Slowly, people talk
Maybe Roush was not answer
Guess we will find out

Come on — Aaron Rouse is a known commodity in the Packers’ organization. If the coaching staff and GM didn’t think he had what it takes, they knew it during training camp. He’s the same guy, and it’s not like there was some “eureka” moment two games into the season. If he isn’t good enough now, the coaches and GM should have known that earlier. It’s just curious that he is cut when there is no depth. On Sunday, what happens if Collins can’t go, or gets hurt or is ineffective, and then Martin gets hurt too? We’re down to Bush and Giordano. Thank GOD we’re playing the Rams!

until McCarthy and Thompson are gone. McCarthys play calling along with clock managment and conservativeness (?) just doesn’t cut it in the NFL. and Thompson just isn’t making the right moves for a superbowl contender. you CANNOT build but only the draft (especially when you are bad at drafting) Look at the Detroit Red wings for Example. they draft well AND they make good FREE AGENT signings. that fill holes. and they have only been to 5 stanley cup finals winning four of them in the past 12 years. but what do they know right.??? Thompson needs to take McCarthy to the Lions or the Raiders cause neither one of them deserve to be a packer.

You can have your opinion, but I disagree with every sentiment of it. Plenty of teams employ the “Red Wings” strategy and are bottom or near bottom of the barrel (See Oak, KC, Was, Jax for a few examples).

Q: Was Rouse’s performance on Sunday the catalyst for the move?
A: You never want to go off of just one performance. These decisions are made with a lot of information.

“You never want to go off of just one performance.”

That’s not a “no”.

The real problem that the Packers need to address is good,basic tackling,rather than either reaching and grabbing or going for the big hit and bouncing off the player (a la A.J. Hawk,for instance) When a defense has 3 chances to tackle a running back for a loss,yet the same back turns it into a 15 yard gain,it’s time to go back to the tackling dummies for some remedial tackling.

Defense and tackling is desire,and the Packers didn’t show any desire,especially in the 2nd half!

I can’t believe all of the uproar over cutting a mediocre backup safety has caused. Rouse was kept on the roster because he has some potential in different packages with the run game and in short yardage situations. Without the serious injuries to Collins and Bigby he never would have seen the light of day in passing situations. With the injuries there is no longer the roster spot for a package specific player with major liabilities. Giordano will help with pass coverage and on special teams because of his speed. With any luck he can start with Martin this week and use his speed against the fast Rams recievers.

Perhaps Rouse was a bit of a sacrificial lamb. Rodgers had a couple of interesting post game comments where he implied that the team took the Bengals lightly and there was some slacking off in practice leading to the game. Rouse’s quick exit may have been a message to the squad as well, and numerous players were definitely surprised that a Sunday starter could be a Tuesday goner. Was it the ’97 Packers who were 9-1 or so heading in to Indianapolis to play the winless Colts and got their helmets handed to them? Happens even to great teams. Has to be a bigger concern for MM and a medicre team.

I saw a few Packer Bengal highlights on the NFL Network as the hosts used the end zone camera to dissect a few Bengal running plays. The common denominator was the Packer linebackers losing their gap responsibilities and getting caught behind the big bodies. On one play, for example, Barnett lined up on Jenkins’ outside shoulder. At the snap, the action was a middle run, with Palmer handing off to Benson in the center-guard range. Barnett immediately moved laterally to Jenkins’ inside shoulder. When Benson broke to his left to Barnett’s vacated gap, Barnett got trapped behind the big bodies and couldn’t get back to his original position. Eight yard gain. On every play shown, the down linemen held their ground and occupied blockers and each time Packer linebackers overpursued laterally and the back cut to linebackerless gaps. I’ll be very interested in watching this against Steven Jackson and the Rams.

Good job pointing out that the long punt returns were also due to vacated gap responsibilites.

Finally, the Patriots may be a better example of building through the draft than the Red Wings. I just read a great article about the Patriots’ drafts in 2000 to about 2003. They got a fantastic amount of talent at all rounds, finding numerous starters. With that depth from the draft and a few middling free agents, they won 3 Super Bowls in 4 years. That mirrored the Packers success in the early 90s when solid drafts yielded numerous starters and great depth. In the past few years, however, the Patriots have only drafted one starter and have missed on numerous players they drafted. (This might have been Bill Simmons’ article over at ESPN.com. Check it out. ) You have to build through the draft to get the depth needed to fill out special teams and to withstand injuries. The big name free agents just don’t exist anymore.