We Packer fans have to ” man up ” our team sucked on the most important game date of the year…
We ll be back better next year Viking fans cannot say that so they should …SHHHHHH

As many, including myself, noted going into that game, the G-Men match up very well against the Packers for a number of reasons … just like how the Packers matched up particularly well against my Steelers in SB XLV. Like in boxing (and MMA), styles make fights.

As for play-specific blame, letting Bradshaw get out of bounds with no time on the clock hurt the Pack. The atrocious defense on the Hail Mary was key. The decision to go surprise onside when Green Bay finally got momentum stung. And the play where Osi got a strip-sack on Rodgers at the precise instant Jennings sprung a slant-and-go with a perfect cut gaining insane separation was particularly harsh.

But the Giants fought through a lot of additional challenges themselves and prevailed — and some of those “additional challenges” included astonishingly lame calls by the Officials.

In short, give the Giants credit for a great win. All this about rest, rust, and all the other stuff – is usually talked about people who would have no clue about such matters.

dwhitehurst says:
As for the Vikings, one of the reasons they’ve been talking so much smack over/against the Packer fans here is perhaps the realization that they are going nowhere anytime soon, given they are majorly cap-strapped due to Adrian Peterson’s huge contract

You would have been better off with the standard “the Vikings such, have always sucked and always will suck” idiocy. That we expect. However if Peterson’s contract makes the Vikings cash-strapped, then what do these contracts make the packers?

Rodgers 6yr, $65m
Woodson 5yr, $55m
Williams 5yr, $38m
Hawk 5yr, $33.75m
Sitton 6yr, $35m
Clifton 3yr, $19.6m
Jennings 4yr, $27m
Collins 4yr, 26.75m
Pickett 4yr, $25m

According to my math, that’s somewhere in the neighborhood of $68m/yr tied up in 9 players. How much does that leave for the other 44 players again? When you figure in another 10 players are due around $27m for next year, that leaves about $25m for 34 players. Hmmmm…..seems like it might be a little tough to squeeze Finley, Grant, Flynn, and Wells back in. Obviously, the actual cap number will be different, but I think the point has been made. Tend to your own house.

Go right ahead and keep spewing garbage out of your mouth. Watching you embarrass yourself is quite enjoyable. Just remember this…the Packers have more wins this season than the Vikings have in the last two seasons combined.

Feel better now? (Tough being a Vikings fan, isn’t it?)

Ok, as for our Packers, I don’t like the word “blame”, but so be it.

The Defense was simply not the same without Cullen Jenkins for pass rush (and the mysteriously injury-prone/ineffective Mike Neal not replacing what we had for pass rush with Jenkins), along with a deficient pass coverage giving up so many big plays, partially due to losing our Safety Nick Collins early on, and also the noticeable decline in Charle’s Woodson’s ability to cover recievers (he needs to be moved to safety). I also think that other teams have had enough time now to decipher how to beat Caper’s Defense. As for the Offense, Left Tackle has been a weak link in the OLine (Clifton is over-the-hill and Newhouse is a backup at best), we haven’t had a decent running back threat since Ahman Green, and Jermichael Finley has seriously underachieved and losing Quarless to IR in mid-season also hurt the offensive packages due to his greatly-improved blocking to go with his pass receiving skills.

Long story short, the Packers were not as good as their 15-1 record suggested, although they also were not as bad as the 37-20 whupping they received from the Giants would suggest either. I mean, it’s hard to win against any team when you lose the turnover battle so dramatically (1-4). Nevertheless, this is not to take away from the Giants–I still think the Giants are the better team overall–much better defense and an offense almost on par with the Packers, and I think had the Packers played up to par, the Giants would’ve won, but the score would’ve been much closer.

As for the future though, the window is still open for the Packers to contend for another couple years, that is, provided they can improve the pass Defense via adding pass rushers and decent secondary, and lastly, move Woodson to safety. Ted Thompson has generally been cap smart, and I could see him sign a decent mid-level free agent. (Forget about Mario Williams though–aint gonna happen.)

Also, as for the rest of the NFC North, I only see the Bears as being competitors for the division next season (had Cutler not gone down they definitely would have made the playoffs this year.) As for the Vikings, one of the reasons they’ve been talking so much smack over/against the Packer fans here is perhaps the realization that they are going nowhere anytime soon, given they are majorly cap-strapped due to Adrian Peterson’s huge contract, who won’t even play for at least another year, if ever be the same again. The Lions are also majorly cap-strapped, and will have a real challenge to maintain, let alone improve, upon this current season.

So the Packers didn’t just fall short this year, but they had shortcomings which were easily ignored due to the Offensive success and the fact that the defense led the league in turnovers by a large margin. That was significant, as for example, San Diego would’ve beat the Packers were it not for the turnovers. Anyways, things still look bright for the Packers—they will at least be legitimate “contenders” for the next couple seasons before the window closes again.