Hello Wisconsin: A Crucial Upcoming Stretch Awaits the Packers
Looking at the Packers' upcoming schedule, why the Bears still suck, and more.
By TimBackes
It’s weird to think of any game being a must-win in October, especially while a team is 5-1.
To me, the game this weekend against the Washington Footballsmen qualifies.
Now, the Packers’ playoff chances will not really take a hit if they get upset by Washington this weekend. It would basically take an act of god in the form of catastrophic injuries for the Packers not to win the NFC North this year, the way the rest of the division is shaping up.
But the Packers have higher aspirations than a division championship. If they want to maximize their chances at reaching and winning a Super Bowl, the best way to do that is to once again win the top seed in the NFC.
This means winning games they should win, especially while they are dealing with a large number of injuries.
The Packers have a tough series coming up after Washington:
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At Arizona (on Thursday Night… why does it feel like the Packers always travel to play tough teams on short weeks?)
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At Kansas City
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Home against Seattle
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At Minnesota
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Home against the LA Rams
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A bye week
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Another bye week (home against Chicago)
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At Baltimore
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Home against Cleveland
The first five weeks are especially difficult, but that whole schedule up through week 16 is really, really tough. One of the toughest in the league.
This means that if the Packers want to get out of that stretch with a shot at a top seed and a bye in the playoffs, there’s no margin for error against the teams the Packers need to beat. They must take care of business against the Washington Sporting Franchise this weekend.
They can significantly help their case by defeating Arizona four days later, as right now the Cardinals are looking like a formidable contender in their own right for a top seed. The game against Los Angeles could prove equally crucial in seeding, depending on how things shake out the rest of the way.
The Packers can only control what’s in front of them: the games they have to play. They’ve been very unlucky with injuries--a much different story than in 2020. The fact that they’re 5-1 is nothing to sneeze at in the face of all that.
They’re not going to get out of this upcoming stretch without taking a couple losses. Realistically, it’s not going to happen (especially if the red zone defense doesn’t improve…)
So beat patsies like the Washington PIgskin Club, to start with, then see how you stack up against the tough competition that lies ahead.
This is where the hard work begins.
Wisconsin Beer of the Week
Pumpkin beers are pretty polarizing among people I know. Even for me, someone who will drink just about anything, they’re very hit or miss. Some have a really wonderful complexity and flavor, others taste like vomit mixed with potpourri.
The types of pumpkin beers I tend to like are usually either darker (think pumpkin or yam stouts or porters) or barrel aged. And right here in Milwaukee, Lakefront Brewery makes a really great yearly one--their Pumpkin Imperial Ale.
To me, this is a much better offering than the Pumpkin Lager they also produce each year, which is basically pure pumpkin space. There’s a lot more happening in this beer that makes it more pleasing to the palate, in my opinion.
This particular beer is an ale brewed with pumpkin and spices with vanilla added, and then aged in brandy barrels. Brandy and rum barrel aged pumpkin beers produce a boozy flavor on the finish that also has a bit of sweetness, which mellows out the beer, especially when you compare it to beers aged in bourbon barrels.
At 13.4 percent, this one comes in as a much heavier hitter than what you’d typically get out of pumpkin beers. It’s certainly not going to be for everyone, BUT if you’re inexperienced with pumpkin beers and know you tend to like boozier or barrel aged ales, this would be one I’d recommend trying.
Want to find another type of pumpkin beer to try? Southern Tier (based out of New York, so not Wisconsin, sorry) makes an imperial pumpkin stout called Warlock that is, to me, a premier pumpkin beer and one I look forward to each year.
Both this Lakefront brew and the Warlock from Southern Tier are both widely available at liquor stores across Wisconsin!
Packers getting aggressive with midseason additions
It is likely more out of necessity than anything with so many players missing time due to injury. But in the first six weeks of this season, the Packers have been unusually aggressive with the addition of midseason free agents.
The most recent addition is Whitney Mercilus, who’s coming off nearly a decade with the Houston Texans. Mercilus was a second-team all pro in 2016, has notched 57 career sacks and 13 career forced fumbles, and at this point is little more than a depth player who can fill out the bottom of a depth chart. But that’s exactly what the Packers need. With the edge position suddenly quite thin due to injuries to Za’Darius Smith, Preston Smith and Chauncy Rivers, Mercilus can come in, take a handful of snaps in a game and be at least a reliable veteran presence who can give Rashan Gary and Jonathan Garvin a breather here and there.
The Packers have also brought in players like Rasul Douglas (who was better than expected in extended action against Chicago), Jaylon Smith (jury’s out there) and Corey Bojorquez (BOJO BLAST) since the season started, plus Quinton Dunbar, who lasted a whole six days.
The Packers are taking flyers on cheap veterans who have performed well in the past and hoping that it can help mitigate some of the wear and tear that gets put on a roster each year. The Packers have had it especially rough with injuries this year, and you never know when some of these veteran midseason additions could end up making season-altering plays.
Think about guys like Erik Walden or Howard Green in 2010, Andre Rison in 1996, or Chuck Mercein in 1967. Guys who came in midway through the season and ultimately helped play significant roles in winning their teams championships that year.
As I said on Twitter when Mercilus signed: keep expectations low, but hopes high. That’s the general rule for veteran midseason additions. At the very worst, Mercilus provides experience and depth, and he’s not going to be relied upon to be a star.
De’Vondre Campbell continues outstanding play
In case you haven’t heard, the Packers finally have a middle linebacker.
And not just a middle linebacker--the top-rated inside linebacker in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus.
That’s right; after six weeks of the regular season, PFF has Campbell ranked as the league’s top ILB. Campbell, who was added to the roster this summer as a street free agent, came in with low expectations, especially after the experiment with Christian Kirksey failed in 2020.
But he quickly asserted himself as a leader on the defense, and week after week has been all over the field. Seriously, it has been a long time since Green Bay has seen a linebacker who has shown the level of field vision and lateral burst that Campbell has. They’ve had their thumpers here and there who would rack up tackles, but Campbell is outstanding in both run defense and pass coverage.
Campbell is 28 years old and on his third team (Atlanta 2016-2019, Arizona 2020). He’s shown flashes in his previous two stops, but is playing the best football of his career so far as a Packer and right now should be a legitimate first-team All Pro candidate. He has been that good.
When you bring in a street free agent on a one-year deal, you manage your expectations and hope they’ll come in as a solid role player. But Campbell has been a major difference maker on this defense so far. And the way he has excelled has had an impact on the rest of the unit.
It’s just one more reason to question why the Packers have spent so many years without putting any value on the interior linebacking position.
Around the NFC North
Here we go once again around the NFC North leading into week four.
-The CHICAGO BEARS have an outrageously terrible offense and it’s wild that Matt Nagy is still employed. Justin Fields is nowhere near ready to be a starter in the NFL, and so long as Nagy is still allowed to be coach, it’s unlikely Fields will ever develop into a long-term franchise quarterback in this league. Meanwhile, Eddie Jackson drama is spilling over into Jaylon Johnson drama and Allen Robinson is ranked 50-something in several major receiving categories. This is a franchise in disarray and it’s honestly a miracle that they’re .500 right now.
-The DETROIT LIONS are the best 0-6 team in football, so they’ve got that going for them. After seeing the output Jared Goff has had in Detroit so far, it’s pretty clear why the Rams were willing to pay millions of dollars just to get rid of him. We knew he would be a downgrade from Matthew Stafford, but now it’s more apparent than ever just how much of an albatross this Lions franchise was on Stafford. This is a BAD football team.
-The MINNESOTA VIKINGS are 3-3 and about to head into a brutal portion of their schedule in which they will face the Cowboys, Ravens, Chargers and Packers consecutively. There’s a very real possibility they will come out of this stretch 3-7 and all but eliminated from the playoffs. I’m beginning to wonder if there’s any chance Matt LaFleur is the only returning coach to the division next year. Matt Nagy is a goner, Dan Campbell could be in trouble if the Lions are bad enough, and Mike Zimmer has been around long enough at this point that the Vikings have seen the ceiling for this team under him and they can probably feel okay about going another direction.
I’m getting caught up on classic slashers
I do enjoy a good horror movie here and there, as regular readers of this column know. But it’s a relatively newfound appreciation that I have, and thus most of the horror movies I’ve seen are relatively recent. I haven’t spent a whole lot of time working back through the classics.
That’s been changing this year so far. My wife and I watched both the original Halloween and the original Nightmare on Elm Street this past weekend, and intend to watch the original Friday the 13th this coming weekend.
I genuinely didn’t know what to expect. I have a pretty high creepiness tolerance but a pretty low gore tolerance, so I’ve just generally avoided slashers as a genre whenever possible.
But I think I was very much misinformed about these movies (at least these first entries in their respective series). Neither was nearly as gory as I’d expected. Both were much more atmospheric and suspenseful than they were violent.
Of the two, Halloween was easily the better, to me. Don’t get me wrong, I very much enjoyed A Nightmare on Elm Street, but the last five minutes or so just sort of killed the vibe for me. A completely nonsensical ending.
Anyway, I get that I’m ranting about this now some 37 to 43 years after the fact, so I won’t bore you with my noobish opinions. But it’s been fun getting to see some of these classics of the genre for the first time after I just never really made an effort to watch them earlier in my life.
What’s funny is that I actually saw Freddy vs. Jason when I was in college. Knowing nothing about the franchises, I thought it was one of the oddest (and worst) movies I’d ever seen.
(Similarly, I saw Alien vs. Predator Requiem before I’d ever seen any of Alien, Aliens or Predator… oops).
Also hoping to see The Exorcist at some point this month--another horror classic that I’ve never seen.
The Bears still suck
Let us just take one more moment before we sink into game mode once again to savor the fact that the Bears still suck.
For my entire football consciousness, the Packers have utterly owned the Bears. I was born in 1988, meaning that by the time I was really watching football and understanding what was happening, the Favre era was already a couple years underway. I was watching every game all the way through (except night games) by 1995, and since then it’s been 26 years of the Bears just getting regularly embarrassed.
I cannot imagine such an extended period of dominance. Sure, you’ve got the Patriots’ insane run against the Bills during the Tom Brady era, but that was over about 18 years. This is the 30th consecutive season the Bears have had to deal with getting pounded by the Packers with a Hall of Fame quarterback.
Just imagine if Jordan Love turns out to be great!
In the early 90s, the Bears had a significant lead in the all-time rivalry. Think about that.
The Bears have absolutely nothing of value.
Their ownership is incapable of fielding a winner. Their stadium is the smallest and one of the worst in the league, and the playing surface is worse than what many high schools have.
They’re on their umpteenth “franchise quarterback” since the 80s, and this one isn’t even close to being ready for NFL-caliber football.
They’ve got a garbage coach and an overhyped general manager.
Their biggest accomplishment in the last 36 years is scoring a touchdown on the opening kick of a Super Bowl before getting unceremoniously pummeled by Peyton Manning in the rain. Heck, nobody even remembers they were in that game, people just remember Prince at halftime.
There is absolutely no mystique surrounding the organization any more. Nobody has really feared playing the Bears in my entire life. Nobody cares about their home turf. Despite being in one of the three largest media markets in the country, they’re not at all a ratings draw. The team barely seems invested in the rivalry against the Packers, and the fans get offended by the Packers’ quarterback stating the mere fact that he owns every single one of them.
The Bears could fold their franchise tomorrow and the only real impact it would have on the league is that the Packers would no longer get a couple free victories each year.
This is a team that is as relevant in 2021 as rotary phones and betamax players.
They’re not just perpetually bad outside of a few random lucky years here and there-- they’re also perpetually bland. The one time in my life they had anything close to a franchise quarterback, his entire personality was built around seemingly not caring about anything.
Bears fans spend much of their fandom wishing for the moment to finally come where the Packers no longer have hall of fame level quarterback play. But what they fail to realize is that doesn’t mean the Bears themselves will suddenly become good.
This team is cursed to being better than awful but worse than okay for perpetuity. Not bad enough to be interesting or meme-able, not good enough to be relevant or have any real impact on the league.
And as if they couldn’t get any more boring, they’re going to be leaving Chicago for the ‘burbs soon.
Yawn.
The Bears are a joke of a franchise run by heirs to a legacy that they had no part in establishing themselves.
George Halas would be sick by the pathetic display of constant mediocrity that has become emblematic of this franchise.
The Bears still suck.
Prediction for Packers vs. The Team That Plays Football
The Washington Redacteds have multiple games in a row of giving up 30-plus points. They do not have a quarterback, their fanbase is in open revolt against the team’s ownership and front office, and there are few redeemable qualities of the franchise as it currently exists outside the fact that Ron Rivera seems like a nice guy.
This is a game the Packers absolutely must win, because the schedule gets a whole lot harder and these “gimme” games are crucial to the team’s pursuit of a second-straight #1 seed.
Packers 31, [Insert Name Here]s 14
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Tim Backes is a lifelong Packer fan and a contributor to CheeseheadTV. Follow him on Twitter @timbackes for his Packer takes, random musings and Untappd beer check-ins.
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Comments (54)
NitschkeFromTheGrave
October 21, 2021 at 06:45 am
Points about the upcoming schedule:
1. The Packers are at a point where I believe they can go toe to toe with any team. Does that mean they will win against any team? No but they will be in the game and have a reasonable shot.
2. Until last weeks Bears game and for several years the Packers have been guilty of playing DOWN to a weaker opponent. I'm hoping the decisive win over the Bears last week has killed that adage and this week's game against the RED SKINS (Yes, I said it "Red Skins" choke on it you weeny Snowflake Whiners !) could put a nail in the coffin for worry about playing down to suckier opponents. Lets Hope ! But what concerns me is if the team looking past them... This is toxic and even Aaron did it in his article by stating "the issues with the schedule after the Red Skin's game". This happens a lot in the NFL, lets hope M.L. has the boys focused on this game and not thinking at all about the Card's.
3. Washington is 2 and 4 and in that funk of attempting to set things straight. They know a win against the packers would be a good building block to have in place and will likely be up for the game. Packers need the mindset to destroy and or humiliate the Red Skins and run up the score this week. We all know "It should be a win" but it's time we remove doubts of mediocrity and in my opinion there is no better opportunity, not to mention building aggressive attitude going into AZ.
KnockTheSnotOutOfYou
October 21, 2021 at 07:14 am
Nitschke,
"Red Skins, choke on it you wheenie snow flake whiners"
Loved it!
jannesbjornson
October 21, 2021 at 08:32 pm
You have zero understanding of Ray Nitschke, the Man.
croatpackfan
October 21, 2021 at 06:51 am
"Packers 31, [Washington Fighting Ducks] 14"
That is my proposal. If they bite you you'll be injured, but most probably you'll be able to shoot them down...
I agree that this is must win. Not because WTF, pardon WFT will play any significant role in the play off position outcome, but for good vibe and self-confidence of the team. When you have bad opponent, you have to do your job. Nothing else.
What I would like to see is involvement of young WR (Taylor, Winfree) and some of Kylin Hill to rest A.J. & AJ for Thursday game. I will keep David Bakhtiari, even if he will be ready, out for most of the game and put him in only if Packers will have advantage 3 or more possession in the 4th Q. Just to remove any rust from him. Keep him for Arizona. Also, it would be nice to see some Jordan Love if that difference occur.
What I fear is that many players are already looking to Arizona game. That might be very big mistake. Also, it is nice that game will start at noon (by GB time), it will give some additional hours for players to rest themselves...
Lphill
October 21, 2021 at 07:09 am
Don't underestimate the Vikings they are getting healthy and Cousins doesn't look terrible.
croatpackfan
October 21, 2021 at 07:22 am
Well, you are right that Vinnie Vikings are the best opponent in the NFCN, but still they did not played whole game yet.
Also, their habit is seems to be un-adaptable on offense. They build big lead than in the 2nd half they lose the game or win it barely.
Razer
October 21, 2021 at 08:08 am
The Vikings have weapons and are well coached. The critical difference is Aaron Rodgers and that may not be enough if we don't figure out the red zone defense.
dobber
October 21, 2021 at 09:18 am
Where the Vikes have been deficient over the years has been the OL: between bad luck and bad drafting, they haven't found those horses and have had to buy middling pieces on the FA market. It looks like that ship might be righting itself if Darrisaw and others prove to be solid, but the defense they've leaned on is getting older and more rickety. They were able to patch last year's defensive debacle with FA pieces, but the longer-term outlook on defense isn't promising.
Leatherhead
October 21, 2021 at 12:00 pm
L phill…….drawing on my observations over the years, the Vikings will always find a way to screw it up, and horribly. You can count on it like gravity.
jannesbjornson
October 21, 2021 at 08:53 pm
They have a solid, young set of O-linemen, Ham is an ALL Pro Fullback leading the gap for Cook and Matteson,
Jefferson , ROY and Theilen a superb route runner. Their weakness is their corners, but Mac Kenzie is showing up as the nickel and Danztler is a guy I liked out of Miss State. Breeland should fall apart eventually. Zimmer sets Smith up to make plays and Patrick Peterson seems to have found his groove. Probably a split with the purple and their deep four man fronts.
jannesbjornson
October 21, 2021 at 08:35 pm
Their D is getting healthy and Cook. I advocated for free agent, Everson Griffith as a five/six tech in the off-season and was disrespected. He is having a solid campaign for Zimmer.
Fubared
October 22, 2021 at 02:51 pm
Ya and cheap. They actually cut him and he agreed to comback to a team he thought was SB boiund for a lot less money. A couple others did the same.
That is Spielmans genius, he knows when to cut his loses and get picks for guys who sitll have some talent and then bundles picks to move up in the draft and get a real quality player like Jefferson.
Fubared
October 22, 2021 at 02:48 pm
It wasnt Cousins it was clearly the O line protection. The year before last Spielman got rid of almost the whole O line and replaced them via the draft and free agency. They are now two years in and polished.
Last year it was the d backs, he brought it four young studs who are quick, can cover man, tackle well and they too are coming around this year.
KnockTheSnotOutOfYou
October 21, 2021 at 07:19 am
Lp,
Agree about Vikings! Two of their losses were in OT where they lost by FG's. This team is much better than their record.
I would agree that should the Packers get sufficiently far enough ahead Jordan Love should play. Adam's and starting RB's sit, and key defensive players sit. At minimum Jordan should get some work in.
croatpackfan
October 21, 2021 at 01:44 pm
No team is better than their record. Record tells you how good is each team...
10ve 💚
October 21, 2021 at 07:27 am
"Another bye week".
That made my day! Ha ha ha 🤣🤣🤣
SwedeBayPacker
October 21, 2021 at 07:34 am
I'm not all too worried about the Washington Skinheads, but the Cardinals scare me like Michael Myers scares Laurie Strode.
jannesbjornson
October 21, 2021 at 08:55 pm
Can Murray out-shoot Rodgers. Matt Williams is on IR for their receiving TE, but they just bagged Ertz. They have AJ Green and Isabella to match the nickel and dime CBs. Oh, then they have the deep speed threat with Christian Kirk. It all comes down to Jaire's injury. Pack cannot match up.
Razer
October 21, 2021 at 07:50 am
...So beat patsies like the Washington PIgskin Club, to start with, then see how you stack up against the tough competition that lies ahead...
So win against the teams that you should beat and hope that you can stay with the good teams coming up. Got it. I think the season gets real and it starts this weekend. Ron Rivera will have his team ready. I am looking for the Packers to come out hot and force the pace of this game. We will need quick starts if we hope to beat the tougher teams ahead.
Tim, Tim, Tim do NOT poke the football Gods with Bear shaming. I remember the 25 years where the Packers couldn't even muster hope let alone a winning season. We are a quarterback away from being the Washington Football Team or the Bears. Favre and Rodgers have made us competitive but those days are coming to a close. Winter is coming and we will need all the Love that we can get.
Pumpkin beer is drinkable if it flirts with being booze. I like my beer with a little bite, some hops and a refresh that inspires an ahhhh. Cheers
dobber
October 21, 2021 at 08:30 am
Matt Nagy was supposed to be an offensive savant. If you'll remember his first half dozen games as Bears HC, he trotted out all kinds of crazy motion and play action, and even though their offense was only OK, they won a lot of games that year (double DOINK!) on a late-season run against a slate of mostly sub-.500 football teams. Since then, their offenses have been poor and unoriginal. Aggregate stats don't tell the whole story, but the Bears over Nagy's run have averaged 27th in yards and--if you take out their 13-3 team in 2018 that was regularly staked to short fields by their defense--27th in points scored. Over the same time, their defense was 7th and 6th--plenty good. Right now, the Bears are an aging and undertalented football team that will have to shed contracts to get better because they don't have the wherewithal to do it in the draft (and they've sucked in the draft, anyway). Nagy's plight should be a cautionary tale to LaF. Keep evolving and growing...keep your game moving forward and embrace your creative side.
The Bears struggle because ownership is bad...they see consistency in management--rather than competent management--as being the key to success. I can't see any other reason why Pace and Nagy weren't sent packing after 2020. Pace has been in a position of pulling the wool over ownership's eyes by making splash trades (Mack, and now Fields) since John Fox was dismissed. He's more focused on keeping his job than doing it well. They deal away draft capital as if it's nothing...which may not be a loss if you look at their recent draft history. Frankly, if the Bears can sweep the Lions (likely) and do the Packers the favor of sweeping the Vikings (tall order) they've made themselves useful to the Packers. They'll lose enough games to the likes of Pittsburgh, San Francisco, and other middling teams (not to mention the high-end teams on their schedule) to still be irrelevant...but might beat just enough bad teams to convince the McCaskeys to keep con-artist Ryan Pace and offensive midget Matt Nagy in town one more year...which is a huge win if you're even a rebuiding Packers team.
The Packers get their second straight game against a team which is utterly horrendous in one phase of the game. The Bears "boast" an offense straight out of the 1950s...and Washington has an uncategorically bad defense. It's another example of a team that seems to have been picking in the middle or higher of the draft every year since Doug Williams was QB and still can't get it right. Their offense is only OK. This is a game the Packers should be able to run away with, but with an offense that plays really well at times and only so-so at others, this might be what the doctor ordered. All gas, no brakes this week, LaF.
Packers 38, WFT 17
jurp
October 21, 2021 at 10:12 am
My daughter who lives in Illinois (still a Packers fan, of course), told me two weeks before it was announced that the Bears were buying Arlington Park for a new stadium. Word on the street is now that as soon as the sale is finalized, the McCaskeys will sell the team (probably to a billionaire or hedge fund owner) who will then proceed to build a new stadium. It's supposed to open in 2026 or so, just about when the team can clear its lease at Soldier Field.
Depending on the owner, this could actually make the team WORSE in the last years of the decade, especially if the owner is someone nasty like WFT's owner.
SanLobo
October 21, 2021 at 11:22 am
Maybe they’ll sell the team to Aaron Rodgers. You know, make his ownership all official and stuff.
MarkinMadison
October 21, 2021 at 08:34 am
Well, you can't sleep on anyone in the league. Better to go out there and take care of business. The front seven is still who they are, and could wake up at any time now.
If they can go 2-2 against KC, Cards, Seahawks and Rams I think the Packers will be in good shape.
If you want to try something different I'm an advocate of Rauchbier. Rauchbier is a very old method of drying the hops by smoking them. Done right, it adds a very slight smoky flavor to the beer and it can be amazing. It is still just "beer" in more out-of-the-way parts of Germany. The kind of small towns that most American tourists never visit. I was introduced to it while visiting cousins. You have to look for it in the states.
TimBackes
October 21, 2021 at 09:25 am
I do love a good rauchbier or smoked porter. Not always easy to find around here but when I've come across them I've enjoyed them.
Swisch
October 21, 2021 at 03:26 pm
A remember a couple of Germans on an episode of "The Simpsons" saying that the top brand beers in America tasted like swill that would be given to pigs.
I don't know what happens with food and drink products in America when they are mass produced for quantity -- perhaps it's due in part to preservatives -- but the quality seems to go down considerably (e.g. Velveeta cheese).
It's as though Americans (including myself) are so used to drinking out of muddy puddles that we don't know what's it's like to partake of a clear spring.
The point being that I'm glad to be referred to good alternatives to mainline beers -- although frustrated in not being able to sample them because of living far away from Wisconsin.
Quality over quantity!
MarkinMadison
October 21, 2021 at 06:23 pm
I think it is really just a function of 20th century mass production. Kraft MacNCheese, Oscar Meyer, and Bud Light. Beer in Bavaria and the Czech Republic are fantastic, but a good craft American beer isn't miles behind at all. There are so many brew pubs these days I would think you can find a good beer almost anywhere. But yeah, my grandfather came over in 1922. I don't know how the hell he drank the stuff that I saw him drink after growing up in beer heaven.
RCPackerFan
October 21, 2021 at 08:39 am
Whitney Mercilus-
This was a very good pickup. While he may not be the player he was 5-6 years ago, he is a vet who should be able to step right in and fill a void. To go along with the Smiths, Rivers, and Ramsey all will not be playing this season. They are currently down to Gary, and Garvin as the only 2 guys healthy from the initial 53.
Getting Mercilus will definitely help.
Veterans-
There seems to be some sort of a change with GB this year. While Gutey has brought in veterans in the past, but he has brought in a lot more this season. Including a couple of big names Smith and Mercilus.
My question is, is this because there is a change of philosophy in GB, or is this knowing this is the all in year?
One thing I will add with Mercilus, he is coming to a pretty good defense, even with some of the players they are missing. Gary has been really good applying pressure. Clark is playing at an All Pro level. Lowry all of a sudden has found a pass rush. If Mercilus could come in a provide some pass rush, he could be a big pickup.
De’Vondre Campbell -
Speaking of Veterans, Campbell has been amazing. Sometimes it just takes a player to find the right team, the right fit, the right coaches/scheme, and they arrive. Campbell has done that. Hopefully Smith and Mercilus can be the next ones to do that!
Handsback
October 21, 2021 at 08:39 am
Outside of WFT, the Packers next five games afterwards are rugged. In essence they could lose all of them, but we know they won't. Beating Seattle at home, and MN at MN will be keys assuming a win over the deadskins. AZ, KC, and LA are all winnable games, but unlikely the Packers do that. How they play against them will tell us how they will approach the last push to get into the playoffs.
Let's face it after playing that murder's row of teams they will know what they need to do to get further into the playoffs since one of those teams will probably represent the NFC along with another contender in the Cowboys.
dobber
October 21, 2021 at 08:58 am
"My question is, is this because there is a change of philosophy in GB, or is this knowing this is the all in year?"
I would say yes, and yes: because you can't have the second without the first.
In EDIT: for some reason, this was placed after Handsback's post. It was supposed to go with RC.
RCPackerFan
October 21, 2021 at 09:30 am
kind of weird. It shows I have a comment, yet it is posted under Handsback's post.
But yeah, I agree that its both. But, which is closer to the real reason? if there was a one or the other poll which would you choose?
I love bringing in some of these players. But, I really wonder if he is going all in because he knows this year is it. OR if he is going after these players because he really is trying to make a change philosophically.
My follow up question with this, is if he has changed the philosophy, then do we see Rodgers staying longer then this year? These are some things that are in the back of my mind while seeing some of these moves being made.
Coldworld
October 21, 2021 at 10:46 am
Possibly a bit of both, but it also just happened that there were two high profile veterans available at positions of need at a price we could afford (they are being paid by former teams) whilst we are cap strapped. That is an unusual coincidence perhaps rather than anything.
dobber
October 21, 2021 at 12:11 pm
God is a Packers fan...
Leatherhead
October 21, 2021 at 08:59 am
All we have to do is win our home games and win on the road in Minnesota and Detroit. That wins the division. The rest isn’t that important
13TimeChamps
October 21, 2021 at 09:03 am
I never do much, if any, complaining about the refs or the schedule. Seems like a waste of time and energy bitching about something you can't do anything about. I prefer to leave that to others.
But this years AWAY schedule is about as brutal as I can ever remember:
N.O.
S.F.
Cinn
AZ (on a short week, no less), followed the next week by
KC
Balt
That's three legitimate SB contenders all on the road. Plus, the Rams at home....another legitimate SB contender.
If we end up anywhere near 13 wins again this year, that'll be one hell of an accomplishment. As in Coach of the Year accomplishment.
jurp
October 21, 2021 at 10:20 am
Well, we'll be playing in the Super Bowl on the road, so why not have a little taste of what that'll be like during the season? :)
Personally, I can see us getting most of our injured players back in December (esp. Jaire) and winning the division at 12-5 or 11-6, then roaring into the playoffs a rejuvenated team. The Rodgers drama seems to have ended, so I think my earlier prediction of a lost locker room and imploding team won't happen now, thank goodness.
Think 2010, not 2011.
13TimeChamps
October 21, 2021 at 10:47 am
Playing on the road at a neutral site, i.e. the Super Bowl, and playing on the road at your opponents home are two different things unfortunately.
I agree...I'm definitely not seeing a lost locker room or imploding team. Quite the opposite.
jannesbjornson
October 21, 2021 at 09:05 pm
Run the ball down their throats, beat on their defense and keep Murray off the field. The desert dirt diver Fans will leave by the third quarter. Primal football vs sabre-monotony.
dobber
October 21, 2021 at 09:44 am
"After seeing the output Jared Goff has had in Detroit so far, it’s pretty clear why the Rams were willing to pay millions of dollars just to get rid of him."
This is a cautionary tale for the Packers: be careful what you accept in terms of veteran players in return when they attempt to deal ARod. Virtually no rebuild happens overnight, and taking veteran cast-offs from a team likely to be in a win-now mode (and not trading quality) represents compensation that likely won't be around when the next window opens for this team...those players might soften the blow for a couple years, but I'd rather have the picks, rookie contracts, and higher draft status that those players deny you. Goff represents a gamble the Lions felt they could take due to his age and draft profile: after all, he was the last Trevor Lawrence. But if he's a miss--and he's sure looking like one, at least in terms of being anything more than a mid-tier QB--that's significant draft capital and likely cap space the Lions gave up in return for a high value trade piece in Stafford.
"Dan Campbell could be in trouble if the Lions are bad enough"
If anyone in Michigan was actually paying attention to this team, fan pressure might be enough to push this kook out...but nobody is. Remember that Campbell was a favorite of some here for the Packers job when LaF was hired. I think Campbell gets at least one more years unless he gets jailed for biting Gretchen Whitmer's kneecaps.
jannesbjornson
October 21, 2021 at 09:06 pm
If anyone gets dealt, its Gutedkunst and the Fans.
Nate-1980
October 22, 2021 at 02:27 pm
One could only hope jb, and dobber your point about qbs like Goff is exactly why you don’t throw away Rodgers when he’s playing fine with a bunch of bums other than Adams..
Fubared
October 21, 2021 at 09:58 am
The Pack knew all summer long this stretch was coming and everything is falling into place. King will come back this or next week and dominate. The Smith Bros will be there terrorizing QB's all game long.
MVs will be streaking like a track star down the sidelines un touched catching perfect passes.
Yes the teams were playing better be cowering in fear. God help them if they get into the red zone, they are frozen in cement against our stalwart unbendable defense that we drafted in the first round. NOT!
jurp
October 21, 2021 at 10:22 am
Some people look through rose-colored glasses while others look through shit-colored glasses.
TarynsEyes
October 21, 2021 at 11:18 am
The Packers' schedule at the season's start looked a little daunting in regard to the writers' games listed. However, the injury gods with a splash of dominance erased from a couple of teams' previews have made this schedule closer to a short jog than the expected marathon. In other words, the Packers again are getting some of the teams when they are most vulnerable. It will build the Packers' odds to win the SB until they actually have to play the game to get into the SB as we have witnessed too often the shooting of their own feet when all is on the line.
Nate-1980
October 22, 2021 at 02:31 pm
The pack really does beat themselves or completely collapse in nfc champ games that’s for sure..
Since'61
October 21, 2021 at 11:35 am
My thinking is that with a win against the WFT the Packers are 6-1 with 10 games left to play. 5 of those are home games plus we will have a mini-bye after the AZ game and then a full week bye a few weeks after that. If we go 5-5 over the remaining 10 games after WFT we go 11-6 and win our division at the least. Plus we can beat the Viqueens and Lions on the road which would put us at 13-4. I believe this is achievable especially since we will be getting most of our injured players back. If we can get Alexander and Z back our defense will be quite formidable for once.
Bottom line is that if we win our remaining home games which we should then we win our division. Anything beyond that will put us in contention for top seeding in the NFC. Defeating AZ will be a big step in that direction. First we need to take of business against WFT. We have the better team and we are playing at home.
AZ will be a huge challenge especially with a short week for preparation, plus going on the road. As long as our defense can play as they have over the last 5 games our offense has a shot to beat anyone.
One week at a time. Focus on WFT, beat them and move on. GPG! Thanks, Since '61
Swisch
October 21, 2021 at 12:17 pm
Well, Mercilus has 3 sacks this season, which figures out to about 10 for this season. In other words, he'd have 7 sacks for the Packers if the ratio holds up.
That could come in handy.
***
At age 31, I'm wondering why Mercilus couldn't still play at a high level?
I agree, keep expectations low, hopes high -- but why are the expectations for Mercilus apparently so low as to consider him little more than a depth player?
Has he been hurt a lot and slowed by injuries? That may be more the case for J.J. Watt, who is a little older than Mercilus, anyway.
We were so excited about possibly acquiring Watt, but somehow it seems Mercilus is much less anticipated.
I realize Watt has been a superstar, while Mercilus has been a lesser star -- but at this point in their careers Mercilus may be the better addition to the Packers.
I'm wondering if other fans have seen Mercilus and Watt play this year, and what they think?
***
As for "The Exorcist," a key takeaway is to beware the ouija board -- which is not just another party game.
The movie is based on a book that is based on a true story -- and in the true story a ouija board was also a portal into hell, in other words a means of demonic possession. (The person who was possessed in such a horrible way, and then eventually exorcised of an evil spirit, may actually still be alive today -- understandably, his identity has been hidden.)
There are a lot of recent books about exorcisms by solid Catholic publishers such as Ignatius Press, TAN Books, and Sophia Institute Press. See also Deuteronomy 18:10-13.
Please excuse this non-football aside, but the subject was brought up in the main article, and I put forth this comment with sincere concerns for the good of other fans. Stories about eerie and terrifying and traumatizing experiences with ouija boards seem common, if not legion.
Demons are not fictional characters, but insidious enemies and real dangers. To laugh them away is not to mean they don't exist as menacing threats.
All supernatural beings are not the same. Please be careful who you invite over this Halloween.
God bless to all of my friends here at CheeseheadTV.
TarynsEyes
October 21, 2021 at 01:31 pm
As for ''The Exorcist' part of your comment.
The only Demons and tools of such are what is created in the minds of the ill and/or the easily brainwashed/indoctrinated by those who benefit from their creation which was mainly the Church and then those like Hollywood.
The Excorcist movie was based 'loosely', and I mean threadbare facts, on true events and which none of the head-spinning, etc happened until it was created in the mind of the director/ producer/screenwriter to make a movie that would bolster the genre and possibly get people back to Church to be subjected to the horrors it performs are its parishioners.
Swisch
October 21, 2021 at 04:21 pm
People can do the research to discover the truth of things -- which exist independently of any of our personal beliefs (starting with the author of "The Exorcist," William Peter Blatty.)
For all its faults, the Catholic Church is the place to go in battles against evil. In the true case of the young man in the late 1940s who was possessed through a ouija board, his minister referred him to the Catholic Church.
Truth is truth, reality is reality. In desperate situations of agonizing pain, there isn't the luxury of dabbling in theories, one goes immediately for the cure.
For example, human sacrifice is a hellish reality of human history whether we know of it or not. The Aztecs practiced it on an appalling scale. So did some wayward Jews for a time, in a place outside of Jerusalem called Gehenna -- which would be used by Jesus as a name for hell. (The passage of Deuteronomy cited above links the human sacrifice of children with the occult practices of the new age movement).
I put forth my comment out of genuine concern for my friends here at CheeseheadTV, based on a part of the main article.
I earnestly hope that even those who make nasty comments will come to see the light eventually, before getting severely burned.
My sincere best to all.
JohnnyLogan
October 21, 2021 at 04:30 pm
Swisch, you're suggesting we do research, I suggest you do the same. When discussing human sacrifice you wrote: "The Aztecs practiced it on an appalling scale. So did some 'wayward Jews' for a time, in a place outside of Jerusalem called Gehenna --"
In the valley of Gehenna, the Canaanites, not the Jews, sacrificed children to their G-d Moloch. The Canaanites were not Jews but the people in Canaan whom the Jews displaced. Where you came up with this "wayward Jews" hypothesis I don't know but Jews did not practice human sacrifice.
Now I do wish Gute would sacrifice a few humans, like King, Yiadom, Summers, Burkes, Lancaster... and get a #2 receiver.
Swisch
October 21, 2021 at 06:53 pm
The Jews were susceptible to following the bad practices of their neighbors. It seems a recurring theme of the Old Testament. The Jews go astray, then repent and return to God -- who doesn't give up on them.
13TimeChamps
October 22, 2021 at 11:40 am
.
splitpea1
October 21, 2021 at 12:40 pm
"BOJO BLAST": I might have to steal that one from you for the future, because it's a lot easier than checking the name spelling every time I need to comment about him.
Packers/Bears: Similar to your situation, the Packers were behind 24 in the all-time rivalry when I began following the team, so it's been a pretty remarkable turnaround. For that reason, I'm probably one of the few people here who has little animosity towards the Bears (or the Lions for that matter). Let's hope it continues; the Bears will never be anything until they field a competent offensive line.
Campbell: Not only does the man deserve credit for seizing the opportunity, but the coaching staff as well for bringing out the best in him.
Horror movies: The older suspenseful types are generally more enjoyable than the more modern graphic ones. Try the low-budget, eerie "Carnival of Souls" (1962, filmed in Kansas and Utah). Although the first half is kind of slow, the weirdness and creepiness multiplies as the film draws to a close. It also sticks with you for a few hours after you're done watching. You may start to wonder if you're not just like the main character as you go about your daily interactions....
Swisch
October 21, 2021 at 03:04 pm
To me, it's an interesting coincidence that the true story of the book and movie, "In Cold Blood," occurs in a quiet small town in Kansas at about the same time as the date of the movie you mention.
The incredible contrast of the horrific crime with the innocent setting seems to have been what intrigued Truman Capote.
One might ask what possesses a person -- directly or indirectly -- to commit an unspeakable atrocity?
This is not at all a criticism of your comment, splitpea1, nor on the movie you refer to (which I've never heard of).
I'm just saying, please, be careful out there everyone. Please, for the love of God.
TXCHEESE
October 21, 2021 at 03:17 pm
Love the signings of both Mercilus and Smith. Mercilus coming from a downtrodden franchise will probably have a little more juice knowing he has a legitimate opportunity to contribute to a Super Bowl contender. Smith will be out to prove Dallas made a mistake and also, has hopes of meeting and beating those 'boys in the playoffs.
As for beers and horror movies. I'm a much bigger fan of beer, but Silence Of The Lambs did a good job of following the book, and is the one flick I've enjoyed the second time around.