Five Things We Learned in Green Bay's Loss to Arizona

This writer made a prediction last week that the Arizona Cardinals would play better than they did in Week 17, and that despite not holding the statistical advantages over the Green Bay Packers that would guarantee they would win, that they would still come out on top in their second straight home game against the Packers.

Granted, the argument posed in this article wasn't strong, but the point was that the Cardinals were in fact the better complete team, and that if there's one thing we've learned about Arizona as a whole, it's that they run hot-and-cold, and that their defense is opportunistic and inconsistent.

Regardless of Green Bay fans' opinions on that article, the truth (in one way or another) came out on Sunday, as the Cardinals prevailed with a 51-45 victory in overtime.

However, in light of the NFL's most prolific game in postseason history, it's clear that these Green Bay Packers were (and are) no push-overs.

Here are the top five things we learned about the Green Bay Packers.

Aaron Rodgers is the Real Deal

Forget about his first pass of the game (which was intercepted). That was the only sign of true jitters (if you can even say that), as Rodgers led his team with a fiery confidence that was only snuffed out by a fluke play to end the game.

However, Rodgers' inability to accept when a play was dead (as he had often done all season), led to the ultimate sack and fumble that knocked the Packers out of postseason play.

With that said, Rodgers displayed a scary sense of confidence and poise that should have the Green Bay faithful even more confident heading into the 2010 season, knowing that their quarterback (who now holds the Green Bay record for yards in a playoff game) can get it done.

Rodgers made several excellent plays, exploiting the vulnerability of Arizona's secondary while keeping several drives alive on third down. And the truth is, if he hadn't been too quick on the trigger on the first play of overtime (where he missed Greg Jennings deep), this could be a completely different article.

Regardless, as it stands, despite the loss, it is quite clear that Rodgers is an elite quarterback, and that he has quite a future ahead of him.

The Green Bay Defense Has a Ways to Go

In 16 regular season games, they forced 40 turnovers, and in the final eight games, displayed an uncanny ability to get to the quarterback and force poor decisions.

That can change when you go up against a 38-year old veteran quarterback like Kurt Warner, which is further evidenced by just one sack and zero interceptions on Warner.

The only big play from the Packers' defense came on a smart forced fumble by corner back Charles Woodson, which is arguably the only reason why this game ended up taking a turn for the better, and wasn't completely over by half-time.

Green Bay had no answer for Arizona's passes over the middle of the field, and their lack of pressure on Warner allowed him to play nearly flawless football.

However, with that said, it's clear that the 3-4 defense (over the course of the season) has grown and achieved what it set out to do: disrupt offenses and get the ball back in Aaron Rodgers' hands.

The Packers' achilles heel continued to be its inconsistent pass defense, as even their MVP on defense, Woodson, was unable to fully contain his main assignment; Larry Fitzgerald.

Green Bay's linebackers left a big hole in the middle of the field all game, while Jarrett Bush was yet again exposed on several occasions as a below-average corner.

Still, NFC North opponents now have to worry about an inevitably improved defense for 2010, especially since it's backed by an explosive passing attack that simply does not tire.

The Offense Line Needs More Work

There's no refuting the progress the Green Bay offensive line had made in the final seven weeks of the regular season. After allowing 41 sacks in the first nine weeks of the season, the Green Bay line buckled down and only allowed nine sacks down the stretch in the regular season.

However, Aaron Rodgers' tendency to hold onto the ball and the constant array of schemes the Cardinals showed on defense allowed four sacks in regulation on Sunday, as well as the fifth sack that ended the game in overtime.

Progress was most certainly made, but Green Bay will be forced to reassess which pieces of their line are permanent, and which were just part of a patchwork plan that would only be used for the 2009 season.

Aaron Kampman and Al Harris Aren't Needed

The argument is strong against Kampman, as he clearly wasn't a strong fit in Dom Capers' 3-4 scheme up until his injury, as this was especially shown to be true when rookie Clay Matthews was inserted into the starting lineup and finished the season with 10 sacks.

Kampman was probably on his way out after a huge drop in performance anyways, but the electric play of Matthews almost ensures it.

Harris, on the other hand, is a slightly more difficult argument to make as a candidate to be let go in the offseason, specifically because of Green Bay's issues in their final game of the season, where Kurt Warner had all day to throw, and burned Green Bay for five touchdowns through the air.

Tramon Williams had a solid stretch to end the season, save for an embarrassing game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, and is a strong candidate to come back and start for Green Bay next season.

Another aspect for Harris is his age (34 at the time of his injury), and the clear signs of regression in the past two seasons.

Mike McCarthy Knows What He's Doing, After All

McCarthy can't take the fall for the suddenly leaky Green Bay defense, and it's hard to even put all the blame on defensive coordinator, Dom Capers.

Green Bay has a fairly inconsistent defense for most of the season, and ultimately depended on its ability to get to the quarterback and force turnovers to preserve games. They were a classic bend-but-don't-break defense, and simply ran into an elite offense that was playing at home on Sunday.

McCarthy, however, showed a complete command over the offense, called great plays, and kept his team from cashing in the season after being down 24-10 at half-time, and even after falling into a bigger hole, 31-10, in the third quarter.

He especially turned heads with an onside kick that propelled Green Bay to back-to-back scores that turned the game from being a low-out to a suddenly electrifying contest that stood at 31-24 in the third quarter.

McCarthy also aided a drive late in the game where the Packers converted on a 4th-and-1, showing sharpened decision-making in a critical moment in the game.

Needless to say, the Packers were not even remotely predictable on offense throughout the game, and flat-out executed nearly every play they needed to in the second half, en route to their remarkable comeback.

The only knock on McCarthy would have been his inability to successfully get back to the running game, although it's hard to argue this as a mistake, as the passing game was playing at such a high level.

The end result was a loss for the Packers on Sunday, but considering the strong opponent and harsh circumstances, the coaching staff and players gave Green Bay fans (and the entire league) more than it could have hoped for.

While it'd be easy to point fingers at the defense, or at Rodgers for his fumble, there is no shame in how Green Bay ended its season. But more importantly, this game should eventually be a catalyst for what Green Bay can (and should) do in the 2010 season.

Let the NFC be warned.

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