First, let’s start with the perspective.
Aaron Rodgers has not become a bad quarterback. But something isn’t adding up for the Green Bay Packers, who saw a major window open when the Detroit Lions beat the Minnesota Vikings … and they proceeded to slam it shut on their own fingers in a 31-26 loss to the Indianapolis Colts.
Now let’s deal with reality.
The Packers are now .500. They’re a third-place team. They might be a game out of first place, but it doesn’t feel like that right now. The NFL is a results-based business, and unless the Packers turn things around in the second half of the season, head coach Mike McCarthy could be in some trouble.
Do they need to win the division? Make the playoffs? Win a postseason game or two? That I don’t know. But it has become obvious that when the team operation is failing — and this thing is carrying over from last season, and not improving — then it’s usually the head coach who pays the price.
The Packers’ options are limited here. McCarthy already gave someone else play-calling duties last season, and it didn’t go well. Can’t go back there. Oh sure, Packers Nation would love if defensive coordinator Dom Capers was fired. They’ve made that their primary goal since … well, since that 15-1 team lost at home in the playoffs maybe. But that might not change much. And they are not benching Rodgers; it’s just not going to happen soon, despite Rodgers’ accuracy issues at times.
Rodgers carried the load in the win over the Chicago Bears, was pretty darned amazing in the loss to the Atlanta Falcons and still made some things happen Sunday against the Colts. He’s being asked to run the 2014 Packers offense with banged-up versions of Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb, plus no Eddie Lacy. That doesn’t fly. Rodgers might not be having a great season, with occasionally squirrely feet (see what we did there?) and sloppy mechanics. But he’s not the root of the issue — and he’s not going anywhere.
If the Packers’ window is not closed already, well, it’s not terribly open right now. At the time, colleague Frank Schwab wrote when the Packers blew a 19-7 lead with a little more than two minutes left in the 2014 NFC championship that they might never live that game down. Before Rodgers got hurt that year, that team was a monster, and even with him at less than full health the Packers were very, very good. Two years later, Schwab’s postgame piece feels more true than ever. That’s true regret.
The Packers were outplayed in every phase on Sunday. They allowed a 99-yard kick return and missed a field-goal try on special teams. The shorthanded defense allowed the Colts to convert 7-of-14 third downs and 3-of-4 red-zone possessions into touchdowns. The Packers’ offense again had a dormant first half and came up short in its game of catch-up.
Have the Packers wasted Rodgers in his prime? Can they get back on track this season? It’s tough to say. But when you hear that Rodgers and McCarthy look like they aren’t on the same page, and there are whispers that McCarthy and general manager Ted Thompson have been off that page for some time, it’s hard not to wonder about McCarthy’s future after this season if things stay on this path.
Look, McCarthy signed a multiyear extension (almost two years ago to the day) that’s believed to run through 2018. A buyout of that would be hefty. Plus, yeah, he’s won a lot of games. He’s 108-59-1 with a Super Bowl title in his 11 seasons and counting, and that includes only one losing season. That’s an impressive résumé that stacks up with almost anyone coaching today. But coaches with great records sometimes are pushed out when things feel stale or relationships sour. If that’s what’s going on, we could see a change of heart.
In the NFL, two years is a lifetime.
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