Packers 7, Bears 19 » Brats & Beer

December 4, 2005
posted under: effin Bears, Packers, Post-game

Damn, damn, damn, damn. This team is driving me to drink. Every week now it’s the same stupid story with the same stupid ending. I swear it wouldn’t be so bad if the Packers just fell behind and stayed behind because then I’d know early on how it was going to go. But no, every game they come out and look pretty good, put some drives together, score a few points and I start thinking, “hey, maybe this is the week, we could actually win this one.” And then halftime comes around and the third quarter starts and everything starts to go to hell. And then in the final few minutes the wheels totally come off the cart and there you are left with nothing but a sick, empty feeling in your stomach and a strong urge to just crawl back into bed and never come back out. Sweet almighty, if this keeps up I’ll be in a mental hospital by the end of the season.

Okay, not much I can do about what happened today, but let’s take a look at some numbers and try to understand this a little. In 10 losses this season, Green Bay has been outscored 214-154. In only two of those games, against Carolina and Pittsburgh, have they been behind by double digits at the half. In the other eight contests, the Packers have either had a lead (twice against Minnesota and again against Philly), or the deficit has been a touchdown or less. In the second half, though, Green Bay has been outscored by more than a touchdown in five games. The Packers have put just 62 points on the board in the final 30 minutes, and if you exclude the rallies against Cleveland and Carolina, that total is just 23 points in eight contests, less than three points a game. This trend has been most troublesome in the last three games, in which Green Bay has been blanked by Philly and Chicago and scored just one field goal against Minnesota, fer cryin’ out loud.

What is going on in the final 30 minutes? Mental mistakes, missed blocks, penalties, and turnovers have all conspired to keep the offense grounded. Mostly, though, it seems like the Packers are getting out-coached in the second half. Either they aren’t making adjustments in the locker room, or the changes they are making aren’t working. Up until this week I was pretty confident that coach Sherman would be back for at least another season if not both remaining years of his new contract extension, but after this loss I’m not so sure. And I’m not so sure anymore that it would be a bad thing. Look, there’s a lot you can criticise but Mike Sherman has done a lot of good things for Green Bay’s football team. He turned it around after the Ray Rhodes debacle and brought confidence back to Titletown. He has had one of the best winning records of any Green Bay coach, save for Vince Lombardi and led the team to the playoffs the last four seasons. That’s not shabby by any stretch. But it is becoming clear he has lost something in his approach to coaching this team and a change is due after this year.