I hadn’t seen more than a handful of plays from my seat in Row 5 to know the Packers weren’t ready to play football yesterday. The Packers looked like Lambeau was the last place on earth they wanted to be. The crowd seemed to sense the same thing and Lambeau was as quiet as a mouse until the referees blew yet another call against the Packers in the final quarter. Booing the officials was louder than any attempts to make noise when the Dolphins had the ball. I was embarrassed.
The Packers have been playing lifeless football most of the season with their first game being their best game of the year. Since beating a good Eagles team on the road the Packers have struggled mightily on offense and special teams have once again turned into a disaster area. The banged up defense is still playing relatively well but giving up tons of yardage as they have been abandoned by an offense that is big on three-and-outs.
The only players showing some life out there are Aaron Rodgers and Clay Matthews. Rodgers is not a happy camper right now and one has to wonder where the disconnect with head coach Mike McCarthy suddenly came from. Somebody isn’t listening to somebody because pretty much everything being called right now isn’t working. It doesn’t help that the offensive line can’t pass block without Mark Tauscher in there. The Brian Bulaga experiment has hit a snag, turns out the he’s Alan Barber when it come to pass blocking.
Then you thrown in Paul Ott Carruth, a.k.a., John Kuhn at running back and you have to wonder if McCarthy shouldn’t have his head examined. Kuhn has two plays – plunge right and plunge left, not exactly the famed Lombardi sweep. All Brandon Jackson does is average about 4.6 yards per carry, so whey on earth wouldn’t you want to run him more? The next time Kuhn steps on the field it should be as a fullback, this is getting a little ridiculous.
The Packers seem to have taken the personality of their coach, in a word – stoic. McCarthy has to find his emotional side in a way to fire up his team and not berate them. This is all on McCarthy now, the players he has are capable, injuries and all. Despite their injuries they lost three games by a grand total of nine points, it’s not like they are getting blown out.
This is year three post-Favre and McCarthy is on a short leash with most fans already, if the Packers stumble to 6-10 there might be another train that “left the station” with McCarthy in the front row. Some guys are better coordinators than head coaches, McCarthy has 10 games to prove he is a head coach. Coaches coach and players play, he says, well it’s time to see some coaching.
P.S. – If you are watching the game tonight you’ll see the Titans use an old staple of the Packers’ offense, the quick slant. Can’t recall seeing one all year from the Packers.