Always be closing. Always, be closing. The Green Bay Packers of 2008 couldn’t close an umbrella. After choking away another late lead the Packers are 5-10 and have lost seven of those games by four points or less and have lost to only one team with a losing record. The Packers certainly have been unlucky at times, but because of their defense they are where they are for a reason. Just one big stop in all of those seven losses probably would have turned a loss into a win. It is simply amazing and no different again last night. The Packers held the Bears in check for three quarters but when the game was on the line they wilted like John Kitna. Same old story again and again.
To be honest, if the Packers choose to mail it in next Sunday and lose to the Lions, I don’t even care. And to be honest, if I was Aaron Rodgers and the rest of the offense, I would be hard pressed to get up for this game. Week after week the offense puts the team in position to win only to have the defense give it away. Lately special teams have also contributed to the losing streak. Last night when Bush let the ball hit him and the Bears recovered, anybody who has watched the Packers this year knew the game was over. Bears win. Keeping a player like Bush on the roster is enough reason to fire the entire coaching staff, because apparently none of them know talent when they see it and if they did think he should be cut they didn’t have the balls to say so. This is not the first game that bozo has cost the Packers and probably won’t be the last.
It has been a very strange year. Plenty of good individual performances from players like Aaron Rodgders, who has a chance to throw for 4000 yards and has 25 touchdown passes and 13 interceptions. He needs 270 yards to achieve a mark only achieved by three quarterbacks in Packers history. I could be wrong but only Lynn Dickey, Don Majkowski and Brett Favre have passed for 4000 yards in a season for the Packers.
Wide receiver Greg Jennings has turned into one of the best receivers in the NFL. With he and Rodgers being so young, this could be a combination that sets records in the years to come.
Ryan Grant bounced back from a holdout and slow start to rush for over 1000 yards and got better as the season went on. I can’t wait to see him when he can go through the whole offseason program in Green Bay. He may not be considered a top-level back right now, but I think he has a chance. After all, he is ninth in the NFL in rushing yards this year. Not too shabby. I wish they would give him the ball more. It was nice to see him catch some screens the last two games. Where was that all year?
Charles Woodson is getting better with age. His seven interceptions tied for the lead league and he made the Pro Bowl for the fifth time in his career and first with the Packers. All in little old Green Bay, the last place he wanted to play. His story is amazing and I hope the Packers use his ambassadorship to lure free agents to sign with the Packers, not only while he is playing here but after he retires. Woodson has been completely won over by the Packers organization and the fans and even the city. I love it.
Defensive end Aaron Kampman can’t help but feeling like a castaway on the Packers’ defensive line. He is all alone for most of the time, especially if he is anywhere near an opposing quarterback. Kampman is a true professional and the Packers are lucky to have a guy like him on their roster. People are always looking for leaders and if Kampman isn’t a leader, he should be. He is a leader by example, that is for sure.
Other veterans like Al Harris, Donald Driver, Mark Tauscher and Nick Barnett quietly had good seasons as well. Harris returned with a vengeance after a spleen injury sidelined for four games. Barnett’s loss to injury has turned out to be a huge blow, much like the loss of Cullen Jenkins in September. Jenkins is still second on the team with sacks with 2.5.
After the season for my first time I will do a rundown of who should stay and who should go. In my opinion anyway. You all know I think DC Bob Sanders and his staff needs to be released. But there are plenty of players, mostly on defense, who I don’t think will be around next year. An overhaul of the front seven is in order. With a solid defense the Packers would easily have won more games than they have. I don’t think this team is that far away. In fact, the lessons learned this year could go a long way in shaping the future. We learned the players we have on defense are not very good and we learned that we don’t have to worry about quarterback for the next ten years. While Rodgers had and probably still will have, some growing pains, it is clear he is a better than average quarterback who could be great with the right cast.
And finally, the Packers were absolutely robbed last night on the coin flip of overtime. That will go down as the first time in history that a coin flip that hit something on the way down was not re-flipped. It has never happened before in any game, bar, party, whatever. If the coin hits something you re-flip. The NFL refs can’t get anything right this year.