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There were a lot of things that went wrong during the Green Bay Packers Wild Card loss to the Cardinals, but the biggest, glaring problem was the complete inability to stop QB Kurt Warner. The Packers finished the 2009 regular season ranked as the No. 5 overall pass defense officially, and No. 4 according to Football Outsiders. During the regular season they only allowed only 201.1 yards/game and 29 TDs to 30 INTs. During the Wild Card loss they allowed 375 yards passing, 5 TDs, and 0 INTs.
What did they do this offseason to fix their pass defense?
1. They're bringing back the same defensive coaches.
2. By re-signing restricted free agents FS Nick Collins, CB Tramon Williams, and (eventually) SS Atari Bigby, they're bringing back the same starting four in the secondary.
3. Drafted S Morgan Burnett in the 3rd round. At least CB Charles Woodson thinks that Burnett is good.
And that's why this post is titled with a question mark. Mike McCarthy and Ted Thompson got together after the season and decided that the best thing they could do is give the same players and coaches another chance. Based on the Wild Card game alone, the suggested change might have been to blow up the roster. According to Pro Football Focus, every one of the starting DBs (plus everyone's favorite nickel back Jarrett Bush) and both starting inside linebackers had a negative pass coverage rating in that game.
Maybe inaction is the best course of action in this situation. I don't want to see LB Nick Barnett released because he couldn't keep up with the Cardinals WR bunch formations. And I didn't want to see them sign the best available unrestricted free agents to replace the starters because NFL free agency doesn't usually have the cure to any team's problem.
The 2010 Packers aren't going anywhere if they can't slow down the high powered pass attacks, like the Saints, during the playoffs. Whether standing pat is the game changing move that puts their pass defense over the top is something to watch for next season.