"The failure of the Green Bay Packers' defense this season lay at the feet of the players, Ted Thompson, Mike McCarthy and his staff of defensive coaches.

When the offense had one bad day, the defense not only wasn't there to pick it up last Sunday but exacerbated the problem by giving up 37 points in the crushing NFC divisional playoff loss to the New York Giants.

Lambeau Field stands ice cold and silent. The NFC Championship Game destined for Green Bay will be played late Sunday afternoon in San Francisco, and the Packers will be watching from home.

In his valedictory Wednesday, McCarthy spoke of weak fundamentals and sloppy tackling to explain the collapse of his defense. That was the sanitized coach-speak of a man obviously not interested in saying what was really on his mind."