Although this season has been nowhere as painful as last year's ""let's give the fans hope every game and then crush it in excruciating fashion"" debacle, watching the Packers this season is still like having a dull headache. It's not terrible, but it causes mild discomfort nonetheless.
The main problem is they are too talented to rebuild, but not talented enough to seriously compete, even in a pathetic conference. Something needs to be done before they're mired in mediocrity for the next 10 years.
General Manager Ted Thompson needs to make some major moves this offseason, whether to rebuild by dealing away big contracts or by making a couple large signings. While they had good first halves Monday, Charles Woodson and Marquand Manuel have not been the answers for the Packers' sieve of a secondary, and that hole needs to be plugged if Green Bay is going to be successful again. And I'm not sure hiring the offensive coordinator of the absolute worst offense in football was a good move, especially when Jim Bates would have been an easy choice.
We do have some young talent in Aaron Kampman (having a monster season), A.J. Hawk and Greg Jennings (who at times has looked like the second coming of Sterling Sharpe), but more is needed for the future, especially at the quarterback position. Aaron Rodgers does not look ready to handle being a starting quarterback in the NFL and the other backups are Ingle Martin (also the backup punter) and Todd Bouman (a perennial backup). Whether it's drafting Troy Smith or Brady Quinn, or signing somebody else entirely, the Favre era is coming to an end, and action needs to be taken.
Another positive quality lacking from this team is leadership. When things start to go wrong for Green Bay, games spiral quickly out of control and nobody can stop the bleeding. The defense starts missing tackles, coverage gets blown and suddenly the defense is giving up 21-point quarters. Favre throws an interception, Ahman Green fumbles or Donald Driver drops a pass, and instantly the offense stops functioning. The Packers missed a huge opportunity to get back into the playoff race against a Buffalo team that didn't have Willis McGahee for nearly the entire game, yet they could not capitalize.
When a team gives you four turnovers like Seattle did in the first half Monday, there is no reason you should not be up at least two touchdowns going into the locker room. But the Packers found a way to start the second half only up two points, and then proceeded to fritter away a nine-point lead in the third quarter. They have done this in nearly every loss of the past two seasons, and head coach Mike McCarthy needs to find a way to stop these collapses, or the team's ownership may rush the field and maul him.
With winnable games still on the schedule, the team will probably play itself out of a good draft pick, as they will probably take two of three from the Vikings, Lions and 49ers. And the 6-10, 7-9 seasons of frustration will continue. So make a change Ted Thompson, whether it be for the better or for the worse.
If you'd like to yell at the TV with Zach as they take on the Jets over the weekend, e-mail him at zlkukkonen@dailycardinal.com.
