The comeback was in the making. It was almost as if we were watching the Packers of old, with Favre leading the team back for a last minute victory. Green Bay had set aside the rash of injuries that had them decimated at nearly every skilled position and was reaching back to find that extra gear to drive on. It was gut check time and Favre and company looked up to the task.

They had overcome the 19 point deficit. They had overcome the questionable officiating. They had overcome some down right stupid mistakes on their part. They were in the process of overcoming the nay-sayers. They were about to show the entire world they weren't dead. They were about to beat Carolina on Monday Night for a second consecutive year in front of millions of fans. The Packers were on the move, fighting back, looking to finally get the monkey off their back. They were coming from behind like so many times before with the boy from Mississippi at the helm. And then .... Bang! Driver drops the pass and it's Game over.

Game over?

Yep,

No comeback.

No late minute rally to glory.

No Monday night triumph over the Panthers.

And as for the monkey ... he's turned into a gorilla and he's very, very heavy, brother.

So what happened? Whatever it was, it happened so fast that if you weren't watching closely you missed it. I was just about ready to leap out of my chair and kiss the guy sitting next to me, which would have been sort of awkward. Anyway, lucky for me it never came down to that because things got messed up. Again. So the haunting question resurfaces. Where did things go wrong for the Packers this week?

And for the most part, it's the same old story.

Mental mistakes that led to penalties.

Veterans and rookies alike not playing smart, tough football.

Lack of intelligent coaching on the sidelines.

All of the above.

The biggest, glaring error came when, in the dwindling minutes of the comeback, the Packers faced a 4th and short. The game was on the line and they needed to get the first down to keep the drive, the comeback, alive.

But instead of slowing things down and huddling up on the field to make sure everyone had their assignments right, instead of making sure that everyone was on the same page and ready to execute the most important play of the comeback, instead of setting themselves up to win, instead ... the offense rushed to the line acting as if they were up against the play clock, which in reality was not a factor at that moment. Instead of walking to the line with confidence, they rushed to the line with that lost in the headlights look on their faces. And dropped the ball. Literally.

Now, whether it was Favre not wanting to stop their momentum, or Sherman not knowing what to do in that situation, somebody blew the chance, the one fleeing chance, to get the team off the snide.

And as a result of not making sure they were set to run the vital play, Driver didn't line up close enough to the tightend in order to cut off Panthers' cornerback Chris Gamble, who reacted as if he knew what was coming and jumped the route. Driver couldn't fight off Gamble's play on the ball and dropped the pass. It didn't help that once again, Sherman's offense was predictable in their play calling and the entire Carolina defense knew what they were going to run.

The loss drops the Pack to 0-4, technically the worse team in the NFL at this stage of the season. Houston, 0-3, is the only other winless team.

Now if you want to try and put somewhat of a positive spin on this, be my guest. But truth be told, take into consideration that the Packers were fighting most of the night with one hand tied behind their backs. When they were clawing back most of the team was either badly banged up or MIA altogether.

Injuries had knocked out tackle Chad Clifton, center Mike Flanagan, running back Ahman Green, linebacker Na'il Diggs and wide receiver Terrence Murphy. And Green Bay had started the game without their number one tight end Bubba Franks because of a knee injury.

And you might even want to say that fact alone, working with a patched together squad, could have caused some of the penalties and mistakes the team was guilty of. Go ahead. However, what it all boils down to is simply this; they're four games below five hundred for the first since 1991.

But for the record, and you knew that I had one, a but not a record, just how bad are the Packers? Good question. They have lost their last three games by a grand total of just six points. And by some people's account, had been in position to win them all if they hadn't shot themselves in the foot every time.

Now I for one, am tired of always looking for someone to put the blame on. There's plenty to go around. Wait.... Yes Sherman needs his share placed squarely on his shoulders as the team's coach and leader, but that's not the entire problem. The fact that this is a young, inexperienced team, for the most part, has a lot to do with their horrendous play. They're still making stupid mistakes and still losing because of it. Not until the young players themselves find a way to win, until they gain the confidence as a group to stop finding ways to lose the ballgame, the Green Bay Packers are going to continue to lose.

Now that's not to say the veterans on the team don't need to step up and play better. They're drawing plenty of the yellow flags, not to mention they're turning the ball over, too. When's the last time you saw Henderson fumble the ball as he did against Tampa? And what about the dropped passes in every single game this year? We've all seen it. Donald Driver's dropped passes always seem to come in critical situations during the game. Everybody knows he's a good receiver most of the time, however he's been guilty of way too many sub-par plays in his career, and it continues this year when he's been asked to step up and play at this best. And that goes for the other receivers  as well.

Veterans on both sides of the ball are not playing up their potential, for that matter. A lot of blown plays on the defense stands as proof of that, as well. So when you take the shoddy playing by the veterans, add that with the younger, inexperienced players making their mistakes, you've got just what they have in Green Bay right now---a losing football team.

Now, having said that, the big question is how can all this be righted? It's going to take time. How much time? That's the bigger question.

If the Pack go into the bye week 0-5, that just might be the end of anything this year. Even if they do beat the Saints on Sunday, it may be too little too late. Their schedule doesn't get any easier by any stretch of the imagination. And even in a division nobody wants to win, the Packers still have to win at least two games this year to take the NFC North. Of course, that's if nobody else in the division wins again this year. And at this point, those two wins look like they're going to be a tall order for a team that's hobbled by injury and playing just well enough to make their defeats look close.

And we all know, close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. Nuff said.

Until next time---Keep Driving Forward.