What a steep and graceless fall. In just one year, the Packers have gone from nearly making the Super Bowl to being eliminated from playoff contention with two weeks remaining in the season. It was fitting that the slim hopes of the 2008 Packers were snuffed out in Jacksonville by a bad team in the same kind of loss that has haunted Green Bay all season long.The recipe is familiar. Take a defense that can’t get a stop, mix in a running offense that can’t pick up a yard when it absolutely has to and add a dash of a quarterback who has yet to pull out a close game. The finished product is a 5-9 team. It doesn’t taste very good. When the arguments between players and the hollow cries of “miscommunication” fade, the Packers will face a reality as cold and clear as a winter morning in Green Bay. Everyone from the top down in the organization needs to be held accountable for this season. The defensive shortcomings, some caused by injuries, were glaring. Ted Thompson needs to address the defensive line in particular. The offensive line cannot dominate games. Aaron Rodgers needs to clear the mental hurdle of performing under the pressure of a late-game situation. I don’t care about the relatively low number of interceptions. I don’t care about quarterback ratings. I care about winning. If anyone thinks that Brett Favre wouldn’t have made a difference in at least a few of those close losses, they’re kidding themselves. Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy were rewarded with lucrative contract extensions for the charmed season of 2007. Now it’s up to them to get this team back on track for 2009.