Should Aaron Rodgers Call it a Season?

The reports are coming that Aaron Rodgers may have played his last game this year.  This should not surprise anybody.

The Packers haven't won a game since he got hurt and have seen the division slip away from them, despite the Bears and Lions doing their best to keep the Packers alive until Rodgers could come back.  The Thanksgiving visit to the woodshed courtesy of those same Lions went a long way to destroying any hopes Packers fans should have had of the team making a deep playoff run this year.  

Aaron Rodgers is too valuable to put at risk in meaningless games, and we're quickly reaching the point where the Packers will be playing for pride alone.  It's time for players and coaches, especially on defense, to start showing why they should have jobs next year.  As talented as the secondary is, they've looked awful at times.  Tramon Williams especially has regressed tremendously, picking up stupid penalties in multiple games including one for shoving an official on Thanksgiving.  

Missed tackles and blown assignments abound.  The tackles are a bit of a recent phenomenon this year, but the blown assignments have been a year-long thing.  We now live in a world where AJ Hawk is the most consistent player on defense.  I've never disliked him like many folks have, but the fact that he's the most consistent player on the defense at the moment shocks even me.  Clay Matthews wasn't even on the field for several critical third down plays against the Lions.

Dom Capers should be fighting for his job.  Joe Whitt (cornerbacks) and Darren Perry (safeties) should be out of jobs already.  Their players are giving games away with physical and mental errors.  With the possible exception of Williams, I don't think the problem is the players.  They're not ready to play and they're not held accountable for screwing up.  

Changes are on the horizon for the Packers, especially on defense.  This defense wasn't terribly bad at the beginning of the year, but recent events have shown us just how fragile the balance of a team can be.  Most teams can't withstand the loss of their franchise quarterback for a quarter of the season, but there's no excuse for a team imploding like the 2013 Green Bay Packers.  In short, the Packers have nothing to gain by letting Aaron Rodgers play again this season.