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There's been a vocal outspoken minority calling for Mike McCarthy to be fired for weeks, if not months. After Sunday's loss to previously winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the minority has become the majority. "It marks the low point of the Mike McCarthy coaching tenure in Green Bay and raises serious questions about where the Packers are heading," writes Mike Vandermause of the Green Bay Press-Gazette. Add Ted Thompson to the list of heads to roll as well.

Drew Olson of OnMilwaukee.com gives a good example of the excuses people are sick of regarding McCarthy. "Cornerback Jarret Bush, who had a hand in the long kick return and may have blown coverage on the winning touchdown, is on the team despite a string of mistakes," writes Olson. "Rather than call out a player or coach, McCarthy will say something to the effect of 'We've got to clean that up.'" Fans are sick of hearing "We've got to clean that up." McCarthy has been a man of words and not action.

Special teams was probably the biggest factor in the loss to Tampa Bay. Bill Huber of Packer Report has a good breakdown of what went wrong. "After being positive factors in wins over Chicago and Detroit, coordinator Shawn Slocum’s unit played an enormous role in costly losses the last two weeks," writes Huber. "One week after allowing two game-turning kick returns by Minnesota’s Percy Harvin, the kicking game posted abysmal performances in practically every area on Sunday at Tampa Bay." Read a rest of the article for an inside look at the plays that led to the loss.

Another huge reason for the poor performance was giving up six sacks to a less than stellar Tampa Bay defense. "After the carnage was complete, offensive coordinator Joe Philbin was asked if maybe it was time to go with rookie T.J. Lang at left guard instead of Daryn Colledge," subtly suggests Bob McGinn of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Colledge wasn't the only one that looked bad on Sunday, but he was probably the worst performer of the day. Going with Lang certainly needs to be considered.

The defense was at fault to a lesser extent, but the lack of a pass rush was also troubling. "While the 6-6, 248-pound Freeman struggled in the early going, he gained confidence as the game wore on, and the Packers continually failed to put enough pressure on him," writes Tom Silverstein of the Journal Sentinel. Even when the Packers blitz, they don't seem to get much pressure.

It was notable that Ahman Green broke the franchise record for career rushing yards. "Green's 45 yards against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers moved him into the top spot on the Packers' career rushing list," writes Greg Bedard of the Journal Sentinel. "Green now has 8,208 yards, one ahead of Jim Taylor." Green's performance was one of the few positives to take away from the game.

It appears as if Mark Tauscher escaped the game without serious injury. "There was a little concern, but from talking to the doc right now, I don't think it's anything serious," Tauscher told Rob Demovsky of the Green Bay Press-Gazette after the game. "We'll probably get it looked at again tomorrow, but I think I got lucky. I don't think it's anything major."

Jeff Bercovici of True Slant is one of the few people letting McCarthy and Thompson of the hook. "Give McCarthy and Thompson the benefit of the doubt and say it was reasonable to write off 2009 as, essentially, a rebuilding year," writes Bercovici. "That needed to be communicated in some way to fans and the media. It never was. Instead, we had a freakishly dominant preseason that heightened everyone’s expectations (especially this guy’s) to what was, in retrospect, an unreasonable level for a young team in the midst of a major (if arguably unnecessary) overhaul."

Packergeeks is adjusting their expectations for 2009.

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