Raji is the #1 difference. He’s not getting pressure, he’s not plugging running holes, and he’s grading out near the bottom of the team in the last 5 games. Last year he graded out near the top in just about every game and interestingly he was near the top in Week 1-3 of this year. After week 3 though, there is an inexplicable drop in Raji’s play.

Either he has an undisclosed injury, or his snap count needs to decrease dramatically to be effective. Hopefully Mike Neal is ready to come in and take some pressure off him and even though he was invisible last night versus the Bears, the loss of Cullen Jenkins has to be at least a part of the problem.

Does anyone recall Raji going down from an injury around week 3 and re-entering the game? The grade drop is so staggering there almost HAS to be something wrong with him. In fact the night-and-day drop in grades is very reminiscent to Clay Matthews last year…when he was playing on an undisclosed broken leg.

Charles Woodson has made some big plays and had one of his better games this year versus San Diego, but those big plays have come at a cost in the plays he gives up. This week withstanding, Woodson has graded out near the bottom with Raji all year long and even though he will lure quarterbacks into bad throws, he also lures plenty of good throws and completions. Most surprisingly though is Woodson’s decline in tackling…he’s just not finishing plays like he did last year. Hopefully he can build off Sunday’s performance.

Charlie Peprah had his best game of the year…and there were still plenty of flaws. We miss Nick Collins though….no doubt about it.

On a positive note…Erik Walden, another player who typically grades out poorly, had easily his best game of the year versus San Diego…scoring a very high grade and easily the highest on the defensive side for the Packers.

They will get it together. No worries.

On the other side of the coin is that every game the opponet has their back to the wall and almost always the D makes the plays to close out the game. Look at this unbeaten streak going back through the playoffs and last few games of last year, D has come up with the game killing pick every time. Not many teams have that ability

But that did definitely happen yesterday on that play late in the game. Matthews/Hawk looked like they were trying to audible and then everyone was changing their position right as the Chargers snapped the ball. And then Rivers found someone open for a huge gain when Clay was trying to cover two guys! (And he almost tipped it too!)

A) An improved pass rush. It’s not too much of a stretch to believe that Walden, Zombo, So’oto or Neal will step up or that Capers will adjust the defense a bit and get pressure that way. Even if there’s a modest improvement over the second half of the season, the whole unit will look much better.

B) Fewer mix-ups and blown coverages in the secondary. I’m willing to bet that we have one of the most complicated defensive schemes in the NFL, and with the lost offseason and reduced amount of contact in practice I have no doubt that some of our younger guys still have a lot to learn. When the playoffs roll around everyone will be more sure of their assignments. Even one fewer blown assignment per game would make a noticeable difference.

If we had a shitty coordinator, major injuries, or a lack of talent I’d be worried. But those aren’t issues. The solution to the defense’s problems could be as easy as Neal getting healthy and the secondary getting a few more weeks of practice.

Fortunately, based off the post game interviews, the Charger defenders were more interested in getting A-Rodge’s autograph than they were in playing defense.

HAHAHA… Jay Cutler looks completely hungover. I can’t believe this guy is some franchise’s QB. How is anyone supposed to stand Jaws and Gruden talking about Vick all game?? UGGGHHH!!!