If things go wrong......

[Patler]

Let's just assume that things go wrong on defense, and:

- the Packers are again hit with injuries, and lose starters on defense for 20-25 games
- Pickett shows his age, still good, but plays even fewer snaps
- Jones follows a typical D-line rookie path, and helps but not a lot as he learns
- Perry is sold in some phases, confused in others
- Raji is his same inconsistent self;
- Neal is hurt or does little, Bishop is not fully recovered, Tramon Williams is done as a shutdown corner due to the nerve issue; and
- Hayward, Shields and Brad Jones are OK, but it becomes apparent that 2012 might have been career years for them.

I'm not expecting massive changes for any of the above, just a noticeable regression to levels that have been seen from the same players before. No one on the D-line stands out, Matthews is the only stud at linebacker, and the d-backs are inconsistent.

If those entirely possible situations occur, what kind of season can the Packers have? Can they win with a defense that mediocre?

[Pugger]

We won 15 games with a mediocre D in 2011. ;)

I can't imagine all of these things go south for us in 2013. If they do we are a cursed football team. :-(

[Carolina_Packer]

Depends on what you mean by win. Win enought games to make the playoffs; maybe. Win a playoff game? No. 2011 was incredible, but the D was so inconsistent. Regression would be considered the same thing happening as last year by getting bounced in the playoffs and some aspect of it being lop-sided or showing a major flaw. It's one thing to lose a close, competitive game, but another to get exposed. If that is due to injury and it took what they had just to get there, then Capers may be safe. If they under-perform and are healthy enough to have made progress, but do not, then he might pay with his job.

[pbmax]

Let's just assume that things go wrong on defense, and:

- the Packers are again hit with injuries, and lose starters on defense for 20-25 games
- Pickett shows his age, still good, but plays even fewer snaps
- Jones follows a typical D-line rookie path, and helps but not a lot as he learns
- Perry is sold in some phases, confused in others
- Raji is his same inconsistent self;
- Neal is hurt or does little, Bishop is not fully recovered, Tramon Williams is done as a shutdown corner due to the nerve issue; and
- Hayward, Shields and Brad Jones are OK, but it becomes apparent that 2012 might have been career years for them.

I'm not expecting massive changes for any of the above, just a noticeable regression to levels that have been seen from the same players before. No one on the D-line stands out, Matthews is the only stud at linebacker, and the d-backs are inconsistent.

If those entirely possible situations occur, what kind of season can the Packers have? Can they win with a defense that mediocre?

Pickett playing less snaps means Raji is on the nose more unless Boyd does something remarkable. We saw a lot of this defense with Jones at LB rather than Bishop so it will improve 3rd down coverage and hurt run D. If Jones can play then Neal hurt is not a game changer. Might hurt pass rush as Raji will not be fresh, so Perry is a determining factor here. If he is inconsistent but rushers the passer like he began to in 2012 then it will be OK, if not pass rush could be back to 2011 levels.

Hayward and Shields could be compensated for by House's good health. But this depends on how bad Williams is. The Packers need an average outside guy, whether its House or Williams.

But this D can still go 10-6.

[hoosier]

Yup, 10-6 = NFCN champs = wild card win followed by division round egg laying.

[MJZiggy]

Yeah, I'm with Hoosier on this one.

[Bretsky]

The Bears and Vikings both could show some nice improvement
With another sieve year on defense with JustaJones vastly overpaid and starting at LB we could see 9-7
If we make the playoffs we're talking a first round exit

[KYPack]

Yeah, I'm with Hoosier on this one.
!

Oh shit.

Zig and Hoosier have joined the Nattering Nabobs of Negativism crew?

Where is that barrel of Kool-Aid, I need a dipper full now.

[MJZiggy]

!

Oh shit.

Zig and Hoosier have joined the Nattering Nabobs of Negativism crew?

Where is that barrel of Kool-Aid, I need a dipper full now.

I wouldn't go quite that far, honey. lol

[KYPack]

Pullin' yer chain, Z-Woman.

[woodbuck27]

I'm wondering why? we're doing this 'if things go wrong', thing, Patler?

I mean have we ever rationalized anything in a negative direction? There is no room for the team to decline in 2013. A decline simply isn't acceptable. I want to believe that we'll see progess this season over last.

Will it be enough to keep up or have we slipped further behind the recognized best? That's the question I ask myself. It appears to me that we did slip more in this off season, behind the likes of San Fran, Seattle (maybe? Atlanta).

As we get ready for TC and on and into that. It's time for nothing but positive pour moi. It's like a hand of poker. The cards are dealt. I'll play my hand the best I can.

I didn't like that TT and Crew elected to pass on Rd. 3 Pick #88. There were solid prospects available at that pick. Prospects that I still believe would have helped alot. I mean 'Big Men' right there in TT's face, or should have been on his board.

That's all been discussed thoroughly. Anything more on that is useless. If it turns out badly. I hope I'm not a...'I told you so fan'.

For now and until this season, and hopefully a solid playoff run; or maybe even the ultimate success is reached. The Super Bowl is ours again.

I'm all now as I always get to >>> to >>> 'just this':

GO PACK GO !

[RashanGary]

If all of that happens, we won't be a great team. But with all of that happening, there would still be some surprise good things that happen too.

At the end of the day, if everything goes wrong, it's not much different from last year.

[Pugger]

If all of that happens, we won't be a great team. But with all of that happening, there would still be some surprise good things that happen too.

At the end of the day, if everything goes wrong, it's not much different from last year.

If everything goes wrong we won't make the playoffs and that would be MUCH different than last year. But with the chance of finally having a legit running game for the first time since Ahman Green in his prime I'm very excited about 2013.

But this kind of positive thinking isn't welcome around here lately...

[Patler]

I'm wondering why? we're doing this 'if things go wrong', thing, Patler?

I mean have we ever rationalized anything in a negative direction? There is no room for the team to decline in 2013. A decline simply isn't acceptable. I want to believe that we'll see progess this season over last.

Will it be enough to keep up or have we slipped further behind the recognized best? That's the question I ask myself. It appears to me that we did slip more in this off season, behind the likes of San Fran, Seattle (maybe? Atlanta).

As we get ready for TC and on and into that. It's time for nothing but positive pour moi. It's like a hand of poker. The cards are dealt. I'll play my hand the best I can.

I didn't like that TT and Crew elected to pass on Rd. 3 Pick #88. There were solid prospects available at that pick. Prospects that I still believe would have helped alot. I mean 'Big Men' right there in TT's face, or should have been on his board.

That's all been discussed thoroughly. Anything more on that is useless. If it turns out badly. I hope I'm not a...'I told you so fan'.

For now and until this season, and hopefully a solid playoff run; or maybe even the ultimate success is reached. The Super Bowl is ours again.

I'm all now as I always get to >>> to >>> 'just this':

GO PACK GO !

Who are you trying to kid? You know exactly why I started this thread. You are simply disappointed that it was me who started it rather than your nominee.

My evidence from the other thread I started, "If things go right....".


Nice thread..........now..........somebody should really create a "If things go wrong" on the defense thread
Patler........you da man........wanna create that ???



Nice thread..........now..........somebody should really create a "If things go wrong" on the defense thread
Patler........you da man........wanna create that ???Ohh come on....

Nominate Wist43. He has a coupla ideas. He'll R O C K ... :rock: some sense into any homer.

GO PACK GO !

[RashanGary]

Outside of AR getting injured. . . .

Our roster is strong enough where if everything goes wrong, we're still a competitor. If everything goes right, we're probably champs. If everything sort of goes normally, we're in the SB hunt. We're a great team (period) and we will compete every year.

In 2010, if someone were to make a list of the injuries we were going to sustain and the time-frames we'd sustain them, and then ask what would happen. I'm sure most of us would have said there's NO WAY we win the SB. But we did.

The Packers, consistently, are one of the top teams in the league. Even if all the bad things happen above (honestly, not much worse than the things that went wrong last year) we'll be fine. Of course, we want a SB, we want better than fine, but you can't win it every year.

[3irty1]

A lot of things went wrong last year and we still made the playoffs. The Bears and Vikings mostly had things go right and still neither belonged in the playoffs. I've posted this graph 4 or 5 times on here by now, and I know this board generally prefers sensationalism and Bob McGinn's horror stories to actual evidence but I'll post it one more time:

http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18bp1bn1vthsypng/ku-xlarge.png

Clearly we endure a completely new circle of hell should Rodgers be part of our red bar this year, otherwise its hard to envision losing the division. There are probably 10 teams in the league that could win it all if things go right. This years healthy and lucky 49ers, Falcons, and Seahawks could well be replaced with a healthier, luckier, Giants, Redskins, or Packers in 2013. If things go wrong we could lose our last 3 years worth of 1st round picks again and our destiny will be determined mostly by how hot Rodgers arm is in December.

[George Cumby]

Yeah, I'm with Hoosier on this one.

And me.

[pbmax]

Did you ever get the feeling that some posters are actually Drew Barrymore from 50 First Dates?

[call_me_ishmael]

The Bears and Vikings both could show some nice improvement
With another sieve year on defense with JustaJones vastly overpaid and starting at LB we could see 9-7
If we make the playoffs we're talking a first round exit

I disagree. I thought Brad Jones looked the part at MLB last year. We may not be able to beat SF, but we are the second best team in the NFC. The niners are freaky good because they have a billion first round picks on the team. Makes sense... they sucked for like ten years straight where as we were consistently in the playoffs.

Contracts will catch up with the niners after this year I would think. I'm not worried about them long term because they don't have a QB. Tough to be tough and physical and have archetype players when you're picking at the bottom of every round. This will catch up with them soon as it has the Packers.

Having said that, I think the Packers are going to very good this year. They have an incredibly tough schedule so they won't have an elite record, but the buzz come December will be "watch out for GB, they're the sleeper" as we win out our last 4 to make the playoffs.

[Pugger]

I disagree. I thought Brad Jones looked the part at MLB last year. We may not be able to beat SF, but we are the second best team in the NFC. The niners are freaky good because they have a billion first round picks on the team. Makes sense... they sucked for like ten years straight where as we were consistently in the playoffs.

Contracts will catch up with the niners after this year I would think. I'm not worried about them long term because they don't have a QB. Tough to be tough and physical and have archetype players when you're picking at the bottom of every round. This will catch up with them soon as it has the Packers.

Having said that, I think the Packers are going to very good this year. They have an incredibly tough schedule so they won't have an elite record, but the buzz come December will be "watch out for GB, they're the sleeper" as we win out our last 4 to make the playoffs.

I agree it will catch up with SF. I wonder how well they will do draft wise when they start picking near the end of each round like we've been doing for a while now. But I think they have a good QB. It will be interesting to see how teams now play them with an entire offseason to study him.

[run pMc]

I agree it will catch up with SF.

It will catch up with them when Kaepernick asks for a contract extension.

If Rodgers gets hurt, the Packers -- as with any teams with an elite QB -- would be in trouble. I think the D is much better than the 2011 version, and since they played so many rookies I think it has a good chance to be better than last year's.

[woodbuck27]

Who are you trying to kid? You know exactly why I started this thread. You are simply disappointed that it was me who started it rather than your nominee.

My evidence from the other thread I started, "If things go right....".

An interesting analysis Patler. Is 'mind reader' included in your resume?

I'm not trying to kid anyone. My stands (positions) are clear.

I'm not following closely... the chronology of threads and suggestions of such threads and who should or shouldn't compose them Patler.

Whatever floats your boat Packer fan. It's a 'free world' here, in terms of creativity and by and large. All things centered on interesting discussion. :smile:

If you return to my original post in this thread. I simply state that it seems a contradiction (here) to see an exploration of anything resembling 'the negative' and Green Bay Packers. Unless it comes from 'the reality based' poster (s) that caution against any over optimism; based in another viewpoint and observation of the same events.

GO PACKERS !

[Patler]

An interesting analysis Patler. Is 'mind reader' included in your resume?

I'm not trying to kid anyone. My stands (positions) are clear.

I'm not following closely... the chronology of threads and suggestions of such threads and who should or shouldn't compose them Patler.

Whatever floats your boat Packer fan. It's a 'free world' here, in terms of creativity and by and large. All things centered on interesting discussion. :smile:

If you return to my original post in this thread. I simply state that it seems a contradiction (here) to see an exploration of anything resembling 'the negative' and Green Bay Packers. Unless it comes from 'the reality based' poster (s) that caution against any over optimism; based in another viewpoint and observation of the same events.

GO PACKERS !

I have had a history of presenting opposed threads, sometimes both initiated by me as in this case, sometimes just the flip side to a thread started by someone else. You are correct about one thing though, (assuming I have read you correctly) the "flip side" is generally negative, as in this case. But, I think most fan sites tend to lean toward the positive, unless it happens to be for one of the real unfortunate franchises that never seems to give their fans anything to be pleased about.

It kind of makes me wonder what the tone of Packerrats would have been if it was around in the '70s and '80s. Probably not a very pleasant place to be.

[Guiness]

I have had a history of presenting opposed threads, sometimes both initiated by me as in this case, sometimes just the flip side to a thread started by someone else. You are correct about one thing though, (assuming I have read you correctly) the "flip side" is generally negative, as in this case. But, I think most fan sites tend to lean toward the positive, unless it happens to be for one of the real unfortunate franchises that never seems to give their fans anything to be pleased about.

It kind of makes me wonder what the tone of Packerrats would have been if it was around in the '70s and '80s. Probably not a very pleasant place to be.

A lot of pictures with the caption "Have you seen this dog?"

[Patler]

A lot of pictures with the caption "Have you seen this dog?"

:lol:

[Tony Oday]

Even if the defense sucks this year we have AR...he is 9 wins...CMIII is 2 wins...still though I think 10-6

[Patler]

Even if the defense sucks this year we have AR...he is 9 wins...CMIII is 2 wins...still though I think 10-6

Because 9+2=10 ?????????

[Tony Oday]

Because 9+2=10 ?????????

lol no I just cant bring myself to predict more than 10-6 since three years ago...

[woodbuck27]

A lot of pictures with the caption "Have you seen this dog?"

Good one Guiness.

:lol: X 10.

I was thinking alot of 'What in the hell is going on around here'... posts.

With a few ...'our team stinks' ... posts... thrown in for good measure.

Thought's that the Green Bay Packers might actually return to that darkness mortifies me.

GO PACKERS !

[Patler]

Thought's that the Green Bay Packers might actually return to that darkness mortifies me.
GO PACKERS !

I suspect they will at some time. It's probably inevitable. There are cycles for everything. Hopefully when they do, it won't last as long as it did last time, or I won't have a prayer of being around long enough to see them re-emerge!

[George Cumby]

It kind of makes me wonder what the tone of Packerrats would have been if it was around in the '70s and '80s. Probably not a very pleasant place to be.

Now this is a fun little excursion.

The current team is a lock for the playoffs every year and the negativity can be unreal. Would that negativity be magnified by all of the losses and overall incompetence or would there be a banding together, a circle the wagons mentality? Probably the former.

More importantly, what would everyone's Avatar be?

[pbmax]

Now this is a fun little excursion.

The current team is a lock for the playoffs every year and the negativity can be unreal. Would that negativity be magnified by all of the losses and overall incompetence or would there be a banding together, a circle the wagons mentality? Probably the former.

More importantly, what would everyone's Avatar be?

Jim Rockford.

[Fritz]

Dan Devine's dead dog.

[woodbuck27]

I suspect they will at some time. It's probably inevitable. There are cycles for everything. Hopefully when they do, it won't last as long as it did last time, or I won't have a prayer of being around long enough to see them re-emerge!

Are you taking your vitamins?

Drinking herbal tea?

[Fritz]

Wood, are you taking your meds, or are you off them right now?

If things go badly as suggested in the original scenario, I think this team can still go 10-6.

[woodbuck27]

Now this is a fun little excursion.

The current team is a lock for the playoffs every year and the negativity can be unreal. Would that negativity be magnified by all of the losses and overall incompetence or would there be a banding together, a circle the wagons mentality? Probably the former.

More importantly, what would everyone's Avatar be?


http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTQcLsQ9gpfrSDkv88yCgN-SEQ0_6AsTbErlCDUTB_nduPuP8qybA

http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQt7aIWPSDSXiL58sdv8jD5edZg874U0 P668T

http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTUBLjdt_JpCQCFAUwI19TZ3_Y-oXp3OvenppKD9yPtXe2YIZZr

http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ-qh8sHwGTyw7Ttpf4x_bhnHlBTUxpqdlNiPjBJUSRphNPXyIE

http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSG7e3iidVWC3zvMQHF95V1p2IHpa0aw fK2uZArIERQYpxVCcbi2w

HOLY CRAP ! Is that Mad sitting to the RHS of Gene Simmons?

[woodbuck27]

Wood, are you taking your meds, or are you off them right now?

If things go badly as suggested in the original scenario, I think this team can still go 10-6.

Fritz... this fella left the home about 8-10 days after the draft.

http://blog.thenewstribune.com/getout/files/2011/12/back-to-the-future.jpg

Guess who's back?

http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQnig69skwUYIeJChX5Ya25H5beLq-2Jhq9kzwK03NLUEiDykvkrw

[Patler]

Are you taking your vitamins?

Drinking herbel tea?

Not one single pill passes between these lips on a routine basis (knock on wood).

I drink two types of "herbal teas", one made from grapes, the other from hops.

[woodbuck27]

Not one single pill passes between these lips on a routine basis (knock on wood).

I drink two types of "herbal teas", one made from grapes, the other from hops.

http://wellnessmama.com/5442/10-health-boosting-herbal-teas/

10 Health Boosting Herbal Teas

[Patler]

http://wellnessmama.com/5442/10-health-boosting-herbal-teas/

10 Health Boosting Herbal Teas

I actually do like tea now and then. Basic black and green teas, but also the herbal blends from Celestial Seasonings. I toured their plant in Boulder Colorado, and got hooked on their offerings. The have a tasting room, and will let you sample as many teas as you want, for as long as you want to stay there.

Hmmmm, ........I think I will go boil some water.......

[Zool]

More importantly, what would everyone's Avatar be?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/1c/Hill_Street_Blues.jpg

[Joemailman]

More importantly, what would everyone's Avatar be?

http://www.socalsoccer.com/forum/signaturepics/sigpic14516_1.gif

[woodbuck27]

I actually do like tea now and then. Basic black and green teas, but also the herbal blends from Celestial Seasonings. I toured their plant in Boulder Colorado, and got hooked on their offerings. The have a tasting room, and will let you sample as many teas as you want, for as long as you want to stay there.

Hmmmm, ........I think I will go boil some water.......

Red Rose Tea - Why I Don't Drink Any Other Brand of Tea:

http://danettewatt.hubpages.com/hub/Red-Rose-Tea-Why-I-Dont-Drink-Any-Other-Brand-of-Tea

http://www.redrosetea.com/redrose/2011-Images/Red_Rose_Tea_Header.jpg

Do you love chimps and your tea?

Red Rose Tea Commercial

" The best tea commercial of all time! ... Early 1960's Red Rose Tea Commercial."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXEQhsZrkM8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Dz65x8B8zY

Red ... Red ... Reddddh Rose ... Tea !

That Tea Factory/Company is from my hometown of Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada

http://www.redrosetea.com/history.aspx

Red Rose Tea History

" The story of Red Rose Tea began way back in 1890 in Canada. Theodore Harding Estabrooks was born in Wicklow, Carleton County, New Brunswick in 1861. He attended Kerrís Business College in Saint John, New Brunswick, and went into business himself in 1894 on Dock Street in downtown Saint John.

He was a local business leader that came up with a great idea... produce and pack a quality blended tea that was consistent from cup to cup. Before that, tea was sold loose from tea chests by local merchants and quality varied a great deal. Mr. Estabrooks' innovation meant that tea lovers could count on the quality of tea in every Red Rose package — a tradition that continues to this day." Fr. LINK

Where to buy Red Rose Tea in any USA State ie Wisconsin, USA:

http://www.redrosetea.com/stores.aspx

[pbmax]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/1c/Hill_Street_Blues.jpg

That would work for the late Starr period.

[run pMc]

Good one Guiness.

:lol: X 10.

I was thinking alot of 'What in the hell is going on around here'... posts.

With a few ...'our team stinks' ... posts... thrown in for good measure.

Thought's that the Green Bay Packers might actually return to that darkness mortifies me.

GO PACKERS !

IF/when this happens I hope GB has a decent GM who pulls a SanFran with all those high round picks.

[Cheesehead Craig]

More importantly, what would everyone's Avatar be?

http://i3.ytimg.com/vi/2_r8nBHeNHQ/mqdefault.jpg

[MJZiggy]

Not one single pill passes between these lips on a routine basis (knock on wood).

I drink two types of "herbal teas", one made from grapes, the other from hops.You realize there are other ways to ingest medication...:mrgreen:

[RashanGary]

You realize there are other ways to ingest medication...:mrgreen:

Sounds kinky :p


I mean, sounds horrible :?

[MJZiggy]

Sounds kinky :p


I mean, sounds horrible :?
Well, if you're going to limit it to THAT, the one time I was reduced to it, I was puking so bad, I couldn't hold down the compazine long enough for it to stop the barf. Yes, it was horrible.

[MadtownPacker]

It kind of makes me wonder what the tone of Packerrats would have been if it was around in the '70s and '80s. Probably not a very pleasant place to be.
I am sure I can safely say it would be busier.

[pbmax]

I am sure I can safely say it would be busier.

Not with a 300 baud modem it wouldn't. A woodbuck post would take a week and a half to download.

[woodbuck27]

IF/when this happens I hope GB has a decent GM who pulls a SanFran with all those high round picks.

Have you checked how many San Fran has next year?

I believe I read something like TEN (10).

I'm asking myself how it got to so good there?

What? 22 picks in two consecutive drafts before trades. That's just wild.

PACKERS !

[woodbuck27]

Well, if you're going to limit it to THAT, the one time I was reduced to it, I was puking so bad, I couldn't hold down the compazine long enough for it to stop the barf. Yes, it was horrible.

How did we get from this:

http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQppcx6UCwn-wClDXRRe-gRNTrN7RTgkCYJQSoD-1EPlCIbxF7R

to this:

http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR33LFbT5lVwiSxOOMeVUDwCLfzkMRq_ Ykk5TKbi5LWXgsmQXdy

[Fritz]

How did we get from this:

http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQppcx6UCwn-wClDXRRe-gRNTrN7RTgkCYJQSoD-1EPlCIbxF7R

to this:

http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR33LFbT5lVwiSxOOMeVUDwCLfzkMRq_ Ykk5TKbi5LWXgsmQXdy

I believe the empty wine glass at the foot of the toilet is the key.

Now, given the cyclical nature of sports (unless you're in a sport with no sal cap and a filthy rich and semi-smart owner), the Packers will take a down turn. But when?

I predict that it will occur if the business side of the Packer organization gets so filthy with intrigue and business-speak that it spills over into the football side after Ted Thompson retires, and the new head of football operations either isn't strong enough to keep it out, or becomes involved in the palace intrigue.

Then we're back to the days of Bart Starr refusing to draft some schmo named Joe Montana, whom his scouts were begging him to take, because Starr wanted to show he was in charge.

All those years of not-quite-mediocrity, punctuated by years of abject listlessness, watching team after team steamroll the Green Bay Packers, who then wasted numerous subsequent high draft picks on guys like Rich Campbell and Brent Fullwood.

Oh, people, let's enjoy what we have here. You can bitch all you want about how Thompson/McCarthy's teams aren't tough enough, or whatever it is, but you don't want to be a part of anything that looks like those bad, bad old days.

[Pugger]

Fritz, I fear a lot of fans - and not just some of us on this forum - are rather spoiled with all the success we've enjoyed lately. It wasn't always like this. I remember all too well the bad, bad old days of the 70s and 80s. Back then just winning a ball game was cause for celebration. Getting into the playoffs was not a given by any stretch, let alone winning a championship!

[Fritz]

Fritz, I fear a lot of fans - and not just some of us on this forum - are rather spoiled with all the success we've enjoyed lately. It wasn't always like this. I remember all too well the bad, bad old days of the 70s and 80s. Back then just winning a ball game was cause for celebration. Getting into the playoffs was not a given by any stretch, let alone winning a championship!

It was the flat-out listlessness, the lack of direction, that was so difficult. All you had - all you had - was hope. There was no reason to think the team, in any given year, would take strides forward. It was all just hope.

One of the low points was that dumb-ass defensive end slamming the Bears' QB to the turf. Charles Johnson, or something like that? To suck is bad enough, but to suck and be seen as low-lifes - that was bad news. And add to that the humiliation of The Refrigerator Perry just waltzing into the end zone while Packer defenders got steamrolled.

[Pugger]

That thug was Charles Martin, I believe. And watching us get humiliated on MNF by that stupid Perry was the worst of it. :-x

[MJZiggy]

I believe there is medication one can take for PTSD. In this case, I thought it would have been a Super Bowl season or two, but I understand the long hard slog it was to get back there.

[George Cumby]

Fritz, I fear a lot of fans - and not just some of us on this forum - are rather spoiled with all the success we've enjoyed lately. It wasn't always like this. I remember all too well the bad, bad old days of the 70s and 80s. Back then just winning a ball game was cause for celebration. Getting into the playoffs was not a given by any stretch, let alone winning a championship!

Those days make these all the sweeter. You knew that we could beat the Bucs, but beyond that it was really spotty. God, the feeling of futility as the Bears would club us like so many baby harp seals is STILL palpable. I guess that's why I don't get wrapped around the axle about an 11-5 season and an early exit from the playoffs.

[Fritz]

Those days make these all the sweeter. You knew that we could beat the Bucs, but beyond that it was really spotty. God, the feeling of futility as the Bears would club us like so many baby harp seals is STILL palpable. I guess that's why I don't get wrapped around the axle about an 11-5 season and an early exit from the playoffs.

This is more or less my point. There's a lot of whining going on about a team that regularly makes the playoffs and has won a SB in the past five years. It's not a team on the downswing, and it's certainly not an organization in the toilet, like it was for about twenty years there.

I fret enough, but I try to remind myself that these are the good old days, right now.