It wasn't supposed to end like this.

Late Wednesday afternoon in the bowels of Lambeau Field's basement auditorium, down the hallway from where his players had packed up their personal belongings and just a stone's throw from the tunnel from which they emerge before every home game, Packers coach Mike McCarthy met with reporters one last time to address the 2011 football season.

"The reality is, you put yourself in position to make a run in the playoffs, and we did that very well," McCarthy said. "But once the second season started, we did not play to the identity that we were able to formulate all season, and that's my frustration."

Of course, this press conference was not supposed to take place until mid-February; after all of the late-night talk shows had the first two-time defending Super Bowl champions in eight years parade on through. After a 15-1 regular season and home field advantage, anything short of bringing back another Lombardi Trophy to Lombardi Avenue would be viewed as absolute failure.

Turns out, that includes how the coach looks at the matter.

"Anytime something does not go right, like Sunday's game, the first thing I look at is myself," McCarthy admitted. "Why did we not handle the football properly in that game? I thought we emphasized it particularly more than we ever did month; the ability to get outside and prepare for that game."

Over the course of roughly 30 minutes, McCarthy addressed a wide array of subjects, and unlike most of his in-season news conferences in where he plays his hand close to the vest, the coach was unforgiving in his assessment of certain failures this season, most notably the utter inability on the part of his defense to play up to their capabilities.

"The tackling just was not there all year," McCarthy added. "Without getting into the specific statistics, we did not tackle well enough as a football team, from start to finish. It's something that's emphasized every single day in practice and something that (defensive coordinator) Dom (Capers) and I talked a lot about today."

Certainly losing Nick Collins in Week 2 had a devastating effect on the Packers this season. What had been one of the Packers most effective units, the defensive secondary, became one of their greatest liabilities in 2011.

Two years ago, Charles Woodson was crowned NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Collins was coming off his first of three All-Pro seasons, and Tramon Williams was coming into his own as one of the bright up-and-coming stars of the NFL.

In 2011, Collins only played one full game. Woodson, 36, has clearly lost a step or two, and Williams had flashes of brilliance, but not nearly enough by his or anyone else's standards to not warrant concern.

With Woodson, we all knew that time would catch up with him, as it does for all of us. The Packers got back their original investment in him tenfold since scooping him up off the free agent scrap heap back in 2006, but his days as an elite NFL cornerback are over. And while no one is sold on Sam Shields as a worthy successor to the future Hall of Famer just yet, Woodson's future appears to be at safety.

As for Collins, the Packers had hoped that he would be able to solidify that position for many years to come. At 28, Ted Thompson's second-ever Green Bay draft choice had been named to three consecutive Pro Bowls and was widely respected throughout the league. However, on Sept. 18, that all changed when he was hurt on a freak play when Carolina's Jonathan Stewart tried to hurdle Collins' tackle in the fourth quarter of Green Bay's 30-23 win. At the time of the injury, McCarthy said that Collins was "on pace to potentially have a Hall of Fame career here."

Wednesday, McCarthy would not use Collins' absence as an excuse for the team's shoddy tackling. "You definitely miss Nick's big-play ability, but I don't think that's a reason to say... that's why we didn't play defense at the level we played last year."

As for the future of Collins, another specialist will examine him in March; until then, all plans for his future are on hold.

Certainly there will be some personnel moves made this off-season. That is always the case with every club every year. But one of the hottest-button players in terms of fan reaction is tight end Jermichael Finley. Finley has no shortage of confidence and has never been afraid to speak out when he feels something is affecting his game.

However, he, like many of his fellow receivers, had a case of the dropsy's at times this past season. Nevertheless, McCarthy wants his talented but outspoken tight end to return.

"Jermichael probably brings a lot of criticism on himself because of his personality," McCarthy said. "But the man I work with, he has a great work ethic, there's no one more into the practice on a daily basis than Jermichael."

As for Finley's perceived chirping, the coach admitted that when he spoke to his tight end on Monday as the players were packing up and heading home, there was some remorse on the part of the player.

"Maybe statistically or production-wise, it didn't go as well as he would have liked," McCarthy said. "Too many drops, that's stating the obvious."

Finley is a free agent this offseason, but the Packers are thought to be ready to use their franchise player designation on him, which would cost $5.4 million, barring the two sides agreeing on a long-term extension.

At some point, McCarthy and the rest of the Packers Nation will have to put Sunday's loss in the rear view mirror. Of course, the wound is still too fresh and there are still too many questions that need answers. Of course, the one overriding theme is the question of urgency vs. complacency.

One year ago, the Packers squeaked into the playoffs and had to win their final two regular season games in order to do that. Then, in successive weeks, they had to go on the road for playoff games with the No. 3 seed (Philadelphia), the No. 1 seed (Atlanta), and the No. 2 seed (Chicago) in the NFC Playoffs before playing favored Pittsburgh in a most improbable but exhilarating Super Bowl run.

This season, the Packers literally went into cruise control in Week 17, with McCarthy resting starters Aaron Rodgers, Clay Matthews, and Charles Woodson.

Did the Packers lose because of rust?

"I don't think so," McCarthy said. "I think that's a convenient excuse. From my experience in the National Football League, a fresh football player is the best football player. I don't question our schedule."

Unfortunately for so many associated with McCarthy's team, including his players, coaches, and fans, that schedule just got a whole lot emptier over the next three weeks.