Here are some tweets that I noticed were somehow absent from my timeline.

Seeing as they won’t say it, I will.

@coachpawsitive I will continue to run the ball. I will continue to run the ball.

@cedmissmemuch my ankle’s fine. I will continue to run the ball. I will continue to run the ball.

@alexspeedgreen screens aren’t just for windows.

@jjrouterunner TDs baby! Lemme just turn up field now.

@domhairpiece Halftime. Adjustments. Double cover the guy playing well. Cushions bad.

@waldenshere taking my aggression out the right way

@nickthehitperry I’d study my how to tackle book but I’d just get confused

@blanketshields I’d study my how to defend the pass book but I’d just get confused

@droppingthetakeover (its best if he doesn’t say anything)

@aworthyrook ball snap, then I move

@teamonmybackdoe today’s a good day for my groin to be great!

@rogerdictatorgoodell the nfl always wins.

@Babybulaga I need to take more naps, I’m getting worked out there.

@crosbymisskicks Oh, that was a dome.  Oops, my bad.

@dontcallmewoodchuck OH! Pass interference calls are bad! Got it! I’ll stop.

@dj everyday I’m hustling. Or I should probably start.

@cobbinstride they’re gonna use me more. Just u wait.

@nealthesteal I’m back.

@rajinator teach me how to “raji” above an injury

@neooldstarks how long does a toe take to heal?

@packersdroppedballcoach do I coach the recievers or the dbs? Who knows?

@qb1 I’m going to start discount double checking my accuracy and my internal clock

Who isn’t loving this guy? As Packer fans we’re currently big on initial first names, and we obviously enjoy a good gun slinger. He’s impressed in camp with his arm strength, and from what we saw of him in the preseason, he had a “nice” drive at the end of the game. I’ve heard it on the radio, B.J. Coleman is better than Harrell. I’ve read it in blog comments and on twitter, “Cut Harrell, Keep B.J.!” And I’m here to say, NO WAY!

B.J. Coleman is not your number two quarterback.

Graham Harrell isn’t impressing. I’m real with that. He went 15 of 27 last Thursday and some of his passes looked “weak” at best. But let’s be real with what we’re looking for in a backup.

A backup isn’t always someone that could start on another team, he’s someone who knows your offense, who when needed can come in and hopefully not mess it all up. When I think back to the Patriots game that Flynn had to play in 2010, he looked great, but remember at the end of the game, the 2 minute drill, when he looked at the sideline like a deer in headlights? He had no idea what play to call, how to juggle the clock with the plays, and where to look. And Flynn knew the offense. When I think of what I want in a backup, I want the guy who’s not going to look scared. I never want to see that confused, blank face on the field again. Arm strength is important, flashy throws also good, but if he doesn’t know the plays or how to manage the game, those throws will never happen.

In my starting quarterback, I want a game winner; in my backup, I’d like a game manager. Graham Harrell knows the offense more than B.J. Coleman does. He knows the receivers and their patterns and given more time will only improve. Coleman has the potential; with an arm like that, he just needs to get his mind around the plays and the game. But there is no way I’m trusting B.J. Coleman over Graham Harrell with running this offense.  I’d like to see both Coleman and Harrell learn from this offense and advance; I think they both have potential. But Coleman isn’t ready to be handed the clipboard and headphones yet. He’s ready to hold a playbook and learn and hopefully end up on the practice squad so that next summer he can come in and possibly overtake Harrell.

I’m not sure how many people showed up to watch the Bears Family Night, but this picture says it all.

Some people on twitter have suggested it’s because there’s nothing else to do in Green Bay and Chicago has a great night life. To which I ask, for families?

No, twitter people, I don’t think the massive draw of families to Lollapalooza is what caused the different pictures; I just think the Bears Still Suck.

Those are words I never thought I’d hear uttered except in the case of an injury.

Yet today, the first day of Training Camp, that is exactly what was seen. Lining up opposite Tramon Williams at corner in base defense with Charles Woodson at Safety, there was number 24.

I admit it is a scary thought to think of Bush as a starting cornerback for this team, especially considering all the issues they had in the secondary last year. But until Sam Shields decides he wants to tackle someone, or one of the younger players (Devon House, Brandain Ross, or Casey Hayward) shows enough to overtake Bush as the starter, the job may be his to lose.

Love him on special teams. On defense, that’s another story.

Jarrett Bush-starting cornerback. Get the Tylenol ready. This could be interesting.

Or at least that’s the person I play on twitter. Under no circumstances do I want Tim Tebow to come near the Green Bay Packers locker room. For some reason, Tim Tebow is the person that you can’t like or dislike for justifiable reasons. You either love him because he’s a great person or you hate him because of his persona; he’s more polarizing than a presidential race. “You’re either with us or against us.”

I admit though, I am the type of person who sometimes gets a kick out of disliking something simply because it feels like the rest of the world got together and decided to love it. So in the spirit of full disclosure, my number one reason for not wanting the Packers to even think about bringing Tim Tebow in, even if it’s to sell popcorn in the stands, did start for my blind decision to dislike.

But, and maybe this is where I lose some people, I am able to think outside my bitter box. I have read the well-reasoned blogs from Thad (over at Pocket Doppler) and my co-pilot here John, and I admit they have some points. Tebow appears to be “Packer People”, McCarthy’s quarterback school might finally be the place where Tebow can learn and Green Bay is the least circus welcoming town in the NFL. It all could fit together nicely.

But the problem is the Packers and Tebow are two pieces to different puzzles. For as much as I hound on Tebow for having poor mechanics and his unwillingness/inability to change those, the man does win games. Why? Not because he’s mastered a pro-style offence, not even because he’s getting better at it. But because he falls back on the things that made him the Heisman winning college quarterback. “His intangibles”.

I don’t like that word. And I think it’s silly how frequently it is used in the NFL for Tebow. (I’d much prefer measurables like arm length), but like it or not, the kid has them and that is when he thrives.

Think back to Florida. After they lost to Ole Miss in 2008, Tim Tebow “put the team on his back” and delivered a promise to his teammates and Florida fans. That promise has been made into a plaque (I’m not kidding).

Florida went on to win the rest of their games that season, including the BCS National Championship game. Why? Not because Tebow is the best quarterback any of us have ever seen play, but because he is a leader. He is a fighter. When down and out, he’s the guy people want in their corner. He galvanizes players, fans, and people on the street. He makes people win for him. He leads.

You can see the trend continue into the NFL. In his two training camps with the Broncos he entered the season listed as the third string quarterback, behind Orton and Quinn. He couldn’t beat out Brady Quinn. I argue because who needs a leader at practices. When his back’s not against the wall, he doesn’t play as well. When he’s a cog in the machine, he doesn’t perform as well.

Last year, after taking over the starting job for the Broncos people joked that Tebow only plays in the fourth quarter. That joke is partially true. When you break down his completion percentage and quarter back rating by quarters, Tebow shines in the fourth quarter and darn near radiates in overtime. In the 4th quarter he completed nearly 52% of his passes for a rating of 81.3. In overtime he competed 62.5 percent with a rating of 145.8. When you need someone to get your team together and lead them into battle, he’s seems to be your guy.

That is not what the Packers are looking for. The Packers are in the market for a backup quarterback. One to compete with Graham Harrell, one to learn from Rodgers and McCarthy and one who most likely (God willing) won’t step foot on field at all next season. This is not a situation where Tebow thrives. That is the type of situation where he flounders.

Maybe he does need a great teacher like McCarthy, but I’ve never known Ted Thompson to go after a player for what they need. It’s what the Packers need. And they don’t need another leader and game changer. They need someone who will learn their system, someone who is content – for now – with a clipboard role. And that is not Tim Tebow.

To say that I took the Packers/Favre divorce hard is an understatement. My whole world stopped; it became my life. I spent hours watching and re-watching his retirement press conference, days debating what kind of itch he might have, constantly finding parallels between it and my real life, and I spent first pass he threw as a Jet sitting on the floor of a bathroom.

So when I received an email from Michael Neelsen in September of 2010 about production of a film called “Last Day at Lambeau”, I developed a kinship with the project. Finally, I was not alone in what I went through or in the range of emotions that raged through me every time I would accidentally catch a clip of Brett Favre playing. Unable to cry on camera about how tragic the story was for me, I waited eagerly for the project to finish. And after viewing the film twice this week, I can honestly say, I did not wait in vain.

Last Day at Lambeau opens with a group of kids inventorying all their packer collectibles. They’re just ordinary Green Bay kids, with a lot of loot. What follows are scenes that many of us know well: young Packer fans clinging to chain link fences watching Packers practice, running alongside a beast of a player riding their bike, waiting with arms outstretched holding cards for players to sign. These images are crucial to the film. The Green Bay Packers did not make Last Day At Lambeau, nor did Brett Favre. This is the story of one fan, Michael Neelsen, and his journey to understanding and explaining the events the led to the Favre/Packers divorce and culminated in the “Last Day At Lambeau”.

“We all loved him.” “I hate Brett Favre.”

Those two sentences are heard back to back in the film, as LDAL goes back to the beginning to tell it’s very detailed story of how Packer fans fell in love, and then mourned, and then were angry, and then were hurt by Brett Favre. The story weaves through interviews with beat reporters, writers, bloggers and fans mixed in with news footage of the time. I don’t think a more detailed and thorough account of that time exists as Neelsen leaves no stone of the tumultuous time unturned.

The people that are featured in LDAL are both its strength and its weakness. Lori Nickel and Tom Pelissero really provide the back bone of the story, from the Favre retirement press conference to the Packers victory of Favre’s Vikings at Lambeau in 2011. Both are strong interviewees and provide great knowledge and insight. Neelsen does a great job of letting the two of them be his storytellers. As this is definitely not just a reporter’s tale, LDAL does also include interviews with St. Vince – one of the most recognizable Packer fans, some of the people who created rallies and websites in support of Brett Favre, and fan site bloggers. These interviews proved very crucial when explaining how fans felt when Favre first retired and then the dramatic return/release request/trade with the Jets period. Yet, after this point, fans make a more limited appearance. My story as a fan did not stop there, and obviously Neelsen’s didn’t either. I would have liked to see more fans – not just the iconic or the ones who started pro-Brett Favre websites – in the film. Someone like myself. Someone who at first really really wanted Favre back and then couldn’t stand him and is now looking for a way to move on.

I suppose though at the same time, LDAL is that fan’s voice. It’s a little strange to write this, but when watching the movie I felt like I was watching a bunch of my memories over again. Yeah, that did happen to me; I found myself nodding along with the film.

But the film is not just rehashing; it’s placing things into context. I’d like to think I remember that time well. But for some reason I was completely surprised to remember that Mark Murphy was hired as Brett was retiring and that two met for this first time when Murphy flew down to Hattiesburg to try to talk Favre out of retiring. I also was unaware the dynamics between Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy, with some in the film speculating that McCarthy was the one that wanted Favre out more. I also had forgotten that Favre chose to leave. For as much as I would sit and say “he left, he retired…” it completely left my mind that Favre could have simply said to McCarthy in their meeting, “I want to be a Packer” but he didn’t. I also don’t think I ever realized how bad of a cold weather quarterback Favre was becoming in his later years with the Packers. All of these things got kind of mushed together in my brain, with time and distance; to remember, to feel like I was reliving it all, is something that I enjoyed.

One of the biggest questions people have about the film is that they want to know its slant. Is it Pro-Brett or Anti-Brett, as if we were picking sides of a picket line. While the film definitely is told from the side of fans wanting to take back Lambeau from Favre, its less one sided then I think I expected it to be. Instead of worrying about whose story to tell, the film tries to focus more on why this story happened in the first place. Fans loved Favre, idolized him, and at the end of the day, that relationship was not as mutual as most of us thought it was. The film briefly tackles ideas of idol worship, but there is no real solution for it. Where there are sports, there is worship. And where there is business in sports, there will be fan betrayal. Maybe on less of a grand scale as the Favre/Packers divorce, but it will happen again.

Before I watched Last Day at Lambeau, I will admit I was a little afraid. Would I cry again? Would I just be angry all over? I have struggled a lot with trying to come to terms with that man who used to be the Packers quarterback. My memories of him playing are so closely tied with family memories, watching games together, holidays, etc., that for a long time, I despised Favre for all this because I felt like he took those memories away from me. I want to be able to remember those years, to see old clips and smile, not snare and growl. Watching Last Day at Lambeau helped get me to a place that I feel ready to move on. The story, my story, the fan’s story, has been told, dissected, examined and put back together. I think any fan of the Packers would enjoy the movie as a means to help heal their wounds.  I also think the film can serve as a cautionary tale for other sports fans, and could be viewed in a larger context outside the Wisconsin State lines.

The film ends with the Packers victory of Favre and the Vikings at Lambeau, and returns to the scenes of young fans milling about Lambeau during summer practices. I wish there was more to the story. Perhaps more fan interviews leading up and post the Last Day at Lambeau, or even a mention of what Rodgers and that Packers team would go on to do – win the Super Bowl, or an explanation of how Favre ended his streak and season with the Vikings. But as Wayne Larrivee explains in the film, that game was the bookend. The end of the chapter. We can move on now. And so with that, I have decided I will also move on. See Last Day at Lambeau, it will do you good.

“People in Green Bay, that’s what they have. They have the Green Bay Packers and that’s what they live for.”  - – Tom Pelissero

For more information about Last Day at Lambeau make sure to check out the movie’s website  and facebook page. Last Day at Lambeau will premiere at the 2012 Wisconsin Film Festival, April 18 – 22.

Considering it’s been over 36 hours; this is pretty much a record for me. I also haven’t really talked about what happened. Avoidance seems to be paying off.

I’m the girl who couldn’t get out of bed after the Packers lost to the Cowboys in the divisional round in 1995, the girl who pretty much tore her room apart after Chris Jacke missed a 40 some yard field goal in Tampa, the girl who cried months afterward at the mention of Vince Young, and a girl who is no longer welcomed back at Willie’s in Covington due to a small scene involving a lot of tears on steps outside their door.

Yet somehow right now, I appear to be floating along, as if nothing happened. As if everything good and right in this world hasn’t recently come crashing down around me.

I believe this is the stage of grief that the experts like to call denial and avoidance. And as I glance down at the watch I put on this morning I realize that it is upside down, I think it’s pretty clear that I’m knee, or at least wrist, deep in denial.

According to the medical websites I am in the first stage of grief/mourning. Personally I always thought crying irrationally came first. But apparently ignoring the fact that your team pooped all over itself Najeh Davenport style on national television is quite common. Apparently the crying will come next, along with guilt and then anger, and then FINALLY depression. Wow, I have a feeling I’m in for a long bumpy off season.

In hopes of trying to avoid the pain, and months of black hole depression where I question everything that happened on that field and spend most of my time curled up in the fetal position mumbling the word fumble over and over again, I also googled “what to do while mourning” and found some very FUN tips that’s to this website.

• Lie in the sun streaming in through your windows. Bathe, breathe in the sun. – This sounds like a great idea…in May when the sun comes back
• Designate an afternoon or evening and take the phone off the hook. – If any of you still have a phone that requires a hook, I’d like to meet you.
• Buy yourself or your loved one a gift—and have the clerk gift wrap it. Choose the prettiest paper and bow. Celebrate fond memories. – I was going to buy SB a ticket to the NFL experience in Indianapolis. Those would have been some sweet memories.
• Dressed in comfortable clothing, find a rocking chair and rock your troubles away. – This is not what I think of when suggesting Rock your troubles away.
• Burn Russian amber or sandalwood incense. – Note it does not say burn New York Giants jerseys.
• Breathe—really breathe! Take deep breaths in through the nose and slowly out through the mouth. – This one is very important. You should always breathe. If you don’t bad things happen.
• Play music that matches your mood. Feel understood by the songs and singers that share your experiences – might I suggest “I Love My Green Bay Packers” and any anti-Bears and Vikings songs. If you can’t have it all with your team, remember, other teams have it way worse.
• And my own: something that I always remember as good advice: Don’t make any drastic changes. Don’t change your look (I dyed my hair last night), or use this opportunity to tell those fringe friends what you really think about them (I tried to stay off twitter and my phone the past couple of days).

I’m not really sure if any of these will help. Personally, I know that I am mere hours/days away from a John level rant about the Hail Mary. But hey, if the internet wants me to breathe I will breathe, and continue to pretend that the end of the world didn’t happen on Sunday.

Anyone else have any “How to survive the abrupt end to the 2011 season”? Please feel free to share. I think I’m going to need them as soon as the tears come.

Bears fan co-worker used the word brutal twice via texts on Christmas night and three times Tuesday morning.

Brutal.

That’s how she describes the Green Bay Packers. To her, the Packers are relentless, powerful and a team that stomps on its opponents (metaphorically, of course. No Suh’s on our team).

I wish I could introduce her to some Packer fans I know. The “one and done” “we don’t deserve the playoffs” crew. A lifelong Bears fan, former resident of Chicago, person who watched the game in a bar in Chicago, looks at the Packers and sees a great team. And shares that information freely. And yet some lifelong Packers fans look at the same team and see something that looks like it was scraped off the bottom of a shoe.

How did this happen?

It’s a trend that became clearer this week via twitter.

Drew Brees broke a record that stood for nearly 20 years, and apparently no one was supposed to talk about it.

I am not a Brees fan. I don’t know why. Maybe because I think it would be incredibly boring to have a beer with him. Maybe it’s because I’m an awful person. But I don’t secretly route for him. He’s just another quarterback on another team to me. I don’t care if he broke the record or if Brady would have made it there first. But I think breaking the record is cool. I think Brees throws a mean ball, and his accomplishments should be acknowledged. I feel the same about Rodgers.

I also have no problem with Tuesday morning certain people throwing Brees’s name into the MVP discussion. Rodgers should and most likely will win the award, hands down. But Brees is also having a great year. I don’t think he should win it, but I do think that he can be in the same discussion and I think he’s going to make a great runner up to Rodgers.

A lot of fans on my twitter feed were NOT okay with this line of thinking on Tuesday morning. From Monday night to Tuesday morning you were either all Rodgers or you were against him; there was no middle ground. By simply mentioning Brees I received tweets with stats telling me that there’s no competition. Half way through the day when I said that Brees had never won a regular season MVP award, I got “finally, I agree with you, he doesn’t deserve it”.

Somehow, by simply mentioning his name and the record, to some fans I was obviously saying that Rodgers didn’t deserve the MVP. My head was spinning. I went back to check my timeline; how did it get so confusing?

When did it become so complicated? Is it twitter? Is it because of the cold war that launched Rodgers into the starting position? Is it because it’s the holiday season and we’re all stressed out to begin with? When did we become so protective of our team that the mere mention of someone else’s name caused us to stick out our chests, pound them and yell loudly from roof tops? When did being a fan turn from a nice club to belong to where you were welcomed with all your idiosyncrasies, into a place where the phrase “you’re not a true fan” is uttered more frequently than “nice to meet you”?

Here’s something to remember: The Packers are the number one seed in the NFC and have lost only one game. We live in a world where we can interact with players via twitter and witness their interactions with fans and other players. The Packers are almost 25% favorites to win the Super Bowl. Rodgers is the leading candidate for the MVP. Donald Driver now has over 10,000 career yards, and Rodgers has thrown from over 40 touch downs this year. And a Bears fan thinks that this team is freaking AWESOME. These are good things. Like really good things. Let’s try to remember that.

I laughed and called it pathetic in the CHTV Chat. Some were taken aback by my choice of the word pathetic.

Good for the Chiefs. They rallied around their new coach and they just knocked off the last unbeaten team and reigning Super Bowl champs. That’s a big deal…when you’re a crappy team. That’s your super bowl, only when you have no realistic chance of making it to the real super bowl. Should they celebrate? Sure. But the Gatorade bath? I wouldn’t.

I feel this way about most celebrations. A couple of years ago the IU basketball team rushed the court because they beat Wisconsin in the regular season. At the time, Wisco was ranked higher than IU, I honestly don’t even remember if IU was ranked, so yes, it was a “big” win for IU. I remember thinking at the time that it said a lot about where the IU program stood. Indiana is an old school basketball powerhouse. And now the fans were thrilled to knock off Wisconsin. The things you choose to celebrate says something about you and your team.

That was an act of fandom though, and fans are not players. But when I saw the Chiefs celebrating with the Gatorade bath, I immediately thought back to that Wisconsin game. One of my favorite sayings from Arrogant Nation (a USC thing) boils down to, I don’t overly celebrate big win because I expected to win.

Apparently by taking this stance, I am a snob, misdirecting my anger at the loss and a sore loser.

I obviously disagree. I also think I’m slightly more of an expert at what I’m feeling than anyone else. Yes, maybe I should have just sat there and golf clapped for KC and smiled cutely as they showered their interim coach with Gatorade. But to me, from me, that’s condescending. To not point out that this is the greatest the Chiefs can do, and that’s sad for their season as whole, that’s just not who I am. Feel about me how you want. But I’d rather just agree to disagree then name call and poop on my fellow Packers fans.

I’m writing this not simply to get a private issue off of my chest, but to address an epidemic that seems to be spreading throughout the ranks of the Packer faithful.

“The Packers lost, who can I attack?” Maybe I chose to attack a Gatorade bath, and maybe some people in the chat chose to attack me. But there’s also fans out there attacking players, attacking other fans, attacking their own image in the mirror. Is this really what a loss does to us?

The game was horrible. I’m not fully convinced that anyone besides Tim Masthay from the Packers showed up. It was as if every issue that anyone ever worried about the Packers having happened at the exact same time. Injuries, the offense out of sink and the defense didn’t create any turnovers. And yet, the Packers lost by 5 points. Five. That’s not a lot. Despite still being the best team in the NFL, we’re an angry bitter bunch right now.

So today, fight away. Just keep it clean, don’t directly tweet the players that they sucked, and no hits to the face.

Tomorrow, let’s move on to hating the Bears instead of each other though, okay?

I think I speak for all of us, that while ecstatic with the undefeated record, yesterday’s game was the kind of game that we’ve been waiting for.

I mean, on the surface there’s so many things to be excited about:

A 31-0 half time lead.

The fact that AJ Hawk was active, but not NEEDED and got more rest and time to heal.

Tim Masthay had 1, ONE, punt!

The Packers rushed for over 100 yards! They out rushed a team with Michael Bush, who was supposed to run similarly to Blount and just barrel through guys. Think about it, Ryan Grant had more rushing yards that Michael Bush. Ryan. Grant.

4 Interceptions by 4 different people.

For all those people concerned with yardage, the Packers did outgain their opponent. The total yards were close, but if you look at the stat by the half: the Packers had nearly double the Raiders yardage in the first half. Most of the Raiders yardage came in “garbage” time.

The Packers had more single player tackles on defense, than the Raiders had in total tackles!

Matt Flynn came in, not due to injury, in the THIRD quarter.

You basically didn’t even have to watch the fourth quarter. Frankly, I have NO idea what happened during it .

It would have been the most relaxing Packers game in a long time. But it wasn’t. The realization of late season, cold weather football, became apparent as player after player seemed to walk away from yesterday’s game with an injury. The most substantial being that of Greg Jennings. Jennings left the game after making a catch where he possibly twisted his ankle, having to be helped to the sideline. Fellow receivers Randall Cobb and Donald Driver helped move him to the trainer’s table. After initial workups, the doctor’s sent for the cart. And in perhaps the most heart wrenching scene, Jennings sat alone on the bench, towel over his head, his head clearly down. Jennings tried to cheer up the shaken crowd with the token thumbs up on the way to the locker room, but few good things happen when a player leaves the field on a cart.

Speculation has since run rampant. We won’t know the official diagnosis, or whatever McCarthy chooses to share, until the Packers press conference at 4 Lambeau time today. Yet, doctors, real and imaginary, have diagnosed Jennings with anything from a minor bruise to a completely ruptured MCL. Will he be back next week? Will he be back this regular season? Will he be back into for the Packers first playoff game? Will he be back for the Super Bowl?

Once all the M.D.s have decided that, even though they’re not sure how long he’ll be out, Jennings will indeed miss time, the discussion has morphed into two separate discussions. 1. Will the Packers be okay without Jennings? And 2. How long should Packers starters play?

First off, the Packers will most certainly “be okay” without Jennings, but their offense will change. As fans, and I think it has been sold to us this way all year, we tend to believe that all the receivers are almost equal; they guy who gets the ball is simply the guy who’s open. No one’s the favorite and no one’s more special. While yeah I’m pretty sure the open guy gets the ball more often than not, there are favorites. There is a level of trust, of unspoken communication and understanding that Rodgers has with each of his receivers, and to think that this level is the same for all of them is unrealistic. In a tight situation, who do you think Rodgers looks for more? Donald and Greg? Or James and Randall? (we’re on a first name basis here). And in a tight situation, who do you think the defense focuses more on? If it’s a must convert 3^rd and 18, the defense figures that Rodgers will go to his veterans and they double or play those players closer. That in turn, occasionally leaves receivers like Nelson, Jones and Cobb open. With Jennings gone, Rodgers is losing a valuable safety net, the Packers are losing a weapon, and the opposing defense is losing someone that they have to double cover.

Also, think back to the Super Bowl. I’m sure by now most of us have seen it (and if you haven’t, fly to Cincinnati, and we’ll have a viewing party), Greg Jennings on the sideline, telling his coaches what he’s seeing on the field. He’s there, pumped with emotion and adrenaline, not only cheering his team on, but helping to tailor the offense to catch the weaknesses that the opposing defense is showing. Nelson, Jones and Cobb are all great receivers in their own right, but I don’t think any of them have Jennings knowledge of the game.

Will the team die without Jennings, no. But I do think they will miss him. We will simply have to wait and see how long we’ll miss him for and how the team adjusts. Luckily this weekend the Packers are playing a team without a coach, so it looks like it will be a rest week either way.

But that brings me to my next point. Resting players. We’re getting to that point in the season, with the Packers having nearly everything locked up, when do they start resting their players? Do they rest them at all? Yesterday, Rodgers played long into the game. Many people, my best friend included, were screaming for MM to sit Rodgers. I was not one of those people. It was the third quarter, and while the Packers had been dominating, I still felt it was too early to sit him. I thought Flynn came into the game at the perfect time. But my heart did stop with every hit that Rodgers took. When, if ever, do we sit players? I have many thoughts on this. And hope to post them later this week. So if you read this whole article and have an opinion, post it below, I will include in my post later this week.

Well that’s what the last week has felt like for me.

As the Packers win more games and the 1972 self-obsessed Dolphins’ worry level grows, a common debate among pundits has been the level of importance placed on the idea of the Packers going 16-0.

These crazy announcers seem to think that’s all us fans care about.

Right now, wherever you are, ask for anyone in the room that is more concerned with a Packers perfect regular season record than with a Super Bowl victory to stand up.

I’m guessing no one stood up.

Cause, guess what, we’re not morons!

We all also remember the hoopla from 2007 when the Patriots went undefeated, and we all remember how it meant nothing since they didn’t win the Super Bowl.

And we’re not morons!!

I’ll admit, the idea of the Packers going undefeated excites me. Like a kid waiting for Christmas, I just know it would be great. And the homer in me KNOWS beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are going to do it too.

But over the span of the past four years or so, I’ve realized that my desire for immediate gratification is not something that Mike McCarthy or Ted Thompson really care about. Neither man seems overly concerned about one days glory; they both are focused on the big picture. Not that there’s anyone out there with this offer, but if asked I’m sure either would trade a regular season loss for another Super Bowl win.

So this weekend – a long holiday extended one – I’m raising my glass to you, stupid radio people. The ones who seem to think we fans think the season is only 16 games long. No one’s is arguing with you. No one wants to solely go 16 and 0. At best we want 19-0, at worst we want to win the last game we play, that game being in Indianapolis. So anytime you hear someone arguing against no one, think of these radio announcers and cheers them.

Happy Thanksgiving!

When I was a child, I loved the holidays. I loved family gatherings. Somewhere along the way real life happened, and the holidays lost their charm with me. After my grandmother passed, few true holiday traditions remained. I usually would crash my friend’s family parties, the Dosmann’s and the Clark’s are still people today I wish I could spend my holidays with, but mostly I celebrated in my own way, in my own head, stuck in memories and pretending that the day meant nothing special.

So when, four years ago, I found myself living in Cincinnati, far from anything that felt familiar or, let’s be honest, normal, the holidays were a challenge. At the time, I was dating a man, who unlike me, was very close with nearly everyone that he grew up with, and was very close with his family. These are the kind of dynamics someone like me has trouble understanding. Being new to the city, being new to what felt like a completely foreign way of life, I clung quietly to the things that made me me.

Football.

That Thanksgiving both of my loves were playing. The Packers vs the Lions in the early game and at night, USC was taking on Arizona State. (there is a chance that it was AU and not ASU, I’ve never actually gone back to check, and my memory of it is cloudy at best now). My ex’s family is the type of family that if they could all sleep under the same roof, and start the holiday with breakfast together at 8 am, they would. My plan for the day was football, his plan for the day was every waking minute with his family. I proposed a compromise. We’d watch the Packers game, then head to the family gathering, eat, drink, be merry, and then end up back at his parents’ place to watch the SC game with his friends.

To me, choosing to include the Packers in my Thanksgiving plans felt natural. It was one of the few things that felt calm, and home and like family to me. If my family had been in Cincinnati, or if the ex and I would have gone to Milwaukee for the holiday, the day would have been planned around the Packers.

I don’t mean to paint the ex and his family in a negative light, as they all were and I’m sure still are very loving wonderful people; but let’s just say, they didn’t “get” me. And they certainly didn’t get the Packers. While we sat and watched the Packers stomp all over the Lions, the ex’s phone rang constantly. Where were we?? In my house, you never called people during a play unless there was a national emergency going on. In their houses, you apparently didn’t miss the early afternoon family poker games for football.

It should be clear at this point in the story why we are exes. Our relationship ended that night. Somewhere between dessert and the kick off of the USC game, I was single. (FYI: it doesn’t help a girl like holidays by breaking her heart on one of them). And due to the drama of getting dumped on a holiday, I ended up missing most of the USC game. Go figure.

I could never be the person who football wasn’t important to; I will never be the person who doesn’t equate football and family as one in my head. And my unwillingness to change that, to give up part of myself, was in the end, our relationship’s last straw.

I suppose some could look at the story and say that I chose football over a family. And maybe that’s true. But in the end I’d rather have a family and friends and a life partner that would never ask me to make that choice. When I watch the Packers, especially around the holidays, I don’t just see the current players. I remember my childhood home filed with voices and laughter. I remember my parents, happy, cooking chili and cleaning the house. I remember my family, with purpose and love. So it feels only natural that on a day when we’re supposed to be surrounded by those that we love, I should watch the Packers. Maybe I’m insane, maybe I need therapy, but that’s me.

I’ve grown since 2007. I have also found a man and his family that instead of trying to change me to fit into their predetermined role, love me for who I am. Tomorrow morning, SB – fiance extraordinare – and I will be heading to his parent’s house. For three hours before time to eat, I will be in the living room, laptop in hand, talking to you lovely people and watching the Packers try to improve to 11-0. I will also be joined in the room by his family. From Mimi Carmella who recently moved here from Peru to little Charlotte Rose who is just over three months old, who even though they might not really care or might not really understand it will cheer on the Packers with me. And then after the Packers beat the Lions, the laptop will go away, and I’ll celebrate Thanksgiving and my future brother-in-laws birthday with some great people, and most likely, some great wine.

So this Thanksgiving, I’m thankful that I can look back at what hands down was the worst Thanksgiving of my life, and say thank you for it. Because I was myself, tomorrow I get to spend the day with all the people I do truly love. Aaron Rodgers, the CheeseheadTV gameday crew, and SB and his family. And that’s pretty special.

This is a constant struggle for me. I have a wonderful fiancé. He’s kind, buys me things like kitties and lets me name them Clay, and he complains minimally when I disappear for hours at a time during Packer games or covering one of my many Packer related responsibilities. He has also warmed up to the Packers as a team a little. But when it comes to sports, sometimes I feel…I feel guilty. I like Manchester United, he likes Chelsea and Fulham. He’s an FSU grad and thought this year could be the year, then FSU lost three in a row. I have Wisconsin and USC (even though bowl banned we’re an arrogant bunch) in my back pocket. And the kicker, he’s a lifelong Washington Redskins fan.

It’s an okay inter-relationship rivalry, we rarely play each other, and both hate the Cowboys. Common hatred is the best way to cement a relationship. But this year I find myself fighting an uphill battle. Do you know how hard it is to say, with a straight face, “Maybe John Beck is the answer.” Or “No, I’m sure Rex Grossman can improve.”? All the while he reads the stats for Rodgers and sometimes I think wants to spit nails.

“It’s not fair.” And I shrug.

So the other morning in football team self-deprecation mood, my fiancé started in on how in his entire lifetime there is no Redskins hall of fame moments, they have no Rodgers-esque player. Instead they have a hall of shame. He then listed, and then list went on and on, every one year wonder, busted draft pick, every painful memory and every ‘Clinton Portis “let him fight a dog”’ moment he could remember.

While incredibly humorous, it gave me pause. While we Packers fans are incredibly lucky, we have some of our own Hall of Shame moments. And I’m not just talking Tony Mandarich or 30 year division winner drought. I mentioned my fiancé’s list on twitter and started thinking about the Packers list. Immediately a handful of people added the infamous T.J. Rubley to the list. While I’ve been trying for years to turn Rubley into a verb meaning: 1. grand, epic fail. 2. Having no brain, one man has taken his cause to FaceBook.  I personally despise Theron Joseph Rubley. The group, which sadly looks like it’s on its way to the archives quotes, “TJ Rubley is the single worst Packer of all time, a position which cannot be ignored. This is an attempt to clear my mind, all our minds, of this decade-old anger.”

Now this is a movement I can respect. What other demons, hall of shame moments, players from the past completely haunt us fans?

My personal Packers Hall of Shame (keeping it limited to actual memories I have and not things I read about) includes:

1. 4^th and 26^th. Everyone’s favorite down and distance.
2. Ahmad Carroll. His exhibit would be a picture of him surrounded by the number 5 en mass. 5 yards son! 5 YARDS!
3. Ray Rhodes. There wouldn’t be a lot here. Maybe a video loop of him talking with no sound, since no one ever listened to him.
4. Chris Jacke missing the late field goal in Raymond James Stadium in the rain on Sunday night in 1995. The exhibit would include my room as it was after I trashed in my rage that night.
5. The picture of Holmgren grabbing Billy Schroeder’s helmet.
6. A section of the hall will include mockups of the old Cowboys Stadium and the Metrodome, but no one will go there.
7. Terrell Buckley running from sideline to sideline will also be played on a loop with my mother in the background yelling, “Up field!”
8. NFC Championship Game 1995-1996 Season. A clock with 10:12 left on it.
9. A hot tub.
10. Ed Donatell

Thus is my introductory class into the T.J. Rubley Hall of Shame. I know there’s so many more; so tell me, what are yours?

Somewhere between now and then many things have changed. The Packers rose from the sixth seed and never looked back. In this time we fans went from happy for a decent game at New England to people who expect perfection.

I can’t say I’m not in the corner of people who expect perfection. I’m a homer. The Packers should win every game, and in my opinion have the game locked up as they enter the fourth quarter. Anytime this doesn’t happen, I don’t doubt that they will win, but I have to say, no matter how well the team is playing I’m a little disappointed.

But as always, there seems to be the section of people that can’t seem to find a middle ground. The team is either perfect or rubbish (I’m watching Harry Potter as I type this – so that should explain any “rubbish” or “bloody” in this post).

I’m all for picking apart the games. I will freely say that this team is capable to beating any team in the league by at least three touchdowns. So when they don’t we should look at the reasons. But there is a difference between looking for answers and what I can only determine as blind rage by some fans.

This season, running the live blog, I tend to read a myriad of comments. From those that want to marry Aaron Rodgers, to the growing in popularity, the Anti-Dom Capers crowd. I suppose now that we can’t hate on Ted Thompson someone has to take the blame, but I find the “Dom Sucks” “This is why he can’t hold down a job” garbage a bit much.

So here’s some things about our defense.

They rock at interceptions and creating turnovers, they lead the league in point differential, they are the only undefeated defense in the league but also nearly lead the league in yards given up per game.

So I decided to take a look at some things. Outside of the New England Patriots, the Packers are not in the best company when it comes to giving up yards. They’re surrounded by the Indianapolis Colts, Tampa Bay Buccanears and Arizona Cardinals. Out of those teams though, the Packers have given up less points than all of them.

After the Chargers game I just assumed that the Packers gave up more yards because they were obviously on the field less. After the two pick sixes in the first quarter, the Packers were leading but their offense was barely on the field. However, the Chargers only had the ball for 30 more seconds than the Packers. So I agree with the naysayers, the Packers give up too much yardage; they give up yardage comparable to teams with much worse records.

Out of the Packers six losses last year, only did the Dolphins and the Lions accumulated more yards than the Packers. In the four losses where the Packers outgained their opponents, they did so with an average of just over 100 yards. More yardage does not always a win make.

In 2o08, when the Packers finished a disapointing 6-10, they gave up on average 334 yards per game. In 2009 when the team had an early exit from the post season the Packers gave up only 284 yards per game. In the championship year 2010, the Packers gave up an average of 309 yards. This year the Packers are averaging a high 399 yards per game. Yardage wise, the Packers are giving up far more than they did in those previous years; however, this is the only team that has managed to win their first eight games. Heck, this team already won more than the entire 2008 season when they gave up over 60 yards less per game.

Do we all wish the Packers would give up less yardage. Yes. Is it risky? Could this pattern of giving up chunk loads of yards eventually catch up with the Packers? Yes. I do hope that the Packers will somehow fill the holes in their swiss cheese defense, but until then I’ll take the wins over the yardage mark. As seen this year and last, the winning team doesn’t always have the most yardage. Someone suggested on the live blog that they would rather have the defense giving up less yardage – or playing more consistently and the Packers with a 6-2 record then have the defense we have today.

I disagree, its risky to keep giving up so many yards. It’s also risky to rely mainly on passing, and build the team around a superstar. Its also risky to even play the game.

This team has holes, but I am done spending time disecting the yardage issue. It is one stat of many that make up this team. And at the end of the day the only one that matters is the win-loss column.