As I write this, the Green Bay Packers are coming off of a 4 game losing streak, the longest losing streak since Aaron Rodgers debut season in 2008. They are two games under .500 with a record of 4W-6L placing them at 3rd in the division behind the Lions and Vikings, a position the team has not been in since 2013 when they lost Aaron Rodgers for half the season with a collarbone injury. There is some silver lining though because the packers still managed to make the playoffs that year with an 8W-7L-1T record.

The heat is on in Green Bay and the coaches and players know it. On Nov. 21 Mike McCarthey greeted the press and had a much too familiar look of grief and disappointment, he reflected on the team’s current situation saying “Six losses puts your a** up against the wall and that’s exactly where we’re at.” Aaron Rodgers has been trying to flip the narrative from his famous R-E-L-A-X rhetoric to P-A-N-I-C as he has continually complained about the lack of urgency he is seeing from his teammates.

The problem lies in the numbers, specifically on defense.

The packers have allowed a total of 153 points and opponents have averaged more than 420 yards per contest during their 4 game skid. The most troubling losses have been the 47-25 and 42-24 blowouts against the Falcons and Redskins. You’re not going to win games when you’re allowing that many points. Bottom line. To Dom Capers credit there has been a lot of injuries on that side of the ball, but the struggles stretch beyond just this season. The Packers haven’t cracked the top 10 in scoring or yards since their 2010 Super Bowl campaign.

What happens if we miss the playoffs?

The Packers have a historic streak of playoff appearances, reaching the postseason for 7 consecutive seasons. A lot of fans are calling for the immediate firing of Dom Capers including Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio who wrote “Packers need to get everyone’s attention by firing someone” to which Aaron Rodgers responded “Don’t read that crap.” Personally, I am not a fan of mid season shake ups to the magnitude of firing a key staffer like Dom Capers but if the Packers don’t reach the playoffs, clearly something needs to change. I agree with much of Packers nation that Dom Capers needs to go, regardless of whether we make the playoffs or not, thats a no brainer. What I think is even more important than a new defensive coordinator is the firing GM Ted Thompson.

Ted Thompson lives and dies by his draft and develops philosophy, a system that we have seen work out well with likes of Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb and many others. Unfortunately with Aaron Rodgers entering the final years of his ‘prime’ Thompson either needs to change his philosophy or be replaced. The Super Bowl window is closing in the Rodgers era and something needs to change this offseason, otherwise we will look back on this time and realize that we wasted some of the best years with one of the best quarterbacks to step on the field. There is no excuse for only being able to win one Super Bowl with Rodgers, clearly he has the skill set to win at a high level now it’s just a matter of surrounding him with the right people to take this team to the next level.