Sunday, December 14, 2008

Packers lose...again. Pack 16 - Jags 20

My halftime comments came back to bite the Packers you-know-where. They had two chances in the first half with first and goal situations and only got 6 points. And all they could muster the second half was another field goal, while letting the Jags score 2 TDs in the fourth quarter (they missed a 2-point conversion).

The key points, arguably, in the second half were: a dropped pass by Ryan Grant that he likely could have walked into the endzone with to put the Pack up either 20 or 21 (depending upon whether they would have gone for 2 or not) to 14; the failure of the Packers offense to get about a half yard on 4th down, which then gave the Jags the ball at almost mid-field and help set up their second TD; and a wide open receiver for the Jags on a 41-yard pass play in the last minutes of the quarter that set up Jacksonville's final TD.

All the problems the Packers have exhibited on their slide this season were on display once again: no pass rush, no ability to stop the big play when needed, penalties, sacks, dropped passes, turnovers in key situations, an inability to close out a game late in the 4th quarter or generate a game-winning drive in the closing moments of a game.

Toss in some questionable play-calling and losing to a team that virtually everyone had said had already packed it in and, as I said in my preview, if the Packers lost it would be a dysfunctional low point for this team. We've officially hit it, Packer fans. A real low. Well, technically, the worst we can wind up is 5-11, which is still one game better than the 4-12 record we had a few years back, even with ol' #4 at the helm. But does it really matter? This is officially, in the jargon, a not very good team. Have now lost 4 in a row and 6 out of their last 7.

Breakdowns on both sides of the ball. The same kind of breakdowns which we have seen all season long. And while the players have to play, when you see the same problems over and over and over, that falls back on the coaches who are supposed to get these problems fixed. Hasn't happened.

Painful. Painful.

Oh, for those who are counting, the Packers are 0-6 this season in games decided by 4 points or less.