At The Water Cooler: "What's Wrong With The Packers?!"

One Fell Swoop
Late Field Goal Lifts Falcons To Victory

In what may prove to be a playoff preview, the Falcons bested the visiting Packers 20-17. Green Bay is now 7-4, and in 2nd place behind the 8-3 Chicago Bears in the NFC North.

All 4 Packer losses this season have come by a 3 point margin. 2 were lost in OT, and the other 2 on last-second field goals. So what does this mean? What's wrong with the Packers? Everyone loves to play the blame game at the water cooler on Monday morning, but which water cooler argument holds the most, well, water? Here's my take.

Aaoron Rodgers can't win close games. I'm not someone who thinks A-rodg can do no wrong - certainly he's got learning to do, but if #12's epic 90 yard touchdown drive in Atlanta isn't good enough for you, what is? I'm confident Aaron Rodgers has both the ability and the swagger to win those close games. The fact is, if half your games are decided by such a small margin, the problem likely stems from much earlier in the game.

They always blow it in the 4th Quarter. This one is just not true, and follows the above point. A nail biter may technically be decided in the final moments or in overtime, but you're kidding yourself if you don't think the real outcome is decided much earlier. Every close loss the Packers have had this year can be traced back to earlier mistakes. Aaron Rodgers' end zone fumble in Atlanta. Robert Francois' "over the center" punt penalty. The 18 penalty slop-fest at soldier field. Get the point?

The team is too banged up. This is a nice argument when that lone Bears fan at work starts giving you guff about the division standings, but even the team will tell you it shouldn't matter. One good thing about GM Ted Thompson's philosophy of "youth over experience" is that he's usually got a capable man waiting in the wings. Not every team can say their defense is still stacked after being without a starting linebacker, safety, and corner. Offensively, the team has shown it still has playmakers, and that rhythm (or lack thereof) has really been the problem. It seems the only area that is truly suffering due to injuries is the special teams unit. As evidenced by the unit's up an down year, it's tough to preach consistency when the lineup changes twice a week.

Brandon Jackson can't hack it. I've stood by Jackson for much of the season. Not because I think he's great, but rather because I think Ryan Grant is specifically not great. In fact, Jackson has actually done Grant one better, by being a legitimate pass-catching threat. It's true that McCarthy's claim that Jackson is really just a "3rd down back" has been called in to question by Jackson's tendancy to come up short in those situations. But Jackson is quietly averaging 7.5 yards per catch on 32 receptions. Those are real numbers that can't be ignored. Bit I digress. I think this argument actually does holds the most water, as I've seen too many drives go three and out because the Packers can't seem to gain 1 or 2 yards on a run. Call it a blocking problem, scheming problem, a backfield problem... I call it losing four games by 3 points each.