That loud sound you heard coming from the direction of Lambeau Field was the sound of the Packers imploding as the Vikings hammered Green Bay 31-17. This game was lost in the first quarter. Once again poor coverage and even poorer tackling (or lack there of) led the Pack to defeat. Add in 2 more costly defensive holding penalties on Ahmad Carroll that gave the Vikes their final td and there you have it. At that point in the game Green Bay was only down 7 with about 9 minutes to play and with a stop could have drastically changed the momentum of the game. You would think that after training camp, 4 exibition games, daily practices and 16 regular season games that Carroll would have figured it out. Obviously not. My question is " What happened to the coaching staff"? How come they could not get this through to him? Because of the 17 points the defense spotted Minnesota , not to mention 4 picks by the Vikes defense, Favre and company had to all but give up on the running game by the 4th quarter. Favre had a truly sub-standard game. Although not all of it was his fault. On 2 of the picks you could see that his receivers ran the wrong routes. The fact that the starting offense was losing players left and right attributed to alot of the offensive misery. Javon Walker and Chad Clifton were knocked out of the game. Both Ahman Green and Najeh Davenport were playing hurt. I guess Mike Sherman is going to have to have someone take the fall for this catastrophe. Who will it be this time? Last year it was Ed Donatel because of the infamous "4th & 26" fiasco. But riddle me this, How come Atlanta is at or near the top of every defensive catagory and Green Bay is at or near the bottom? Now, who do you suppose is the guy who turned the Falcons around? Oh Yeah, Ed Donatel! Do you realize that in 4 years under Donatel the Packer defense was always ranked at or near the top in defense, especially in the " Takeaways" catagory? Except for the first game of the season against Carolina this defense has been suspect all year. It makes you wonder how we won the division with a 10-6 record.You have got to wonder how secure Bob Slowik feels right about now. But I think if anyone should take the blame it should be Sherman. Sherman knew that his defensive backfield was going to be in trouble as soon as Mike McKenzie started his demands long before training camp even started.Then when he gets the chance to dump his disgruntled DB what does he get in return? Not another decent DB but a 3rd string quarterback! What in the name of Vince Lombardi was that? Does Sherman have a clueas to what his team needs are? Now.he has.to go into the off season having to worry if there will be enough cap room to keep the O-line together. I know Wahle and I think Clifton are eligible for free agency. Is Kevin Barry a viable starter? Will Flanagan be healthy enough to play all next season? If he CAN keep the line together, will he be able to find the defensive help he needs? The 2 most obvious needs are a shutdown corner and another competent pass rusher to compliment KGB. With all that in front of him, does Sherman have what it takes to keep wearing all the hats. Mike Holmgren thought he could in Seattle and looked what happened there. This year all Holmgren had to do was coach and he got the Seahawks back to the playoffs. And what about Brett Favre? In the last 13 months he has had to deal with the deaths of his father and brother-in-law. Deanna is battling breast cancer. He lost a good friend in Reggie White. One must ask " How much more off field pain can Brett handle"? Add in the fact that 14 seasons as a NFL player without missing a start is taking more and more of a physical toll each and every year. I will be the first to admit that I am a truly loyal fan of Brett and when he finally does retire it will be a very sad day for me as a Packer fan. I have not respected a Packer qb this much since Bart Starr . Yes indeed gang, this will be a very interesting off season. All that is left to do is wait for the aftershocks from this implosion. Now that the Packs season is officially over I am going to go into off season mode. I will still write from time to time until training camp comes around, especially if something important happens that affects the team we love. Until the next time Packer fans remember that it is always a pleasure to see you "From The Cheap Seats". SEEEEEEEEEE YAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!