I know I've said this before, but the game against the Seahawks at Lambeau Field will determine the future of the Green Bay Packers in the short term and the long term.
General Manager Ted Thompson and Head Coach Mike McCarthy have backed the Packers in a corner this season having to win the last six games in order to keep their playoff streak alive and, to be brutally honest, nothing more than that because Thompson has left the 2016 Packers without enough talent to seriously content for the Super Bowl.
After wins over the Eagles and Texans following four straight losses to teams the Packers should have been able to beat (Falcons, Colts, Titans and Redskins) and seeing the Packers Power Ranking drop to 24 and sitting not only behind the Lions, of all teams, but also behind the Vikings after letting the Vikings win the North Division with a victory over the Packers at Lambeau Field the current owners of the mantle of Curly Lambeau, Vince Lombardi, Ron Wolf and Mike Holmgren have put the Packers on a course the "Tedders" and Ask Vic have been afraid of.
With the current lack of front line talent and lack of depth at several positions Thompson has set up the 3rd Wilderness Years. The 1st lasted 14 years from 1945 to 1958. The 2nd lasted 24 years from 1968 to 1991. The 3rd started last season in Week 7.
After a 6-0 start the Packers fell to 4-6 and started this season at 4-6. The 3rd Wilderness Era could be said to have started in 2011 if you only taking into account the playoffs. The regular season numbers are good from 2011 to 2014 (15-1, 11-5-1, (8-7-1), 12-4), but the playoff record was less than stellar.
After going 15-1 in 2011 the Packers were eliminated in the first round, in 2012 lost in the second round, in 2013 lost in the first round, and 2014 made it all the way to the Conference Championship Game before suffering one of the worst collapses in NFL playoff history. The Packers really haven't recovered from that debacle.
Last year the Packers were eliminated in the second round for a playoff record of 3-5. Under Mike McCarthy the Packers only have an 8-7 record in the playoffs and if you take away the 4-0 record in 2010 when the Packers won the Super Bowl his record is 4-7.
So it all comes down to Sunday at 3:25 p.m. at Lambeau Field when the Seattle Seahawks come to call. The 6-6 Packers are flawed and Lambeau Field is no longer a guaranteed win, but the 8-3-1 Seahawks are beatable.
With the resurgence of Aaron Rodgers and the offense the Packers have averaged 24.6 points a game overall and even during the 4-game losing streak were averaging 26.75, but the weak link was and has been since the Super Bowl is Dom Capers' defense, which gave up an average of 38.25 during the streak, and before the last two games were giving up 27.6 overall.
The last two weeks the Packers gave up 13 to the Eagles and 13 to the Texans, but that is misleading. Carson Wentz completed 24-of-36 passes for 254 yards and Brock Osweiler completed 22-of-35 for 202 yards and 2 TDs. The Packer Defense is a panacea for quarterbacks having bad seasons.
Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson is having an off-season completing 65.3 of his passes for 3,142 yards with only 12 TDs and 5 interceptions. In contrast, Rodgers has completed 64.5 after starting the season under 60% for 3,283 yards with 29 TDs and 7 interceptions.
In the head-to-head matchup between the two Wilson won the first meeting, 14-12, at Seattle on the Hail Mary as a rookie in 2012; won his second sort of in the 2013 preseason; won his third 36-16 in the 2014 season opener and his fourth in overtime, 28-22, in the Great Collapse to end the season.
Rodgers finally won against him Week 2 of last year, 27-17, to make the record 3-1 officially and 4-1 actually. But to grab any straw I can Rodgers leads the recent series 1-0.
The other half of the equation are the Lions and Vikings. The 8-4 Lions play the Bears, so they will be 9-4. The Lions then play the Giants and Cowboys before ending with the Packers. The Cowboy game is where a loss could come to set up a winner-take-all at Detroit the final week. The 6-6 Vikings play the Jaguars, the Colts, the Packers and the Bears. If you look at it the Packers fate (if the Cowboys beat the Lions) is in their own hands.
The season is NOW. If the Packers lose any of the remaining games the streak of 7 straight playoff berths is probably over. The Packers have to win and with the game being at Lambeau Field that is entirely possible in normal years, but this is not a normal year.
I hope Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy and even CEO Mark Murphy are playing for their jobs. The lack of talent and depth are Thompson's fault and the lack of passion, the lack of a productive offensive game plan and the continued leakiness of the defense are McCarthy's fault.
If Mark Murphy doesn't see the steady decline of the Packers after the Super Bowl and the chance of a 3rd Wilderness Years he should be fired also. But sometimes when you want to see something (Murphy) or are afraid of a change (Tedders and Ask Vic) or don't see at all (McCarthy about Dom Capers) or are so arrogant you don't listen to anyone (Thompson) then it might take an uprising from the Packer Backers to get this situation turned around before Aaron Rodgers leaves or retires (doesn't that scenario sound familiar?).
Here are the predictions for the Packers chances of making the playoffs (i.e. beating the Seahawks).
Overall: Seahawks (60). Packers (37).
Peter Prisco (CBS): Packers 24-20
John Breech (CBS): Seahawks 27-24
Jason La Canfora (CBS): Seahawks
Will Brinson (CBS): Packers
Jared Dubin (CBS): Seahawks
Ryan Wilson (CBS): Packers
Dave Richard (CBS): Packers
Jamey Eisenberg (CBS): Packers
Elliott Harrison (NFL.com): Packers 23-20 OT
Chris Simms (Bleacher Report): Packers 21-17
ESPN Staff: 7 Packers, 3 Seahawks
FOX Sports The Big Board: 67% Seahawks win
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