Covering Every Angle of Green Bay's Final Game

Heartbreaking. Gutwrenching. Soul-crushing. Depressing. Just pick any of those words and that would be a great way to describe the Packers defeat to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday night 51-45.  I am still looking for answers, but I love that Green Bay came back fought hard as hell not giving up. 

Aaron Rodgers played a hell of a game for being his first playoff game. I think he did a great job managing the game and not trying to force anything when the Packers were down in the first half plus he found every open receiver he could.  Sadly, he missed Greg Jennings by a foot in overtime that would have won the game for us and honestly, I knew that was the play call.  Mike McCarthy did the same thing against Denver in 2007; he wanted to get the hell of there when he could. The interception in the beginning was something that I felt I would never see out of Rodgers in real life, that looked like one of my Madden interceptions more so than anything else. 

The offensive line of the Packers was very inconsistent but they were an upgrade from the second Minnesota game.  They would have drives were the protection and the ability to run the ball was there then there were others were it seemed the O-line was  lost out there. I think the New York Jets have proven that you can sign offensive lineman to contracts (Alan Faneca, Damian Woody) and be successful. I would love to see Ted Thompson bring in a lineman either at tackle or guard.  

The combination of Greg Jennings and Jermichael Finley could be one of the scariest tandems in the coming years. Both played their asses off and Jennings made two catches that were so amazing, he did so much for the team on Sunday.  I enjoy great tight end play and seriously considering buying a Finley jersey, he is awesome and a complete mismatch.  

The biggest thing we should take away from this game was the inability to stop the Cardinals rushing attack. It was like watching week two of the NFL season with the Cincinnati Bengals. They were just getting gashed and guys like Johnny Jolly/Brad Jones utterly disappeared in this game.  Both of those guys were playing great all year. I have no idea how Cardinals offensive line figured the Pack's rush defense so well. 

I think the criticism of the secondary is a bit harsh because seriously, the Cardinals may have the best receiving core in the NFL and they were still very good without Anquan Boldin. Steve Breaston could start on almost any team and Early Doucet was a stud out of LSU. They spread the Packers out meaning we have to go Woodson-Williams-Bush-Underwood/Bell then add Atari Bigby's injury during the game was the knockout blow. 

The thing that pissed me off the most more than the refs (get to that shortly) was hearing Nick Collins saying "We didn't do anything differently, same game plan." I have no idea how Dom Capers couldn't have come up with different schemes for the Cardinals. I would have blitzed consistently throwing the kitchen sink at Kurt Warner, the guy finds people open in zones. The pressure wasn't enough from the Packers and they need to force one or two more turnovers.

Do not get me wrong, I felt Mike McCarthy called a great game. A perfect onside kick, and kept his team composed after being down 21 and 17 points.  But the mismanagement of the clock at the end of the first came back to bite us in the ass.  A-Rod is a pretty quick quarterback but I wish he would have just sailed the ball out of the endzone at the end of the first half.  If that happens, the Pack have one more shot at the endzone for a final touchdown. 

Yes, the refs missed a blatant offensive pass interference and a helmet-to-helmet hit in overtime nonetheless. But the refs didn't throw an interception or get the ball stripped. If the Pack didn't have the turnovers, they probably win the game and to claim conspiracy is absolutely insane. Look, it's the element of human error and I don't know why the Packers always are the wrong end, just another depressing part of the evening.

Packer fans, be sad that we lost the game but don't say this year is a failure.  They made the playoffs, which only twelve teams/fans get a chance to experience every year. The Dolphins, 49ers, and Broncos are still looking for their franchise quarterback after losing Dan Marino, Steve Young, and John Elway... The Packers have replaced Brett Favre in two years, that is completely unheard of in the NFL. We should be excited for the future and know that isn't the end of heading to the playoffs. 

-Charlie.