Giants vs. Packers: What Green Bay Must Do to Improve After Embarrassing Exit

The Green Bay Packers should be downright embarrassed about their playoff loss to the New York Giants.

So much for having one of the best seasons in team history going 15-1. So much for home-field advantage throughout the playoffs and a first-round bye.

You know what, so much for the MVP-like 4,643 yards and 45 touchdowns put up by Aaron Rodgers this season.

None of it matters anymore.

It was all wasted in a sloppy, uninspired performance by a team that looked like they expected to waltz to a Super Bowl repeat.

It's hard to win one Super Bowl ever in this league, let alone two in a row, but for some reason the Packers came into this game expecting to "discount double check" over a hot Giants team led by a Pro Bowl quarterback and the most aggressive defensive line in football.

Every mental lapse, every missed tackle and every open wide receiver on defense needs to be lamented.

Every missed opportunity, every sack given up and, for Pete's sake, every dropped pass should haunt this team.

It seems almost impossible to even think about next season at this point, but the fact of the matter is that the Packers are done.

They aren't waking up tomorrow morning looking forward to the NFC Championship Game. There won't be another Super Bowl trophy added to the Packers Hall of Fame at the end of this year.

Like it or not, we need to look forward if we ever want to get this horrible taste out of our mouths.

So, the question is where to start?

It may seem bad now, but this is a Packers team that will still enter next year as one of the best in the league.

Rodgers is still one of the best in the game, and Mike McCarthy will still have a very explosive offense to work with.

There is no doubt this team has areas they need to improve on though, so let's examine what they need to do.

Defense

For as incredible as the Packers offense was this season, their defense was equally as bad. The strange part is that they posses some of the most talented defensive players in the league in Charles Woodson, Clay Matthews, B.J. Raji and Tramon Williams.

Somehow the Packers still managed to have one of the worst passing defenses in the league though, and their "bend but don't break" philosophy was thoroughly exposed by Eli Manning and the Giants, who put up 420 total yards, including 325 yards and three touchdowns through the air.

Defensive coordinator Dom Capers' future is unclear—as there is some speculation that he could end up as the head man in Oakland—but even if he doesn't, it may be a good time to let him go.

He's done a great job implementing the 3-4 defense, and last year seemed to be the pinnacle of that, but there is no excuse for him doing so little with so much this season.

Don't be surprised to see a change in the booth.

Draft

This may be one of the most important drafts in recent Packers history, because like it or not, they have some needs to fill. General manager Ted Thompson does an excellent job of building depth through the draft, but this time around he's going to need to get at least one or two "plug-n-play" guys right off the bat.

There are three areas I could see the Packers addressing in the first round: corner, defensive end/outside linebacker or running back.

There are high-impact players that will be available at all three positions so keep an eye out for any of these players in the first round among others:

Stephon Gilmore, CB, South Carolina

Alfonzo Dennard, CB, Nebraska

Chris Polk, RB, Washington

Janoris Jenkins, CB, North Alabama

Chandler Jones, DE/OLB, Syracuse

Running Back Development

Some will say that the Packers are just fine with Ryan Grant and James Starks in the backfield, but I wholeheartedly disagree.

The Packers are going to have to find a way to get one or the other. At this point, having two backup running backs and John Kuhn sprinkled in does not equal one good starter.

The Packers need to find a legitimate starting running back. They need somebody who can consistently take 15-20 carries a game and be a positive producer. It would also be a help if said back can produce in the passing game as well, because we all know that as long as Rodgers is under center, this won't be a running team.

The Packers front office isn't into trading for big names and generally stays out of the big-time free agent market, so this running back is most likely going to have to come from inside the organization.

Would I love to see the Packers make a play for a big name star running back? Of course.

I won't hold my breath on that one though.

Either way, running back development needs to be a huge point for the offseason.

Conclusion

The sky isn't falling. This loss hurts and it's going to hurt for a while, but the core is there and this team is set up to be making Super Bowl runs for a few years to come.

That being said, they aren't going to get there off the brilliance of Rodgers and the history of Title Town alone.

Improvements need to be made if the Packers want to win another Super Bowl.

Next season starts now.