Packers Can't Blame Refs for Loss Against Cardinals!

For the last few days I have been hearing fellow Packers fans whine about how the refs "robbed" the Packers out of a victory. While it's true that there were a lot of questionable "no-calls" in the Wild Card game against the Cardinals, it still can't hide the fact that:

A. The Packers second ranked defense allowed Kurt Warner to put up the following numbers:  29/33  375 yards 5TD.  That's right, Kurt Warner had more touchdown passes than he did incompletions. When a defense allows a quarterback to put up numbers like that, they are rarely going to win.

B. The Cardinals had 156 rushing yards against the Packers defense.  This is pretty sad considering the Packers were number one against the run all season long.

C. The Packers turned the ball over three times. In their first two series the Packers turned the ball over twice. First, Rodgers threw an inexcusable interception, which the Cardinals offense quickly turned into seven points.  Then on their ensuing possession, the usually reliable Donald Driver was stripped of the ball, which the Cardinals once again converted into seven points. That's 14 points the Packers spotted the Cardinals in the first quarter. The outcome of the game could have been a lot different had the Packers been more careful with the ball.

D. The Packers did a horrible job managing the clock before half time.  Before the first half was over, the Packers had an opportunity to score a touchdown but had to settle for a field goal because Aaron Rodgers wasted too much time trying to make a play out of nothing. After he finally decided to run out of bounds, there were only four seconds left on the clock. Instead of the score being 24-14 at half time, the Packers had to settle for 24-10. If Mason Crosby had nailed a field goal earlier in the quarter, the score could have been 24-17 at half time. 

E. Rodgers overthrew a wide open Greg Jenning in over time. If Rodgers would have thrown a better pass, Greg Jennings could have scored an easy touchdown. Game over...Packers win. But Rodgers misjudged the route and overthrew Jennings.

The Cardinals were the better team on Sunday and they deserved to win. However, Packers fans should be optimistic about the future. While it's true the game ended on a bitter note, they should take pride in the fact that Aaron Rodgers and their offense fought it out to the end. A lot of quarterbacks probably would have packed in after the score was 31-10.  But Rodgers never gave up, and he made a game out of it. This loss should benefit the Packers in the future, so let's give the Cardinals their due and look forward to next season.