Don't Blame Rodgers, He Had Help!

I knew it would happen. I knew as soon as I turned on the various post game shows after Green Bay lost 28-27 to the Vikings I would hear callers shredding QB Aaron Rodgers. Among the comments I heard were:

* 'Why did the Packers give him all that money? He's done nothing since signing the deal!'

* 'They wouldn't have lost that game if Brett were still the QB!'

* 'He's not a winner!'

You see, there are two kinds of Packer fans. The first kind follows the team and sees things as part of the bigger picture. The other type is the Brett-backer. The guy who thinks Favre can do no wrong. Oh, he still likes the Packers, but part of him likes to see the team lose so he can rip Rodgers and GM Ted Thompson while praising Mr. Favre. Yesterday's loss to the Vikings was the chance for that group of Packer fans to call and gloat.

I will admit that they aren't completely wrong. Rodgers, who went 15-26 for 142 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions, had his first truly bad game of the season. But he wasn't alone. If you want to find out who really was at fault for the 28-27 loss, consider the following:

1. Adrian Peterson ran for 192 yards and the game winning touchdown. The Packer run defense was absolutely gashed. Just like they were a week ago against Tennessee. Why have they been so bad against the run? Because they have no depth at the defensive tackle spots and because linebackers Nick Barnett (up until his injury) and A.J. Hawk have underperformed this year.

2. Penalties. The Packers are the most penalized team in the NFL. They were flagged ten times yesterday for 80 yards. They have lost nearly 700 yards because of penalties this year. That's more yards than Ryan Grant has rushed for. That's coaching.

3. Speaking of coaching. Mike McCarthy's playcalling left a lot to be desired yesterday. Ryan Grant might have gained 76 yards yesterday but half of those yards came on two carries. McCarthy kept sending Grant into the middle of the line (in other words, into the waiting arms of the Williams boys), as opposed to the way he attacked them a year ago (two fullbacks, running outside the tackle box). We only saw that formation a couple of times yesterday. It still worked. So, why didn't McCarthy use that formation and that strategy more? It would have helped his quarterback a lot.

4. Now to Rodgers. Yes he played badly yesterday. But the Vikings played a big role in that. How many times did he get sacked (four, if you're scoring at home)? He was also knocked down numerous times. Rodgers didn't have time to do anything, and still, his 19 yard completion to Donald Driver on the first play of the final drive was the only reason Mason Crosby was able to try that 52 yard field goal in the first place (the other three plays on the drive went for a total of six yards).

Here's the point. If you want to blame Rodgers, fine. But, he wasn't the only reason this team lost yesterday. It was a team loss.

Now that we have that straight, bring on the Bears!