Halftime: Packers 7 - Falcons 17

The Packers decided to wake up a bit in the second quarter, playing with a bit more energy. Aaron Rodgers answered any questions about his injured shoulder and arm strength with a beautiful 44-yard TD pass to Donald Driver, dropped in right between two defenders.

The second Packers score-that-wasn't-a-score (stay with me now...) came with under 2 minutes left in the half. On third-and-four from about the Falcons 20, Rodgers was sacked, setting up a 43-yard field goal. Kicker Mason Crosby made it with no problem, only to be confronted with a holding penalty on rookie Jermichael Finley...the Packers' league-leading 13th holding penalty...and now making the kick a 53-yarder...which Crosby missed badly, giving the Falcons good field position at about their own 40 yard line with about a minute to go. The Packers were able to hold, however, forcing a punt to basically end the half.

The Packers are making Falcons WR Roddy White look like Jerry Rice, however. He is getting wide open and has 132 yards receiving already in the game, as well as a TD.

So...in a game in which the Packers are struggling to show energy and get any kind of offensive rhythm or defensive pass coverage, and penalties take points off the scoreboard...I'm seeing a lot of what I was nervous about before kickoff.

Coach McCarthy will have some choice words to say to his players in the locker room during halftime. Whether that will be enough to turn this game around or not, we'll have to see.

The Packers will receive the kickoff in the second half.