The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Just a couple of thoughts right after a very disappointing Packer game. After all was said and done, it should have still been a victory

The Good

1. The defensive backfield continues to make plays. Nick Collins and Charles Woodson each have 5 interceptions, with Collins returning three of those for Touchdowns. Both should be playing in Hawaii in February. Without the play Collins made, that game could have gotten away from the Pack.

2. Will Blackmon is a playmaker. He made some bad decisions early, but more than made up for it with a spectacular punt return that should have given the Packers the lead for good. His kickoff return gave the Packers a chance to win, but we all know how that ended. A creative coaching staff might figure out ways to get him 5 more touches a game...

3. I wanted three things in each category, but that was about a sloppy a performance as I can remember, so my third point in the good category is that the game is over and I don't have to watch it anymore.

The Bad

1. Penalties are starting to be a real cause for concern. They have regressed from a discipline standpoint. False starts, holding and delay of game have plagued the offense. I will admit that the call against Daryn Colledge was a phantom call, but the Packers are at fault for the majority.

2. Derek Frost is abysmal. His punts have no hangtime and are easily returnable. After a three and out on the first series today, Frost could have limited the damage by getting off a nice, deep punt, but instead it's a 4o yard line drive that is returned into Green Bay territory and the Vikings momentum grows with a short field ahead of them.

3. What was Mike McCarthy thinking with his last challenge? I'm not sure what good could have come out of it. I'm thinking the Vikings almost wanted him to win the challenge. They could have ran two or three more plays from the one and punched it in with under a minute left and the Packers having no timeouts left on the board (not that they utilitized the one they had anyway). Instead he lost the challenge and his timeout. Interesting at best.

The Ugly

1. Aaron Rodgers. He got off to a fast start and got much of the state of Wisconsin on his side, but his play over the last couple of weeks has me concerned. He needs to get rid of the ball if there is no one open. He's holding onto it far too long which is evident by the second safety of the game. That is inexcusible for a professional quarterback. The other thing that is awful is his ball security. Put two hands on the football when you are standing in the pocket. It's another one of those things that is expected of a high school quarterback and should be second nature by this point. That led to the first safety, which was nothing short of embarassing. Rodgers was very inconsistent last week, and I'd argue that he was more consistent this week, albeit consistently bad.

2. The Packers run defense is embarrassingly bad. I understand that they were playing against Adrian Peterson and he is going to get his yards, but the way he got his yards, missed tackles, cutbacks against no pursuit are cause for concern. Remind me again why it was necessary to jettison Corey Williams in the offseason. Just for the record, with that pick the Packers selected third string quarterback Brian Brohm.

3. That was terrible two minutes offense at the end of the game. They were limited a bit by the lack of timeouts discussed above but none the less, when you get the ball at the 40 yard line with 1:45 left, why do you decide that that is far enough to get. They should have been throwing the ball down the field to try to get a closer field goal. Instead, against one of the best rush defenses in the NFL, they run twice and throw a quick screen behind the line of scrimmage. Wow. That kick was good from 48 yards, also known as one more slant pass downfield.