The Green Bay Packers bumbled their way through Sunday's 37-20 playoff loss to New York, letting Eli Manning and the Giants rule every inch of Lambeau Field.
The defending Super Bowl champions had a bye last weekend and were shaken by the death of offensive coordinator Joe Philbin's 21-year-old son days earlier.Philbin was away from the team all week. Michael Philbin's body was recovered from an icy river in Oshkosh, Wis., on Monday. A preliminary autopsy found that he drowned.
"A lot of us wanted to get this one for him, give some happiness to him and his family," said Aaron Rodgers, one of many players who attended Michael Philbin's wake and funeral.
A Packers spokesman said Philbin and the team decided Sunday morning that he'd coach in the game. He worked from the coach's booth in the press box, as he usually does.
Falcons: Completing an unusual swap of offensive coordinators, Atlanta hired Dirk Koetter from Jacksonville to replace Mike Mularkey just four days after the Jaguars introduced Mularkey as their new coach. Mularkey hired former Falcons quarterbacks coach Bob Bratkowski to be his offensive coordinator. Atlanta hired Koetter despite the Jaguars ranking last in the league in total offense in 2011. The offense also ranked 29th in points (15.2 per game). Koetter worked with Falcons coach Mike Smith for a year. Smith was the Jaguars defensive coordinator before he became Atlanta's coach in 2008.
Etc.: Aiming to ensure rules are enforced the same way from game to game, the league is considering making some officials full-time employees. As of now, all are part time. "We're contemplating taking some of those officials who are now part time -- they have other jobs -- and making say 10, full time," commissioner Roger Goodell said.
