While we spend most of our time laughing at the Bears, mainly because it’s so easy to do, we didn’t want to let another day go by without letting the Lions know they were on our radar as well.

After an off season which saw Lions players Johnny Culbreath, Mikel Leshoure (twice), Nick Fairley (twice), and Aaron Berry all get arrested, we feel it is the appropriate time to introduce everyone to the Lions new team bus:

Hopefully they won’t need to upgrade during the season.

By now, everyone has heard about the kick heard round Packer Nation, AKA the bush league kick Ndamukong Suh laid on Evan Dietrich-Smith during today’s 27-15 victory over the Lions.

After the game, Suh was less than apologetic, stating among other things:

“I’m first and foremost only going to apologize to my teammates, my coaches and my true fans for allowing the refs to have an opportunity to take me out of this game.”

and

“The situation I was in? I was on top of a guy being pulled down and trying to get up off the ground. Why you see me pushing his helmet down [is] because I’m trying to remove myself from the situation.”

and

“Yes, I did push his helmet multiple times because he’s holding on to me and he’s grabbing me. That’s the reason why I’m on the top of him and I’m not at the quarterback. Because I’m being held down by him and so I’m pushing him off of me. “

Basically, in his mind, he did nothing wrong.

Yep, nothing wrong here.

Douche.

Tonight I will not be cheering for either team, but I will be hoping the Lions lose, perhaps chanting interception on every Stafford throw. That’s my explanation. I understand that some people will actually be cheering for the Bears; I understand that some people will be pulling for the Lions, and I also understand that some people will booing the whole time. But here’s one thing that I really think we all should do: can the talk on what a true fan is.

Why are we arguing over who should win the game tonight? Odds are one of the teams will win it (ties don’t happen a lot – just ask McNabb). So you don’t want to cheer for the Bears, got it, but because someone else, who has the best interest of their team in mind, does it not make them any less of a “true” fan.

I get the confusion. Personally, I don’t like pulling for certain teams to win/lose so that we get a certain match up. I’d rather the team that’s “supposed” to win, win and the Packers just play their best against that team. I’m superstitious, so I don’t like to mess with the greater plan. I also know that the Packers are the best team around and can and will beat anyone so who cares? Am I more of a true fan for thinking that? Nope.

I really hate the phrase “True Fan”. Who’s defined it? Do you have to be a season ticket holder? Does it depend on where you live/grew up? Do you have to travel with the team? Do you have to own the NFL ticket and never miss a game? Do you have to have the team roster memorized? Do you have to be able to know the difference between the hippo and psycho packages? Do you have to own stock?

In the past year, being more connected with other fans than I was previously, I’ve heard a lot of fans say some silly things, do some silly things and have a variety of different thoughts on the team. But for the most part all these people have the Packers in their hearts, and that’s all I need for someone to be a true fan.

So go ahead, cheer for whomever you want tonight. Me, I’ll be going to the boys in blue; the Brewers that is.

And then you slink back to bed, knowing full well that you made a fool of yourself.  All the carefully crafted moments building up your reputation are now for naught because you danced with a lamp, and because you are the team that the Detroit Lions finally beat.

These were the thoughts that we running through my head yesterday, as I put away my laptop and curled up in a ball on my bed.  This sucks.  But after the tears dried, and the initial WTF feeling has passed, I rejoined the world, and eventually the Packers will as well.

First off, I am the homer, the eternal optimist.  I will sit there till the final seconds tick away still believing whole heartedly that the Packers will win.  I also still believe that all my friends will love me no matter how many times I make a fool out of myself.

But here are some things that while I might love, need some changes.

1. O-line.  Seriously?  Seriously.  That was pathetic.  We’ve been on the o-line nearly all season regarding their run blocking, but yesterday was something else.  They were pushed around, stood up and made to look like rag dolls.  It wasn’t Matt Flynn who lost the game; it was the o-line for failing to give him adequate time and protection.  While the idea of a veteran QB back up sounds attractive, I find it hard to believe that any second string QB could have lead successfully behind that line. Flynn did have the dumb interception – which perhaps a veteran wouldn’t have had, but he also did start to lead drives that had potential.  I agree that there could be a place for discussion regarding our backup situation, but don’t think that place is now.  The o-line fails to improve and failed us yesterday.  They are my reason “we” lost the game.
2. QB1.  I love ya.  I do I do.  But for the love of all that is good and holy, SLIDE!  I won’t go as far as my buddy Alex, but yes, I do blame Rodgers for not sliding.  I stood up for him and his “emo-ness” saying that mental mistakes deserved a good yelling.  So this is me yelling.  I get what he was doing/thinking.  I assume he, like many other QBs, put this game on his shoulders.  He saw the complete lack of offensive production and saw a chance for a good chunk of yardage and went for it.  But he did not make the smartest play.  While yes we needed the yards, he had the first down, and we needed him more than we needed the yards.  That is a mental mistake, one that he needs to be aware of.  Perhaps, many fans are too used to his predecessor, watching risky plays, knowing that no matter what the “man” would return.  But that man is dumb and reckless, and apparently has God on his side, willing him to play.  That is not the case now, nor do I want it to be the case now.  Rodgers, that was your mental mistake.  Fix it.
3. MM.  I am not calling for him to be fired.  I think I’ve made myself pretty clear all season as actually being a McCarthy fan.  Are there slight comparisons between this situation and Dungy in Tampa?  Yes, I will give Chris over at Ol Bag of Donuts that.  Middling is not fun, and at some point you do need to advance.  But I also don’t think that MM is necessarily our middle.  Yes, there were some play calls that made no sense to me yesterday.  I loved our offensive mindset with Flynn in the game, and really felt that that was the type of offense we should have been running all day.  The first half felt like an offense with no identity.  Should we run?  How ‘bout air it out?  How ‘bout hurry up?  Too many personalities, very unlike a MM coached offense.  But if I’m going to chastise him for some select plays, I also feel that I should notice that his play calling did work at times.  He called the drive that Flynn ended up giving away.  He called the drive at the end of the game that brought the Packers within inches of winning.  Was the fourth and one call silly?  Kind of.  But the Lions weakest part of their D is their secondary.  In my opinion it is not an inexcusable call.  It’s a risky, gutsy one.  One that didn’t work.  One that was probably better on third down.  But not a reason to be fired, or as some people on twitter so lovingly put, run down with a bus.  You can call me naïve.  I do live in a city with one of the world’s worst coaches, and I’ve seen how a bad coach and personality-less QB have lost a team.  I would be interested to see if McCarthy would be open to having someone else call the plays.  I think he’s too stubborn to even listen to that idea, but if he’s the coach that I think he is, maybe he’ll let it sink in and think about it.

The Packers are not doomed.  This does not have to be the end.  The playoffs are still a possibility.  But it’s not an easy road.  As a homer, as a believer that Yancy Thigpen is out there waiting to drop a touchdown, I still have hope and faith.  But it’s a tall order and a difficult road.  One that I hope the Packers and their fans are ready for.  So today I’m going to try to shake off that morning after feeling, chug a Gatorade, paint my nails Green and say Go Pack Go!  If I don’t give up, maybe they won’t either.

I know that there has been a lot of moaning and groaning over the no-call in the endzone on Greg Jennings as well as a few others.

This of course has been overshadowed by just about everything else, but it was interesting to hear that the same crew that took away the Calvin Johnson catch, was the same crew on the field today.

Refs calling it even now?

Now I’m not sayin’.

Just sayin’.

Here’s how things went down.

Gameday Conditions: Just had the storm of the decade last night. The Metrodome has collapsed and there is no way I am going anywhere today. Going with coffee, no Packers gear, and possibly a Red Baron Brick Oven pepperoni. We’ll have to see.

Sweet

Packers 3 Lions 7

Watch the Packers NFL highlights.

Watch the Packers highlights.

Quick Hits

First Half

That’s how you start a drive.

Dammit Quarless. Rodgers is pissed.

Pissed Off

Nice fake by Stanton totally fooled me.

Packers still cannot tackle as of this moment.

Wow Stanton, you are a dumbass. Tramon with the easy pick.

Tramon FTW

Daryn Colledge is hurt. Blessing in disguise.

Seriously, why are you NOT running on third and one. What the hell, stupid.

I see the psycho is alive and well and working.

“I’m already bored of this game. – Aaron Nagler” I agree dude.

Wow, the play calling is terrible.

Thank god our defense is good, and that this is the Detroit game. My lord.

Greg Jennings, fail. Man.

Come on Greg

McCarthy is mad as hell.

Mad as Hell Mike

Nice stop on 3rd-and-1. C.J. Wilson stepping it up.

Now it’s time for Nance to have a shot. Sigh.

Wow, 22 yards in the first quarter.

False start on Clifton? Who would have thunk.

Clay Matthews makes an appearance. Huge sack.

Nice Sack Clay

Drew Stanton, you suck. Charlie Peprah you rule. First career interception.

Way to go Pep

Our running game totally sucks. So do Clifton and Wells right now.

Matthews got schooled on the Stanton fake.

Tramon just made something out of nothing. Take him out? No way.

AARON RODGERS SLIDE GOD DAMMIT.

Tom (Clark) Crabtree is NOT going to stop huge dudes. Figure it out.

Someone needs to put Aaron Rodgers in his place. This isn’t on Mike. There is a Favre moment brewing. Hate me now.

Embarrassing first half for Packer fans.

Oh shit, Rodgers out for the game. Time to get Flynn killed now. Let’s see what all the hype is about.

Get it done Mike

Dumb Comment of the Half: “If Jennings had caught that it was a touchdown.”

Second Half

Matt Flynn time to make your money.

The Flynn Era

If you don’t like what I have to say, you can fuck right off. Got it? Thanks.

When Sitton starts to play bad I really start to worry.

I would have challenged, why not? Field goal. Yay.

Tramon Williams is just a complete and total stud.

James Jones is mailing it in today.

James Starks is not the answer I guess.

Slide for god sakes. Slide. What the hell. Come on Flynn, think.

Terrible decision by Matt Flynn after a nice drive to the red zone.

Dave Rayner still sucks. Cool.

Dave Rayner Sucks

Third and one, the down from hell.

Our offensive line is terrible, plain terrible.

A.J. Hawk is having a nice game. So is Raji. Thank god for defense.

The Packers defense is starting to get tired in the middle of the fourth.

It’s 7-3 Lions. Eighty yard drive, defense can’t do it all game.

I’d like to think differently, but this game is over.

Clutch third down from Flynn to Jones.

That’s the ball game. Terrible play calling with two chances to get one yard. Pathetic.

Dumb Comment of the Half: ”Way to pretend you’re the media.”

MVP

The Defense for at least showing up.

Final Thoughts

I don’t even know what to say anymore. You homers can keep all the hope of running the table against some of the best teams in the NFL, but this is probably it for the Packers.

Blame whoever you want, but I blame one guy, who didn’t slide, because he thinks that he still has something to prove.

Now he does.

I get that the Lions and the Bears are improved teams, but the Packers were supposed to have something special. The only thing special about the Packers right now is just how average they are.

The Packers are a team with a lot of talent. They are also a team with plenty of underachievers and no direction. The coaching is average, the discipline is average, the moves are average, the attitude is average, and thus the play on the field is all of that and more.

Charles Woodson is a shade of himself. The defense is terrible, and the adjustments on defense are even worse. There is no running game, and Mike McCarthy or Ted Thompson for that matter don’t know what to do about it. The special teams are atrocious, their punter is a nut bag, and the offensive line isn’t any better than last year.

The Packers were dominated today in all facets of the game, if it wasn’t for the penalties it would have looked even worse. You can have all the talent in the world, but in order to have a shot at the title you have to have leaders on the sideline and in the front office.

It’s pretty obvious that the Packers have neither. Enjoy this 3-1 start while it lasts, because unless some serious changes are made, it’s going to be 4-4 in no time at all.

Like I said, average… at best.

The Packers are thriving on reduced expectations as they enter the stretch run for the playoffs.

With three straight wins, not only have the Packers revived their playoff hopes. They’ve also become fun to watch again. Until the win over the Cowboys, this season was at times the football equivalent of fingernails on a chalkboard. High expectations had a lot to do with that. Unfortunately, those hopes were dashed when the Packers looked overmatched in both games against the Vikings, as Brett Favre dissected their defense with ease. The loss to Tampa Bay was probably a residual effect of all that.

And then, against the Cowboys, phase two of the 2009 season began.  Just like that, the offensive line stopped sucking and finally turned into the thoroughly average unit that we all knew they were capable of being. Jermichael Finley returned from his injury, which in turn caused Donald Lee to play better. Ryan Grant began to look more like the Ryan Grant of ’07. Even Greg Jennings had a good game somewhere in there. And of course the defense has hit its stride.

I wonder if having Favre and the Vikings in the rear view mirror has something to do with the improved attitude. With the second loss to the Vikings, it became evident that the Packers are a second-tier team at best, at least until further notice. They don’t have to worry about winning the division, a task that they were clearly not up to. Now all they have to do is win three out of their last five games, and they should make the playoffs. That’s a much more manageable goal.

If this had been the goal all along, the first half of the season would not have been so miserable. But we were right to expect bigger things. The coaches and players felt the same way.  But in a league where only three teams (Colts, Patriots, Steelers) are good from year to year, it’s hard to predict what’s going to happen with everyone else. 

The task at hand is pretty simple: find a way to win three games against Baltimore, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Seattle, and Arizona. Seattle is the only bad team in the bunch, and even they are more dangerous than some of the patsies the Packers have faced this year (including Tampa Bay, the patsy that beat them). The Bears are in decline, but with Lovie Smith at the helm, they are always at their best against the Packers.

I actually think that the “easiest” game to win will be the one at Arizona, in the final week, as the Cardinals quite possibly will have nothing to play for. They are three games behind the Vikings for a shot at a first-round bye and two games ahead of the 49ers in their division. The rest of the way, we should be rooting against the 49ers and cheering for the Cardinals until they play the Packers.

If the Packers can beat the Seahawks and Cardinals, they will need to find one win against the Ravens, Bears, and Steelers in order to reach the 10-6 mark. They should be able to do that. If they make the playoffs, they’ll have to play on the road, but let’s face it, Lambeau Field has given no advantage to the Packers in years anyway. Like it or not, this team seems to thrive on reduced expectations. They could prove to be a worthy wild card team. A playoff game with the Packers as underdog, in another team’s stadium, could be a lot of fun to watch. And fun is what it’s all about, isn’t it? 

As the Green Bay Packers knocked the stuffing out of the turkeys known as the Detroit Lions, Packer fans everywhere were surely in a thankful mood. After watching the game, here are five things this Packer fan and writer is thankful for. Feel free to add your own in the comments section.

Thank you for the 2009 NFL Draft

Clay Matthews, BJ Raji, T.J. Lang, Brad Jones, Quinn Johnson, Brandon Underwood. Six Packer draft picks have made significant contributions in just their first year in the NFL. Clay Matthews has shown he can be a star in this league. Watching him beat two players easily in a three-man rush and then chase down a scrambling Stafford for a sack showed me the kind of will he has to be successful. I have no doubts that he will. BJ Raji, has been coming on strong and making an impact as his ankle injury has healed and his play count has increased. Today he crushed a Lion running back in the backfield, knocked down a pass, and was a force in the short yardage defense. T.J. Lang once again stepped in at left tackle today when Chad Clifton pulled a hamstring. The line did not miss a beat and Mike McCarthy called lang’s play, “impressive.” Lang, Jones and Johnson are all potential starters next season.

Thank you for making it through a game with Jarret Bush as the nickel back

I’ve never seen a defensive back look more confused in coverage than Jarret Bush. Now, this is his fourth season with the Packers, shouldn’t he know who to cover by now? On the Tramon Williams interception, he first ran at the receiver Williams was covering, turned and ran at another receiver, turned again and realized he was covering nobody. Fortunately, Williams stuck with his man and Stafford made a poor decision to throw it to the wrong receiver. Had he looked down-field, he would have seen the receiver Bush should have been covering wide open. Did I forget to mention that a punt hit Bush in the back?

Thank you for Jermichael Finley still having a head

Finley took a vicious hit after an incomplete pass, as Lions rookie Louis Delmas  took a run at him in what was very nearly a direct helmet-to-helmet hit. Only a slight turn of the head at the last minute prevented what could have been a serious injury. Finley did stay on the ground for a while holding his head, causing me to fear a possible concussion, but luckily, he just had the wind knocked out of him. Regardless, it was a scary hit that is sure to draw Delmas a fine from the league office.

Thank you for Donald Driver

Like Old Man River, Donald Driver just keeps rolling along. Driver caught seven passes today for 142 yards and a touchdown, For the season, that gives him 53 catches for 845 yards and five touchdowns. With 5 games to play, Driver is sure to reach the 1000 yard mark for the sixth straight season. Driver is on a mission to disprove the perception that he is getting old. After the game, as he was awarded the “Golden Gobbler” as player of the game from Fox, Driver commented, “I may be old in age, but I still play young.” Yes you do Donald, and thank you for that.

Thank you for Charles Woodson

A multi-dimensional player like Woodson, who can do so many things, and all in an outstanding manner, is a rarity. It was just another day at the office for Woodson, with 7 tackles, 1 sack, 2 interceptions, 1 touchdown, 1 forced fumble and fumble recovery, 4 passes defended and he also returned a kickoff. Even more significantly, it was announced before the game that Woodson has donated two million dollars to a new children’s hospital at his Alma mater, the University of Michigan. Clearly, Charles Woodson doesn’t do anything in a half-hearted manner. Hopefully, other multi-millionaire players will be inspired to follow his example. After all, how many millions does one need to be able to live a good life?

So those are the five things from the Packers Thanksgiving Day victory that this writer is thankful for. I’d like to hear yours…

—————————–
You can find more of Jersey Al Bracco’s articles on several sports websites: Jersey Al’s Blog, Packers Lounge, NFL Touchdown and Bleacher Report. Jersey Al is the Green Bay Packers Draft Correspondent for Drafttek.com.

You can also follow Jersey Al on facebook and twitter.

I just wanted to take a moment to say Happy Thanksgiving to everyone at The Lounge. There is a little more to be thankful for this season, and as always I thank each and every one of you for being faithful readers.

I will be traveling for the next few days, but wanted to make sure and express my gratitude. As always, this site is what it is because of the great writers, readers, and commenters that come around day after day. There is no better fraternity than the one known as Green Bay Packer fans.

I’ll try to get the quick hits up on Thursday sometime, but until then, don’t eat too much, and please drive safely.

I know Aaron Nagler will probably wish you a happy holiday too, and undoubtedly will do it better than me. Either way, I hope you all have a blessed weekend, and take a moment to thank your fellow Packer fans in the comment section for making this such a great place to be.

Even Jeremiah’s Johnson.

The Packers have a lot of talent, but they need to wise up in a hurry if they want to go anywhere this season.

Coming into the Lions game, I was ready to be Mr. Positive. I was pretty sure the Packers would win, and I was also pretty sure that afterwards many fans would nitpick the game and dwell on the negatives—blown assignments, penalties, whatever. Unfortunately, Mr. Positive only lasted two plays. The first play was a Jordy Nelson kickoff return for a would-be TD, called back because of a holding penalty. The next play—the Packers’ first from scrimmage—was called back because of another penalty. Just like that, I had already become jaded, and I was never able to settle in and fully enjoy the annual ritual of watching the Lions get their butts whipped at Lambeau Field.

The Packers did win the game easily, but if there is such a thing as a disappointing 26-0 win, this was it. In spite of their 3-2 record, the Packers have not had a really satisfying win since week one, when they beat the Bears in a slugfest with a dramatic TD in the final two minutes. If they keep playing the way they’ve played up till now, the Packers will finish around .500, maybe slightly above, and if they somehow sneak into the playoffs they will be one-and-done. The good news is that they don’t have to keep playing this way. Things change over the course of a season. It is quite possible that they could get better. Of course, they could also get worse, but we don’t want to think about that.

The two things that really stand out about this Packer team thus far are 1.) how talented they are and 2.) how stupid they are. The difference in talent between the two teams at Lambeau Field on Sunday was remarkable for an NFL game. This was especially evident among the QB’s and receivers, although admittedly the gulf would not have been quite so wide if Lions’ stud WR Calvin Johnson had suited up. But if you took a look at the Packers’ offensive line vs. the Lions’ defensive line, things were much more even.

Chad Clifton, our most experienced offensive lineman, committed four penalties. How does that even happen? Some would say that the blame for such nonsense ultimately rests with the coach, and they have a point, but at the same time, why is Chad Clifton, a professional football player who presumably knows how to play the game, committing all of those penalties? Is he really that dumb? Well, I’m all about judging people by their actions. You are who you pretend to be. So for now, my answer is yes. Chad Clifton really is that dumb.

And he’s not the only one. The entire offensive line blows assignments on a regular basis. The 25 sacks that they have allowed in five games have mostly been the result of blown assignments or poor technique. They are not getting overpowered very often. Frequently, opposing pass rushers are simply unblocked, or the offensive lineman takes a bad angle or falls for a juke and immediately loses his balance and gets tossed aside. These guys are brutal to watch. I wish I could name even one lineman who was blameless, but I can’t.

History will show that dumb people don’t often get smarter, so here’s what I’m pinning my hopes on for now. It’s a statistical principle called “regression to the mean.” It means that when something is either far above or far below average, chances are good that as time goes on, it will moderate. After four games, the Packers were on pace to give up an NFL record 80 sacks during the course of the season. A home game against one of the worst teams in the league seemed tailor-made for a move back toward the statistical mean, especially considering that the Lions were so injury-depleted that they had to play an offensive lineman on defense for at least one play. But it was not to be. The Packers gave up five more sacks, staying exactly on pace to allow 80.

I will not be so easily dissuaded, however. I am sticking to my guns. This madness—or should I say dumbness—cannot continue. Sooner or later, these guys have to get their act together and begin playing like professionals. If that ever does happen, look out. Aaron Rodgers is one of  the best QB’s in the league, and the receiving corps is well above average. One cannot say the same for the running backs, but as Meat Loaf sang, two out of three ain’t bad.

On the defensive side, most of the dumbness so far has come from the backup safeties, so we need Nick Collins and Atari Bigby to stay healthy. The top four defensive linemen are all talented, the linebackers are good, and the corners are among the best in the business. The talent is pretty good all across the board with this team. With a little more brain power (okay, a lot more), the 2009 Packers could truly be dangerous. 

Call me a pessimist if you will, but even in a shutout victory I’m not all that excited. Some progress was made, but hardly enough to breathe any easier. Here are my quick hits.

Packers 26 Lions 0

Watch Game Highlights HERE

Watch Aaron Rodgers Highlights HERE

Watch Donald Driver’s amazing catch HERE

Quick Hits

Congratulations to Donald Driver for becoming the Packers all-time reception leader. Can’t think of a better guy.

As always, Ryan Grant sucks, hard. Garbage yards in garbage time.

The above means that Brandon Jackson was not the savior and of course barely got the ball.

That catch by Driver was amazing.

I called a James Jones touchdown. Yay for me.

Right now Donald Driver is greater than Greg Jennings. However, Greg had a spectacular grab in the first quarter.

I’ve had it with the penalties. If you’re out there IronMan let’s get it done this week. Ridiculous.

The offensive line gave up 5 sacks to the Lions. The Lions… it’s the Lions.

I like T.J. Lang, since Clifton isn’t going to stay healthy (like we already knew) I’m glad Lang is the guy. He plays with some fire.

Cullens Jenkins is a stud.

So is Johnny Jolly.

Kampman also had a solid game, some pressure, and looked great to see him in alot of four point stances.

Clay Matthews is the the real deal folks. He is everything that A.J. Hawk isn’t.

Did A.J. play is this game? I must have missed it.

Nick Barnett showed some hustle today, he also got a penalty and then stuffed a guy and hit the Samurai. I ain’t saying nothing. He reads this.

Finally, the secondary is tight. Great play against third string receivers today. No one got burned. I take it back Atari.

Bottom line on the defense… you beat up on some scrubs.

Did I mention Ryan Grant sucks? Cannot beat a guy, ever.

Rodgers still held the ball too long on more than one occasion.

That game should and could have been 49-0. Mental mistakes, penalties, and sacks. Good luck “fixing” that again this week Mike.

Mason Crosby made his money today.

Spencer Havner did too.

Like I said, I am not all that excited one way or another. It’s better than a loss, but doesn’t leave me feeling better about how we are going to perform against real teams. One of the sloppier games I have watched in some time. Please, trade for Steven Jackson. Half of the reason we are giving up so many sacks is because everyone knows we can’t run the ball. Do something, anything.

Thought I would try something this week and see if it sticks. Since everyone always seems to think they know what they are talking about, let’s put the bets on the table.

Pack to the Future Week Six

Score: Packers 34 Lions 13

Touchdowns: Greg Jennings, Ryan Grant, James Jones, Jermichael Finley

Turnovers For: 2

Turnovers Against: 1

Sacks Made: 4

Sacks Against: 3

Leading Tackler: A.J. Hawk

Penalties: 5 for 30 yards

MVP: Aaron Kampman

Those are my early predictions for tomorrows matchup. If you so desire feel free to sound off with your own. Since I am too poor to give prizes, if some paranormal lucky stuff goes down, you most certainly will have bragging rights for the week.

Other Stone Cold Locks

Chargers over the Broncos

Eagles over the Raiders

Chiefs over the Redskins

Texans over the Bengals

Good Luck!

Side Note: How come NO ONE ever calls the Packers Lounge hotline at the bottom of the page? It’s free, it’s anonymous, and if you have a phone that’s all you need. Let’s get some messages going so we can entertain ourselves during the week. Don’t be shy. I want a voicemail of the week… badly.

… before I tailgate.

Any one of the ten people that read this blog regularly are all too aware that I am really not about breaking it down. I’ll leave the play-by-play to other blogs and to the Packers Lounge’s newest messiah (or so it seems) Jersey Al Thompson, while sticking to my general bitching and uniformed observation.

Truth be told, I am more about feelings, and although I am hardly overly emotional, I love sentimental. I guess the point I am trying to make today is that the Packers are far more of an experience than a daily re-cap of player movement and breaking down film. In reality, it is a massive weekly meeting of the minds and the heart, a meeting that has no boundaries.

This lack of borders will never be more apparent than it will this weekend when the Wisconsin National Guard’s 32nd Infantry Brigade gets to tailgate with nearly 3,000 of their closest family during this weekend’s game. Although they are thousands of miles apart, these soldiers will get to spend this Sunday with their wives, their children, and their friends rooting on the Packers via satellite.

Now I suppose they could have chosen a holiday or another special occasion to gather, but in true Wisconsin fashion they chose the weekly celebration known as Packer Sunday.

Before I go any further, and to avoid any political discussions, I defer my opinion on the state of affairs, and the military in general, to other round-tables. I have never been in the military and only have one close friend who spent any length of time in Iraq. After 11 years he came back home a shell of his former self. If you looked him directly in the eyes you could tell he had killed people, a lot of them. So, I may be a little biased, but it will remain a dialogue left for another time.

But, what I will discuss is that regardless of your opinion, one would be hard pressed to argue in the raw beauty of this weekend’s event. Be it on a scale of this magnitude, or in backyards across America, Packer Sunday will always be about friends and family connecting, conversing, and confiding during one of the most celebrated weekly events anywhere.

This meeting of the Middle East and Middle America is one of the finest examples of this phenomenon you will ever see. Saturated in everything that screams Packer football, it once again reminds me why I am so proud to root for the Green Bay Packers.

This being the case, I hope that all Packer fans can put their personal beliefs aside for a moment and wish all in attendance a fantastic time and a well deserved Go Pack Go.

Whose woods these are? They’re our woods. And we are Packer fans.