In the first few weeks, the biggest concern for the Packers was their depth at defensive tackle. With three key injuries by week 5 (DT Donnell Washington, DT James Lee, and DT Grady Jackson), it was a big problem. Well the problem is back. Lee is now on IR and gone for the season, he missed the last couple of games anyway, and Jackson has reaggravated/reinjured his knee and needs more surgery. Undrafted rookie DT Colin Cole made his first appearance as a Packer last week in Minnesota for some added depth. Jackson is putting his needed (no pun intended) surgery and play through the rest of the season. Teams seem to love to run away from Jackson, so if Jackson stops playing it could be a very quick postseason. The most likely first round opponent, Carolina, isn't a very good running team (now starting their 4th string RB Nick Goings), unfortunatley the likely 2nd round opponent, Atlanta, is a very good running team although their big RB T.J. Duckett will probably play his first game in a month in the playoffs after undergoing December knee surgery.

Should the Packers sit out their players in Chicago? I hope not. Last season, Denver came into Green Bay in week 17 to play a meaningless game, sat all their regulars, and then got blown out in the playoffs. Injured players like LB Na'il Diggs and Jackson should sit, but the rest of the team should play at least the first half.

Packers 34, Minnesota 31. NFC NORTH CHAMPS!!! A very surprising end to a disappointing 1-4 start. What changed during the season to turn 1-4 into 9-6? Surprisingly it was the improvement in the offense. The defense has been run over all season, but in the Packers first 5 games, only the week 3 loss against Indianapolis was an excellent offensive performance. Tom Rossely's health problems that led to Mike Sherman calling plays after week 5 could have been a reason. The offense played fine at Carolina and vs. Chicago, but neither was a dominant performance. The Packers offense didn't score a TD against Tennessee until they were down 24-3, which was far too late. The offense was in a slump starting against Philadelphia, continuing vs. Detroit, and didn't break out until the 2nd half vs. Jacksonville. The offense has overall been great this season, but the defense can't stop anybody and the offense has to play at a very high level the rest of the season.

First Half: Please, please, please tackle somebody. LB Nick Barnett is playing hard but can't cover the entire field. LB Na'il Diggs is trying to play through a serious back/kidney injury. There is no one in the defensive backfield that was not tackling bad. Jsonline.com has a recent article pointing the finger at SS Mark Roman, who is the most perplexing tackler, because prior to December he was the best tackler in the secondary but he has been playing poorly ever since. CB Joey Thomas's wiff on the tackle of RB Michael Bennett's TD run was the worst missed tackle I've seen in the NFL this season. Fortunately, QB Brett Favre had his way with Minnesota's defense for the second time this season. Minnesota held the big play in check, but couldn't stop Favre moving the offense down the field on long drives. Favre will have to play like this the rest of the season. Packers 17, Minnesota 21.

Second Half: As bad as the Packers secondary was at tackling, they played very well in coverage. The tackling improved, the coverage was good, and Minnesota didn't get a big play on offense the rest of the game. Their only TD was the outstanding interception by LB Chris Claiborne. The Packers defense has had problems with good tight ends in coverage all season, but TE Jermaine Wiggins was covered well and had minimal impact after being a major weapon against the Packers in week 10. DE Aaron Kampman had his best game of the season and had a major impact. He ran down WR Nate Burleson down from behind on a short pass, which was unbelievable. Minnesota's WRs just gave up on QB Daunte Culpepper in the fourth quarter. How great is it to have automatic (within 40 yards) K Ryan Longwell with the Packers? Packers 34, Minnesota 31.

The most amazing thing about this game was the way the score, final play, total yardage were all identical with the week 10 game in Green Bay.

Reggie White's funeral was today. When I first heard the news, it really surprised me, and reminded me of the too young passing of former Chief Derrick Thomas. White's signing with Green Bay was the fourth and final major step that led to the Packers two mid 90s Super Bowl appearances, after signing Ron Wolf, signing Mike Holmgren, and trading for Brett Favre. There is a lot of commentary on the internet over the last week regarding Reggie White the man and player. While no one has disputed Reggie White as a great football player, many comments have been made about White has said over the years (his comments on homosexualty apparently cost him a job with CBS) and charitable activites he never actually did (failed to pay a promised donation to a charity in Denver and never rebuilt the church destroyed by fire in the mid 90s). I'm not the best person to address Reggie White the person, so I'll leave that for other websites. But Reggie White the player was dominate at times, always the first concern of every opposing offense and made the entire defense better, and the second greatest Packer player since the end of the Lombardi era.

The only regret of Reggie White's Packer career should be the way it ended. If it hadn't been the salary cap era, it would have never been a problem. But White was unsure about retirement over the entire 1997 season (he played hurt most of the season) and throughout and after the 1998 season. Ron Wolf was trying to plan for life after Reggie on defense, but needed the salary cap relief Reggie's retirement would bring after the 1998 season. New head coach Ray Rhodes asked Reggie to reconsider retirement and he appeared to be considering a return in 1999, but Ron Wolf ran out of time and had to ask Reggie to officially retire with the NFL. Reggie was NFC defensive player of the year in 1998 and obviously wanted to play again or he wouldn't have played for Carolina in 2000. Its a small regret, but it would have been great to have seen White play for the Packers in 1999 and 2000.

Packers 28, Jacksonville 25. The good news is that this game truly didn't matter. When the Packers beat Minnesota next week, the Packers essentially assure themselves the #3 seat and the NFC North championship. A Packers loss would result in the top wild card spot and a game at probably Seattle (someone has to win the NFC West). All the problems that resulted in the Packers loss were fundamental problems with the team that aren't going to be fixed this season if ever.

First Half: Jacksonville scores an easy TD. Who's fault is it? Just about everyone (defensive coaches and players) can take some blame. QB Brett Favre/RB Ahman Green fumble in the red zone (1 of 3 red zone turnovers). Fumbles and Green just seem to go together and there is nothing to be done about it. Then the defensive penalties start...Are the Packers defensive players frustrated or poorly coached or both? All 3 top CBs Al Harris, Ahmad Carroll and Joey Thomas keep constantly grabbing the receivers. Jacksonville has two of the top DTs in the NFL in Marcus Stroud and John Henderson, rookie 3rd string C Scott Wells held his own, and he even handled Henderson one-on-one on a big Green run play. Great heads up play by FS Darren Sharper (everyone on both sides gave up on an apparent incompletion except Sharper who stripped the ball from an offensive lineman who picked up the ball and ran in it for a TD). K Ryan Longwell missed his first field goal within the 40 yard line in a long while and it cost in this game (this again isn't a problem that needs or can be fixed but it cost the Packers big in this game). Overall it was a very poor half with a lot of Packer turnovers and penalties. Packers 10, Jacksonville 14.

Second Half: TE Ben Steele has been useless for weeks, but he caught a couple of short passes in
this game and finally started to show his usefulness. The Packers took advantage of their blocker overload on short yardage running plays to set up the TD pass to WR Donald Driver (who is sneaking up on an outstanding season). They had been overloading blockers to the strong side all season, usually ran for the short gain for the first down, and used that tendency to set up the TD pass. How did the Packers run defense set up a big RB Fred Taylor TD run? Everyone (coaches and players) can take some blame. Sharper blitzed to the wrong side and took himself out of the play (was it his fault or a bad scheme?), DT Cletidus Hunt was blocked by one blocker and pushed out of the hole, NT Grady Jackson was blocked by the left guard one-on-one, if either Hunt or Jackson had occupied more than one blocker then the center couldn't have come out and blocked LB Nick Barnett out of the play, and finally SS Mark Roman (who has had a bad last few games and might have played his way out of the lineup for next season) took a bad angle and couldn't make the tackle. Maybe LB Hannibal Navies should be the middle linebacker (he is bigger than Barnett) because he showed again that he can't cover anybody. Rookie DE Corey Williams had a lot more playing time this game and made some plays to show that he might be a starter next season. How many times can Favre throw an interception in the end zone? In this game, the answer is twice. The interception to CR Rashean Mathis in the end zone was a true stinker (Favre just lost sight of him) and Mathis's second interception appeared to be caused by the cold when Favre's out pass just lost its zip across the field. FS Deon Grant's interception was a great play on Grant's part with perfect timing. How can coach Jack Del Rio defend SS Donovan Darius's attempt to take WR Robert Ferguson's head off? That was the most vicious attempt to intentionally hurt a Packer since DT Warren Sapp broke LT Chad Clifton's hip a couple of seasons ago and it can't be defended. WR Antonio Chatman got his first TD reception for his career, which is great for him since he has played better than now injured WR Robert Ferguson and truly is the 3rd wide receiver. The Packers almost got the onside kick, but that was a long shot anyway. Packers 25, Jacksonville 28.

Overall the Packers should just forget about this game, threaten to amputate the cornerbacks' hands if any of them keep grabbing at the wide receivers, and go win in Minnesota next week.

Below this post is the current post regarding the Packers/Detroit game. I posted this about Philadelphia right after the game two weeks ago but apparently blogger ate it. So I'm reposting it.

Packers 17, Philly 47. Well forget about that one. Instead of going over the shelling blow-by-blow, lets talk about the...

Offense. By far their worst game of the season. QB Brett Favre had his string of games with a TD pass end, the offensive line was physically beaten, and the receivers didn't get seperation/make plays. Minor minor note: TE Ben Steele dropped his 5-6 pass attempt in the last 3-4 games (replacing injured TE David Martin in the offensive scheme) without catching a pass and he has to be removed from the scheme. Mike Sherman needs to take a close look at this game film and find out what needs to be adjusted. QB Craig Nall has only played in two games this season (the last preseason game and this game). In the preseason, he convinced the Packers that they could safely release QB Tim Couch, and in this game he showed he has some potential. He is QB A.J. Feeley (Miami) good and a pretty good backup QB.

Defense. The secondary played poorly today, but they weren't helped by a very poor defensive scheme (especially on the first TD pass to WR Terrell Owens when they played 20 yards off of him) that employed a lot of zone/cover 2/matador schemes. Just a horrible defensive scheme. Philadelphia followed the Indianapolis game plan of passing for the entire first half and building up a giant lead. This would be awful, except Indianapolis has been torching the entire NFL this season and Philadelphia has a great pass offense, so its not just the Packers problem. Obviously nothing can be wholesale fixed this season, but this is the third 40+ point game allowed this season, so it needs to be fixed for next season. The secondary is pretty set with big contracts for CB Al Harris and FS (maybe 2005 SS?) Darren Sharper and both rookies (CB Ahmad Carroll and CB Joey Thomas) should be better next season. The linebackers need to be fixed; maybe wholesale changes, maybe replacing LB Hannibal Navies (he just doesn't make any plays), maybe something else, etc. The defensive line needs the most work. DE KGB has good games, he played well against Pro Bowl OT Orlando Pace last week, but some weeks he isn't a factor. DE Aaron Kampman never gives up on a play and has accumulated some sacks this season. There has been zero push from the interior, where DT Cletidus Hunt has been pulled on passing downs for DT Cullen Jenkins and NT Grady Jackson is the best interior pass rusher. Finding a defensive tackle who can create a pass rush is the top priority. Maybe changing the defensive coaching staff is in the future too.

Everyone in the NFC is playing poorly, except Philadelphia which is battling for best team in the NFL status along with Pittsburgh and New England, so the Packers should still win their division. Forget about this game and get ready to beat Detroit next week at Lambeau.

Packers 16, Detroit 13. A game they should have won, although Detroit is playing better than the Packers this season, and they won it. How can Detroit be the better team with a worse record and an anemic/pathetic offense? The Packers turn the ball over (-11 turnover differential) while Detroit doesn't (+8) and Detroit's defense is average while the Packers defense is bottom 5 in the NFL. Because Detroit protects the ball on offense and plays solid defense, they have been in a position to win games this season, but if this game was any indication, QB Joey Harrington just can't finish the opponent off in the 4th quarter.

First half: QB Brett Favre continues his offensive malaise. Favre's human and he goes through slumps and this one started in the first quarter in Philadelphia. The offense couldn't get anything going in the first half. It wasn't just Favre, WR Javon Walker was held in check almost the entire game and WR Donald Driver and TE Ben Steele (for about the fifth game in a row) contributed alongside Walker as each had a dropped pass. Could the refs call some more penalties? They were all legitimate penalties, but the refs called this game tight. Detroit's first scoring drive was all penalties. RB Kevin Jones continued to look good. He's been one of the best backs in the NFL during the 2nd half of the season and the Packers missing tackles (DE KGB blew a tackle on Jones's TD run) did help. In the game vs. St. Louis, two DBs ran into each other on a crossing route and WR Issac Bruce ran for about 50 yards after the catch. Same thing happened in this game and WR Az Hakim ran for about 15 yards. The Packers have to fix this because the next three opponents are going to try and exploit this confusion. The defense played poorly (considering they were only trying to stop Detroit) but held them to two field goals on two of the scoring drives. Packers 0, Detroit 13.

Second half: The refs tight calls started helping the Packers and the first scoring drive was fueled almost exclusively by penalties (55 penalty yards and 13 offense yards). Harrington: 2 completions in the 3rd quarter and 0! in the 4th quarter. How can you not come back from a two score deficit against Detroit? Harrington looked awful but the pass coverage was very tight in the half and the run defense was much better (no missed tackles). This was the worst wind I have seen in an NFL game this season. The wind gave an additional 15 yards one direction and took away 15 yards the other. The receivers stop dropping passes and Favre shakes off the slump with a 90 yard TD drive. The wind killed P Nick Harris's last punt and gave the Packers the field position they needed to win the game. Packers 16, Detroit 13.

Overall this was an ugly game to watch. The Packers weren't playing their best, Detroit's offense was inept, and a ton of penalties. Jacksonville is slumping bad (and coming up from Florida to play in Green Bay in December) and should have no chance, but they too have played better than the Packers this season. Jacksonville is very comparable to Detroit, although they are playing better thanks to better QB play. Just need to keep winning and don't have to worry about what your conference foes are doing.

Packers 45, St. Louis 17. QB Brett Favre and RB Najeh Davenport. I haven't talking enough about the great season Favre is having, and I've just been taking his great play for granted. His completion percentage is over 65% again this season, while on pace for 30 TDs again this season. Further, Favre is keeping better care of the ball (only 11 INTs so far this season), while on pace for the fewest sacks in a season. In 2003, Favre had a couple of games (losses) when he seemed he could do no right (week 1 vs. Minnesota, at Arizona, and Turkey Day at Detroit) but he has had none of those games in 2004. This might be the most consistent season of his career. During his MVP seasons, Mike Holmgren would defer if the Packers won the coin toss because he knew Favre was too juiced early in the game and he was better off with the extra possession in the second half after Favre calmed down. Mike Sherman doesn't have to coach that same player anymore. Davenport has been battling injuries all season long, and because of them we had to wait until week 12 for Davenport to really show off this season. Davenport showed off his great speed to accelerate past the line of scrimmage, the Packers offensive line owned St. Louis's defensive line in this game, and he has the strength to shove smaller defensive players (paging S Rich Coady) out of his way in the open field. The third unsung star of the game was the football itself; the Packers had multiple fumbles bounce out of bounds and any one of them could have turned the whole game around. St. Louis defense isn't good at all this season, but the Packers offense still played a nearly perfect game.

The defense was a problem again, although forcing 3 turnovers was a big improvement. Over 400 yards of passing by QB Marc Bulger in the game. Only 47 yards of rushing, but RB Steven Jackson looked good (40 yards on 8 carries) when he had the opportunity. Bob Slovik didn't call a great game; St. Louis caught the Packers with 4 defensive backs on 4 wide receivers a couple of times in the game, the Packers blitzes didn't force much pressure on Bulger, and the coverage was very soft. The defense benefited from zero turnovers by the Packers offense; St. Louis always had to drive the length of the field and the Packers defense gave up no big yardage plays once St. Louis drove into Packer territory. The Packers appeared to turn up their intensity after the Mike Martz last minute time out cost the Packers a fumble recovery. Rookies CB Ahmad Carroll and CB Joey Thomas each had their best games so far; Thomas forced the early fumble which led to Carroll's TD run and Carroll had an interception in the end zone. With FS Darren Sharper's return to the starting lineup, the secondary could turn into the defense's strength in the last 5 games. The only downside was SS Mark Roman probably had his poorest game of the season with a couple of missed tackles (including RB Marshall Faulk's TD reception) but he has been a solid tackler all season (and preseason) long.

The Packers play at Philadelphia next week. Philadelphia should clobber the Packers, but these are the two hottest teams in the NFC at this point. If the Packers seriously believe they can make it to the Super Bowl this season, then they have to find a way to beat Philadelphia this season. If the Packers can avoid committing turnovers and force turnovers like they did against St. Louis, then they can win at Philadelphia. Its common knowledge you can run against Philadelphia's run defense, but actually their pass defense is worse than their run defense this season according to footballoutsiders.com. Unfortunately the Packers defense has been one of the worst in the NFL (thanks again Aaron). For all the Packers might have tried to fix the problems of 4th and 26 from last season's playoff loss, the Packers defense is still suspectible to allowing conversions on 3rd and long this season and is basically playing the same cast of characters in the secondary and at linebacker.

Starting Packers RB James Jackson!!! If Jackson starts on Monday night, the Packers will have some problems. It sounds like RB Tony Fisher and RB Ahman Green could be available on Monday night, but its too early to tell. Green's injury (ribs) probably will sideline him for a week. Fisher is good enough to carry the load, but his neck stinger is the type of injury that should he let heal for a couple of weeks. The problem with Jackson is not so much is awful career rushing average (barely 3 yards/carry), because the Packers offensive line should help him run like a competant running back (they even made RB Walter Williams look good against Houston), but that he doesn't understand the offense at all and might miss a blocking assignment that leads to a hit on QB Brett Favre. Luckily, St. Louis's defense has looked awful this season, and this is a good time to hide a bushel of injuries at running back until Green and Fisher are fully healthy in another week. The Packers signed RB Chris Robertson to the practice squad as well, but if it comes down to Robertson it could get scary.

Packers 16, Houston 13. The Packers had a lot of first half opportunities, but the offense stalled in Houston territory. In the second half, Houston had plenty of opportunities to put the game away, but their offense couldn't put anything together and gave the Packers one too many opportunities. A five game winning streak is good news, but the Packers are still one of the premier pretenders in the NFL this season. If it weren't for awful awful St. Louis somehow managing a 5-5 record (thanks Seattle!) the Packers would be the number one over achiever in the NFL this season. The Packers defense has to start creating more turnovers for any long term success.

First Half: RB Walter Williams; who knew he was on the roster? The bad news of course is RB Ahman Green's rib injury and he might have to miss a week (similar to the week Philadelphia RB Brian Westbrook missed earlier this season with his rib injury). Williams actually ran the ball pretty well in the first half, due to the fact that the Packers offensive line has been kicking ass the last three weeks. If it weren't for two killer holding penalties on LG Mike Wahle during the game, the offensive line (no sacks for the game and 4.3 yards/carry with Williams carrying the load) would have been the unit of the game. Bob Trumpe (he's still around doing the radio commentary) was critical of the Packers run defense, but the yards per carry stats were very skewed by the long scrambles by QB David Carr. The Packers continued the league trend of stopping RB Dominick Davis for a short yards per carry average during this game. LB Hannibal Navies was victimized again this game on the TD pass by Carr to Davis. The play wasn't Navies fault, he was stuck in no man's land (cover Carr or cover Davis), but Navies has been abused in the passing game the past few weeks. CB Al Harris had his second great game in a row. It doesn't show up on the stat sheet, but he neutralized WR Andre Johnson. Johnson had over 100 yards for the game, but Johnson was clearly the most dangerous wide receiver the Packers have seen this season. He should be a constant Pro Bowl invitee with his size and speed, and was clearly the most dangerous player on the field. Additional kudos to rookie CB Ahmad Carroll, because only three Houston players caught passes during the game and his primary assignments of WR Javar Gaffney and WR Corey Bradford caught a combined zero passes in this game. Houston's defense had a great first half; they stopped the Packers offense three times in Houston territory and it only resulted in 3 Packer points and shut down QB Brett Favre on the last drive of the first half, which led to an end of half field goal. Packers 3, Houston 13.

Second Half: The Packers defense takes over. Houston only drove into Packer territory twice in the second half, and both times they were sacked back into Houston territory. Davis couldn't run the ball, Carr didn't scramble for big yards, and receivers were rarely open. If the Packers had forced a turnover or two, it would have been a perfect 10 defensive half. The secondary looks better every week with Carroll in at starting cornerback, and this was rookie CB Joey Thomas's best game (not great, but his best game so far). NT Grady Jackson had another solid game, and DT Cullen Jenkins has worked himself into as many snaps as DT Cletidus Hunt (the Packers primary six man defensive line rotation is DEs R-Kal Truluck, KGB, and Aaron Kampman and DT Jackson, Jenkins, and Hunt). Unfortunately, neither Truluck or Kampman have made many plays, but overall the group is playing as well as they have all season. There have been few plays as sweet in the NFL this season as the TD pass where WR Donald Driver quickly grabs the ball out of the air for the TD pass. RB Tony Fisher can often be confused with Green (similar number and their styles of running are very similar) but the Packers rarely used Fisher in the second half (probably due to his neck stinger). Ho-hum. Another game winning Favre drive, to set up the field goal by K Ryan Longwell. For the second week in a row, Favre made it look easy. Packers 16, Houston 13.

Packers 34, Minnesota 31. Probably the two most evenly matched teams in the NFL this season,

although when WR Randy Moss was healthy and playing alongside QB Daunte Culpepper (playing at MVP

level this season), Minnesota was the better team. Until Minnesota rallied for two 4th quarter

touchdowns, the Packers defense clearly outplayed Minnesota's defense. What happened in the 4th

quarter? Announcer Moose Johnson was absolutely correct that when Culpepper attacked the middle of

the field, Minnesota's offense made big plays. Minnesota had success all game long with TE Jermaine

Wiggins but it really opened up once WRs Marcus Robinson and especially Nate Burleson started working

the middle of the field. CB Al Harris had his best game of the season and CB Ahmad Carroll was ok

for the first three quarters until Burleson started abusing him in the 4th quarter, but FS Bhawoh Jue

(sub for still injured FS Darren Sharper) and the linebackers (all of them, but especially LB

Hannibal Navies) had a lot of trouble in coverage.

First Quarter: The Packers run defense has been much better since NT Grady Jackson returned from

injury (both espn.com and footballoutsiders.com had articles this week spotlighting his play) but the

improved run defense started the week before his return against Detroit (although Detroit's run

offense is not good). The Packers outstanding run blocking offense line from 2003 returned again

this week, keeping defensive players out of the back field. Minnesota P Darren Bennett was great in

San Diego in the 1990s but he is awful now and helped the Packers with every punt he kicked. Packers

7, Minnesota 7.

Second Quarter: After the Packers scored a touchdown, Minnesota almost answered back with a

touchdown, but as Michael David Smith from footballoutsiders.com noted, Jackson busted the 3rd and 2

rush on the Packers 4 yard line, and Minnesota settled for a field goal. The next Packer touchdown

was one of those drives where it all looked too easy; two big runs for RB Ahman Green with giant

rushing lanes, and a play action TD pass to TE Bubba Franks. QB Brett Favre had 4 TDs and 0 INTs for

the game; it was just one of those games when he looked unstoppable. Packers 24, Minnesota 10.

Third Quarter: The Packers defense needs to force and recover more turnovers. This was another game with no recovered turnovers, and it made the game much closer than it really was. The Packer defense held Minnesota twice on their first two possessions and a long Packer drive ended on a failed 4th down conversion (it was a bad spot on the run by FB Nick Luchey, but the Packers had success rushing off tackle all game and it wasn't clear why they didn't call a run off "TE" Kevin Barry's side one more time). WR Donald Driver's fumble on a successful run after a fake handoff to Green led to a quick Minnesota touchdown that brought Minnesota back to life. The Packers offense can't be expected to have zero turnovers every game, and the defense has to force a turnover or two each game to improve the margin for error. Packers 24, Minnesota 17.

Fourth Quarter: The Packers responded, after a big WR Robert Ferguson kickoff return in the 3rd quarter, with a TD drive to add some cushion. But Minnesota finally figured out how to attack the middle of the field with their wide receivers, jsonline.com had an article this week about how rookie CB Joey Thomas was abused badly in this quarter. Jue broke a route and almost had a big interception, but dropped it, early on Minnesota's 16 play TD drive. If the Packers had this one turnover, the turnover battle is evened for the game and the Packers have clobbered Minnesota. Instead it gave Minnesota another opportunity, and eventually led to a tied score. Both Carroll and Thomas are playing like rookies, but you can see the talent each player possesses. It is a lot to ask of a rookie to step in and play at a high level at any position in the NFL, so both players are playing as well as should be expected of them, however, both players should show improvement as this season progresses. Although Jue has played ok this season, his awful 2003 season still hasn't been forgotten and he still hasn't proven that he is a long term answer for the Packers' secondary. Minnesota's defense looked really frustrated on the Packers last TD drive, and they have to be very frustrated that they couldn't stop the Packers on the last drive that led to the game winning field goal. Sometimes in the same situation, Favre is off his game and forces the game losing interception, but Sunday he was on his game and he found the open receivers. Packers 34, Minnesota 31.

I've been offline for a couple of weeks due to a crashed hard drive. I didn't expect it would take me 3 weeks to fix the problem, but I left it to an unmotivated friend to fix it for me. Lucky for me, it was a bye week and therefore a good time to suffer technical difficulties. FS Darren Sharper was able to heal, and the defense comes back with all its starters for the first time since week 1. There are probably no two teams in the NFL more similar then the Packers and Minnesota (great offense and little defense) but Minnesota's offense slips a lot without WR Randy Moss. Not much has happened for the Packers (other than everyone getting a little healthier) expect the release of S Corey Fuller for about the 15th time in the last two seasons and promising CB Chris Johnson who has missed the last two seasons due to injury.

Packers 28, Washington 14. The Packers controlled the first half, but let it slip away from them in the second half. If Washington avoided the stupid illegal shift that cost them a long TD catch by RB Clinton Portis, then the score was Packers 20, Washington 21 and the game is easily lost. That is life in the NFL; you can outplay your opponent all game, but a big play late in the game can cost you the game.

Packers 41, Dallas 20. Lots of good in this game. The Packers offense continued to roll, although against a struggling Dallas defense, and the Packers had their first win at Lambeau in 2004 (1-3). Some bad in this game too. FS Darren Sharper and CB Al Harris got banged up. Harris was burned in the second half after the injury (the long TD pass to TE Jason Witten comes to mind). Plus QB Brett Favre continues to have one of the crappiest 12 months of his life. First he breaks his thumb, then his father dies, then his brother-in-law dies, he suffers through a couple more injuries (hamstring and hand) before disclosing that his wife has breast cancer. Favre played through his concern for her against Dallas, but this is a very serious illness for Deanna Favre and it would be very understandable if Favre is distracted by it. Hopefully Deanna learned of her illness early and her treatments will be successful.

First Quarter: So far Dallas's offense has been playing well with AARP members QB Vinny Testaverde and RB Eddie George leading the way. Dallas was able to run and more effectively pass against the Packers, even before the injuries to Sharper and Harris. The good news is that the Packers defense is adopting a bend-but-don't-break philsophy (Dallas was held to two field goals on two good 1st quarter drives while overall held to under 50% on third down (5 for 13)). The Packers offense scored on their first 7 possessions and was humming all day. Packers 3, Dallas 6.

Second Quarter: FOX wanted everyone to know that Favre is 1-8 in his career against Dallas. All 8 losses coming in Dallas and occuring during the 1995 season or earlier. Yes, the NFL schedule makers hated the Packers pre-1995 and loved the glam Aikman, Smith, Irvin Cowboys. Although some of those games were playoff games and awarded due to regular season records, how often does one NFL team play 8 straight times at another opponent? This quarter killed Dallas. The Packers offense continued to hum along, while Dallas was stopped on two three-and-outs to kill any momentum they had after a strong offensive 2nd quarter. Packers 20, Dallas 6.

Third Quarter: RB Tony Fisher throws what I am assuming is his first TD pass as a pro to TE Bubba Franks. The Packers are 2-0 in games this season when a RB throws a TD pass (RB Ahman Green threw one in Detroit last week). Dallas responds with a TD of their own, once Testaverde begins connecting up with Witten, but they can't keep up with the Packers offense. The special teams is playing much much better for the Packers this week (especially on kick coverage). Maybe the release of CB James Whitley did send a message to the team last week. Green rips off the 2nd 90+ yard TD run of his career (tying him with RB Bo Jackson on the all time list). Dallas's offense is trying but they can't keep up with the Packers. Packers 41, Dallas 13.

Fourth Quarter: NT Grady Jackson is back. He had one great play in the 1st half, but the Packers's defense is playing worse this week then they did against Detroit last week. This can only help the Packers for the rest of the season and Jackson made plays on his first game back, but his return did not show up on the scoreboard or the defensive stats (the Packers defense didn't create any turnovers either). Dallas scores another TD but this game never was in any doubt after the Packers scored 21 in the 2nd quarter. The Packers's offense eat up a bunch of time (5 minutes) in the middle of the quarter to put the game out of reach. Bad sight: OL Marco Rivera being taken off on a cart during the 4th quarter. Packers 41, Dallas 20.

The Packers have some players returning from injury, but other players getting injured. The Packers are heading to Washington next week, and Washington is struggling this season. The Packers should be favored for the first time in a couple of weeks, but Washington has an ailing offense (only Miami's trainwreck is worse) and all it might need to improve is to play the NFL's third worse defense (the Packers). Rankings courtesy of footballoutsiders.com.

At best, the Packers can only expect to finish 6-2 in the second half. The Packers need to win to keep a path towards a 10-6 season. Anything less isn't likely to make the playoffs. Unfortunately Washington has the 3rd best defense (thanks again footballoutsiders.com) and they will be a very tough challenge.

Jsonline.com reported that the coaches and trainers are cautious, but both NT James Lee and NT Grady Jackson expect to play on Sunday against Dallas. Neither Lee or Jackson are world beaters, but both hold the middle of the line better than anybody else on the Packers roster, they increase the Packers size inside (moving sub 300 lb. DT Cullen Jenkins to a part time role), and improve the entire defensive line. Jackson isn't known for his pass rushing skills, but the Packers pass rush improved substantially in 2003 when Jackson was in the game. Obviously the run defense will be improved with more size on the defensive line.

Last week offensive coordinator Tom Rossley had a heart procedure and surprisingly espn.com reported that Rossley will return to the press box on Sunday against Dallas. He still isn't calling plays, but he will talk with Mike Sherman during the game. The offense involved all three running backs for the first time all season, something that was very successful in 2003. Is Sherman better at play calling then Rossley? The Packers running backs had numerous injuries early in the season, so it isn't that simple. It always appeared that no play was called without Sherman's blessing and Rossley had a smaller role during the game itself. It will be interesting to see if the Packer offense continues to look better with Sherman calling the plays instead of Rossley.

The kick coverage was awful vs. Detroit, and CB James Whitley lost his job because of it. LB Nick Rogers was signed in Whitley's place (Rogers was just cut last week when WR Robert Ferguson's injury required the Packers to sign WR Kelvin Kight from the practice squad to take his place) and Rogers has a good reputation for special teams play during his 2 years in Minnesota. But this is still a scapegoat move. Whitley played poorly vs. Detroit, but the entire kick coverage played poorly. Whitley was a good tackler, but he was far down the depth chart in the secondary and not a major contributor on defense anyway.

Packers 38, Detroit 10. The 2004 Packers took the week off and let the 2003 Packers play this game. When RB Ahman Green is throwing a TD pass, everything is working. There are a few negatives for the game (K Ryan Longwell still can't kick a deep kickoff, CB Ahmad Carroll got turned around and abused in the first half, the defense only created one turnover) but everything else was working for the Packers.

First Quarter: Detroit gets the ball first and goes three and out. LBs Nick Barnett and Na'il Diggs made plays early, after spending the last couple of weeks MIA. The first TD drive was the first drive all season when all three running backs (Green, RB Tony Fisher and RB Najeh Davenport) contributed on a single drive, which happened all the time in 2003. Detroit answers with a TD drive to tie the score (the defense overpursued on a big screen to RB Artose Pinner and Carroll was abused by WR Az-Zahir Hakim). Detroit has spent a lot of high draft picks and big free agent money on their offensive line in recent seasons, but it hasn't shown any improvement. The Packers defensive line had been shoved around the last couple of weeks, but Detroit got little push against them. Packers 7, Detroit 7.

Second Quarter: Injury to WR Javon Walker. Walker has been far and away the highlight of the 2004 season, so his injury is a major concern. It looks like he just has sore ribs, which is bad enough but he probably will be able to play through it while it heals over the next few weeks. Touchdown pass to Fisher; when Davenport and Fisher are involved in the game, the Packers offense is rolling. After QB Joe Harrington threw a 11 yard pass to WR Tai Streets to get into field goal position, Detroit's offense was officially done for the afternoon. Longwell kicked a 50 yard field goal? P Bryan Barker had a 50+ punt in the game. The ball absolutely flies in Ford Field. Packers 17, Detroit 10.

Third Quarter: FS Darren Sharper has a gift interception and returns it for a touchdown. WR Roy Williams is the only offensive weapon for Detroit, he was injured for the game, and Harrington started pressing. Detroit's receivers never had seperation from the Packers coverage in the second half. Detroit only had 33 yards rushing for the game? Wow. Is WR Eddie Hammond a great kick returner? He's pretty good, but the Packers kick coverage was awful in the game, and not helped by short line drive kicks. Davenport has his first good game of the season as he runs over a tired Detroit defense. Packers 31, Detroit 10.

Fourth Quarter: Detroit is held to 3 plays and 5 yards in the fourth quarter. The Packers ran the ball for over 13 minutes in the quarter, with the occasional pass, and a trick pass by Green to WR Donald Driver? Why run this trick pass when you're up big? Aren't you just running up the score? Its probably better to run a trick play in a blowout just to give your future opponents something extra to think about instead of running it in a close game when something bad could happen. Packers 38, Detroit 10.

Is this a fluke one game improvement or a sign of better things to come? The Packers were bound to look better than they had in their last four games, so it was a game when everything went right but the Packers should continue to improve as the season continues. Now its time to get a win at Lambeau.

Reading jsonline.com after the Monday night disaster, it sounds like the newspaper has jumped off the bandwagon. Now the Packers have no depth at nose tackle. The Packers started the season with more nose tackles (NT Grady Jackson, NT Donnell Washington, and NT James Lee) then any of their recent rosters have boasted, but all three have gotten injured. Jsonline.com doesn't even remember Washington, who the Packers acquired by trading up for in the 3rd round of the last draft, but he injured his foot in preseason and had to go on the IR. It was also wondering why the Packers hadn't acquired a better backup cornerback then CB Jason Horton, after it spent the preseason prasing him. CB Mike McKenzie really hurt the Packers by giving up on them, and it has forced the team to play cornerbacks who are in over their heads (CB Michael Hawthorne) or cornerbacks who don't have any experience (CB Ahmad Carroll and Horton). Both players have the physical ability to play, but they need more practice and playing time before they are good enough for the NFL. The cornerbacks should look a lot better in the second half of the season.

Jsonline.com could spend its time picking on the Packers linebackers. Other than LB Nick Barnett, the Packers are getting little play out of their linebackers. LB Na'il Diggs has made far too many plays and the other linebacker position has provided little either. None of the linebackers have been very good in coverage.

Football starts in the middle of the field and works its way out from the snap. The Packers aren't getting a good push off the ball either on defense (down to their 4th string nose tackle) or on offense (down to their 2nd string center).

Jsonline.com also got on the Packers for not blitzing more. Earlier in the season, the Packers were getting burned by the blitz. It was worthwhile to see if the defense can play opposing offenses straight up, but its apparent that they can't do it. Defensive coordinator Bob Slovak should go back to being more aggressive with blitzing.

Packers 27, Tennessee 48. Well that was the worst ass kicking the Packers have taken since the Ray Rhodes era, when the Packers had their ass handed to them by Denver and Seattle (at Lambeau). In 1999, the Packers were trying to overcome the loss of DE Reggie White, QB Brett Favre's elbow injury, and the season ending injury to starting RB Dorsey Levens. The Packers finished the 1999 season 8-8, but the Packers would have to turn several things around to improve the 2004 season.

First Quarter: Indianapolis could have made it four running backs in a row to run for well over 100 yards against the weak Packers run defense, but they elected to shred the weak Packers pass defense. The Packers defense has been the worst in the NFL for a couple weeks, but they only made it worse tonight. The first long TD run was off left tackle and the second long TD run by RB Chris Brown was off right tackle when DE R-Kal Truluck was pushed way way out of the play (by the fullback), LB Paris Lenon ran out of the play (and was replaced in the 2nd quarter by LB Torrance Marshall), LB Nick Barnett filled the hole but was blocked, and poor tackling in the secondary. FS Darren Sharper (who clearly has lost a step) was a step late on both long runs. It was poor tackling (especially the angles) but also players out of position. The offense might have been on the field, but I blinked and missed it (except for RB Ahman Green's fourth lost fumble of the season). Packers 0, Tennessee 14.

Second Quarter: When Favre gets behind big early, he starts forcing plays and creating turnovers. Another good example was in 2001 when the Packers were up against a great St. Louis team on the road and Favre threw 6 picks trying to make something happen. His first pick to CB Samari Rolle was even overturned on replay. The refs helped the Packers more than in any game I can remember, but it just wasn't enough...

I left this post for a couple of days and my memory of the game is fading, which is probably the best thing that can happen for it. If the offense could do one thing to improve itself after 5 games it is changing the look of the offense. You know when RT Kevin Barry is in the game, its a run. Its a run too if FB Nick Luchey comes into the game. If FB Robert Henderson goes in motion, then its a pass in the flat to Henderson. Favre doesn't throw to Green enough. Green is having trouble getting past the line of scrimmage untouched, so motion Green out of the backfield to catch a short pass in space past the line of scrimmage. Throw to the tight ends more. Although TE Bubba Franks had two TD passes on Monday, he didn't catch many passes other than that and TE David Martin has been used little in the last two weeks. Design more plays to involve WR Robert Ferguson. The offense is playing well, but they have to keep the opposing defense guessing. If the defense is going to play badly, it might as well take a lot of risks. Defensive coordinator Bob Slovak played the defense on its heels on Monday night and it forced no turnovers and had no sacks. The defense is having trouble playing straight up against teams, the offense has the firepower to keep up in a shootout, so the Packers might as well play aggressive. If the special teams could change one thing, it should be to sign a long kicker. K Ryan Longwell is great at field goals, but he can't get a kickoff inside the 10 yard line. If the Packers can have a long snapper, then they should spend the roster spot on a long kicker who can keep teams from getting past the 30 yard line after a kickoff.

Mike Sherman continues to covet mediocre quarterbacks because Jsonline.com reported that the Packers are interested in San Diego QB Drew Brees, maybe in a trade this season or as a free agent next season. Brees is off to a hot start this season (note to Sherman: Brees got off to a hot start last season too, before he was benched) although Brees's true value is reflected by his career 73.7 passer rating. Bob McGinn unearthed the definitive quote regarding Brees from former GM Ron Wolf in 2001 "I think [Brees]'s just average." To recap: QBs acquired by Wolf = QB Brett Favre, Mark Brunell, Aaron Brooks, Matt Hasselbeck; compared to QBs acquired by Sherman = QB Craig Nall, Akili Smith, Tim Couch, Scott McBrien, J.T. O'Sullivan. If Wolf thinks Brees's was average, then don't try to acquire him.

The Packers finally traded CB Mike McKenzie for a 2nd round pick from New Orleans. McKenzie was good, but not worth a 1st round pick. The Packers traded a 2nd round pick for a similar cornerback, CB Al Harris, last season. If McKenzie was really lying about his hamstring injury, although he was probably just being overcautious because he was playing for a new job, then McKenzie should have been punished instead of rewarded with the trade he wanted. Unfortunately, McKenzie was making a bad situation worse by managing to get paid for sitting out games. At that point, the Packers probably made the best of the situation by trading McKenzie while they could still acquire something for him. If McKenzie was really hurt, would New Orleans have actually traded for him?

Of course the real steal of this deal is up-and-comer QB J.T. O'Sullivan. And I've got a bridge for sale too. Other than New Orleans coaches and diehard preseason fans, almost no one is probably familar with O'Sullivan. One thing Mike Sherman has established as general manager of the Packers is that he has a bad eye for quarterbacks. Sherman has acquired QB Craig Nall, QB Akili Smith, QB Eric Crouch, and QB Tim Couch, who have all shown an inability to improve into useful NFL quarterbacks. If O'Sullivan turns out to actually be a good NFL quarterback, then he will be a first for Sherman.

After the Packers traded for O'Sullivan, it seemed unlikely that the Packers would keep four quarterbacks on the roster, so QB Doug Pederson's back injury might have encouraged the trade for O'Sullivan. ESPN.com reported that Pederson was hurt in the 3rd quarter, and he probably shouldn't have played after it, but Pederson apparently didn't tell the Packers how serious it was. QB Craig Nall couldn't have entered the game until the 4th quarter (because 3rd QBs are technically inactive until the 4th quarter), so that might have encouraged Pederson to hide the injury.

DT Larry Smith is back with the Packers. Smith can play nose tackle, although he didn't look good in the preseason at the position. His poor preseason play might have been due to the fact that he was playing injured, but who knows if he is yet 100%. Smith played well down the stretch in 2002, so he has proved himself useful in the past. Signing Smith doesn't hurt, but it might not be a big improvement.

Packers 7, New York 14. I didn't check the last time the Packers started the season 0-2 at Lambeau, but I think its been a while. Although the score was close, the game wasn't. The Packers were more competitive while giving up 45 points in Indianapolis then they were in this game. A few points to bring up in this game:

RB Ahman Green fumbles. The Packers are 0-2 in 2004 when Green fumbles, they were 0-5 in 2003 when Green fumbles, and haven't won a game when Green fumbles since October 2002. Green's fumble vs. New York didn't lose the game, although Green's fumble vs. Chicago probably did.

QB Brett Favre has a concussion. QB Kurt Warner ended his career in St. Louis when he came back in week 1 of the 2003 season with a concussion, and didn't tell his coach about it, so Warner probably agreed when the Packers held out Favre after he suffered his concussion. Favre says he will be back next week, he probably will play, but he might not be the same player for a few weeks.

Defensive line. Although Indianapolis could have exploited the Packers poor run defense, it wasn't truly exposed until RB Tiki Barber tried to have a career game. As long as DT Cletidus Hunt is forced to play nose tackle and DT Cullen Jenkins is starting, the defensive line will continue to get shoved around. Add in that neither DE KGB and DE Aaron Kampman excel at run defense, and this is one troubled unit. The only good news is that NT Grady Jackson and NT James Lee should both come back mid-season.

Offensive line. C Grey Ruegamer had played well in limited action so far this season, but he had an awful game. Ruegamer aside, the offensive line has been no where near as dominant as it was in 2003. All blame for this can probably be assigned to the injuries to C Mike Flanagan and OG Mike Wahle. Wahle has started every game this season, but he missed most of the preseason after he injured himself during training last offseason. This unit needs to regroup and start dominating again.

Secondary. The Indianapolis game was bad enough, but the Packers secondary still looks confused. CB Michael Hawthorne isn't good enough to start, FS Darren Sharper should be moved to strong safety because he looks like he's lost a step, and CB Ahmad Carroll and CB Jason Horton have played like rookies. Hawthorne was playing a few yards off WR Tim Carter and WR Amani Toomer was wide open for a first half TD if Warner had only seen him.

Injuries, injuries, injuries...

Is CB Mike McKenzie really hurt? Apparently nobody knows, except McKenzie, reported jsonline.com. Jsonline.com quoted OG Marco Rivera who said McKenzie did pull up lame in practice, so the article overall gives McKenzie the benefit of the doubt. Its too bad this situation has gotten so rotten, but the Packers need McKenzie and McKenzie needs the Packers to release or trade him. The situation with McKenzie remains the same; the Packers need him on the field unless they can trade him for a comparable player or high draft choice. The Packers traded a 2nd round draft choice for CB Al Harris in 2003, so there is no reason anyone should expect the Packers accept less in return than a 2nd round pick for McKenzie.

C Mike Flanagan is lost for the season. He hasn't been healthy all season, so this is not a big surprise. C Grey Ruegamer has been playing well all season, so this is not a huge dropoff in talent, but Flanagan is a very good center and he will be missed. Depth isn't a problem at the position either if backup C Scott Wells is over the injury problems he had for much of August. It hurts the depth on the offensive line, because Flanagan was probably the backup left tackle and there is no obvious backup left tackle currently on the roster. OL Steve Morley and OL Kevin Barry were considered left tackle candidates, but neither has played well enough at the position.

QB Brett Favre is hurting too, according to jsonline.com. The knee he took to the back of his leg looked like the type of leg bruise that someone would walk off given an hour or two. Its not surprising he sat out the final series in Indianapolis, but it would be shocking if he missed any more time due to the injury. Jsonline.com also reported that Favre has a trick shoulder that has been bothering him on and off for a couple of years. Who knows what to make of that.