Don’t Panic! » Brats & Beer

October 8, 2008
posted under: Packers

It’s probably becoming too much of a cliche in the blogosphere to say how REAL LIFE has gotten between the blogger and his blogging (and I’ll spare you the tedious false modesty of apologizing to my “one or two readers”), so maybe I should use the excuse that I suspended this blog to deal with the current economic crisis. Lame euphemisms for inactivity aside, let me state that I haven’t fallen into a ravine or been struck down by some other accident. I truly appreciate, though, the concern some have expressed the past couple weeks.

With all that out of the way, lets get back to the business at hand, namely this three-game losing streak that has stricken Packer Nation. It would probably be easiest to say that we just don’t have a very good team, but that would gloss over the fact that with the talent on hand Green Bay is better than the 2-3 record would indicate. The fact is we’ve been visited by the triple-headed beast of injuries, inexperience, and ineptitude that manged to avoid Northeastern Wisconsin last season.

I won’t bore you with a recitation of everything that has gone wrong the past few weeks, but the upshot is that these problems are correctable. I said at the beginning of the season that it was very possible the Packers might be looking at a losing record at the bye week (though I didn’t foresee losing to Atlanta) because this is a young team still finding its identity behind Aaron Rodgers, but I was hopeful that they can improve through the season and start playing their best football when it really matters come playoff time. I still believe that is true (what’s the old saw about how much football is left to be played?) provided the team starts making some adjustments.

I stand firmly with my good friends at Cheesehead TV that defensive coordinator Bob Sanders needs to realize his job is on the line and that he should approach each and every game like it might be his last. The defense was supposed to be the heart and soul of the Green & Gold this year, but so far all we’ve gotten is one disappointment after another (Charles Woodson excluded). The players on the field make the plays, yes, but Sanders has got to come up with a better gameplan that puts them in better position to make those plays.

There are plenty of other things to harp on here — Mike McCarthy’s play calling, penalties, the offensive line, Derrick Frost — but getting the defense back on track would go a long way towards solving our ills in the short run. And a win in Seattle on Sunday would be a great first step in that direction.