A rather apropos travel choice, considering how the Packers' season ended in a down-under manner.

After being part of the biggest collapse from one season to the next in the illustrious 90-year history of the franchise, Rodgers said football will be the furthest thing from his mind.

"I'll probably sit on the beach in Australia and think about some of the things that went wrong and then get back in the water," a grinning Rodgers said Monday.

A 6-10 record had Rodgers and many of his teammates packing their bags and escaping snow-infested Green Bay this week much earlier than last winter, when the Packers turned a 13-3 regular season into what almost became a business trip to Arizona for Super Bowl XLII.

The Packers' 23-20 overtime loss to the New York Giants in the NFC Championship Game at Lambeau Field served as a harbinger of what was in store for Green Bay in the 2008 season. Just as it couldn't derail the Giants' improbable postseason express in a winnable game, Green Bay was a perfect 7-for-7 this season in losing games decided by no more than four points.

"We've just got to finish games," cornerback Al Harris lamented. "That's what separates the playoff teams from the non-playoff teams. We've got to finish games."

A six-game drop-off from 10-6 in 2004 to 4-12 in '05 resulted in the firing of head coach Mike Sherman and led to the hiring of Mike McCarthy.

While McCarthy's job appears safe with the offseason under way, the big letdown from last season won't be casually brushed aside.

A shakeup with the coaching staff likely is in the cards. Defensive coordinator Bob Sanders was on shaky ground as McCarthy prepared to meet individually with his staff Wednesday. Special teams coordinator Mike Stock also could be on the way out. Both units were woeful during the second half of the season, when the Packers' bid to repeat as NFC North champions fell by the wayside with seven losses in their last nine games.

The Packers grossly underperformed on defense. The unit was caught short-handed for most of the season, as productive lineman Cullen Jenkins, middle linebacker Nick Barnett and strong safety Atari Bigby went on injured reserve, and Harris missed four games with a spleen injury. The injuries, though, didn't fly as excuses for how Green Bay allowed scores of big plays and couldn't come through with key fourth-quarter stops in the closely contested games.

"When you start talking about the ifs, you can 'if' all day," Jenkins said. "You can keep going in different scenarios. The bottom line is you've got to win with the people you have out there. That's the priority, and that's what you've got to do."

The Packers surrendered 380 points, tied for the second-highest total by the opposition in the last 25 years. All but seven of those points were at the expense of the defense.

"We just weren't the same team as last year," Pro Bowl cornerback Charles Woodson said. "We did have a lot of the same people, same personnel, but we just were not the same team. We started off pretty good on a Monday night (a 24-19 win over the Minnesota Vikings in the opener), and we just were up and down. Too inconsistent. I guess that would be the word that would best describe this team this year."

Rodgers echoed the sentiment, particularly for his own play in his first season as a pro starter following the Packers' acrimonious split with Brett Favre, whom they traded to the New York Jets in the preseason.

Rodgers rose above the intense scrutiny placed on him and performed better than many anticipated, as he passed for more than 4,000 yards and 28 touchdowns and limited his mistakes with 13 interceptions. Yet, he'll go into next season with a stigma that he can't pull out a victory in crunch time.

"I know the expectations were high. I put high expectations on myself to play well," Rodgers said. "I met some of those expectations and fell short in some areas as well. I wanted to be a consistent player. I was at times, and I was inconsistent at times. This team deserves a consistent player 100 percent of the time."

The season that was for the Packers was a head-scratcher. Rodgers' proficiency, coupled with a 1,200-yard rusher in Ryan Grant and 1,000-yard receivers in Greg Jennings and Donald Driver, and a team-record nine touchdown returns on defense or special teams had the Packers outscoring their opponents 419-380. It marked just the fourth time -- and the first time in a 16-game season -- Green Bay was on the plus side of the points differential with a losing record.

All of that went for naught, however. Woodson, as one of only four 30-something players on the league's youngest roster, was moved to make a public plea to general manager Ted Thompson, who is notoriously frugal when it comes to signing high-profile free agents.

"I don't know how big the changes will be," Woodson said. "But, in my opinion, we have to get some more veteran guys in here on the team -- guys that have weathered a few storms in their careers and know what it's all about. I don't know what will be done, but I know there will be some things done."