Our hearts and our heads are often at war with each other.
Our hearts tell us to go with what we want to believe. Our heads tell us to go with what we know.
I tell you this because my heart and my head spent three hours Sunday afternoon battling it out over what to make of the 2009 Green Bay Packers. And, at the conclusion of the Packers’ 38-26 loss to the Minnesota Vikings at Lambeau Field – dropping their record to 4-3 and ending any hope they had of winning the NFC North this season – I decided, sadly, to go with my head and say the following:
This Packers team just isn’t that good.
The cold realizations were there, staring us in the face all afternoon, despite what our hearts wanted us to believe:
Our hearts: The Packers showed how good they can be, frantically battling back from a 24-3 third quarter deficit to come within one drive of taking the lead in the fourth. One play here or one play there and Green Bay wins this game.
Our heads: Why did this team wait so long to finally show up?
At home, against a good team, with their divisional hopes on the line, the Packers came out with zero intensity, flat as two-week old soda. If they were a good team, they would have played that way throughout. They would have wanted to make a statement that they were for real. They made a statement in that first half alright, but it wasn’t anything positive.
By the time this team got going, it was too late. You simply can’t wait that long in the NFL, especially against a good team. That’s happened countless times throughout Mike McCarthy’s tenure as head coach.
Even when things broke Green Bay’s way in the second half, the Packers were more than happy to hand the momentum right back to the Vikings, be it through Judas converting a third-and-17, Percy Harvin breaking a big return or Adrian Peterson taking a simple dump pass 44 yards down the sideline with the game in the balance. Again, another sickening trademark of McCarthy’s teams.
Our hearts: Aaron Rodgers typified the team’s strong second-half showing, displaying many of the skills that make us believe he will become a top-notch NFL quarterback. The sky’s still the limit.
Our heads: Something is missing with Rodgers. Maybe something big.
Throughout the first half, and at certain crucial moments in the second half, Rodgers looked spooked – overwhelmed by the moment. That was understandable the first time these teams met. After all, how could look at the guy he played behind for three years on the opposing sideline and not be at least a little spooked?
This time around, it’s unacceptable. This game was at home. Minnesota’s struggling secondary was missing its best player (Antoine Winfield). Seeing Judas on the other sideline was nothing new.
But, countless times, there was Rodgers coming up short; unwilling to step up in the pocket; afraid to take off running despite the presence of clear lanes; going for the home run when it was unnecessary; and, most shockingly, unable to possess any sort of internal clock – a sense of when the ball needed to come out – even when his line held up for him.
That’s troubling because Sunday marked start No. 23 for him and he’s still struggling with the same things. I’m not saying he can’t improve, but at this point I am saying you have to have your doubts.
Our hearts: The defense, at times, was pretty good. They came up with a big fourth-down stop in the first half, kept Peterson in check for the most part and covered better than in the first Vikings game.
Our heads: This unit just can’t get it done when it matters most.
The Packers defense dominated first and second down throughout the contest. But, boy, did they suck on third down, allowing Minnesota to convert 43 percent of the time. In the two games with the Vikings, Green Bay allowed third down conversions exactly 50 percent of the time (14-of-28).
The pass rush, outside of maybe one drive in the second half, was once again completely lacking. In two games against Minnesota, the Packers came up with a grand total of zero sacks. Aaron Kampman was pretty much awful, even when he played with his hand on the ground. He needed to come up big Sunday and he failed.
For all the talk of the Packers “ballhawking” secondary, Charles Woodson, Al Harris, Nick Collins and Co. created exactly zero interceptions in two games. And when they needed to lock down, they couldn’t. Judas owned them.
And in the red zone, where Minnesota’s defense tightened up, Green Bay’s resembled a revolving door. Go on through and don’t worry – the next guy in purple can follow right behind you.
Our hearts: Injuries, an inconsistent offensive line and a coach unwilling to stick with the run are the things doing Ryan Grant in.
Our heads: Ryan Grant just is not a No. 1 running back in the NFL.
It’s become very clear Grant is not the long-term answer at the position. That’s being too kind – Grant isn’t any kind of answer at the position.
He doesn’t run hard, he’s not extremely fast and he isn’t anything close to tough. He isn’t a receiving threat and he’s not very good as a blocker.
That all came through loud and clear Sunday as Grant was pretty much outplayed by a 32-year old running back (Ahman Green) who hadn’t seen an NFL field in roughly a year.
Grant gave us one great half-season two years ago. That’s likely all we’ll ever get from him.
See why I thought they should have tried to make a move for Steven Jackson?
Our hearts: This team can still make the playoffs. And if it starts to click, a postseason run is possible.
Our heads: This team has to get a lot better to get into the postseason. Even then, an early exit is likely.
Any shot of winning the division is gone. Bye. See ya. Maybe next year.
That said, a wild card spot isn’t out of the question. In my mind the Packers are in a group of five teams (the New York Giants, Atlanta Falcons, Chicago Bears and Dallas Cowboys being the other four) battling for two spots.
With some definite creampuffs (Tampa Bay, Detroit and Seattle in particular) left on the schedule, a 9-7 finish (maybe 10-6) could still happen. That just might be enough to get in.
But, based on what we saw Sunday, you have to think Green Bay would not fair well in the playoffs. Do you really see this team improving enough for that outlook to change?
That’s what makes Sunday’s loss so difficult to stomach.
For all the progress we – and certainly I – thought this team had made, it turns out the Packers really haven’t gotten that much better at all. These are the games in which you measure yourself, after all. Another one looms two weeks from now at home against the Cowboys. Needless to say, I’m not thrilled about the Packers chances in that one, either.
That can always change, of course. But, as the song says, they have a long way to go and not much time to get there.
–Chris Lempesis
Ol' Bag of Donuts 