Packers fans may soon be longing for the days of unfulfilled postseason expectations. With a pair of consecutive losses and a 4-4 record through half of the season, the Packers may not get a chance to underwhelm in this year’s playoffs.
And if that happens, coach Mike McCarthy may not get a chance to extend his run in Green Bay to 12 seasons.
As noted by Bob McGinn of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the Packers have lost three times at home in the last year games that they were favored to win by seven or more points.
“That’s becoming a habit, a very bad habit, for coach Mike McCarthy and the Green Bay Packers,” McGinn writes, adding that the most recent home loss came against a Colts teams that one member of the front office regards as the worst team the Packers will play all year.
Then there are the critical comments from quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who at first blush seemed to be calling out his teammates for not having energy on Sunday but who actually may have been calling out those charged with ensuring that the players are properly energized.
“I’m not a rah-rah guy, but I’m a focused, enthusiastic player, and I don’t know what the lack of juice was,” Rodgers said. “You kind of felt it over the entire sideline. We didn’t have the same kind of enthusiasm and encouragement that we had the previous two weeks.”
Rodgers said he “felt it over the entire sideline,” which consists of more team employees than players. Which means that the lethargy was shared by the coaches — and how can the coaches keep the players from being lethargic when the coaches are?
Regardless of the target(s) of Rodgers’ public ire, the Packers are once again struggling. Which means that, if they don’t qualify for the postseason, the Packers may finally decide to find a coach to match with Rodgers for at least the remaining years of his playing career.