111815-roberto-ruiz-pix-1Packers Proven to be Pretenders

Losing to Peyton Manning and the undefeated Denver Broncos is one thing, losing to the balanced attack of the Carolina Panthers is acceptable, but losing to the Detroit Lions at home is simply despicable.

Lacking any kind of confidence or swagger, the Green Bay Packers walked into Lambeau looking to avenge the defeats handed to them the previous two weeks. The problem with lacking confidence and swagger when walking into a contest is that you immediately get figured out. If you walk into a fight not sure if you can win, you are going to lose. It doesn’t matter if you have the best quarterback on the planet. It doesn’t matter if your running back was widely considered one of the best backs in the NFL. It doesn’t matter if your linebackers are the fear of offensive lines across the country. If you are spineless, you will lose.

This Packers team lacks a spine. Is Aaron Rodgers not the leader that he has been touted to be? Is Mike McCarthy more Marc Trestman than Vince Lombardi? Is Eddie Lacy more Ron Dayne than Jerome Bettis? Is Clay Matthews more diva than mercenary? The backbone has to come from one of those four, but currently none of them appear to be anything other than deer in the headlights.

The Packers may win just enough games to go into the playoffs but nobody wants to see more playoff losses. A Super Bowl victory is the only acceptable finish to any season that Aaron Rodgers is your starter from game one to game nineteen.

Losses are fine, they are even good in some cases, but not the way the Packers have been losing. Ronda Rousey lost on Saturday not because she was afraid of Holly Holm, but because she was overconfident. Overconfidence is a horrible trait but it is acceptable when you are the best in the world at what you do. If Rousey had walked into that fight and fought afraid, nobody would still respect her today. Nobody should still respect this Packers team.

The offense has struggled to move the ball against even the most mediocre of defenses. The defense has struggled to contain even the most mediocre of offenses. Neither of these facts is even remotely acceptable.

There are two possible ways that this season plays out: either Mike McCarthy will prove to be a much better coach than even I give him credit for, or these Packers will fall apart and there will be a mass firing at the end of this season. Tom Clements will be looking for a job at a state college while Dom Capers will wallow away into retirement. McCarthy will be lucky to be given another chance, and I expect he will with the contract he currently holds. Still, his days will be very publicly numbered.

The season of redemption has turned into the season of tumult.

I am angry. You are angry. If you are holding out hope than you better pray that the Packers are angry too.

The Milwaukee Bucks sure look fun though.