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.