It certainly didn't hurt to have an offense that was good enough to make teams deviate from their plan. On the other hand having a D that was proficient at stopping the run was a big plus and had to contribute to early leads too. After all, if teams back in the early part of the year could have run the ball better it would have inhibited Aaron and the boys from building those big leads.

Your right, historically speaking over the last three years there wasn't a lot of positives on defense but THIS year, early on, the run D was consistently getting it done.

I think the big guys on the DL are worn down physically and mentally. The offense hasn't provided much help there either. I'm hoping that with the 10 days between games which is the longest they have had in two months helps rejuvenate the D and certainly expect a better effort then what we saw in Detroit.
There's not just the season on the line here but pride as well. That can't hurt.

Originally Posted by: warhawk 

Yeah, good points. I do think Jolly wore down, and that definitely affected the rest of the group. And, having Rodgers force the issue with some quick scoring does force teams to change their plans.

I just think maybe our numbers were a bit skewed as well, not having faced top tier RBs early, then when we did, Rodgers goes down, and so do the stats for run D. Some of that was indeed due to the Rodgers injury, but most of those RBs can make anyone's numbers go down. We just couldn't stop the run nor the pass. We're probably not as bad a run D as the numbers indicate due to Rodgers being out, and we were probably not as good as we might have thought earlier. Raw stats are funny that way.

Originally Posted by: play2win 

I don't disagree but giving up 91 to Gerhart on 8 carries is inexcusable.

Originally Posted by: wpr 

Now evidence is emerging to support my thesis

Originally Posted by: nerdmann 

Packers coach Mike McCarthy said Cobb will be tested again Tuesday.

“Obviously, he’s not ready this week, and Tuesday will be a big day because that’s kind of the week we’ve always looked at for his availability,” McCarthy said. “So we’ll see how that sorts out on Tuesday.”

When told McCarthy said that, Cobb replied: “Did he? You broke some news to me.”

“I feel pretty good, but until I’m able to run and able to test out, I won’t know exactly where I’m at. It’s kind of hard to tell where I’m at without running,” Cobb said. “I talked to the doctor this morning, and after the scan that I had right before Thanksgiving, from what that scan showed, he still wasn’t ready to let me run yet.

Source  wrote:

Evidence? You have three sources, and they can be summed up pretty succinctly:

1) Tramon hesitated to answer a question about Capers.
2) Pickett says we are playing poorly on defense.
3) Packers D played poorly against SF and since Rodgers went down.

Forgive me for being a picky logic student, but this is not even close to evidence in support of your claim. The conclusion of 'players may be revolting' does not logically follow from the premises.

If you want to share your thesis that is completely fine, but if you aim to persuade, using actual (or even suggestive) evidence would be a good start for gaining support.

Originally Posted by: StoicFire 

Personally... I think there are bigger issues than players vs Dom inside the walls of 1265.. I think we are seeing glimpses of it throughout this season...

1. Jennings comments on the Packers organization.
2. Arod vs Mike McCarthy on the sideline of a game.
3. Arod's frustrations in his "medical situation".
4. Comments like this...



5. Just the overall difference in comments coming out of different facets of this organization. Not on the same page type of comments.. Sam Shields stated it a couple weeks ago, we have guys in the same huddle not getting on the same page, snap in and out. Microcosm for the entire team?

It may be just a frustrating season.. or it may be something more deep seated.. but to me, something is amiss with this team, seemed off the entire season. They put so much into beating the Niners... and didn't get it done.. and from there, just seems like a frustrated team overall.

Originally Posted by: Pack93z 

Personally... I think there are bigger issues than players vs Dom inside the walls of 1265.. I think we are seeing glimpses of it throughout this season...

1. Jennings comments on the Packers organization.
2. Arod vs Mike McCarthy on the sideline of a game.
3. Arod's frustrations in his "medical situation".
4. Comments like this...



5. Just the overall difference in comments coming out of different facets of this organization. Not on the same page type of comments.. Sam Shields stated it a couple weeks ago, we have guys in the same huddle not getting on the same page, snap in and out. Microcosm for the entire team?

It may be just a frustrating season.. or it may be something more deep seated.. but to me, something is amiss with this team, seemed off the entire season. They put so much into beating the Niners... and didn't get it done.. and from there, just seems like a frustrated team overall.

Originally Posted by: Pack93z