Joe from Dubuque, IA
Vic, you can ding us for excessive expectations and fearing loss; I accept that. However, you cannot ding us for ragging on the team when they play as poorly as they did and have been playing lately. It's a proven fact this offense isn't anywhere good enough to be respected or feared anymore. Yesterday proved this team is not equipped to play with the big boys. I have accepted the fact this team gave us some excitement this season, but they are going to be one and done in the playoffs. For myself and all Packers fans, I hope I have to eat those words. No more smoke and mirrors, Vic. What is your honest opinion on where this team stands?
I wish somebody would explain to me what is it about hopelessness that makes them feel better. I don't understand that attitude and I'm glad I don't. In my view, it's cowardly, and I don't feel good about myself when I act cowardly. What's my opinion of where this team stands? It's struggling. It's not nearly good enough to make a run at the Super Bowl. It has to improve and it has to happen now. What will it take to improve? Big plays in the passing game. I've been saying that for a long time, but it's no less the truth. If you had asked me last spring for my impressions about the Packers, I would've told you my major concern was for inside linebacker. I was concerned the Packers didn't address it fully, and I didn't want to see Clay Matthews play there. I wrote several times in the column the draft picks at cornerback would define the defense. I think they have. It was a concern that was successfully addressed. I would've told you I had concern for the change of play-caller, not because Tom Clements couldn't do the job, but because the first time the team hit a slump, everybody would blame the play-calling change. That's exactly what happened. What I wouldn't have expressed is any concern for the passing game. It's been the most dependable aspect of the team and it looked better than ever after the Packers re-signed Randall Cobb and drafted Ty Montgomery. I can't remember one email from one fan expressing concern for the passing game, but I got a lot of emails from fans critical of drafting a wide receiver in the third round when the Packers were so deep at wide receiver.
Ben from Northbrook, IL
"Wait and we'll have our answer." Do we have it? What would you say it is?
The Packers are not a hot team. The Cardinals are the standard by which NFC teams are measured and the Packers didn't measure up. How many different ways can you say it? The scoreboard says it all.
Casey from Charlotte, NC
Can you recall a time a team has been beaten so badly this late in the year and recovered to make a run?
The 1979 Steelers lost late in the season in San Diego, 35-7, on a day when Terry Bradshaw threw five interceptions. A few weeks later, the Steelers began their march to the Super Bowl. But what happened yesterday isn't a good thing. It's absolutely not what you want heading into the biggest game of the year, which is what this Sunday's game against the Vikings is. The Packers coaching staff is facing a stiff challenge. How do you fix what's wrong? Can it be done in what remains of the season? Can it be done at all? We don't know the answers to those questions. All we know for sure right now is that heading into the final week of the season, the Packers are not the equal of the head of the NFC playoff class.
Chris from Charlotte, NC
How excited are you for the future of this team? Seems to me we have a ton of talent on both sides of the ball and a lot of young guys are getting a ton of playing time this year. They're very up and down this year, with a ton of injuries, but it seems to me the future is bright.
I agree with Coach McCarthy: This isn't the time for big-picture analysis. The nucleus of this football team is sound. It'll undergo changes in the offseason, but they don't need to be dramatic.
Wayne from Williamsburg, VA
Vic, the team is hurting for themselves and the fans today. I predict a win against the Vikings. Is the arrow pointing straight up at that point?
The arrow had a bad day. When I left home early this morning, the arrow was still sleeping. I'm gonna let him sleep.
David from Palmer, MI
Mike McCarthy said something along the lines of we need to stop worrying about plays and just execute. Aaron said something along the lines of we need to do more to get players open, motion and such. Have the players stopped believing in the plays being called? It looked that way in Arizona.
I hope not, because a team not only can't win if it lacks belief, it can't win if its commitment isn't total.
