I think the Packers started the season reading too many of their own headlines. After just rolling though teams in the preseason, most notably hanging a near 60 burger on the Colts, I think they just expected to dominate without any kind of effort. Nick Barnett's XLV or Die and Jermichael Finley's "YOTTO" campaigns are perfect examples of teams reading their own press. I also think many of the fans did the same. Rather than tempering our expectations and realizing that preseason is meaningless, we expected to dominate in every single way, which has now led to major disappointment and frustration.
That's why I ******* *hate* being preseason favorites, or favorites of any kind for that matter. If I were the coach, I would be taking a page out of the Bill Belichick playbook and telling my team to ****, reminding them they haven't won anything yet.
As for a turning point, I agree we shouldn't have had to have one, but I think losing some guys for the season in week, including our starting running back, more or less set the tone in terms of team morale. At some point though you just have to hit bottom and turn it around. Last season we hit bottom with that loss to Tampa Bay. A week later we came out and dominated a very good Cowboys team, and finished 7-1 down the stretch.
Does this team have the same character and resolve as last year's? I would hope so. It's tough to replace your leaders when they fall, but it's time for others to step up and assume those leadership roles. I know the team is frustrated with how they've performed recently. Hopefully they have the heart and character to change things.
On another note, losing Finley for a while might be a blessing in disguise. I think we've tried to rely so much on him in our offensive play calling that now we're forced to get a little more creative and start looking for some of our other weapons. Don't get me wrong, I would rather have him in the lineup than not have him, but I think this could help open things up offensively, since we won't be focusing on him so much. We'll be getting back to basics, so to speak.