Like the annual will he play or won’t he play drama of Brett Favre, the annual Ted Thompson bashing has begun in earnest on the first day of the NFL’s free agency period. It seems that most fans don’t really care who the Packers spend money on as long as they spend it. Kind of like the way I spend my money, which is pretty much why I’m always broke. Thompson, however, has more than one life to worry about when it comes to spending the Packers’ money and he is not going to break the bank and cripple the team’s future.

All Thompson has done in his five years is take the horrible mess Mike Sherman left him and after suffering through a 4-12 season in his first year at the helm is turn the team into a playoff contender and now Super Bowl contender. Since Thompson hired Mike McCarthy the Packers are 38-26 in the regular season and have reached the playoffs two of the last three years including one appearance in the NFC Championship game.

Thompson was bold enough to make the right move at the right time regarding Favre and the because of it the Packers once again have one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL and are set for years at the premier position in the NFL. It is better to get rid of a player one year to soon than one year too late. With few exceptions Thompson has made all the right moves for the Packers the last five years.

With that in mind this all-day whining today because the Packers didn’t break the bank and buy Julius Peppers or pay an outrageous amount to a 33-year old broken down left tackle is ridiculous. The Green Bay Packers don’t act that way, which is why they have one of the best records in the NFL since free agency started, and Washington has one of the worst.

***NOTE:  Chad Clifton did indeed just resign with the Packers. Three year deal with seven million guaranteed. Averages seven mil a year but he won’t play three years, don’t know what the salary is the last year but is probably a big one that he won’t see.***

With that news update I guess all the whining done by fans and especially Chris Havel on The Fan today was worth it. I hate to bite the hand the feeds me but am I alone in thinking The Fan is getting almost un-listenable? I mean between the Bear fan and the Bronco fan in the morning and the Thompson hater/Favre butt-kisser in the afternoon, it’s getting sick. Two straight hours this afternoon of making fun of Thompson and praising the injury prone Clifton. And low and behold five minutes after they are off the air Clifton signs. Maybe Havel is calling the shots now.

But this is not Dallas, the Packers won’t hosting 100,000 people to a basketball game in Lambeau Field anytime soon, and in an NFL uncapped economy the Packers could be endanger of becoming extinct if they fail to be competitive long term. They simply can’t afford to pay big money for a one-year fix then settle for five years of losing like other teams can. The best way to build a team to last is through the draft but you have to be damn good to do it. Thompson must be just that because has built a winner in Green Bay knowing the restrictions on the only publicly owned franchise in professional sports.

Thankfully Thompson, like his mentor - Ron Wolf - doesn’t give a crap about what people say about him and is confident in his ability to get the job done. The guy is almost anti-social and having to meet the press as much as he does doesn’t help his image any. But I love the way he destroyed Greg A. Bedard last January in their one-on-one interview. Bedard was clearly trying to goat him into getting mad and all he got was a chuckle. Of course, anybody you uses their middle initial in there name thinks they are hot-shit from the get-go, so Thompson knew what was coming. It was funny stuff. Go to JSOnline to check it out.

I call all-you-all Favre ball-washers so go ahead and call me a Thompson ball-washer if you want. Like with Favre, results speak for themselves. Thompson needs to take this team to the Super Bowl to justify it all, no doubt about that, but he has all the pieces are in place as far as head coach and starting quarterback. The defense is on the rise and the team has a ton of young talent. I just can’t see how adding an overpaid prima donna like Peppers is going to help the chemistry of this team. Peppers is no Reggie White.The best thing about today is all the pressure is on Chicago now. With the Jay Cutler trade last year, and the signing of Peppers and Chester Taylor today, it’s the NFC North or bust for the Bears. With Cutler at QB? Good luck with that.

All I ask is that we let it play out before rushing to judgment. If  indeed Thompson was asleep at 11:00 PM last night when free agency started, I bet it was a sound sleep.

Are you kidding me? The almighty punter has spoken. Apparently upset by the fact that the Packers were no longer interested in the services of a shitty punter Jeremy Kapinos had this to say:

“While I do admit I needed to improve and I was at fault for some of it, I won’t agree with anyone I was the lone liability. I think it’s very irresponsible to place the blame on one person. (Special teams) won’t improve if that’s the philosophy, I would hope there is a sense of accountability across the board.” (thanks to the Press-Gazette)

Kapinos must have learned from the school of Ryan Longwell. Longwell never missed a kick while he was in Green Bay. “We” might have missed one, but Longwell was perfect. I suppose there may be a lot of other things involved in punting a football high and long and we layman will never know the intricacies of the art (insert smiley here). Good luck in your future endeavors Mr. Kapinos.

What pisses me off is I was going to comment on this tomorrow but the little baby beat me to it. I loved Mike McCarthy’s quote about Kapinos at the combine - “For him to be on our team next year, he needs to improve. The performance in that position will improve with him or without him.”

I think the coach hurt the kid’s feelings. Anybody want to take bets Kapinos never punts again in the NFL?

That is good stuff, Maynard. Good stuff.

Judging by the comments by both Packers’ general manager Ted Thompson and head coach Mike McCarthy, the Green Bay Packers may be a landing spot for the biggest enigma in this year’s NFL Draft. Thompson and McCarthy had nothing but good things to say about Tim Tebow in surprisingly candid reviews of the Florida phenom. McCarthy even saying he “would love to work with him.”

Tebow is generally regarded as a second or third-round pick and if he does slip to the third round I could see the Packers taking him. I know the Packers don’t need a starting quarterback but they could certainly use a solid backup. The Packers could develop Tebow over the next few years and maybe toss in a few Michael Vick-type plays like the Eagles did last year with Vick playing behind Donovan McNabb.

True, the Packers have more pressing needs but the Packers are also pressing their luck with quarterback health (knock on wood hard after reading the next sentence). The last time a quarterback for the Green Bay Packers was injured in a game so bad he couldn’t start the next week was 1992 - 18 seasons! That is ridiculous. We all thought Aaron Rodgers was injury prone but if he didn’t get hurt in the beating he took last year he may well be on to an iron man streak of his own. Still, 18 years is a long time not to have a QB go down, the Packers would be wise to be well stocked at that position.

Drafting QBs worked well in the 90’s under Ron Wolf. Guys like Matt Hasselbeck, Aaron Brooks, Ty Detmer come immediately to mind. None were world-beaters but Hasselbeck went to a Super Bowl in Seattle and Brooks and Detmer started in the league after leaving Green Bay. Guys like that could at least get you through the year, granted any championship hopes would have been gone had Favre gone down back then and that certainly is the same case now under Rodgers.

The Packers right now are as thin at QB as at any time in recent memory. Matt Flynn is not NFL caliber material, if Rodgers goes down the Packers become the St. Louis Rams. If you can get one year of development out of Tebow I think he can become an NFL quarterback. The man is a winner and a hard worker and has succeeded at every level. And  Mike McCarthy already has changed the throwing motion of Rodgers after Rodgers came into the NFL from the Jeff Tedford school of quarterbacking which had’t had much success in the NFL until A-Rodge.

Tedford’s QBs do include Super Bowl winner Trent Dilfer, but you or I could have quarterbacked his Baltimore Raven team that year. Guys like David Carr, Joey Harrington, Kyle Bollar and the all-time colossal failure Akili Smith are his other graduates. McCarthy himself didn’t want anything do to with Rodgers when McCarthy was offensive coordinator in San Francisco when the 49ers drafted Alex Smith instead of Rodgers with the first pick in the draft in 2005. What McCarthy has done with Rodgers since then is nothing short of remarkable.

If not Tebow, the quarterback position is one area that has flew under the radar this off-season and the Packers do need help there. Is it a priority, I don’t know, but QB isn’t like any other position, you can’t game-plan around a QB who can’t play, not unless you have the best defense and the best running game in the league. The Packers will need to upgrade here at some point and a third-round pick on Tebow that could turn into a second down the road would not be a bad investment.

In what could have been a boom year in free agency, because of the unlikely event a new collective bargaining agreement is reached between players and owners by March 5, 200-some players will not get their chance at a big payday. Of course that is part of the reason why some players haven’t been signed by now too - the owners knew there wasn’t going to be an agreement so why pay big money to a guy who isn’t going anywhere. The Packers’ Nick Collins is a perfect example.

Barring a miracle, and I do mean miracle because the NFL Players Association is once again failing to see the light, there will only be a handful of free agents worth signing and several of them may get a franchise or transition tag, essentially taking them off the market. When the owners used their option to end the current CBA early the players should have immediately said “OK, what can we do to get this done?” instead of getting defensive and basically forcing the owners into a lockout in 2011.

The owners hold all the cards and the sooner the players realize that the sooner a deal will get done. At least the late Gene Upshaw knew that and even though he was a hard bargainer, he got the job done before anything drastic had to happen. NFL Players Association Executive Director DeMaurice Smith has stated the players have no plans to make any concessions so a work stoppage is a certainty. The owners can sit out forever. Can the players? With that in mind I will only focus on the unrestricted free agents that might be available.

The Packers need offensive line help and that might be the slimmest pickings of all. There is simply nobody available. The Saints have two left tackles in Jammal Brown and Jermon Bushrod that are unsigned. The Packers would have to trade for one of them and Brown would probably bring the higher price tag even though he missed last year with a sports hernia. Bottom line though, don’t look for any movement here. I hope Ted Thompson finally gets lucky with offensive lineman in the draft. I also hope nobody goes hard after Chad Clifton, the best unrestricted offensive lineman out there.

Staying on the offensive side there are a couple of intriguing running backs in Chester Taylor and Willie Parker. Taylor I think for sure is starter material and if Parker can stay healthy he could be worth looking at. Myself I would be more inclined to look at Taylor if I was looking to replace Ryan Grant, which, by the way, I’m not. If the Packers could get Taylor and use him like they did in Minnesota, I’m all for it. He is heads and tails above Brandon Jackson, who has been a major bust for a second-round pick. Just re-sign Ahman Green and be done with it.

Defensively the Packers need help at linebacker and secondary and there may be some help available there. Linebackers Keith Bulluck, Karlos Dansby are available if the Packers don’t want to re-sign Aaron Kampman. Jason Taylor is also available but he won’t play in the cold in what could be his last year. Bulluck may come cheap coming off injury but Dansby won’t, in fact he will probably be tagged. Those are the outside linebackers, an interesting inside linebacker would be Gary Brackett. If the Packers don’t want to pay A.J. Hawk they might be thinking about Brackett. The thing is, Brackett will bring the leadership skills the young Packers need but in the end Hawk might be more worth the money down because of his youth. Tough call.

In the secondary guys like Leigh Bodden and Dunta Robinson at corner might be worth a look but other than Darren Sharper their is nobody of starting value at safety. Sharper back in Green Bay? I would love it! He’s today’s Deon Sanders - just following the ring.

The only guy I would open the vault to would be kicker Sebastian Janikowski. The Packers can’t afford to make another playoff run with a shabby kicker. I just wish there was a punter available.

All that said, you can see why the Packers won’t be finding any starters in free agency this year. They should just focus on guys like Clifton, Mark Tauscher, Ryan Pickett and Nick Collins and not worry about the rest. The Packers’ aren’t one player away from a championship, they have the pieces already in place, they just need a few complimentary players to get them through through the rough spots of a long season. With the work stoppage looming, the Packers might have the least worries of any NFL team going into this season.

It’s going to be an interesting off-season that is for sure.

The NFL is about to enter a very unique offseason and as usual the Packers will likely be quiet, especially in free agency. Here is my take on the Packers Dirty Dozen Thirteen free agents.

Chad Clifton - The 33-year old Clifton is still the Packers best option at left tackle. Cliffy stayed relatively healthy last year but did not start 16 games and at times the Packers missed him dearly, especially when Daryn Colledge was his replacement. Clifton won’t command a big salary so the Packers should be able to re-sign him if they want to, and I would think they would want to.

Mark Tauscher -  A year younger than Clifton Tauscher proved to be a savior last year when he joined the team mid-season and stabilized the offensive line after taking over for colossal failure Allen Barbre. Unlike Clifton, however, the Packers might have a better option at right tackle in 2nd year man T.J. Lang, who played left and right tackle but is better suited for right tackle. I hope Tauscher will come accept a similar one-year deal or something to come back and battle Lang for the job. My guess is Tausch wins. Lang can spell him during the season and replace him in 2011.

Aaron Kampman -  The Packers don’t really know what they have in Kampman anymore. It is clear he was special in a 4-3 defense but by getting hurt halfway through the season, Kampman never got to really develop in the new defense. He may have been missed late in the year when the Packers struggled against the Steelers and Cardinals when the Packers couldn’t even sniff the quarterback. I would like to see the Packers keep him if only for the intangibles he brings to the locker room.

Ryan Pickett -  Pickett is one of Ted Thompson’s few free agent signings and Thompson would be wise to sign him again. You can never have too much depth on the d-line and Pickett is a perfect role model for B.J. Raji. Pickett needs to be signed and it appears the Packers feel the same way as they have begun talks with Pickett’s agent.

Nick Collins -  At the beginning of last year I was with the Packers in not jumping in and giving Collins big money, but after another solid year and another Pro Bowl appearance it is time for the Packers to anti-up. Because of the uncertainty of the collective bargaining agreement between the league and the players Collins will be a restricted free agent, however, the Packers cannot afford to send the wrong message here and need to get this deal done and done soon.

Johnny Jolly - The only thing stopping the Packers from paying Jolly may be his legal troubles. We’ll have to see how that plays out, but Jolly is a solid player and the Packers really need to keep him. A couple of bonehead penalties have raised some eyebrows about him and he may be as good as he is going to get, but either way he adds much need depth to the d-line.

Daryn Colledge -  This is the one guy the Packers should pay NOT to come back. How he lasted four years mostly in the starting lineup is a testament to how bad Thompson has been at drafting/finding offensive lineman. Colledge is not starting material at left guard and was absolutely horrible in replacing Clifton at left tackle. Colledge’s holding penalty in overtime against the Cardinals was enough to get him fired on the spot if you ask me. He followed that up by getting burned on the game-winning play two plays later. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.

Jason Spitz -  If Spitz is healthy and the Packers aren’t worried about his future availability they should definitely bring him back. Spitz should replace Colledge at left guard and let Scott Wells stay at center. A line of Clifton, Spitz, Wells, Josh Sitton and Tauscher would be just fine with me. Spitz is versatile and the Packers will almost assuredly bring him back if healthy.

Atari Bigby, Ahman Green, Will Blackmon, John Kuhn, Derrick Martin -  All of these players will come cheap but only ones I like are Bigby and Green and maybe Kuhn. Blackmon is an injury waiting to happen and not even that good, he won’t help the secondary any, that is for sure. Martin never showed up after coming in with high hopes having played in a 3-4 defense before. Didn’t happen.

I like Green for his leadership and change of pace to Ryan Grant. Green is a short-yardage specialist and can catch the ball and run the screen pass. Bigby is a starter but an average one at best. The Packers secondary needs a major overhaul but I would at least bring Bigby to camp. Ditto Kuhn, who is a beast on special teams and can catch the ball for a fullback that brings back memories of William Henderson If only he could block like Henderson.

I’ve got my list of potential NFL free agents and I’ll go over that Wednesday. The CBA is throwing a wrench into everything and I can’t believe the NFL players are going crazy about losing two years of free agency. Six years for free agency is a return to the seventies and eighties. Most players’ careers are lucky to be six years, not having a chance at the big payday has to be pissing a lot of guys off. It’s going to be interesting.

More to come…

Well, my pregame prediction was Colts 27, Saints 17, so far we are on pace for such a low scoring game. Some amazing bad play calling here in the last three minutes. Saints should have kicked the field goal on their first chance and the Colts should have tried to score with a minute-and-a-half left in the half and Peyton Manning at quarterback.

So far the game has been pretty boring. I have to believe the Packers could beat either one of these teams. I hope that is what the Packers’ players are thinking at this time too.

7:20 PM: The Who kicked ass!

7:30 PM:  Damn! There goes my bet! Gutsy call to try the onside kick and the Colts were caught hook, line and sinker.

7:53 PM:  At least we are getting a game now. If Manning wants to separate himself from the other one Super Bowl winners and proclaim himself the best ever he needs to win this one.

8:02 PM:  That was a gutsy call!

8:06 PM:  The Colts go for it from midfield but don’t go for it from the 34 and miss a 51-yard field goal. My Colts bet is done but the under is a lock.

8:21 PM:  Well, I didn’t want the Saints to win but unlike last year I can embrace the winner if it is the Saints. I hate the Steelers and and I love the Cardinals so in that game I was totally rooting for one team. This game I wanted the Colts to win but am fine if the Saints win. What a great story it would be.

8:56 PM:  Now I can really embrace the Saints as that pick-six put a cool 100 in my pocket. All in all a good day for the NFL. I couldn’t be happier for Drew Brees and the city of New Orleans. No matter what you allegiance is it was a good day for the NFL. The Saints did a great deal for the league today.

Before I take off on vacation in a week I will have my take on the Packers’ free agents and who might be available. After that it is a week in sunny FLA - hopefully it warms up by the time I get there.

Those of you who follow Packernet will certainly know how overcome with delight I am after yesterday outcomes of the NFL’s two conference championship games. I love P. Manning getting another shot at the ring and will probably be rooting for the Colts in two weeks. The Saints are a great story but not a great team, I think the Colts are a great team and certainly they have a great quarterback. Drew Brees may be a great quarterback someday, but his play in overtime only made up for a pretty mediocre game, albeit against a great defense in Minnesota. At this point I like the Colts big time.

I am stunned it took so long for evil Mr. Hyde to show his ugly mug but when Brett Favre threw the game away just as he did two years ago in Lambeau Field, it was awesome!  The greatest gift the Packers could have gave the Vikings was even more heartbreak in what is becoming one of sports’ most amazing tails of self-imposed heartbreak. The Vikings have lost five straight NFC Championship games and this one is very reminiscent of the 1998 season NFC Championship game the Vikings lost to Atlanta (of all teams).

The 1998 Vikings also had a retread quarterback who turned back the clock in Randall Cunningham and were within a field-goal of winning the game in regulation. Kicker Morten Anderson missed for the first time all year and the rest is history. Yesterday the only thing Favre had to do was run a few yards and slide. Get up, walk off the field and put on his NFC Champions hat. But nooooooooo! Evil Mr. Hyde shows up and Favre ends his storied career in Minnesota the same way he ended his storied career in Green Bay - a pick on his last pass in the NFC Championship game.

Simply poetic justice. Packers’ fans will never know the pain of Vikings’ fans as the Packers have won three Super Bowls, but Vikings’ fans just got a taste of the pain of Brett Favre that until 2008 had only been felt in Green Bay. He’ll walk you to the doorstep then slam the door in your face. When the Vikings’ play-by-play guys yells “I can’t believe what I just saw” I was dumbfounded. Are you a football fan? Do you know who Brett Favre is? Welcome to my nightmare.

By no means does this loss alone justify Ted Thompson for trading Favre, Aaron Rodgers has already done that by throwing for almost 9,000 yards and 60 touchdowns in his two seasons as starter and returning the Packers to the playoffs this year. Rodgers will start for the NFC in the Pro Bowl this Sunday. All this proves is that the ole’ gunslinger is the ole’ gunslinger. He is one hell of a football player, one of the greatest of all time, but he stuck around too long and he was playing for the wrong reasons. The two-year revenge tour is over and I believe so is Favre. He looked more like Arturo Gatti after a fight last night than an NFL quarterback after a game.

This was Favre’s one last shot at the Super Bowl and he certainly proved me wrong the way he played in the regular season, especially in December, but in the end not even he could overcome the Vikings cursed history of losing the big one. The Vikings remain without an NFL Championship since their inception in 1961. Four Super Bowl losses, five straight NFC Championship game losses including a 41-0 loss to New York after the 2000 season. It is a sad state of affairs in Minnesota, or soon to be Los Angeles.

Looking at the future of the two teams the Packers have a franchise quarterback who is only 26-years old and the Vikings have no clue right now who their quarterback will be next year. I would love to see Favre string the Vikings along all offseason like he used to do the Packers but after that beatdown I think he is done. Every team he plays next year will come after him the same way and at 41 he can’t take that beating for 16 games.

Aaron Rodgers and the Packers’ offense are still getting better and the emergence of Jermichael Finley and I think the rejuvenation of wide receiver Greg Jennings makes the Packers the most potent offense outside of Indianapolis. The run is done in Minneapolis and the student has become the master.

Let me have it, but I might need plastic surgery to remove the smile from face.

I have to admit I haven’t followed much of the conversation since my last entry, so pardon me if I repeat some of your thoughts, which I probably will. Either way, here goes.

First Quarter -  No way on God’s green earth did I see the Packers starting out 2-2. I was sure 4-0 and was going to be the record. I could have saw 3-1 because of the trip to Minnesota, but never saw the Bengal loss coming. Of course the Bengals did end up making the playoffs and they were playing their best football arguably the first month of the season. Just the opposite for Green Bay. It was definitely a shocker and for whatever reason the Packers hit snooze on that wake-up call.

The loss in Minnesota was the first sign the Packers couldn’t stop the pass, a problem that ultimately ended their season. Brett Favre won a classic shootout between the past and present Packers’ quarterbacks. Aaron Rodgers astonishingly throw for almost 400 yards despite getting sacked eight times. Getting sacked was Rodgers’ and the Packers’ biggest problem of the first four games.

Second Quarter -  The next four games featured three gimmies and a home date with the Vikings. The Packers rolled over Detroit and Cleveland but the ole’ gunslinger embarrassed the Packers in his return to Lambeau and the residual effect was a loss to Tampa Bay the following week. Six weeks later than they should have the Packers got the wake-up call that actually woke them up. The loss to the Bucs and a one-point last play loss in Pittsburgh ended up costing the Packers a division title, despite the two losses to Minnesota. Just goes to show how important every game is in the NFL.

Third Quarter -  As low as the Packers were starting the second half of their season November 15th, it is amazing what they did in the third quarter of the season. They opened it by beating eventual NFC East Champion Dallas Cowboys and closed it by beating AFC wildcard team Baltimore, both quite handily I might add. In between they beat the 8-8 49ers and the annual patsy Detroit on Thanksgiving. From 4-4 to 8-4 in what seemed like overnight.

Fourth Quarter -  The Packers continued their hot streak down the stretch but the blueprint to beat them was laid out by Pittsburgh in a shootout in Pittsburgh that was won on the last play of the game. The Packers got burned for 503 passing yards by Ben Roethlisberger and the Packers’ pass defense was never able to recover. Of course not having Aaron Kampman and Al Harris certainly played a role in that, but the Packers simply had no answer for top-flight quarterbacks like Favre, Roethlisberger and the Cardinal’s Kurt Warner in the playoffs.

Playoffs -  In one of the funnest games to watch in playoff history the Cardinals beat the Packers 51-45. Neither team could stop the other and the Cardinals loss at New Orleans last Sunday is probably only slightly worse than what the Packers would have done down there. I’d like to think the Packers could have done better but the Saints dropped 50 on the Packers down there last year, so it wasn’t too likely.

In the end -  I myself consider 2009 a successful season taking into account the Packers were coming off a 6-10 season and by most people’s account were headed for a repeat performance. I had much greater expectations and the Packers nearly achieved them. I can’t remember if I said 12-4 or 13-3 and don’t feel like looking it up, but I wasn’t too far off. I was indeed way wrong on Favre and the Vikings, who as much as I hate to say I believe are Super Bowl bound.

On that note, if anybody had any questions about what kind of a record-grubbing, selfish player Brett Favre is they got their answer Sunday with an explanation point. For Favre and the Vikings to go for a fourth-and-four at the Cowboys ten with 1:50 to go in the game and the Cowboys out of time outs was without doubt the most classless act I have ever seen in the NFL. And I remember the Mike Ditka days in Chicago and the Buddy Ryan days in Philly like it was yesterday. Not even Forrest Gregg would have stumped that low. Last I checked their isn’t a 24-point play in the NFL. Hopefully the Gods of football are just as unforgiving as the Gods of golf.

That said, I think the NFL wants a Peyton-Brett Super Bowl and that is what they will get. I would give the Saints a chance if they were any other team than the Saints. They are the NFL’s version of the Chicago Cubs and will be more loved for never winning a championship than they would be if they actually won one. Vikings win 49-31.

In the AFC I believe the Jets miracle run will come to an end in Indy. The Jets aren’t playing the Bengals or the perennial playoff chokers San Diego this week, this is the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts make the playoffs in their sleep and have won one Super Bowl in the Manning era and are primed to win another this year. The Colts might not be able to run the ball but like the Packers in years past it is mostly because they don’t try to. Why would you when you have a four-time MVP at quarterback? The Jets will probably control the ball for 45 minutes and lose 21-10.

I’ll worry about the Super Bowl later. I hope I’m wrong on both accounts as it would be great to see the #1 offense against the #1 defense in the Super Bowl. We could settle the old debate once and for all.

I know this was a tough loss that ranks right up there in annals of Packers’ history, but I don’t put it in the same category as games such as these, rated in terms of pain.

1. The Super Bowl loss to Denver. Nothing else needs be said here.

2. The T.O. game when Steve Young falls down leaving center and gets up and throws the game winner with no time left. Still haven’t gotten over that one. More than likely the Packers would have had their chance to avenge their Super Bowl loss the previous season.

3. The fourth-and-26-loss to Philly. Sherman chickened out on fourth-and-one, Darren Sharper inexplicably was playing 35 yards off the line of scrimmage, and after winning the overtime toss Brett Favre promptly throws the game away with a moon ball that is picked off setting up the game winning field goal.

4. The NFC Championship loss to the Giants in Lambeau Field. The Giants miss about a dozen field goals sending the game to overtime and after winning the overtime toss Brett Favre promptly throws the game away with a moon ball that is picked off setting up the game winning field goal.

5. The loss to the Atlanta Falcons in the wildcard round that was the first Lambeau Field playoff loss in Green Bay Packers’ history. The Packers couldn’t stop Michael Vick and Favre threw two picks and completed only 20 of 42 passes as the Packers officially lost their Lambeau Field mystique.

Others receiving votes: The beat-down Randy Moss and the boys put on us in the 2005 playoffs; the six interception debacle in St. Louis in 2002. The Rams had 13 first downs and won 45-17. I was embarrassed to be a fan that day; the Bob Thomas field goal in 1983 that gave the Bears a 23-21 final game win knocking the Packers out of the playoffs and leading to the firing of head coach Bart Starr.

The loss to the Cardinals might be in the top ten but I just can’t feel that bad after the way the Packers fought back from a rough start and took it to overtime at 45-points a piece for crying out loud. This after being down 31-10 late in the third quarter. The Packers are a team on the rise and have a future MVP quarterback at the helm. Aaron Rodgers is just amazing. Even after throwing a pick on his first pass of the game on a stupid decision, he came back and threw for over 400 yards and four TDs in his first playoff start. Of course he had the big miss to Jennings in overtime that could have won the game, but if you’d said before the game we’d score 45 and lose I would have laughed at you. Rodgers will take the heat but it was the defense that let the Packers down in this game.

The Packers’ number two defense sure has a lot of work to do in the secondary. Head coach Mike McCarthy hired defensive Dom Capers to shore up the defense and in particular stop the run. Capers turned the Packers’ sieve-like run defense into the leagues best in one year. Year two his focus must be on bringing balance to the defense and shoring up pass defense. Part of that is looking at his own game plans too. Against Brett Favre, Ben Roethlisberger and Kurt Warner, Capers’ defense couldn’t get home when they brought pressure and were ripped to shreds. Even when they played coverage against those QBs they had little success.

The offseason is going to be a hard one to predict with the upcoming labor war looming, so how the Packers go about improving the secondary and offensive line is anybodies guess. Players they thought they might lose they might not and players they thought would be available may not be. I’m not confident the two sides reach an agreement in time meaning the salary cap is a thing of the past. But that is a story for another day.

I’m not in mourning by any means. We know there will be football in 2010, any lockout would not come before 2011, so the Packers have the opportunity to keep the momentum going. I think they will be favored to win the NFC next year by many. Even with the disappointing loss I think it will be a much smoother offseason than last year when the team was coming off a 6-10 record and had questions galore. The problems areas are well defined but the strengths certainly outweigh them at this point.

The Packers can beat anybody in the league and they are still young and growing. Just imagine what Rodgers, Greg Jennings and Jermichael Finley are going to do the next five years. Records are about to fall.

I think I will have one final take on the 2009 season as a whole and then focus on 2010. I like my Green Bay Packers and we might be on the verge of something special.

Here we go!

3:42 PM:  Wow! Not a good start. Rodgers first pick in what seems like forever. Not a good way to start your playoff career. And I was glad I we won the toss. Hold them to three and I’ll be a happy guy.

3:51 PM:  The Packers look very nervous. Not sure what to make of it. Jordy looked like he never returned a kick before on both returns. Rodgers throws a pass he hasn’t thrown all year. When we settle down we should be OK.

3:54 PM:  Didn’t we just see this three hours ago in New England. Three plays two turnovers. 14-0 Cardinals. Oh well, the Packers were clearly overconfident. This will be a great learning experience for next year. This one is over. Hopefully the Packers can at least make a game of it to keep a little momentum going. I said weeks ago I didn’t think this team could win a road playoff game. Damn I hate when I’m right. Lots of time left, but confidence is wavering.

3:59 PM:  Jordy Nelson should be benched right now. Top it off with a personal foul. Like the previous three games this weekend, it looks like another blowout.

4:13 PM:  Not saying I’m giving up, but down 17 in the first half on the road in the playoffs is pretty much a done deal. The Packers are the better team I still believe, but they are too young. We knocked on the door this year, next year we’ll knock it in. The core of this team is too good to not to keep improving.This is our first shot, but not our last shot. Future confidence is high, but we all know today is a lost cause.

4:24 PM:  McCarthy just made the worst coaching decision of his career. To think Crosby could make that field goal is absolutely insane. Whatever New England coach Bill Belichick was drinking today is the same thing McCarthy must have been drinking - the fountain of stupid decisions.

4:48 PM:  Don’t let this one game spoil the whole season. I like my 2009 Green Bay Packers. The 2010 Packers are the team to beat in the NFC.

4:54 PM:  The deer in the headlights. That is the Green Bay Packers today. We weren’t going to the Super Bowl anyway. This is a wake-up call.

5:10 PM:  The field goal certainly helps. The turnovers are killing the Packers and that was the only way the Packers could lose this game. If the Packers’ defense doesn’t step up its game the Packers have will not come back. It is a miracle the Packers are only 14 down considering the way the Packers are playing. The seasoned playoff team is the Cardinals and that is clear.

5:32 PM:  Down 31-10 I’m definitely looking toward next year. The Packers aren’t going to win today so lets see how they handle the deficit. If they could at least mount a little comeback it would be a positive heading into the offseason. It is going to suck the next week or so, but I already can’t wait for the draft and minicamp. We got our taste.

5:54 PM:  The Packers made a good comeback but were out-coached big time today, especially on defense. Following the pattern of Brett Favre and Ben Roethlisberger, Kurt Warner ripped the Packers’ secondary to shreds. I am feeling better about the offense, too bad the defense is struggling so bad.

6:08 PM:  The Packers are definitely not quitting. Rodgers has come alive but the Packers’ defense can’t stop Warner. I hope we can stay within seven as I don’t want to get blown out - which is still a possibility.

6:42 PM:  Trying not to jinx us, but this is one hell of a football game!

6:51 PM:  I love my Packers. We have nothing to hang our heads about. See you tomorrow.

6:53 PM:  Did I just see what I just saw?! Unbelievable!

6:59 PM:  The holding call on Colledge pretty much ends the Packers hopes. And he wants a big money deal? Not after that.

7:01 PM:  One of the greatest games in playoff history ends suddenly. The reason the Packers lost was because their defense got burned again by a prolific passing offense. That is the only thing they have to shore up. The Packers gave up 24 points off of turnovers too, which is a sign of a young team in the playoffs. Aaron Rodgers is simply incredible. To throw for over 400 yards in your first playoff game is simply amazing! The Packers and Rodgers have a bright future.