Green Bay Packers: 5 Best and 5 Worst of the 2011 Season

The Green Bay Packers squandered away their Super Bowl aspirations during the Division Round of the playoffs by committing four turnovers and dropping six passes. 

However, the 2011 team set a franchise record for wins, and Aaron Rodgers is the front-runner for the MVP award.

The Packers did so much right this season, only to get everything wrong when it mattered the most.

The team set records with its stellar offense, but also set records with its abysmal defense.

Packer fans have reason to be optimistic about next season, but will also struggle to get over some mind-boggling errors that the team made in its only playoff game.

When evaluating the 2011 Green Bay Packers, one must take the good along with the bad.

Here are the five worst events of the Packers' season, followed by the five best.

The Worst, No. 5: Nick Collins' Neck Injury

Nick Collins started the 2011 season hoping for a fourth consecutive All-Pro season.

The Packers defense finished the 2010 season as the league's fifth-ranked defense, and the safety had been selected to the Pro Bowl and to the Second-Team All-Pro roster in each of the last three seasons.

In Week 2 of this year against the Carolina Panthers, everything changed. Collins lunged to tackle Jonathan Stewart and hit his head against the running back's leg. 

The star defensive back injured his neck on the play and was forced to undergo season-ending surgery. The injury was extremely serious and may force Collins into early retirement.

The Green Bay defense proved week after week how much they missed the ball-hawking safety, as they allowed an astonishing 299.8 yards per game to opposing passing attacks and finished last in the league in passing yards allowed.

The Packers defense has a lot to figure out before next season, and one of their main concerns will be Collins' health.

The Worst, No. 4: Michael Philbin's Death

In the course of an NFL season, events sometimes transpire that remind players, coaches and fans that football is just a game.

The Packers have always held firm to being a family-first organization, and following the sudden and tragic death of his son, Michael, offensive coordinator Joe Philbin was given as much time as he needed to attend to family matters in the toughest of times.

Philbin showed tremendous courage and was on the field coaching just days later in the Packers' NFC Division Round matchup with the New York Giants.

The public will never know what effect, if any, the tragic event had on the Packers' poor playoff performance, and the subject is truly irrelevant.

The thoughts and prayers of Packer fans everywhere continue to be with Philbin and his family as he moves onto bigger things as the head coach of the Miami Dolphins.

The Worst No. 3: Defense Sets NFL Record for Most Passing Yards Allowed in a Season

4,796.

The astonishingly large number that starts this slide is the number of passing yards the Green Bay Packers secondary allowed in the 2011 season.

Opposing quarterbacks averaged nearly 300 yards per game against the hapless Packer defense.

Some fans make excuses for the unit and note that while they allowed more passing yards than any team in NFL history, they also led the league with 31 interceptions. 

The defense was opportunistic and did seal a lot of games with late interceptions. However, they also allowed many teams to climb back into the game after the offense put Green Bay ahead by two or more touchdowns.

The unit was truly exposed in the playoffs, when an inexplicable breakdown led to a touchdown on a Hail Mary throw at the end of the half and the team failed to stop Eli Manning and the Giants on third down.

Watching the Packers defend the pass was a painful experience for Cheeseheads everywhere, and vast improvements will need to be made for the team to return to championship form.

The Worst, No. 2: 19-14 Loss to the Kansas City Chiefs to Ruin Perfect Season

Playing the Kansas City Chiefs in Arrowhead Stadium is never easy, but the task was made a little easier when the Chiefs fired their head coach and benched their quarterback leading up to the game.

Despite the major changes, Kansas City established a blueprint for beating the Packers with their 19-14 victory. Their game plan: run the football, relentlessly pressure Aaron Rodgers and pray that the Green Bay receivers drop the ball when it hits them in the hands.

The Packers had won 19 games in row, dating back to last season when they headed to Kansas City, and were one day away from going an entire calendar year without losing a football game.

Five costly drops ruined the Packers' offensive rhythm, and the Chiefs relied on field goals and the running game to edge out Green Bay for an ugly victory.

Many Packer fans felt that a loss would refocus the team, and they would learn from their mistakes and be a better team going forward, but the same mistakes were repeated when the team's season was on the line.

The Worst, No. 1: 37-20 Playoff Loss to the Giants at Lambeau Field

The Packers headed into the playoffs with home-field advantage after a 15-1 record in the regular season, but faced a hot New York Giants team.

The first half of the Divisional Round matchup resembled a typical Packer game in 2011. The defense bled yardage and tightened up in the red zone while the offense slowly started to figure out the opposing team's strategy. During the regular season, the Packers would take a close game into the locker room at halftime, then come out and dominate the third quarter to seal a victory.

The plan went astray when the defense was shockingly lost and out of position on a last-second Hail Mary by the Giants, which resulted in a Hakeem Nicks touchdown and a 20-10 New York lead.

The Packers never came together offensively because most of the decent drives they put together were killed by a costly drop or fumble.

The timing and chemistry that had characterized the offense in its record-setting year was not apparent in the team's only playoff game, and the defense failed to create a late turnover, as it had done so many times in the regular season.

Just as fans did with the loss to the Chiefs, Cheeseheads can only hope the team learns from mistakes made in the loss to the Giants and will be a better team in 2012 because of it.

The Best, No. 5: 42-34 Victory over the Saints on Opening Night

This NFL season was a historic year for offenses, and that was apparent immediately after the first game of the season. 

On opening night, the last two Super Bowl champions faced off, and the Packers beat the New Orleans Saints, 42-34, in a shootout at Lambeau.

Drew Brees would become the first of many quarterbacks to torch the Green Bay secondary, but Aaron Rodgers returned the favor.

Rodgers started his 2011 campaign by throwing for 312 yards and three touchdowns to finish with a passer rating of 132.1. 

This would prove to be a prototype for the typical Green Bay game this season. Rodgers was untouchable, Jordy Nelson and Greg Jennings were on fire and the defense did just enough to help the offense win the game.

With the confidence won on opening night, the Packers would rattle off 13 consecutive victories to start the season.

The Best, No. 4: Matt Flynn Lights Up the Lions

Matt Flynn saw plenty of action this season as a backup quarterback because of several blowout victories, and the Packers playing a meaningless Week 17 game against the Detroit Lions.

The game may have had no effect on Green Bay's playoff position, but Flynn had no plans to let Detroit, a division rival, come into Lambeau Field and win a game.

Flynn played without Greg Jennings and knew the defense was missing Clay Matthews and Charles Woodson, and came out firing.

In a wild game that was dominated by the passers, Flynn passed for 480 yards and six touchdowns, both Green Bay franchise records.

Many felt that Flynn's performance showed that starter Aaron Rodgers was benefitting from a supremely talented offense and should not be receiving the praise he had gotten over the season.

Cheeseheads who have followed the team over the last four years know that this argument cheapens Flynn's accomplishment more than Rodgers'. 

The soon-to-be starter has worked tirelessly to grow from a seventh-round draft pick at the bottom of the depth chart into the premier quarterback in next year's crop of free agents.

Matt Flynn is not just any backup quarterback, and next year, he will go out to prove that he is not just any starting quarterback as well.

The Best, No. 3: The Emergence of Jordy Nelson

The Green Bay receiving corps has been touted as one of the best in the league for years, but the group entered a new era this season.

Donal Driver had been the second starting receiver behind Greg Jennings, but age and injuries finally forced him onto the bench.

The fans and coaches looked to either Jordy Nelson or James Jones to step into Driver's spot, and Nelson seized the opportunity.

He had a career year and caught 68 passes for 1,263 yards and 15 touchdowns.

The fourth-year wideout also developed into Aaron Rodgers' most reliable target. Rodgers completed 74 percent of the passes he threw to Nelson, and one out of every five completions went for a touchdown. 

Nelson is fast and strong enough to be an elite wideout, and should continue to get better as he spends more time in a starting role.

The Best, No. 2: Packers Get Home-Field Advantage for Christmas

While the playoff loss to the Giants was excruciating, the Packers had a remarkable regular season.

The last meaningful game came on Christmas at Lambeau Field against the Bears, and Green Bay had a chance to clinch the top seed in the NFC with a victory.

Aaron Rodgers and the team had no plans of giving the fans coal for the holiday. Rodgers turned in the first five-touchdown game of his career, and Green Bay steamrolled their arch-rivals.

The game was a typical Packer performance in 2011, with the offense firing away at the opposing defense with unstoppable precision and speed.

Green Bay certainly had its weaknesses as a team this year, but smart game-planning and excellent quarterback play hid many deficiencies.

The Packers set a franchise record for regular season wins and took their conference's top seed for the first time in a decade. 

The loss to New York still stings, but Green Bay dominated the regular season, Rodgers is the front-runner for the MVP, and the team is still just one season removed from a Super Bowl victory.

The Packer faithful have a lot to look forward to.

The Best, No. 1: Aaron Rodgers Sets the Record for Passer Rating in a Season

Aaron Rodgers finished the 2011 regular season with a passer rating of 122.5, which broke the record set by Peyton Manning in 2004. 

Passer rating is a statistic that measures efficiency, and Rodgers was the most efficient quarterback the league has ever seen across a single season.

Many fans and commentators gawked at Drew Brees' incredible yardage numbers, but Rodgers was accomplishing the same goal as Brees with less passes. The Green Bay quarterback was 16th in the NFL in attempts, but second in touchdown passes with 45 (Brees had 46). He also had the highest yards per attempt of any passer, gaining 9.2 yards per throw.

Quarterbacks like Brees, Tom Brady and Matthew Stafford were winning games by throwing for over 300 yards and three or four touchdowns, but they threw the ball close to 50 times to achieve those numbers.

Rodgers often threw the ball only 30 times and threw for under 300 yards, but also 3-for-3 for four touchdowns and wrapped up a victory in the third quarter.

He has a rocket arm and pinpoint accuracy to go along with excellent mobility and an incomparable work ethic. He has no weaknesses as a quarterback, and his talents were on full display this season.

He established himself as the best quarterback in the NFL this year, and he is only 28. Green Bay fans have much to look forward to, but watching Rodgers in green and gold for the rest of his career will be truly special.