as the positions that could be considered “fix now” positions are problems not because of lack of talent, but because of lack of health. Clifton and Tauscher are solid tackles, but they were not healthy. Josh Sitton caused the offensive line to get shuffled around and reorganized when he got hurt. Ryan Grant took for-freaking-ever to recover from his pulled hamstring. Cullen Jenkins’ injury was devastating to the defensive line, where once-considered marginal contributors were forced into more prominent roles they were not ready for (i.e. Jeremy Thompson, Mike Montgomery, etc.) The pass defense was good, and still would be if Bigby, Collins, and Rouse weren’t battling injury. Plus taking A.J. Hawk, who’s had a nagging groin injury, and putting him in the middle while taking Desmond Bishop, a Mike linebacker by trade, and putting him outside in response to Brandon Chillar’s injury causes all sorts of confusion.

Everyone may say that the 2004 season was worse injury-wise, but this year’s Packers team certainly wasn’t spared from the injury bug. I think when that many players get put out of position (i.e. Hawk to middle, Woodson to safety), it kills the chemistry the team had and forces them to regroup, which is something you simply can’t do mid-season. That’s why health is such a big factor in winning. Look at Tennessee; they’ve been healthy for most of the year, and they’ve been winning.

Conversely, you could point to New York and New England and argue that health isn’t as important as depth, and you’d have a strong argument. However, New England has the most effective system in the NFL, and the Giants somehow managed to stockpile Justin Tuck on the lineup for when Umenyora went down.

Remember back earlier in the season, when people were questioning the Packers’ training staff and how they handled muscle pulls and were worried that there was a hamstring/calf epidemic going around? I think that proper preparation and treatment from the medical staff is the best way to prevent any problems. Not to say that it’s all the medical staff’s fault, as an ACL or broken bone is impossible to prevent. But something was clearly preventing players from contributing consistently.

All that said, I think Green Bay has loads of talent that just needs to get time on the field all at once, and the team will be fine. However, a position I think needs to be addressed is defensive line depth, specifically for the pass rush. Other than Aaron Kampman, no one on the roster can get into the pocket for a sack. (I see you, Jason Hunter.) It didn’t help that KGB was cut so early, but then again, he’s unemployed right now anyway, so he was probably washed up anyway.

I probably could have made a post about all that. Maybe I will…later.