Packers Win Ugliest Shutout Ever!

Even though the Packers won by the convincing score of 26-0, I was really disappointed in the way they played the game. I have basically come to the conclusion that they are not going to improve much as the season progresses. In fact, I do not believe they will be able to pick up a wild card spot playing like this. The problems that the Packers had against the Lions are the same problems that they have had all season long. My posts are beginning to sound like broken records. The Packers had an astounding number of penalties, sacks, turnovers, and dropped passes that halted scoring drives in their tracks. For all the talent and potential that is on the offensive side of the ball, that is also where most of our problems lie. The only bright spot in the game was our defense. The Lions are pretty much pathetic and the Packers should have scored more touchdowns.

Bigby's return was indeed the only bright spot for the Packers. The impact was evident immediately. Having two starting caliber safeties really allows the defensive coordinator to open up his complete playbook. Capers was able to do a lot of different things with the corners that he was not able to do when Bigby was not there. When Bigby was gone, Capers had to keep both Woodson and Harris back in coverage because the back-up safety was so shaky. But Bigby's presence allows Capers to bring either or both of them in on confusing blitz packages. This is essential for the 3-4 defensive scheme that the Packers are trying to run.

But that is where the encouraging things stop. Detroit entered the game with only five defensive linemen and three of their starters were out. Given the return of Clifton and the lack of Detroit personnel, Rodgers should have had great protection all game long. But that simply did not happen. Rodgers was sacked five times and four times in the first half. A couple of those were blown blocking assignments and a couple of those were definitely Aaron Rodgers fault. The offensive line has been horrible this year, but Rodgers must do a better job of feeling the pressure and either moving away from it or throwing the ball away. A couple of times he simply moved directly into the pressure. He has done a good job of not throwing picks, but he really needs to spend a lot of time working on throwing the ball away.

To make matters worse Clifton got hurt again. I do not know for sure how serious it is, but it looked as though he is not going to be available for the ever-important rematch against the Minnesota Vikings on November 1st. It is not looking good already. There is almost no way we can win that game without Clifton there. It will be really hard even if he does play.

The Packers running game is also very poor. They could not run the ball at all until the fourth quarter. And that is just because the Detroit defensive line was not able to get any breaks the entire game, and they were not even the starters! I do not know what is worse, the run blocking or the pass blocking. Either way, Thompson had better be aggressive in getting some more decent linemen into Green Bay uniforms in the offseason. Thompson has had some very good drafts and has put a lot of good players on the Packers roster in short period of time. However, if he does not do everything in his power to get some better linemen this offseason, then I will definitely jump on the anti-Thompson bandwagon.

Amidst all these negatives, what is the worst one of them all? You will have to go to PackerAuthority.com to find out...

By: Adam Sorenson

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