Last week against the Falcons, the Packers' offensive line had their way with a smaller, lighter defensive line, blowing the Falcons "D" off the line and creating huge holes for Gado to run through. Samkon Gado looked like a superstar in the making. Some were quick to call him a phenom. He ran for 103 yards and scored three touchdowns against a team that is a super bowl contender no doubt. But too many people were drooling at the prospect of this young kid, this young second stringer who came riding in to rescue the Packers' offense and didn't take the time to really weigh out why it had happened against the Falcons.

Monday night against Minnesota, the Packers' front line found themselves having to try and move a lot of blubber up front that was missing on the Falcons' defensive front seven, and things weren't so easy. Forget the fact that Minnesota's defense is only ranked 25th in the league, they're big---bigger than Atlanta's. Pat Williams and Kevin Williams are men you're not just going to push around. And it showed. Green Bay's offensive line never showed they were getting the best of anything of what the Vikings had to offer and thusly, the Packers' running game was nonexistent, literally. Green Bay couldn't blow the Vikings off the ball like they had with the Falcons and they failed to make the gaping holes so the Packers' running game was stifled at the point of attack.

I would like to throw a whole lot of numbers at you to prove my point, however my point is proven by the fact I can't throw any kind of numbers at anyone. Not since 1956, against the Baltimore Colts, have the Packers rushed for less yards in a game. To say the Packers' running game was non-effective would be the largest understatement since someone said that Pamela Anderson can't act...

In 1956 Green Bay ran for 20 yards on 18 attempts. Monday Night in front of God and everybody, the Packers chalked up 21 yards on 14 carries. Green Bay's version of 'The Nigerian Nightmare' totaled 7 yard on 10 carries. But before you go blaming anybody, realize that it was the media who was responsible for pumping everybody up on Samkon Gado. Before the Atlanta game, all he was, was, a second stringer fresh off the practice squad who had been shoved into the limelight and caught a few breaks which turned everybody's head. In such a desperate rush to find something good to say about the Packers and their atrocious season, they were too quick, and ill advised, to throw the young man up on a pedestal.

When he came out and tried the same moves against a defense his offensive line couldn't manhandle, the young kid showed exactly what he was, a second stringer fresh off the practice squad that had been shoved into the limelight out of necessity. People seem to forget that he fumbled twice against the Falcons, and again against Minnesota, but because the Packers recovered all of them the instances were glossed over.

But let's not be so quick to judge him or his poor performance. Maybe he just had an off night. Veteran running back Tony Fisher was back on Monday night, and he got his chances to crack the Vikings' defense. However, he failed miserably, too. He only managed 14 yards on four carries.

So with the running game MIA, and the passing game sputtering because nobody had to stay home and respect the run, the Packers only hope was the defense, who had a stellar afternoon against the Falcons. Now I know what you're saying, and yes I remember back to the Metrodome and the first meeting with the Vikings this year. But there's no way Green Bay's defense, ranked in the top ten in the NFL, would ever, ever let that melt down they experienced in the second half of that game happen again. Never ever. . . .

Okay, maybe they would.

It was almost like Déjà vu all over again Monday night. Once again the Packers' defense played stingy the first half against Minnesota only to let them back into the ballgame after half time. And the Vikings made the most of it. Nothing Bates and his boys tried worked. In the second half, after having limited Minnesota's ground game to just 48 yards, the Packers' defense allowed them to rush for 112 to finish with 160 total yards.

In the game's last drive, even though the pass rush put pressure on Johnson, having sacked him 5 times during the game, he some how managed to get the pass off and Al Harris got beat in a jumping contest by Vikings Travis Taylor for a 25 completion that eventually set up Edinger's 24-yard game winning field goal. The Vikings held the ball for 11:24 of the fourth quarter, which did two things, it wore down the defense and it kept Favre and company off the field. It was the winning combination for the Vikings yet again as they sweep the series for the first time since 1998. Which explains why Minnesota's Mewelde Moore averaged 7.5 yards a carry on nine attempts in the last stanza Monday night.

What little light that had been sparked last week against the Falcons as to the Packers being perhaps on the right track, suddenly vanished with the loss. At 2-8, the Packers are one defeat away from Favre's first loosing season of his Packer career. And with the schedule they're facing it's almost an inevitability.

One thing for sure, the remaining couple of weeks will tell the organization a lot about the players they have on the roster. Coach Sherman, if he hasn't already, can make the rest of the season an evaluation period for next season. Everybody knows rebuilding has begun in Green Bay, he should be able to see who can help him in the future and who is willing to play hard under these circumstances.

And somewhere along the line he needs to know who can play football and who can't. Did Gado have a bad day or is he not NFL caliber? Some fear he's a fumbler but Sherman is not quick to put that label on the kid. And with some calling Tony Fisher and ReShard Lee NFL Europe caliber players, the Packers will need to find themselves a legitimated running back as part of their rebuilding process. And of course, rebuilding doesn't necessarily have to take a long time. History has shown us, as with the Dallas Cowboys, that it can be a short term set-back. With a good draft and a couple free-agent signings the Packers could be back on top in the next year or two.

Then of course, something most people are afraid to talk about is the fact that Favre might not be around to lead the team by then. That of course depends on how many more years he wants to come back and if he wants to be part of the team's rebuilding?

The real big question is how many years does he have left in his body? This is a horrible situation to be in as an organization, and as fans of the Packers. Everybody thought Brett would ride off into the sunset with another Lombardi Trophy tucked away in his saddlebag, leaving behind a team capable of continuing on without him. But instead, what we have is Favre on a failing team with no change in sight. Sure, history has proven that turnaround can be quick, as with the Dallas Cowboys, but will Favre want to stick around until it's done?

And maybe more importantly, another question that most people and fans would just as soon ignore is this, can the Packers actually rebuild with Favre still at quarterback? Given the fact he comes back for one or two more years, how do you rebuild for the long term future with Favre still under center? I don't think it's possible. To truly rebuild you have to have the quarterback of the future your focal point to build around. On the other hand, is getting a few players now to help Favre perhaps win a one more Super Bowl title before he retires the way to go? With today's free agency it's certainly possible but what will that do for the team long term? Eventually sentimental thinking has to be replaced by common sense thinking or the Packers will be on a rollercoaster for the foreseeable future.

Until next time ... Keep Driving Forward.