The Green Bay Packers are discovering that they have about as much chance stopping the forward pass as they have stopping the rain. For the third week in a row, the Packers’ secondary was carved up like a lab rat in the 37-29 loss at Carolina.
Worse, the two-game losing streak had left the Packers looking like the Dallas Cowboys, finger-pointing and fighting amongst themselves on the sidelines. This was markedly different behavior from that which has come to be known as the Packer way.
The frustration over their defensive ineffectiveness boiled over in the second quarter and culminated with nose guard B.J. Raji pushing defensive back Ha Ha Clinton-Dix. Trouble in paradise was on green and gold display for all to see as the Pack fell to 6-2.
According to the television sideline reporter, in the moments leading up to the incident, Packers linebacker Julius Peppers had read the riot act to Clinton-Dix, possibly for the unusually wide berth that Clinton-Dix was allowing receivers at the line of scrimmage.
Judging from the body language, the second-year Clinton-Dix probably told the 14-year veteran Peppers that he could have made his point without the histrionics, after which Raji, a veteran in his seventh season, cuffed the young defensive back and sent him on his way.
It may have been an embarrassing and un-Packer-like moment, but it wasn’t as embarrassing as giving up 500 yards of passing in successive weeks.
Peppers’ ire was more understandable, given that he was playing on the turf where he once roamed as king. Carolina quarterback Cam Newton now reigns as the toast of that town. He also reigns as the only undefeated quarterback left in the NFC.
Peppers and the Packers may want to remember the rage and channel it in case there’s a next time in Charlotte this season, which is a distinct possibility. The 8-0 Panthers, who have beaten a grand total of one team with a winning record (the Packers), have a second-half schedule that includes only one other team with a winning record (the 5-4 New York Giants). With the win over the Packers, they are in excellent position to secure home field advantage throughout the playoffs.
The biggest disappointment to last Sunday’s loss in Carolina wasn’t the second-quarter breakdown or the sideline beef, but the fact that the Packers came up just short in one of the most inspiring comebacks in the team’s history.
Down by 23 points in the fourth quarter, the Packers got mad and played like a champion, making all the big first downs and key stops when they had to. It was Carolina who left the stadium feeling like they got away with one.
Credit coach Mike McCarthy for going for the two-point conversion when the score was 37-20. A missed two-pointer there leaves the Packers down by three scores and hands the momentum right back to the Panthers. McCarthy’s confidence in the offense to make those 2 yards spoke loudly, and after the Packers converted to make it a 15-point game, the defense also came alive.
Lost in the breathless shuffle of the fourth-quarter comeback was one of, if not the most clutch fourth-and-long plays of the season. With 5:05 left in the fourth quarter and the Packers facing fourth-and-14 on their own 44, Rodgers made a brilliant escape from the stampede of Carolina’s Mario Addison, Thomas Davis and Kony Ealy. Their pursuit had flushed Rodgers to his left, from where he managed to escape with enough distance to plant, pivot and heave a jump-ball to James Jones, who wrestled it from cornerback Josh Norman to complete the improbable first down and keep the drive alive.
It was a great play, and the comeback was great theater that the Packers almost pulled off. With their backs to the wall, the Packers showed how they respond. They didn’t lose to Carolina so much as they ran out of time. The question now is whether they can stay mad and pick up where they left off.
Categories
