ATLANTA -- One subject was off limits, too sensitive for discussion. This was on Friday morning, and Packers executive vice president and general manager Ted Thompson was talking on the phone as the Pack awaited their departure to Atlanta for a divisional playoff game against the Falcons. They would leave their Lambeau Field headquarters at precisely 12:45 p.m., because that is when they always leave Lambeau for away games. Head coach Mike McCarthy, like most coaches, worships the sanctity of routine, so soon the buses would arrive and the team would leave promptly at 12:45.
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