They have to go 1-1 the next two, and preferably 2-0. If they stop shooting themselves in the foot and doing dumb stuff (and that includes special teams), then they can do it. Do that and I'll believe. Not until then.

ARod needs to play better, Ron Zook needs to be fired immediately, and MM still needs to go at the end of the year.

Holding off on any assessment until we see what Thursday brings.

Big Mike's balance party comes to an end.

Pettine was advertised as a guy who uses players according to their strengths, and 51 is a great example of that.

(Does MM do that? Ugh.)

I expect a loss in Seattle.

Like in Washington.
Like in Detroit.
Like in L.A.
Like in Foxboro.

Like everywhere except in Lambeau.
Last decent QB we beat away from Lambeau was...... ?

Here is a question for people to think about. If Seattle shuts down the running game and knocks 12 around and lose is MM gone at the end of the year?
Minnesota in two weeks playing better this is the two game stretch that they need a 2-0 record. I think all the games are important but if they lose Thursday the only chance for the playoffs is winning the division.

Dump the Pumpkin!!!!!

If our best player starts playing - we will win. Just like the Rams and KC, the Packers will outscore any of these remaining teams - if Rodgers brings his A game. Between, our RBs, TEs and the WR, we have enough horsepower to put teams in catchup mode - and - that is good for this improving defense.

Make it so.

There's a Podcast called "Locked on Packers" which I've mentioned here before. The host of the show brought up the one point I was asking myself last Sunday and I'm concerned McCarthy will do it again in Seattle.

With about 5 minutes left in the 2nd quarter McCarthy jogs out Williams instead of Jones. One 2nd and one he runs Williams for minus 2 yards and on 3rd down Rodgers throws incomplete or away (not sure) because his WR are all 25 yards down field.

Two things JUMP to mind in that series.

(1) WHY run Williams there when Jones is running the way he was. I understand putting Williams in for a DOWN or two, but not a SERIES. Especially at that point in the game. STAY with the hot hand.
(2) WHY are the WR's all 20 or 25 yards downfield on 3rd and 3? This IS and this HAS been the biggest FLAW in McCarthy's offense. The plays develop slowly and the chance for success isn't what you'd want on 3rd and 3 yet MM does this much of the time.

Final thought...WHY does Ron Zook still have a job? OMG have you ever saw a worse ST bunch than what GB shows every week? Have Philbin coach ST since he clearly hasn't influenced the offense any this year. Anyone but Zook...SMH

Pretty balanced analysis Al. I don't know what the other commenters think about this, but overall, I think this Packer's team is a hard team to get a read on. Not sure why. Maybe the 'new' NFL has finally caught up with the front office. Think like most here, this game will decide what direction the team goes the rest of the year. What direction that is, not clue, not a clue...

Al,
I was thinking the same thing regarding the D. Who would have thought that the D would be leading in sacks at this point in the season? Maybe MP was the only one. I haven’t read any Petunia cracks in quite a while. Instead I’m reading MP for HC.
Each time I watch, I wonder who is going to have a free run to the QB? Adams, Greene, Lancaster!? Let’s see if they can keep up the pressure in Seattle.

Aaron Jones & MVS - The stars of the Packers present and future! The offense will be ran through these guys soon. MVS has the speed to put fear in defenses. But with Adams on the other side who do they double? And if they decide to play safety's deep to stop Adams and MVS, Jones will gain 5+ yards almost every time, as he does now.

Packers Defense - I believed in Pettine that he would scheme up a better pass rush. I'd be lying if I said I thought they would lead the league halfway through, but I knew they would be better. The problem is for the last however many years us fans have gotten used to Capers scheme where the pass rush absolutely comes from the OLB's. With Pettine, that's now what he does.

Packers Offense - McCarthy's best decision was keeping Jones on the field for most of the snaps. He actually has done this every game since the bye week. Shows that self scouting helped.
My only complaint right now of McCarthy is rotating RB's per series. Instead of having Jones come off during the series for a few plays and a break, they take him out for entire series. I don't like that.

Safety's - Just saying, what if we improved over Clinton-Dix and Brice and Whitehead? Both Clinton-Dix and Brice missed a lot of tackles. Whitehead was ok in the role he played, but wasn't special. Perhaps the Packers are better with Williams, Jones, Greene at safety?

Rodgers - In my eyes he looked better. He had some throws that were off. I do think some of that is due to lack of practice time. His timing is off with the speed of the rookies. Give him a few more weeks and I think we will see his timing catch up. He also didn't throw to some open receivers again. That part I don't know what will fix that.
But something about his throws looked better to me. Like they were coming out with better zip.
I'm not sure what the cause of it is, but hopefully he keeps improving and getting back to his old self.

Mathews - When people talk about him its all about his sacks. Nothing else. Mathews is currently at 2.5 sacks. Should be 3.5 due to one of his perfect form tackles on a QB got penalized. Also there has been a couple of times that he could have sacked the QB but someone else was there just before him. Like Sunday, Clark got there a 1/2 second before Mathews.
I know I'm in the minority, but I hope he comes back. Obviously at a reduced rate.

1) Clark with 5 sacks..unreal. 2) Raven ....you wanna steal a starting safety spot ? Let's see it.

"He obviously quickly figured out what Fackrell does well (edge rush and drop in coverage) and what he can't do (set an edge and tackle running backs)."

Excellent point. This is what's been so frustrating about MM on the offensive side -- misusage of players. The bad drafting + misusage of offensive players like Aaron Jones only compounds our problems.

Will McCarthy change? History says no. Only coaches who last a long time evolve (i.e. Bill Belichick). I just don't see that with McCarthy anymore. We have to wait until week 10 for him to realize Aaron Jones is a star in the making. Sheesh...

As much as we all are calling for McCarthy's head can we at least admit he made the right hiring decision by getting Pettine?

I might be wrong here but I looked at Jones in that last game and he looked gassed a few time and had a few false starts. He is also only 198 lbs. He has not played much and is not as good as Williams in pass pro. I had no problems with Williams subbing for him in the last game.
Clay is still disrupting the play even when he does not get the sack.

I have no problem with Williams getting some playing because lets not forget Jones is not a durable type of back . When Jones was in on short yardage situations there were complaints now the reverse. I agree Matthews is still playing hard and is in on many plays, not a concern. The two miscommunication plays to Adams does bother me. Fire Zook ,seems very drastic. Yes, there were some poor plays ,but blocked punt seemed to be poor blocking execution. However, coverage on one of the best returners and our punter and kicker are playing well. The Pepto Bismol and beer will be on ice Thurs night !

Before the season, MM declared the Packer run game would be by "committee".

MMs ego is huge and teamed with his tremendous stubborn streak, he is slow to accept mistakes and exacerbates his errors.

How many more games might the Pack had won if AJ ran the ball 15-25 times over the last 7 games?

How many more games might the Pack had won if one of the best ST coaches was hired 3 years ago?

How many more SBs might the Packer have played in if one of the best Defensive Coordinators in the NFL was hired 6 years ago?

I think this is why BG kept him on a one year deal. He needs to see MMs flaws too. And be very perplexed that with a future HOF QB, over the last 49 games MM is 44-44-1

Definitely excited to see how we can bring some of the momentum from Sunday into a hostile environment this Thursday. I think this game will definitely help set the tone for the remainder of the season.

Scary to think what the MM bashers must of been like during the Holmgren and Sherman regime.

I agree Clay Matthews does not have it anymore, but you know I actually like him now than I did when he was really good.
1. He doesn't seem as cocky.
2. He is not joking around on the sidelines
like he used to.
3. He seems to be trying harder and.
focusing more on the team effort.
4. Don't see him slacking off on plays.
5. I see him out there giving it all.
6. I used to call him glamour boy. But now
he is starting to play like a blue collar.
7. He knows its not about him and that
the camera isn't focused on him.

Bottomline: He may not have the physical skills he used to, but mentally he has matured and is giving whatever he has left in the tank.

Go Clay Matthews!

MM needs to go after this season if he doesn't get this offense scoring in the thirties every game. they are too good to be floundering offensively for long stretches. i thought with Philbin back this offense would take off. i realize Rodgers wasn't 100 percent but MM did nothing to call plays to get the ball out quickly. finally on Sunday....we saw the effective use of the screen pass which has been missing for many moons. keep getting Jones the ball in space and good things will happen.

We need more 3 TE sets.

I honestly don't think their is a team out that would know how to stop our 3 TEs
if we lined them up more as all receiving threats.

This IMMEDIATELY takes PRESSURE OFF A. Rogers where he can throw the quick passes. Why, why why does McCarthy have just a few plays? And, then he holds on to them on his little colored cards!

Come on MM! I want more 3 TE sets.

Why did you even bother getting these 3 TEs when we don't even use them properly!

1. J. Graham
2. M. Lewis
3. L.Kendricks

The Seahawks are 1-2 at home this season. Their only home victory coming against the Cowboys.

The Seahawks other 3 victories have come against the Cardinals, Lions and Raiders. Not exactly a "Murderer's Row" of NFL teams.

Maybe the Packers can maintain their momentum against the Seachickens. Their home stadium doesn't appear to provide the advantage they once enjoyed there. If the Packers don't beat themselves and play as well as they did against the Rams, Pats and Dolphins we can take them and earn our first road victory this season. Thanks, Since '61

There is no version of MM that I want back next season. There will be a new decision that will need to be made, and no reason to think MM won't choose the wrong option and stick to it for 10 or more games in the face of overwhelming opposing evidence.

I really thought hiring Joe Philbin would inject some creativity into the offense, but it's looked the same as last year--Stale. At least now there is a genuine pass action threat. Has Rodgers' knee been so severely limiting that he can't work under center much?

I have a really good feeling about the game tomorrow. IMO, the Pack is ready for some smash mouth football and gonna take it the house many times. Let's go Pack and make a statement game against Seattle! Avenge that horrible playoff loss from a few seasons ago!

Ok can any MM supporter give me just 1good reason why MMshould be retained at HC next year?

Just give me 1 portion of his job that he is good at.

In 2010 the packers were 10- 6. They won it all. The following year 15-1 in 2011. Most of you seem think it's simple to hire and fire regardless. MM has been beset by injuries, etc. TT hired him. ESPN\= Regarded league-wide as a very creative offensive mind, McCarthy is also known for his communication skills and ability to develop a quick rapport with his players. Yet were hearing MM didn't do them right. Scheming or lack of commitment? Why did MM take back the play calling. It's communication people. Let's be honest. Believe! (The players want too. ) The support has to be for your coach if you want to move forward. He's worked closely with Gute. The window for new players just got opened. I guarantee he will turn your whims into smiles. Remember the 10-6.

The moronic use or the RB's this year is proof enough that MM has no clue how to utilize his roster. Then you look into recent past and be reminded that Heyward and Hyse were just guys or replacement level players that were immediate probowlers elsewhere. I am guessing the same thing will happen with Randall. If that does happen, how is it going to feel knowing that 3/4 of starting AFC probowl secondary was allowed to walk out the door?

Pettine has found a way to get SOMETHING out of Fackrell of all people. A player most of us assumed would be released next season.

MM needs to go! No discussion needed! I cant think of anything he has done or can do to warrant being brought back.

Al, with this thoughts I agree...

Congrats on picking MVS in your mock draft Jersey Al. That's pretty good and MVS is pretty darn good. You do this draft over and MVS is a 2nd or first round pick based on what we are all seeing so far. Incredible talent. Again, I see James Lofton in this kid.