An Embarrassing End to a Shameful Season

The Green Bay Packers’ 31-0 loss at home to the Detroit Lions was a somehow fitting finale for a lost season that allegedly began with such promise, much like last season. But this season was arguably much more shameful than last season, when Aaron Rodgers was injured in game six after the Packers had won critical games against Seattle and Dallas. People “hoped” that Brett Hundley would live up to all the hype around him—especially by those who didn’t take seriously or didn’t read the less-than-glowing assessments of his skills by draft experts. Unfortunately, Packer fans were soon disabused of such notions. The season-ending 35-11 loss to the hapless Lions put a capper on a season whose only “positive” was the likelihood that Hundley would be gone and Rodgers would be back healthy again. 

Earlier this season Rodgers had thrown for 442 yards in a 31-23 loss to the Lions in Detroit, so there was at least the thought that Rodgers could end the season on a high note at Lambeau Field. But Rodgers has had a history of putting up some real stinkers against the Lions, like in 2010, when he was knocked out early in a 7-3 loss, after completing 7 of 11 for 46 yards and an interception. This time, the Packers were already down 14-0 when Rodgers decided to call it quits for the season after the wooziness from an earlier play didn’t go away. There would be no team records to set today, either by Rodgers in passing yards or by Davante Adams, who wanted to play but was forced to sit out because of a bum knee. In came the guy who was 0-15 for the Cleveland Browns last season, DeShone Kizer. What did you expect? Rookie Baker Mayfield won 7 games this season with basically the same team--except he was the quarterback, not Kizer. The Packers drives were as follows: Punt, punt, punt, punt, punt, punt, punt, downs, downs, interception.  Kizer might be able to scramble for some yards, but he can’t pass worth a lick.

An embarrassing loss in front of the home crowd to end a shameful season which Rodgers started every game. Last season we at least had the notion that things would be different if Rodgers could at least play. He did this season, except that Packers did the “unthinkable”: they finished with an even worse record than last season. Now we are left to “hope” that the Packers can’t go anywhere but “up” next season.

A “stable genius”? Trump and his racist “advisors” in and out of the media prove that they’re idiots on “wall” issue

Remember when Sen. Chuck Schumer presented Donald Trump with a “sensible” horse-trade: $20 billion for his “wall” in exchange for a DACA deal almost a year ago? Trump had already rejected a bi-partisan DACA bill, which seemed a done deal until John Kelly, Stephen Miller and the other xenophobes and nativists wormed their way into Trump’s ear and persuaded him that his “base” would not accept it, and he could get a “better” deal by demanding racially-inspired reductions in immigration from certain “shit-hole” countries—that did not include India, which according to the World Health Organization has more people so poor that they have no have access to indoor toilet facilities than any other continent on the planet. 

But Trump and the Republican far-right (the free to be a-holes caucus) in the House got greedy and rejected the $20 billion in exchange for a DACA deal. And what happened? The courts turned around and blocked the implementation of the Trump/Sessions termination of the DACA program. So what did those “geniuses” accomplish? They not only lost their $20 billion for Trump’s “wall,” the DACA program is still a going concern. 

Now Trump and his “advisors”—the likes of Miller and Rush Limbaugh, Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, Ann Coulter, Laura Ingraham, Michelle Malkin, Jeanine Pirro and the rest of that foul infestation—are desperately engaged in shutting down 25 percent of government services for $5 billion for their “wall” which apparently is nothing more than tall spikes which one suspects Trump hopes that some asylum-seekers may think otherwise if some of their number are impaled on them (wouldn’t that be a sight for the international press, as if Trump cares; maybe Putin will congratulate him). By the way, do you notice how Fox News does such a good job of exposing women as being just as much if not even more aggressively bigoted as men?

This is what I would suggest to Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi: If Trump wants his $5 billion, he has to give the Democrats something in return, meaning a DACA law signed, sealed and delivered with no other strings attached, and then he’ll get his $5 billion. 

That’s the deal. Of course Miller and the racist far-right will be up in arms, but I suspect a majority of Trump's “base” will accept that. Not all are as completely heartless as Miller and Coulter are; a recent Associated Press story quotes one of them as saying "I  understand what (Trump's) going for — trying to keep out criminal activity. However, I think he could do much better in showing concern for these people, offering short-term help.” Schumer and Pelosi should make it plain to Trump that he is not going get just anything he wants anymore; there is a new sheriff in town, and there are no more free lunches. If he wants something, he has to give something. If he wants his $5 billion, there has to be a DACA bill attached to it. Period, end of story. Enough is enough.

Packers offense shows enough life to overcome continuing special teams breakdowns in OT win

Despite being nearly undone by three more special teams miscues—allowing a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, a return fumble at the 18-yard line leading to a short-field touchdown, and a short kickoff that was returned to game-tying field goal range in the last minute—the Packers offense finally displayed some life, punting only three times and making the Jets pay for repeated defensive penalties as the Packers overcame a 15-point fourth quarter deficit win their only game on the road. Aaron Rodgers—besides rushing for 2 touchdowns and scoring for a two-point conversion—threw for 442 passing yards, double what he was averaging per game since the midpoint of the season; if he plays next week he should break his team record for passing yards in a season set in 2011, the one in which he sat out the last game as Matt Flynn went on to throw for 480 yards and 6 touchdowns against the same team that Packers will face in the season finale, the Lions. Rodgers now has three 400-yard games this season, two more than Brett Favre had in 16 years in Green Bay (and barely that, 401 yards). 

Nevertheless, it was obviously a much closer contest, 44-38 in OT, than it had any right to be. As noted, special team’s snafus continue to plague the Packers, accounting for 17 Jets’ points. Their rookie secondary allowed Jets’ rookie Sam Darnold to have season bests 341 yards passing and passer rating of 128.4. Fortunately for the Packers, the Jets don’t have much of a running game and a worse rushing defense, which the Packers took full advantage of. Still, it was a nothing to win kind of game save for pride and to wash out the sour taste that the season has left, and if Rodgers and the Packers have another impressive offensive performance next week, it would be just as much a sign of possible better things to come as promising rookies become more seasoned, and a reminder of just how disappointing this season was.

The Packers on the brink of the unthinkable: a full year with Rodgers and a worse record than with Hundley

The Packers in the past have dominated the Chicago Bears in their own home park, but this season has been so different in so many different ways. Unlike last week against the Falcons, Aaron Rodgers and company once more came out flat, trailing 14-3 at halftime. As so often has happened this season, the Packers revived enough in the third quarter to put themselves back in the game, only to be followed again offensive inconsistency. After tying the game at 14, the Packers next two series were 6 plays, -7 yards advanced. Unlike last week, the Packers allowed the Bears to survive their miscues—a fumble at the Packer 23, and a badly bungled direct snap in punt formation that allowed the Packers to score their only touchdown on a short field, while Packers failed to “finish” promising drives. Rodgers’ tried to force a ball into  Jimmy Graham in the end zone in the fourth quarter; but Graham’s hands are not made of glue after all, and Rodgers’ record interception-less streak ended at 402 pass attempts,  still 44 passes beyond Tom Brady’s previous record. On the Packers final drive, on second-and goal Rodgers took an 18-yard sack, settled for a field goal, and for the second time in the last two tries a Packer was off-sides on an on-side kick attempt (adding to their special teams woes), as the Packers clinched a losing record in the 24-17 loss.

Mike McCarthy is gone, but Joe Philbin was the offensive coordinator all those years too.  Rodgers continues to avoid the center of the field like the plague. It has been noted that this season Rodgers has taken far fewer chances in the middle of the field, in fact leading the league in passes thrown outside the numbers—which of course means more passes thrown out of bounds rather than caught. Randall Cobb and Graham were supposed to control the middle, and yet against the Bears Rodgers only threw 11 of his 42 pass attempts in the middle of field. Last month in a piece for CBS Sports, Sean Wagner-McGough broke down the Packers “failure by design” system which hasn’t seemed to change since McCarthy’s firing. He noted that the Packers rely on  “isolation” routes that require receivers to get open on their own, and Rodgers has either not been able to, or too afraid to, throw receivers open where they have an opportunity to make catches, often preferring to throw balls away, of which he is among the league leaders in doing. Throwing the ball away hasn’t helped Rodgers’ near league bottom completion percentage, either.

But Wagner-McGough also noted Rodgers much more often than in past is just making poor decisions and poor passes. He may not trust his rookie receivers, but outside of Davante Adams, Rodgers has shown insecurity in throwing the ball even to Cobb, who in the past was one of his clutch “go-to” receivers.  On the other hand, McCarthy’s “antiquated” offensive scheme doesn’t “scare” anyone anymore, and one could sympathize with Rodgers looking for a coach who has “new” ideas, and perhaps with a year under their belts Marques Valdes-Scantling and Equanimeous St. Brown might blossom into the stars they were in college if Rodgers is comfortable enough to gives them the chance. 

But that will have to wait until next year. This year, the unthinkable is on the brink of occurring: a full year with Rodgers, and the Packers could have a worse record than last season with Brett Hundley playing the majority of the season.

This time Packers take advantage of luck handed to them in victory over Atlanta

For a brief moment, Packers interim coach Joe Philbin’s debut inspired enough confidence as to wish for the return of Mike McCarthy, after inexplicably challenging—and losing—two incomplete passes on the Atlanta Falcon’s opening drive of the game, which led to a touchdown. The Falcons have been sliding as badly as the Packers this season, but then again they haven’t been expected to be perennial Super Bowl challengers every year. Yet since the Packers stunned them in the 2010 playoffs to advance to the Super Bowl, the Falcons have had the Packers’ number, so this was another highly possible loss on the Packers ledger. But the Falcons have been playing poor football this season, and their defense is 25^th ranked despite having Seattle’s former defensive “genius” as their head coach.  

The final score of 34-20 (after the Packers led 34-7) was less a factor of better play than a team that for once took advantage of the chance luck that bumbled their way. The Packers’ 301 yards of total offense was far below what the Falcons’ have been allowing overall, and Aaron Rodgers 196 yards passing is a season low, and Aaron Jones had a good but not great game, 29 of his 78 yards coming on a touchdown run. Rodgers was sacked 4 times for 34 yards in losses, so again the Packers only managed less than five yards per pass play. On the other side, the Falcons missed field goal, Matt Ryan’s pick-6, and a lost fumble on second-and-goal, all led to a probable 17-point swing in favor of the Packers. 

On the “positive” side, this game showed what kind of season this could have been for the Packers if the cookies had crumbled a different way. So many of their losses this season were hair-pulling affairs that could have had different outcomes if just one brain-dead mistake could have been avoided (see Ty Montgomery’s fumbled kickoff return).  But on the negative side, the Packers’ offense again played unevenly, managing to sustain a drive or two with better third down play and Atlanta’s defense being dinged repeatedly for penalties, but other times there was more of the listlessness we have seen too often. The Packers are not going to make the playoffs again this season, but they can still make things “interesting” if Rodgers in particular can show a little life that we haven’t seen since the Seahawk game. He has his NFL record 368 consecutive passes without an interception, but it seems to have come at a price, like in the lack of the kind of HOF-type play that leads to victory.