A genesis of my thoughts on this week's potential column:

Wednesday: Perhaps a look at the upcoming seasons of Tom Crean's Marquette Golden Eagles (with new 6-4 playmaker Dwayne Wade) and Bo Ryan's inexperienced Wisconsin Badgers.

Friday: Instead, profile the Bucks' 5-1 start (soon to be 6-1 with a win over Utah Saturday at the Bradley Center) in contrast to last year's stumbling 3-9 opening.

Saturday evening: Sadly, a closer look at the most difficult UW football loss of the season, a 20-17 stunner to Michigan punctuated by no fewer than four critical special teams errors.

Sunday: Packers lose to Atlanta in Lambeau Field. Welcome to another Green Bay essay.

Sherman and the Packers must regroup in short order and beat Detroit Thursday

Unfortunately, despite the double-digit home pointspread, this one was all too predictable. The Pack was coming off successive division wins over Tampa Bay and Chicago. Considering many thought the Bears were going to lose to the Bucs in Tampa Sunday afternoon, all the Packers had to do was beat lowly Atlanta to take over first place in the Central at 7-2 heading into the dangerous Silverdome.

Right. Make a mental note: veteran quarterbacks eat the Packers up. Steve Beuerlein did it in 1999 on the very field that Chris Chandler did it on Sunday with a Carolina team that was also considered to be nothing more than a .500 bunch (and they were 7 1/2-point dogs that day). The resulting 33-31 loss still stings and utlimately cost the Packers a playoff berth (and Ray Rhodes his situation). {INSERT_RELATED}

Plus, the last time the team was coming off an impressive win (against Baltimore to move to 4-1), they fell similarly flat to Minnesota seven days later in a 35-13 wipeout.

But there is some good news. While the '99 Carolina defeat dropped the Pack to 7-6, this loss to Atlanta leaves them at 6-3. In other words, there are seven weeks left to prove it to be the fluke they consider it to be.

On the bad side, the NFC is suddenly full of playoff-worthy foes. The Bears are 7-2 (they visit Lambeau on Dec. 9) and atop the Central, St. Louis sits at 8-1 in the West with San Francisco (7-2) close behind, followed by New Orleans and Carolina (5-4). And a Philadelphia team that seems to be hitting its stride is at 6-3 and leading the East. Think the Pack is balanced? The Eagles have scored 21 more points and allowed 22 fewer than Green Bay. Even worse, if the Packers stumble Thursday and Minnesota beats Chicago at home Sunday night, the Vikings are suddenly just one game behind.

Course, it's early to be diagnosing playoff likelihoods, even on the heels of a rough home loss within the conference (though another possible similarity to the '99 Carolina loss was the latter's head-to-head tiebreaker effect, forcing the Packers to pray for a three-way tie on the final Sunday of the season while trying to outscore the Panthers in a different city). And if the Packers simply rebound to win five of these final seven, they make the post-season regardless.

That won't be easy, though. Defensive leader LeRoy Butler is most likely out for the season with a broken shoulder blade (the Packers signed Billy Jenkins, formerly of Denver, to fill his slot on Monday), and a once formidable defensive unit suddenly wears thin around the edges. And just a week after making a touchdown pass no one else drawing breath is capable of, Brett Favre made at least two questionable decisions Sunday leading directly to interceptions and a humbling loss.

Add to it all some locker room controversy, as Favre bashed unnamed teammates for a lack of preparation, and backup safety Chris Akins had to be restrained from going after coach Mike Sherman after his critical fourth-quarter unsportsmanlike conduct call Sunday.

Basically, Thursday loomed very large. The Packers haven't won in Detroit since the Super Bowl XXXI season, and the script seemed all too perfect for another loss. After all, Charlie Batch is probably only in the NFL at this point because he can beat the Packers, and the Lions have had several near-misses this season. Add to that the fact that it was the final Thanksgiving game ever to be played at the Silverdome (the Lions move to Ford Field next season).

The last time the teams played on Turkey Day was the Walter Stanley game in 1986, when the Packers speedy receiver went 83 yards for a TD on a punt return in the final minute for a 44-40 win.

The Packers didn't need the theatrics this time around, just a W. And fortunately, Sherman distinguished himself from his predecessor and the last few playoff-less seasons in Titletown, by leading the Packers to a 7-3 mark come dinner time Thursday.