The Green Bay Packers ugly loss to the Seattle Seahawks could very well be the closest the Packers get to the big dance for quite some time. History shows that other than the Patriots, losses like that tend to be a turning point. I could see in two years the Packers looking for a new coach and maybe general manager.
Here is why I think it’s possible. First off, winning the NFC North is getting harder and harder. The Lions gave the Packers everything they could handle last year and they aren’t going anywhere with Jim Caldwell at the helm. The Vikings were a much better team the second half of the season and have their franchise quarterback in place and will get Adrian Peterson back next year. They aren’t going anywhere. In Chicago, the Bears hired turnaround specialist John Fox as head coach and a defensive coordinator who owns the Packers of late. They have the talent for a quick rebound so I expect them to be much improved.
If you can’t win the division you are going on the road for the playoffs and while the Packers hit paydirt in 2010 via that route, that is the exception and not the rule.
Secondly, I don’t think head coach Mike McCarthy is Pittsburgh tough anymore. How else can you explain his horribly conservative play calling against Seattle? He was clearly scared to death of the Seahawks defense or else he would have tried to get a first down following Morgan Burnett’s interception. But he choose three line plunges and a punt to put it in the hands of his defense, which was wearing down by the second.
If the Packers are to have any chance of improving their play calling has to improve. You can’t be taking the ball out of your best players hands at key points in the game. I think it is time for McCarthy to give up play calling duties. I also think Brandon Bostick’s unbelievable gaffe on the onside kick is a direct result of McCarthy’s lack of toughness. Making a mistake on a play is one thing, directly ignoring your assignment is quite another. Apparently the penalty for doing so is not significant enough to warrant players not doing it.
Finally, while the Packers’ defense was improved this year, it certainly doesn’t have the capability to put games away in the clutch, which was so evident on Sunday. The perfect example is the Packers not even rushing Russell Wilson on a third-and-19. Wilson literally had 10 seconds to throw the ball and of course picked up a first down while three Packers’ defensive lineman danced with the Seahawks offensive line. Len Goodman did give them high marks, though, I’m told.
Dom Capers has had a good run in the NFL but at 64 it’s time to hang ’em up. The Packers’ defense needs new blood at the top and I personally would love to see Jim Schwartz take over the defense. That would pump some life into them no doubt. I do expect Capers to stick around though, so don’t look for much improvement there. A playmaking inside linebacker would help a lot but the Packers haven’t had once since Nick Barnett went down in 2010.
So let’s say the Packers go 8-8 the next two years and miss the playoffs. No way Ted Thompson could not clean house. Not saying it’s going to happen. Just saying. I’ll take a look at the other side in a couple of days.