Green Bay Needs Change

The Packers are starting to resemble the song that gets played on the radio over and over and over again. It's the same thing every Sunday.

In case you missed it, the Houston Texans came to Lambeau Field and beat The Pack on a Kris Brown walkoff field goal 24-21. The Houston Texans. A team that plays in a warm weather city. A team that plays in a building that has a retractable roof. Not a team that is used to the cold and wind that was in Green Bay a couple of days ago.

The final score may not have been ugly, but some of the numbers are. The Packers shot themselves in the foot with penalties (some disputed). They were flagged six times for sixty-five yards.

Other than that, it was Houston that inflicted the damage. The Texans held the ball for nearly ten more minutes than the Packers did (34:03 to 25:57). They converted seven out of thirteen on third down. They rolled up 549 yards of offense. Matt Schaub, making his return after missing four games because of injury, threw for 414 yards and was sacked only once. Andre Johnson and Kevin Walter made big play after big play on the supposedly vaunted Packer secondary (raise your hand if you've had enough of Charles Woodson at safety). Steve Slaton, who allegedly isn't built to be successful in this kind of weather (which was why he was not a first round pick), ran for 120 yards.

Where have we seen this story before? Only in seven other losses this season.

But, rather than place blame on a quarterback who had NOTHING to do with the loss, bemoan the fact that Brett Favre is in New York, or complain about the defense, what we're going to do is try and fix things.

There is no doubt the defense is broken. Ted Thompson must be held accountable for that. But, he must also be given a chance to correct his mistakes. He has proven capable of doing that before (going from Adrian Klemm and Will Whitticker to Daryn Colledge and Jason Spitz). He can do it again.

But he needs to start with a new defensive leader. Bob Sanders knows football, is a nice guy, and knows Jim Bates' defense, but the time has come to go in a different direction. A different scheme. Someone who will preach attacking rather than reacting.

Is it too reactionary to blame Sanders? You could make a case that it is, given how good the defense was in 2007. But go back to Sanders' first year as co-ordinator, 2006. How good was the defense then? Does anyone remember the 38-10 beatdown the Jets put on those Packers at Lambeau? There were calls for his head then, but then it was too soon to make a move on him. Three years into the Sanders Era, it's not.

There will be plenty of candidates Ted and Mike McCarthy can choose from. You have to exclude Winston Moss as a candidate because we are looking for someone with a track record, and Moss doesn't have one.

The Browns are itching to fire Romeo Crennel. The Bengals are going to seriously consider replacing Marvin Lewis. Mike Nolan is available. Rod Marinelli was a good defensive line coach in Tampa and looks like he'd be a better co-ordinator than head coach. Rob and Rex Ryan could be available. All have a track record and all would be an upgrade over Sanders.

But a new co-ordinator alone won't change things. A new scheme alone won't change things. Real change (with apologies to President-Elect Obama) means new players as well. Just because some players would be coming back from injury doesn't mean everything will be fixed.

The Packers need a rush end opposite Aaron Kampman, one or even two young defensive tackles, and a linebacker who can push A.J. Hawk, Brady Poppinga, and Brandon Chillar.

Those players are out there. They are in free agency and in the draft. The Packers will have money to play with under the cap (they always do), and President Mark Murphy ought to tell his GM he should use some of that money.

Julius Peppers will be available. So will Albert Haynesworth, Baltimore's Terrell Suggs, and Arizona's Karlos Dansby. Ted's got to get in on the bidding for these free agents. Even if they wind up going somewhere else, Ted has to make the effort.

The second tier of free agents includes Dallas' Tank Johnson, Baltimore linebacker Bart Scott, New Orleans' Jonathan Vilma, Jacksonville's Mike Peterson (a true middle linebacker despite his run in with Jack Del Rio), and Philadelphia safety Brian Dawkins (who will be highly sought after despite his age).

The draft features prospects like USC linebackers Ray Maualuga and Brian Cushing, Florida linebacker Brandon Spikes, LSU's Tyson Jackson (who can play both end and tackle), and Texas end Brian Orapko.

The Packers have multiple needs on defense, so Ted needs to dive into the free agent market on top of doing his usual draft work. It would represent change, which is what is needed in Green Bay, both on the field, and in the thought process of the front office.

The offense, with a tweak or two on the line, is one of the best in the league. The defense needs to catch up. If it does, the Packers will return to being one of the top teams in the league. If it doesn't, well we've all seen what can happen.

It's your move Ted. Are you ready for change? Packer Nation is.