Got a shitty taste in your mouth today? I sure do. Let’s hope John Fox gets the Chicago Bears to the playoffs again because that’s obviously the only team Mike McCarthy’s Green Bay Packers will ever be able to beat in an NFC Championship game.
Don’t feel too bad though.
My Sunday started with my woman leaving me and then I sat down and watched the Packers bungle their way to another defeat at the hands of the Seattle Seahawks. That was kind of like a kick to the stomach followed by a nice, swift kick to the balls.
So, listen. You could have it worse.
If anybody out there can write music, I’ve got some great lyrics for a country song. We’ll call it, “Fuck You and Fuck the Packers.”
Now, on with this shit show.
No Buffoon
As you know, we are always first in line to criticize McCarthy for his buffoonery. Hence the reason we’ve replaced his given name with Buffoon. After the game, I heard plenty of people bitching about McCarthy and I saw at least one “fire the whole coaching staff” rant.
The two primary points of contention were the decision to play conservative and kick field goals inside the red zone twice, and to play conservative and run the ball late in the game. Well, I’ve got news for you if you fall into that camp. McCarthy is not at fault for this loss and he made the correct decision in all of those instances.
First of all, the field goals. This is the NFC Championship game. You’re playing the best defense in football. Points are going to come at a premium. Plus, the Packers haven’t been able to convert that 4th and short ALL SEASON LONG. You take the points. There’s NO question here at all.
Second, the decision to run late in the game. At the time, both the score and the clock was Seattle’s enemy. With the opponent down two scores, OF COURSE you run the ball and chew up clock. Look at the stats. Even if the Packers were to throw, their chances weren’t good. They didn’t even have 200 passing yards on the day and were an atrocious 3-for-14 on third down. Plus, even if you give the ball back to the opponent and they score, all you have to do is recover an onside kick to seal the win. You take those odds all day. There’s plenty of blame to go around here, but frankly, I think McCarthy and his staff constructed a brilliant game plan. One that, if not for a complete lack of execution on a few key plays, would have won the game.
So, who then?
Well, if not Buffoon himself, who is primarily at fault for this debacle? Someone must be held accountable!
This game could have gone the Packers way if they made one more play. Here are some guys who had a chance to make that play and failed to do so — Brandon Bostick, Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, Morgan Burnett. I cannot or will not blame the loss on any of those guys, however. The primary reason the Packers didn’t win on Sunday falls at the feet of one Aaron Rodgers.
Here’s Rodgers’ line from the game: 19-of-34, 178 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs.
Before the game, I made a list of things the Packers needed to do to have a shot in this game. Let’s look at that. 1. Run the ball effectively (135 yards rushing, 4.5 yards per carry) — check. 2. Win the turnover battle (plus-3) — check. 3. Keep Rodgers clean (1 sack allowed) — check. 4. Limit Seattle’s rushing attack to somewhere around 100 yards (194 yards allowed) — fail.
So the Packers failed to stop the run. Again. However, I think we would all agree that the defensive effort by Green Bay was better than any of us expected. I think we would take that effort any day.
So what’s the problem here? The problem is, the guy you expect to play well, didn’t. Again, the Packers were 1-for-3 in the red zone and 3-for-14 on third down. That last stat is putrid. That’s on the quarterback.
Big time players come up big in big games, which brings me to…
The Legacy
You know, I’ve heard people talking about Rodgers being one of the greatest ever. I’ve heard someone whose opinion I genuinely respect say Rodgers is the greatest Packers quarterback ever. Well, I’ve got news for you. Not the case in either instance.
Hey, those big yardage totals are nice. All those touchdown passes are great. That gaudy TD-to-intercption ratio is superb. But the last time I checked, this game is about winning. Not winning in the regular season. Winning in the playoffs. Specifically, winning championships.
Rodgers, outside of one magical run, hasn’t demonstrated he can win in the playoffs. It would be one thing if he was going out and having masterful games and the defense was blowing it, but that hasn’t exactly been the case. Look at all of the Packers’ playoff losses since 2011. Rodgers has really only been great in one of them — this year’s divisional win over Dallas. Probably not coincidentally, the Packers only have two playoff wins in that stretch.
Rodgers isn’t even the greatest quarterback in Packers history, so he surely doesn’t belong in the greatest ever conversation. In fact, until he can get the Packers to another Super Bowl, he isn’t even ahead of Brett Favre.
- Bart Starr
- Brett Favre
- Aaron Rodgers
At least Favre as able to GET to the Super Bowl twice.
You can take your stats and your regular season wins and dangle. I’ll take the guy who wins when it counts every time.
Give us this, Mike
I was all ready to say what a swell day the Packers special teams had on Sunday. Of course, this was running through my head as I was preparing my coverage when they had what seemed to be an insurmountable lead.
Mason Crosby was 5-for-5 on field goals and there was the forced fumble on that early Doug Baldwin kickoff return.
The thing that sticks in my craw in hindsight is Seattle’s fake field goal that turned into a touchdown, the Seahawks’ first of the day. The Packers looked totally unprepared for that.
As I was watching the game, I said to myself, “I bet they fake it.” Sure enough, they did. I don’t understand how you cannot be ready for that scenario. That should have been the only scenario the Packers were playing, as a field goal does very little damage at that point.
So, for the 5,836,735th time — Shawn Slocum. A unit is only as prepared and effective as their leader. I’m not calling for wholesale changes, but can this fucktard already and make the fan base happy.
Clay?
I didn’t notice it at the time, but apparently Clay Matthews wasn’t in the game for Seattle’s last couple series of regulation, which raises a lot of questions. After the game, McCarthy said he wasn’t aware of any injury.
So what the hell?
Obviously, I think you want this guy in the game at that time. If the coaching staff held him out, then we should be questioning them. Of course, that doesn’t appear to be the case.
If Matthews pulled himself, for whatever reason, then frankly, I don’t want to see him in a Packers uniform ever again. Dick Sherman was out there playing with one arm. You know who pulls himself in the NFC Championship game?
Jay Fucking Cutler, that’s who.