodgers was putting up huge numbers, won a title, won two MVP awards, was a constant on All Pro and Pro Bowl teams, winning division titles with ease and playing in the playoffs every year. Their careers were on completely different paths. Rodgers was playing like the first overall pick, and Smith, he may as well been a fourth round pick. The 49ers traded Smith to the Chiefs the season following their Super Bowl appearance. The Chiefs have been an okay team under Smith, but they haven't had anything near the success the Packers have enjoyed with Rodgers at the helm.

Just to give you guys a taste of some of the players picked between Smith and Rodgers, names like, Cadillac Williams(out of the league), Braylon Edwards(out of the league), Cedric Benson(out of the league), Ronnie Brown(I think he's out of the league), Shawne Merriman(retired and also a women abuser) and David Pollack(out of the league due to a neck injury and a huge chauvinist). Guys who are still playing that were picked before Rodgers include some good players like Derrick Johnson(linebacker for the Chiefs), Damarcus Ware(linebacker for the Broncos) and Adam "Pac Man" Jones(DB for the Bengals). These guys are good, but I'd much rather have Aaron Rodgers. I know that not all teams need a QB when it's draft time, or that the draft is a total crap shoot, but Rodgers is, by far, the best player taken in the 2005 draft. Watching the game last night and hearing that they were in the same draft class was so shocking to me. I thought Rodgers was older than Alex Smith because he's so much better than Alex Smith. Rodgers has mastered the quarterback position, and Alex Smith struggles to be a game manager. The fact that the 49ers thought so highly of Smith and that Rodgers wasn't even on their radar is bewildering to me. I'm sure they wish they had taken Rodgers, but I'm sure a lot of teams in the 2005 draft wished they'd taken Rodgers. I guess you never truly know what you will get out of the draft, but last night, Aaron Rodgers was one thousand times better than Alex Smith, and Rodgers was picked 23 spots later than Smith.

Truly, head scratching.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man podcast. He gives the editor too much credit, I just thought the Packers were being asses to the Bears. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.