How do you bounce back from near perfection? To have something so close then lose it all in one instant, and then being forced to start over from scratch. That pretty much sums up the Packers of last season after their showstopping 15-1 record in which they were unanimous Super Bowl faves only to lose in their first round at home.
Flash forward to the 2012 season and even before their first snap in a preseason game they’ve garnered ‘shoo-in’ status for the Super Bowl; ‘ESPN: The Magazine’ even went so far as to say that they’d go undefeated. But now that the dust from their nearly fairy tale season has settled and reality becomes even more clear have the Packers improved or are they still the same foundamentally flawed team that just so happens to have an amazing Quarterback?
On the surface it’s really not saying much by asking if the Packers have taken a step back from last year, when you consider that they were almost perfect. But what I am asking if we’ve seen this Packers team at their very height and if so, will it all be downhill from there? The Packers looked invincible leading up to to the Divisional Playoff game against the Giants, so invincible that there was willful blindness from the likes of the media and fans alike when it came to their flaws.
The 17 point playoff loss to a team that was just one game above .500 and at home caused many to take off their rose colored glasses for a second and think about just how hard it is to go all the way, no matter how a great a regular season you had. Of course, a major portion of the blame goes to the Packers defense who ranked last season as 2nd in NFL history in giving up the most yards. But even with the foibles of their ‘swiss cheese’ like defense how do you explain other teams with lackluster d’s like the Giants and Patriots reaching the Superbowl. Could it be that there’s more to the Packers conundrum than just a poor defense which failed to show up during a pivotal game?
The Packers have now lost 3 games straight counting last season, including two painful home losses. It’s silly to try to take away any true lasting meaning from one game but just from looking at the Packers in the season opener against a 49’ers team with a QB who’s not heralded for his offensive strength–especially against the likes of Rodgers, just get taken to the hole over and over was eye opening. The Packers after their 2010 Superbowl victory took with them a certain swagger into the 2011-2012 season and it showed week in and week out. Aaron Rodgers was the league bully as he was an unstoppable force who had erupted and was taking no prisoners and the team was feared. The swag–although nice, took away from the foundmental aspects in the game of football when you consider in 2010 before the hype they’re defense was top 5 ranked it’s a bit scary how much import was taken off that one element. They took for granted the most simplest philosophy the game has: on any given Sunday you can be beat… and they were.
The Packers are still on the search for their first post Playoff loss win to wash away all remnants of that painful game. The confidence has been toned down and they’re no longer under the protecting of the defending Superbowl champs title. It’s them against the world, having to fix their own problems which plagued them and not worrying about living up to high standards. If their underdog 2010 season should’ve taught them anything surely it’s that the team that gets hot and most importantly STAYS hot gets the honor of lifting the Lombardi trophy. If there’s any kind of ‘hangover effect’ then it came during the last off season where they surprised even themselves with the Superbowl victory and played under the same illusion the 2007 Patriots did. Both their seasons ended in tears, and in the Patriots case their next season resulted in them missing out on the playoffs altogether. Are the Packers destined for the same?