Monday, October 24, 2005

From bad to worse.

News just in: Ahman Green is out for the rest of the season with a tendon tear in his thigh. Robert Ferguson is out at least 2-4 weeks.

So...let's review: 3 out of the Pack's top 4 receivers are out (2 of them for the year) and the Packers top 2 running backs are out for the season. Can you say, "Ouch!"?

How in the world Brett Favre will be able to carry the team on his back perhaps more than ever before remains to be seen. Given the weaknesses in the defensive backfield (i.e, Ahmad Carroll), the offense needs to be able to score points. With virtually no running game and only Donald Driver as a reliable downfield receiver, it seems highly unlikely that they will be able to do that.

The "easy" part of the Pack's schedule has now passed. The team is 1-5, tied with only San Francisco in the NFC for futility, and one game ahead of the winless Houston Texans in the entire league. Given the schedule over the next few weeks -- at Cincinnati, Pittsburgh at home, at Atlanta -- the Pack could, and likely will, go into its Nov. 21 Monday Night Football rematch against the ViQueens at 1-8.

It may very well be that if the Pack had stayed healthy there was talent enough to win the division and get to the playoffs. That was my prediction at the beginning of the season: winning the division at 9-7. Is it still possible? Sure. Is it probable? No. Given the rash of injuries, questionable personnel decisions going into and during the season, and mediocre play-calling from Coach Sherman, the Pack will be lucky to perhaps win 4 more games all year.

Still, it is a shame that our last memory of Ahman Green in a Packers uniform is of him being carted off the field following his injury. With free agency pending after this season, this injury, his declining production, and age, the Pack will likely move in a different direction next season for a starting a RB. Green deserved a better exit.

Of course, fans deserve better memories than we are being left with this year. After all, we haven't had to say, "Well, there's always next year" so early in a season for a long, long time.