NO REPRISE OF 1763. The Packers' French Army Retrospective did not include a replay of the Lake Erie campaign, although the defense tried. The Lions were just a little bit worse. There will be no bailout for Lion coach Rod Marinelli. Packer defensive coordinator Andre Maginot Bob Sanders recognizes that his unit needs work.

As he has done almost every week, Sanders accepted blame for the shortcomings of the defense, which ranked 26th against the run, 12th against the pass and 20th overall. But he also said there was enough talent in Green Bay for a turnaround.

"We have a very good group of guys here," Sanders said. "We'll evaluate in the offseason every single aspect and see how we can do things better. I know the work ethic and I know what the guys can do. I know we played at a high level in a lot of games. There have been a lot of plays in a lot of games where we had big plays."

There's no question Sanders was hamstrung this season because of a lack of pass rush and depth on the defensive line.

Packer general manager Louis XVI Ted Thompson will also be the object of conversation during the off-season.

General manager Ted Thompson traded away versatile Corey Williams rather than sign him, end Cullen Jenkins suffered a season-ending injury in Week 4, end Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila succumbed to a bad knee and was released at midseason and tackle Justin Harrell was injured and ineffective for a second straight year.

As the season wore on, the Packers' pass rush disappeared and the man-to-man coverage became more and more difficult for the secondary and linebackers to carry out. No one can cover a receiver all day long no matter how good he is.

The offense has possibilities.

By no means were the Packers' failures this season all Rodgers' fault. When you pass for 4,038 yards, complete 63.6% of your passes, throw for 28 touchdowns with just 13 interceptions and post a passer rating of 93.8, you've had a productive year.

But quarterbacks are generally judged on wins and losses, and Rodgers' inability to will the Packers to victories in the final five minutes of seven games will be something that will go on his permanent record.

What also will be stamped there will be the fact he survived the Brett Favre soap opera this summer, overcame a shoulder injury that forced him to skip practice for the better part of a month and won over a good portion of the Packers fans. The latter might actually be the most important of the three given the events of the past seven months.

As he stood alone doing an interview on the field with network commentators following the game, he received a huge ovation, and as he ran into the tunnel, fans cheered him and chanted his name. It's a long way from the times this summer when kids would cuss him out as he made his way into the players' parking lot.

"That's special, definitely, but we've got to win games and get to the playoffs and get back to where we want to be," Rodgers said. "But I do appreciate the support - especially in the community. The fans have been great, and that means a lot to me."

Asked if he felt as if he's emerged from Favre's shadow, Rodgers said flatly, "No."

The winner of the Central Division NFC North is the Atlanta Falcons.