It’s not a good time to be a Green Bay Packers’ running back. Even before the Packers lost Ryan Grant to injury the running game has been under attack. The same old stuff, Ryan Grant isn’t any good, the Packers aren’t committed to the running game, the offensive line can’t run block. Since losing Grant the Packers have found out just how valuable Grant is.

Grant may not be Superman, but without him the running has vanished into thin air. It is so bad that the Packers look like they have given up trying to run at all, instead going with the short passing game as a substitute. Donald Driver might catch 150 balls this year unless the Packers figure something out soon. I hate to say it but I think Ted needs to pull the trigger on Lynch if he can get him. With the injuries at linebacker, however, A.J. Hawk can no longer be part of the equation, which means draft picks, which goes against every fiber of Thompson’s being.

Whether it be Lynch or somebody else, the Packers running game needs to at least have the respect of the defense if they are to accomplish their goals. That threat is especially needed in the red zone where with no reason to stop the run opponents can flood the short field making it twice as hard to score a TD. The Packers can march it up and down the field between the 20s but will stall out like they did Monday night.

Obviously with a quarterback like Aaron Rodgers and the weapons he has, the Packers aren’t going to be a running team, but last year they did run the ball more than 17 other teams, finishing 15th in rushing attempts. They won’t touch that at the pace they are at now, more like 30th probably, meaning Rodgers will be under way more duress than he should be. I hope he makes it through unharmed.

Finally, I wonder how much of a factor having Jermichael Finley the starting tight end affects the running game. Finley isn’t exactly a blocking tight end and if you bring in D. Lee and run the ball every time, it won’t be any more effective since teams will know what is coming.

It’s all quite a dilemma for head coach Mike McCarthy and his offensive coordinator. Come on Ted, play your card, the window is here now. Take advantage of it one way or another.

You know things are bad when I’m the one telling Packer Nation to CALM DOWN! I also must clear up a common misconception. The Super Bowl was not played yesterday, in fact I don’t think it has ever been played in September. The Packers lost to the Bears on the last play of the game while playing one of their poorest games of the Mike McCarthy era.

The game-winning field goal was set up by one the worst interference calls I’ve ever seen, but the Packers have only themselves to blame for that. When you have 16 penalties accepted against you already, if you even blow on a receiver you are getting called. In this case it was clearly offensive pass interference as Morgan Burnett actually broke on the ball first. If that was the first drive of the game it is a no-call for sure. But late in the game after 16 penalties the refs are thinking just kick the field goal and let’s get the hell out of here.

It is also time to squelch the talk about the Packers letting the Bears score. Last I checked the Bears have coaches too and they were well aware of the clock situation. If you think they were trying to score a TD when they got that penalty you need to go back to tape. They could have scored easily on the first play but the running back basically took a knee after going through a huge hole. Another pseudo running play followed and then they kicked the game winner. Under no circumstances were they going to give Rodgers another crack at it.

The Packers are 2-1, they have the Lions next week and I expect a thoroughly pissed off team to take the field. Lambeau will be rocking! Like a golfer who always assumes his opponent will make his putt, I assume the Bears will be beat the Giants, but it is in New York and the Giants are coming off a performance just as hideous as the Packers’ was. We could be back in first as soon as next week.

The Bears and their fans can celebrate but they know in the back of their minds that all things equal, the Packers have the better team, so the odds of them winning in Lambeau in December if the Packers have anything to play for are remote. I think the Packers will everything locked up by then, so it will be interesting to see if the Bears are playing for the playoffs and need a win, do the Packers still rest their starters?

The thing that worries me most is the return of the evil special teams unit. A punt return for a TD, a blocked field goal, penalties galore, it was a comedy of errors all over again. I know McCarthy won’t fire Shawn Slocum during the season, trying to install a new scheme would probably make it even worse than it is, but hiring his replacement better be first and foremost the day the season ends. All I ask is that I be the one to tell him he’s fired.

The fact is the Packers won’t be going to any Super Bowls playing special teams like that. McCarthy’s career is on the line now, Ted Thompson has given him a team with the talent to win it all, if he can’t do it somebody else will get a crack at it. If the Packers tank this season that could happen in January, but unless it really gets bad it is more than likely McCarthy will have one more year.

McCarthy was as pissed as I have ever seen on the sideline. I thought he was more hard-nosed in training camp than previously and more impatient with mistakes, so he must be boiling after watching the film of his team play like a bunch of pee-wees grabbing face-masks, false starting and committing personal fouls on back-to-back plays. I believe the message will be sent loud and clear. A loss next week and, well, I can’t even go there.

Serenity now!

Here we go!

7:44 PM:  Defense gets an early sack by Zombo but look shaky.

7:49 PM:  Packers got robbed by a bad whistle on a fumble but a missed field goal saves the day.

7:55 PM:  Three plays and the Packers are in the red zone! Get six now!

8:04 PM:  Packers took the 7-0 lead but as usual a special teams mistake gives the Bears great field position. Defense is going to be tested tonight!

8:09 PM:  Charles Woodson having a bad, bad night!

8:10 PM:  There is the Cutler we’ve come to love and adore! Pick in the endzone. Should have downed it though.

8:16 PM:  Three-and-out for the offense though, thanks to no running game at all.

8:17 PM:  Cutler is ripping up the Packers’ secondary. Pressure not quite getting home.

8:21 PM:  Horrible play by the Packers’ defense on 3rd and 15. The defense won’t stop them, they will have to stop themselves, which they have doing pretty well so far.

8:24 PM:  Defense held that time though, Jenkins with a huge sack. Backed up inside the 10 again. They better get some first downs this time.

8:33 PM:  Packers moving right down the field, Driver is amazing! Holding penalty probably means a field goal though. Big mistake by Daryn Colledge.

8:39 PM:  The guy can kick a 56-yard field goal but can’t kick a kickoff in bounds! Special teams will end being our undoing tonight, hate to say it. Bears will get 7 here now for sure.

8:43 PM:  Three-and-out! Holy cow! Of course the Packers follow that up with 8 penalties on the punt return. Frickin’ ridiculous! I wish I could do my job as bad as Slocum and make 100-grand a year.

8:53 PM:  Now the punter line drives one to Hester – just trying to give the game away. First and ten Bears at the Packers’ 12!

8:57 PM:  Touchdown Bears thanks to our special teams. The beginning of the end.

9:27 PM:  Nice little drive here, a TD brings mo back to our side.

9:29 PM:  Penalties and special teams! Now a holding on Sitton. Another drive stalled.

9:33 PM:  Rodgers goes 9-9 on the drive but the Packers get nothing thanks to 2 holding penalties and a blocked field goal. Merry Christmas Bears. This game is over folks.

9:41 PM:  Bears take the lead. Sad way to lose this one. Rodgers is playing great.

9:44 PM:  OK, I jumped the gun but they will probably get it on a turnover anyway.

9:50 PM:  Two more penalties and then a bad play by Driver, a delay of game penalty (no. 12 and still in the 3rd quarter) – punt her away gentleman.

9:53 PM:  Devon Hester. Special teams killed the Packers tonight. Slocum should be left in the ghetto of Chicago. See you tomorrow.

10:10 PM:  Yeah, I’m still here. Rodgers has taken the team on his shoulders. Can the defense back him up?

10:16 PM:  Guess I should have turned it off. Oh well, the Packers will have the last laugh this season when they win the division title. I can’t wait until they lay down and rest all their starters when they face the Bears again. Bears win tonight, and they are better, but the Packers are clearly the better team in the long run.

10:20 PM:  Tie game. Moving over to Twitter. Catch me @packernet.

After a week of going back and forth on this epic Monday Night Football battle of unbeaten’s, low-and-behold dawn breaks on game day and confidence is suddenly high. Yes folks, I don’t think the Packers will have much of a problem the Bears tonight. Aaron Rodgers and the offense should carve up the Bears and the Packers’ defense will do just enough to get the win.

I think much like the opener in Philly, the Packers will stake themselves a nice lead and then hold off Bears in the end. I’ll say a late TD makes it closer than it appears as the Packers win 28-24.

I will be doing the game blog tonight, so ya’ll come back now. You hear?

Who would have thunk it? The Chicago Bears, with the mad scientist Mike Martz calling the shots on offense are flying high at 2-0 with wins over the Lions and Cowboys. Of course, the win over the Lions is a tainted win since everybody other than the 53 men on the Bears’ roster and the few hundred fans they have know the Lions won that game. It was a bad call, even by the letter of the rule.

The Packers haven’t exactly looked like world-beaters this year until the second half of the Bills’ game. The Packers’ offense finally played like they are capable of and the Bills never had a chance. The Packers have the better team overall than the Bears but on the road on Monday Night Football is always a tough task.

I’m not sure where my confidence level is yet, I do like the fact that the Bears think their excrement doesn’t have an odor. This is the Bears’ Super Bowl, so the Packers will get the their best shot, which is hard to define after two games. Are the Bears the team that lost to the Lions on the field but not on paper or are they the team that beat the Super Bowl favorite Cowboys on their own turf?

Of course you can ask the same question of the Packers I guess. Are the Packers the team that beat a 2009 playoff team on the road on opening day or are they the team that rolled over an also-ran last Sunday? I guess I’ll take either one.

You have to love Bear week. It is an old-school rivalry based on respect, unlike the Packers-Vikings which is based on hate. With the Packers and Bears both 2-0 it makes it that much better. The Bears still suck, however, win-loss records will never change that.

More to come…

If you are looking for an example of phrase the Packers’ front office uses most often when evaluating players, look no further than A.J. Hawk. The Packers are always looking for “Packer people” and in A.J. Hawk they found one, whether or not he is traded in the near future.

Hawk has been the center of the storm it seems since the No. 5 pick in the 2006 draft didn’t play a down on defense against Philly last week. This week it appeared the Packers were showcasing him for a trade by playing him almost every snap from scrimmage. The reason for his playing time the first two games may never be known for sure but Hawk has handled it with pure class.

If this quote isn’t the quote of a class act, then I don’t know what is:  ”In my situation right now, that’s how it is. But I don’t feel like I’m out there trying to prove myself to anybody. That wouldn’t help me play as good as I want to. I know for the team to be at is best, I need to be at my best.”

I know “class acts” don’t make tackles and sack the quarterback, but at least we know that as long as Hawk is a Green Bay Packer we will be getting his best. Quite the opposite of many other high-profile NFL players who may have been in the same situation. Even if it would help us I would hate to see the Packers trade a guy like Hawk for a guy like Marshawn Lynch. There has to be a better option.

I like what I saw in the two carries Dimitri Nance had and the fact that he was even active means the Packers see something in him. The trade deadline isn’t for a few weeks so I hope the Packes don’t do something desperate like the Vikings are about to do.

I also don’t want to see Larry Johnson here. For one, we don’t have a roster spot to “rent” for a few weeks before we find out what the Redskins released him for, so exposing somebody you like for a guy like Johnson is not worth it. Nance has much more upside even in the short term.

The Packers still need to be able run the ball, you can’t just abandon the running game. Because of the weather you can not count on the pass in December and January in Green Bay, so no matter who is getting the ball, if the Packers are going to get where they want to get, somebody will have to step their game up.

There are only 12 teams in my fantasy league and I can’t find anybody decent to replace Reggie Bush, how the hell are you going to do it for real in a 32 team league? Losing Ryan Grant is going to be one hellavu tester. Having a lot of guys with the same attitude of A.J. Hawk on the roster makes me feel a lot more confident that we can overcome Grant’s loss. Packer people.

More to come…

The Green Bay Packers took care of business today in Lambeau Field with a dominating 34-7 win over the hapless Buffalo Bills. Linebacker Clay Matthews continues to make mincemeat out of opposing blockers while racking up three more sacks to give him six in two games, putting him on pace for 48 this year.

Because of Matthews the Bills pretty much quit trying to pass in the second half. Even though they were down from the get-go they only threw the ball 18 times. Obviously they know their limitations. Matthews was coming from all directions and if he didn’t get home somebody else did. It was fun to watch, and it will be much needed next Monday night in Chicago.

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers threw two more TD passes this week but still looked a little out of sorts. Like last week though Rodgers improvised, adapted and overcame, putting the game away in the second half.

The Packers’ running game was an absolute joke though, which doesn’t make Rodgers’ job any easier. When John Kuhn is your leading rushing you have problems. I hate to admit it but the A.J. Hawk for Marshawn Lynch trade looks a lot better today than it did yesterday. Brandon Jackson did nothing to show he can carry the load and the fact that Kuhn and newcomer Dimitri Nance carried the ball as many times as Jackson did says a lot about the Packers confidence in Jackson.

Jackson showed pretty much nothing in his chance to shine, he ran into his own blockers and couldn’t break a tackle if his life depended on it. The drop-off from Ryan Grant was painfully obvious. I think Ted Thompson has to make the move – get Lynch, even if it’s only for 14 games. Much like the Andre Rison pickup in 1996, sometimes you have to do what you have to do.

The Packers are 2-0 without coming close to playing the way they are capable of playing. Like any Super Bowl favorite, the Packers are not flying under the radar this year, which is a little different than the last two years. They looked better this week and I think they will continue to improve as they adapt to what teams are doing to them.

The first really big game of the year is next week when the Packers’ travel to Chicago to face the Bears on Monday Night Football. The Bears got a huge win over the Cowboys in Dallas today and are riding high at 2-0 like the Packers. First place in the NFC North on the line on national TV. The Packers can make a real statement to the NFL by winning that game, it would justify them as Super Bowl favorites.

But the Packers will need Jackson to quit talking the talk and start walking the walk if they are to get to where they want to be. It will be interesting to see if they pull the trigger on a trade for a running back this week. Even if they do it won’t be in time for next week’s showdown.

Either way, Aaron Rodgers vs. Jay Cutler should be good. I doubt they both throw for over 400 yards like what happened in Washington today, but it should be a shootout none the less.

More to come…

Overconfidence is a terrible thing, so the beating the Packers took in the press this week will probably keep them humble. According to most views the Packers played horribly last week in beating the Eagles in Philly for the first time in 48 years, so they will want to come out in their home-opener and kick some butt.

The Packers won’t likely miss the presence of Ryan Grant this week as I expect the Packers to come out firing in an attempt to build an early lead against the woefully inept Bills. Get a big lead early and the Bills will mail it in. Don’t let them stick around.

I think the Packers will take care of business today by the margin of 34-10. We are going to do a great thing for football.

Like a little cut that becomes infected, the real effects of the loss of Ryan Grant may not show up right away. Even without Grant the Packers will be favored to win their next three games and probably will rely on the arm of Aaron Rodgers more than the legs of Brandon Jackson, which is wrong.

While we have seen a new and improved Jackson this year his track record of getting hurt does not bode well for the Packers come November and December. I can see a 2005-type fiasco looming with no Samkon Gado to bail us out this time. The boys on Sportsline said no big deal, just put the ball in Rodgers’ hand 10-15 more times per game. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. Why don’t we just hold up a sign showing the play we are running too. Becoming completely one-dimensional is not the answer.

Granted, the Packers are not a running team but the 1250 yards-a-year you get from Grant is just enough to keep the defenses honest, and late in the year in Green Bay you need to be able to run the ball and the clock. Besides, the last thing I want to do is expose Rodgers to injury 15 more times a game.

I have to believe the Packers are looking at all options including maybe trading a tight end for help. I wouldn’t look for anything to happen right away though, crunch time isn’t quite here yet, unless Jackson goes down this week, which really wouldn’t surprise me. The most games he’s been able to stay healthy for in a season is 13. He missed five games last year because of injury.

I know it was the first game of the year and the Packers will have time to plan for the loss, but it without a doubt throws a wrench into the Packers’ Super Bowl plans. Instead of a solid veteran running back you have an unknown commodity that could be gone in a week. Laurence Maroney may have been an option but who knows if the Patriots even contacted the Packers, plus he has been hurt all preseason so the young guy they did pick up might be a better option in the short term.

You can lose a receiver much easier than you can your starting running back, at least you have other receivers and in the Packers’ case their third receiver is probably starting quality anyway, running back is a different story. Now the whole game plan has to change around the new running back’s style. The offensive line has to adjust to Jackson as well. Thankfully the Bills, Bears and Lions aren’t world beaters so the Packers might be able to work it out. I’ll take 2-1 over that stretch, which probably means we lose at Chicago.

I’m not in panic mode, but to be honest, I’m close, I think Grant means that much to the Packers. He is a pro’s pro and consistent as hell. You know what you get from Ryan Grant and it is always good and until next Sunday it was always there. This is going to be a tough one to overcome.