The opening play of the game Packers Steelers game was a 60 yard pass touchdown pass From Ben Roethlisberger to Rookie WR Mike Wallace .  Bush’s inexplicable blown coverage would alter this game in more ways than the 7 points to the Steelers.  This would be the first crack in defensive coordinator Dom Capers faith in himself. For most of the game, Dom Capers stuck with his original game plan.  He would blitz Roethlisberther often and try to contain him in the Pocket.  We never got to see the what Caper’s plan for the run as neither team ran the ball or even attempted to run the ball.  Roethlisberger spent the first half terrorizing the Packer’s secondary, engineering 3 touchdown drives against the Packers.   Roethlisberger largely would target the receivers covered by freshly promoted defensive backs Jarrett Bush and Josh Bell along with ILB A.J. Hawk, who had problems covering TE Heath Miller.

In the second half, the Packers defense contained the Steelers to three field goals.  The Packers offense  scored 22 points in the fourth quarter to put the Packers up 36-30 with 2:06 left on the clock, Pittsburgh’s ball on their own 14.  This is where we saw Capers lose his faith in himself.  After playing the Steelers the aggressively the whole game, Dom Capers would change his defensive strategy on this last drive.  The Packers started playing exclusively nickel and dime coverages during this final drive, usually in a soft zone.  Capers never rushed more than 4 this drive and often only 3.  Roethlisberger had plenty of time to pick apart the Packer’s secondary in this bend, don’t break defense.  Against this defensive scheme, the Steelers went 86 yards in 15 plays.  This drive culminated with a 19 yard touchdown pass to Mike Wallace at the end of regulation.  After Josh Reed trotted on the field for a chip shot extra point, the Steelers won 37-36.

After the game, Dom Capers said “Obviously, you get influenced when on the first play of the game they threw the ball over the top of us for a touchdown. That was a four-man rush with straight man coverage.”  It sounds like Capers lost some faith in his defense and his scheme for Pittsburgh after the first play.  Capers defended his switch to Nickel and Dime defense by saying ”You don’t want to let them go the distance in one play.  You want to make them have to work and make a play. We had our chances to make plays. We just didn’t get them made.”

I will concede to Capers that the Packers had their chances to make plays to win the game in the soft zones, but they just didn’t make them.  CB Tramon Williams dropped what should have been an interception early in the drive.  Jarrett Bush picked off Roethlisberger only to have his interception negated by an illegal contact penalty.  Then worst of all, DE Cullen Jenkins missed a game ending sack on Roethlisberger.  If any of these play had been made, the game would have been a Packer victory.

However, I hate the fact that he switched to this soft zone, which I believe exacerbated our weakness on defense.  The season ending injury of CB Al Harris promoted the inconstant Jarrett Bush to nickel and midseason pick up Josh Bell to dime back.  By giving Roethlisberger all day to throw the ball, the Packers gave Pittsburgh’s talented receiving corps, which includes two Super Bowl MVPs, time to get separation from our inconsistent and untested nickel and dime backs.

The aggressive blitzing defense Capers schemed for the Steelers, which did not allow a touchdown in the second half, was scrapped in the last two minutes.  I believe that is was because Capers lost faith in his own scheme.  Instead of sticking with his scheme that had held the Steelers to 9 points in the second half, he lost confidence in his players and himself.  I believe Capers then threw the defense out in a formation they have not played often this year because he got scared.  Saying whether or not the Packers would have won with that defense is impossible, but I think it gives the Packers the best chance.  I still believe that Capers is the answer to the Packers defense and has done an admirable job.  I just would have liked to have seen a Dom Capers defense on the field for the last two minutes of the game.

It was a productive week for the Packers in their quest to play 17 games this year.  The Packers defeated the Bears.  The Eagles beat the Giants pretty solidly on Sunday Night Football and pushed the Eagles into top spot in the division.  Dallas continued its ‘December slip’ as the Chargers beat the Cowboys.   This combination set up the Packers for a possible week 15 clinch.  The Packers’ Magic Number is two, they need to win two games or have the Giants or Cowboys lose two.  The Packers hold the tie breaker over Dallas due to their head-to-head victory and are two games ahead of the Giants.  If the Packers win and either Dallas or the Giants lose, the Packers clinch a playoff berth in week 15.

Let’s look team-by-team:

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The Packers are in a great position to go 12-4 and win 8 games straight.   I thought the Packers would be content to get to 8-8 after the Tamp Bay disaster, but it is wonderful how wrong you can be.  The Packers are poised to turned their 4-4 season to a stunning 12-4 wild card team.  All the Packers remaining games are winnable.  The remaining opponents, the Bears, Steelers, Seahawks and Cardinals are a combined 24-25 with three teams out of the playoff hunt and a divisional winner.  These are the games the Packers have to win to finish 12-4.

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One of the joys of being a Packers fan located in Chicago this year has been watching the Bears struggle.  They are downright terrible.  They just came off a four game losing streak, thanks to eeking out a victory against the hapless Rams.  Through the course of the season, the media in Chicago has gone from hyping the Bears to being disgusted with their crybaby quarterback to debating which person in management to fire.  The choices now include head coach Lovie Smith, offensive coordinator Ron Turner, and general manager Jerry Angelo.  Many Bears’ fans are suggesting all three. The Bears’ confidence is shattered and the coaching staff is exhausted.  The defects are glaring on both sides of the ball.  The team is dispirited and heartless. (more…)

The Wild Card race has certainly tightened after last weekend.  We saw the 49ers fall out of the hunt after a loss to the Seahawks.  The Falcons suffered a decisive defeat by the Eagles and are all but eliminated.  The Eagles and the Giants both beat conference opponents.  The Packers won, and showed why they are the highest ranked defense in the NFL.

The NFC East division race is getting heated.  The Cowboys loss to the Giants puts the NFC East divisional title back within reach for the Eagles and the Giants.  Right now the Eagles and Cowboys both have an 8-4 record with the Cowboys having the head-to-head tie breaker.  Both teams will face each other again in week 17 in a match that very well may determine the divisional winner.

Conventional wisdom is that the Packers need 10 wins to secure a playoff berth.  The Packers securing a win against a solid AFC squad has really helped their case.   I believe that with games against the self destructing Bears and  the Seahawks at Lambeau, the Packers are in prime position to get those 10 wins and maybe more.

Cowboys (8-4) – If the season ended today, the Cowboys would win the head-to-head tie breaker against the Eagles and therefor, win the NFC East.  The Cowboys defeat by the Giants has put a serious question mark on their ability to win the division.  They have to play some tough teams to keep their slot.  Their remaining games are the Chargers, Saints, Redskins and the Eagles.

Eagles (8-4) - If the season ended today, Philadelphia would win the conference record tie breaker over the Packers and claim  the number 1 wild card slot.  The Eagles just trounced the Falcons this week and are looking good.  They do not have time to take a breather and travel to New York to play the Giants.  Their remaining games are the Giants, 49ers, Broncos and Cowboys.

Packers (8-4) -If the season ended today, Green Bay would win the second wild card berth.  The Packers were able to overcome sloppy play and pull out a win against a good Baltimore team.  The Packers get the privilege of going to Chicago next week to play the Bears.  Their remaining games are the Bears, Steelers, Seahawks and Cardinals.

Giants (7-5) – Even with a big win against the Cowboys, the Giants are going to have to fight hard to remain in competition.  They travel to Philadelphia this week and then finish out the year playing the Redskins, Panthers, and the Vikings

Falcons (6-6) – The Falcons host the Saints this week.  Unless they win this game, which the probably won’t, they are out of the hunt.

“The Dagger!”  That’s the call Wayne Larrivee makes when the Packers have pounded the final nail in an opponent’s coffin.  Unfortunately for the Packers, this call seems to come much later in the game than it should.  One clear weakness the Packers have had for almost two seasons is the inability to finish opponents.  This cost Green Bay several games in 2008.  It also cost the Packers the Tampa Bay game, where they were leading 28-17 with 13 minutes left in the game and failed to land a coup de grace on the Buccaneers and allowed them to come back and win.  Against the 49ers, the Packers were up 30-10 with 11 minutes back left in the forth quarter when the Pack allowed two touchdowns and were forced to run a successful four minute drill in order to win.

Mike McCarthy just doesn’t seem to have that killer instinct to finish a team when they are down.  When you watch teams like the Patriots, they will beat on the opposition until that team’s will and chances are completely shattered.  I’m not sure what it is, but the Packers offense and the defense seem all too often seem to slacken when the Packers have the lead in a game.

As the Packers head into this critical point in their season, it’s time to play for keeps.  It’s time for a 60-minute ball club to plunge the dagger in early and often–or rather early and decisively.