“Mason has got to kick ball thru uprights. We're always supportive when players go thru things but it is about performance.”

That’s what Mike McCarthy had to say about Mason Crosby after today’s 24-20 victory over the Lions, a game which saw Crosby miss two more field goals.

The two missed kicks were somewhat redeemed with a 39 yarder with 1 minute left, but the lasting impression of McCarthy having to hold back from slamming his headset on the ground after his second miss of the day is indicative of Crosby’s performance this season.

Apparently "clearing the cobwebs" during the bye week didn't do much to help his performance.

So far this season, Crosby is 11-18 on field goal opportunities.  That includes going 3-7 in his last three games, after getting off to a 5-5 start. To say he is in a funk right now is a severe understatement. Sorry to say, but 61% just is not going to cut it in the NFL.

The question is what do the Packers do with Crosby? This is after all the same player who set a team record with 23 consecutive field goals made between the 2010-11 season. But for much of this season, Crosby has looked more like the 2008-09 version, who would drive fans crazy with inconsistency.

To outright cut Crosby would be foolish. He is signed through 2015 after signing a $14.75 million extension in July 2011. To have millions of dollars of dead money owed to a kicker after a stretch of poor performances seems like a dumb idea.

However, Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy have to start asking the question of whether they trust Crosby enough to put him in the situation to possibly determine a win or loss during the stretch run to the playoffs. One kick could be the difference between a division crown and a home playoff game, and a Wild Card game on the road. Or maybe none of the above.

If nothing else, it is imperative that Ted and Mike get this issue solved before it gets too much further out of hand.

What Thompson and McCarthy should be doing is searching the free agent lists for available kickers to bring into Green Bay. Having a kicker come in does not mean that Crosby is going to be released tomorrow. But if performance is what matters, as McCarthy has implied, it would definitely send the message to Crosby’s performance is unacceptable, and necessary moves will be made if it continues.

There is nothing wrong with competition. However, there is everything wrong with sticking with the status quo when the status quo is not doing their job well.

Confidence is the word that has been surrounding Crosby since his latest funk started. So how is that confidence affected with every mounting miss? Perhaps a better way to look at is is how is Crosby’s confidence affected when there is no competition brought in to at least send him a message?

That’s what Ted and Mike need to figure out, sooner than later.

John Rehor is a writer at Cheesehead TV’s Eat More Cheese and co-host of Cheesehead Radio (blogtalkradio.com/cheeseeheadradio). He can be contacted at [email protected].