The Packers’ performance against the Cardinals this past week was exactly what we were waiting for out of this team.

No, it wasn’t perfect. What game is? But it was complete. The offense and defense both showed up in a big way, and the result was a complete blowout on a brisk autumn afternoon at Lambeau Field. 

Jordan Love played his best football of the year. His one interception was solely a result of Bo Melton losing traction and falling down; otherwise, he showed his best decision making of the entire year, while also completing some eye-popping passes, including a middle of the field beauty over thick coverage to Christian Watson on a gotta-have-it down and a falling-backwards prayer to Romeo Doubs for a touchdown.

The defense was all over Kyler Murray and never let him get comfortable. The contain was excellent, thanks in large part to the play of the secondary. Evan Williams in particular had a remarkable day of football; he was all over the field. It’s no wonder Wiliams is among the top-ranked players in the league (not even just among rookies) by PFF at the moment. What an addition he’s been alongside the phenomenal Xavier McKinney (who continued his strong play, even without a takeaway this week). 

That’s the kind of win that can hopefully serve as a confidence builder, because this team has a big challenge coming up this weekend against the Houston Texans. The Texans have been one of the league’s best teams this year, and there was a lot of debate throughout the offseason as to who a team would rather have: the Texans’ CJ Stroud or the Packers’ Jordan Love. 

The Packers are going to need to be all over their coverage schemes, because they’re going to be tested. If the pass rush does not show up, it could be a long day for the defense. This means the Packers are going to need to see more out of guys like Rashan Gary, who have been largely absent.

But the Packers have shown throughout the season so far that they are capable of matching up with just about anyone in the league. It hasn’t always been pretty, but if they avoid the self-inflicted wounds, this is a dangerous team.

It’s hard to believe this is a noon game, because this is one that could easily have earned Sunday Night marquee honors. 

I’m very much looking forward to the first meeting of Love and Stroud, and it promises to be an outstanding environment for the game on Sunday.

Wisconsin Beer of the Week

The photo is an old one because I didn’t take one of my current selection, but Bumble Bear from Lakefront in Milwaukee is really good. It’s only in cans now (many more breweries have made the switch over to canning, which is better both for the beer AND for the environment!) and you can find it at basically anywhere Lakefront beers are sold in the state.

This malty, delicious brown ale is described by Lakefront as being a “medium-bodied and rich-tasting Honey Brown Ale with ample fresh-baked biscuits, clover honey, and notes of chocolatey, roasted malt.” At 6.1 % ABV, it’s a moderate drinker that is extremely versatile.

It’s kind of hard to find a good brown ale these days; something a little darker than an amber and yet lighter than a porter. This one is really delicious as it has a sweet and mild flavor that still manages to not feel too heavy despite the darker malt.

This is one I keep around to offer to guests who aren’t as into some of the funkier stuff I enjoy, because I know it’s always going to be a hit. And heck, I quite enjoy it as well.

Check it out for yourself!

A new kicker adventure begins

By now, you all are available of the signing of kicker Brandon McManus, who spent most of his career with the Denver Broncos. McManus has been in the news of late for ongoing litigation surrounding sexual assault allegations. The case is still pending after having been re-filed in court.

I’m not going to get into all that, because I’m not fully informed on everything happening there and have no interest in litigating cases I know little about. I do know that I generally would not be supportive of a team I love having someone who has committed such an act, but I also know that the Packers generally have shied away from players who have significant character or legal issues.

What we do know is that something needed to change at the kicker position. 

Anders Carlson was bad in 2023. Among the worst kickers in the league, if not the worst. Brian Gutekunst rightfully showed him the door after training camp, along with veteran Greg Joseph, who was about equally bad in training camp.

Brayden Narveson was somehow even worse in 2024. As much as I really wanted to love the guy for the way he approached his questions and for his wife’s family’s history as Packer fans, he just couldn’t hack it. Way too many missed field goals, and this is something that can’t keep happening.

McManus is probably the best bet for the Packers in terms of guys available from the “street.” He’s a veteran with plenty of experience who has played reliable ball in the past, even if his career accuracy numbers aren’t exactly incredible.

I was hoping the Packers might take a swing at a kicker via a trade, but this was the “easiest” option to get a kicker who, at the very least, is likely to be at least more reliable than what they’d had.

Now what we find out: is the Packers’ kicker position simply cursed, or will this be a long-term potential solution? 

Great to see Romeo Doubs bounce back

It was really awesome to see the kind of bounceback performance Romeo Doubs had on Sunday.

After his highly publicized incident last week, which included a lot of speculation about his own satisfaction within the offense, to see him score two touchdowns and celebrate surrounded by team members was inspiring. 

Very much like the Jaire Alexander situation of a year ago, the Packers managed to navigate this situation expertly. The result is a player who comes back to the fold being embraced and knowing that there is an organizational structure supporting him. 

This is one of the types of things Matt LaFleur's Packers have excelled at. This is a better team with Romeo Doubs on the field.

Around the NFC North

As always, it’s time to go around the NFC North. 

As a quick prelude: what a historic start for the division. This is the first since since the NFL’s 2002 realignment that a division had all four teams win four of its first six games. In addition, the top four teams in the NFL by point differential are the four NFC North teams.

Is this the best division in football? It certainly wasn’t expected, but it sure looks like it could well be.

• The CHICAGO BEARS hammered the Jaguars in London, and have looked better in these last couple weeks than the team has in years. Is it the fact that Caleb Williams and this offense really are starting to clock, or is it that the team has beaten only one-win teams? Well, answers are going to have to wait until after the bye. It’s two weeks until the team gets its first real test of the season in the upstart Commanders. But for now, Bears fans have to feel better than they ever expected heading into their break.
• The DETROIT LIONS delivered an all-time beatdown to the Dallas Cowboys in their own stadium… on Jerry Jones’s birthday, no less. And I mean, while we always want our divisional opponents to lose, it was hard not to smile at seeing Jerry get increasingly miserable as the game went on, and as the Lions continued to implement weirder and wackier formations and plays. This is a talented team with a lot of grit. But that loss of Aidan Hutchinson is going to hurt in a big way; he’s the heart and soul of the defense and the team’s entire pass rush. He was going to be a DPOY contender, and now he’s out for the year.
• The MINNESOTA VIKINGS come out of the bye with a big challenge this week in the red-hot Detroit Lions, who just delivered a smackdown to another winning NFC team. Will the Vikings show any rust, or are they prepared for the Honolulu Blue buzzsaw heading their way? It’ll be interesting to see how they fare against the Lions’ offense, as their defense has been one of the stories of the season so far.

This or That in Mr. Backes’s classroom: Week 6

As some of you may recall, last year I started doing weekly “this or that” polls on the whiteboard in my classroom at school for laughs. I decided to make it a weekly part of this column to keep you updated on what the youths are saying these days about entirely unimportant issues.

Here are some of the results from the last week:

• Fall defeated spring
• White noise while sleeping defeated silence while sleeping
• Baseball defeated basketball
• Fire in a fire pit defeated fire in a fireplace

I’ll continue to keep you updated on the most pressing issues of our time.

Reminiscing about the pumpkin carving case race

I was recently reminiscing with a friend about a tradition I had that began in college and resurfaced for a number of years in my 20s: the pumpkin carving case race.

For those of you who are may be younger and more adventurous than I now am, here’s how it worked.

1. You’d create a team of four and would have a group costume idea.
2. Everyone carves a pumpkin
3. Everyone drinks a case of beer

The competition was judged on three categories, and had an overall winner:

1. Fastest team to finish the case of beer
2. Best overall team costumes
3. Best overall team pumpkin design/execution

Now, my team never once lost a case race, so that in itself helped to carry us many times. But we also made sure to have at least one talented artist on the team so we could score well in the pumpkin as well. There were a couple years where we had great costumes (CLUE characters one year, cereal mascots another, etc.) but the case race itself was really where our money was at.

This was always a great time… and something I could never pull off these days. At my peak, we finished our case in 29 minutes, and in that time I drank 11 beers. 

How did I even survive my 20s?

Anyway, my Halloweens are a lot quieter now. Trick-or-treating with the kids or passing out candy at home. Maybe sitting on the porch with a drink watching all of the revelry in my neighborhood. We tend to get a couple hundred kids or so passing by, so we stay busy. 

Looking forward to another chill Halloween in a couple weeks.

Week 7 Picks

I could really see this one going either way. It does sure seem like the Packers have cleaned things up a bit since September. That, combined with playing at home at noon, gives me hope that they can compete with a very talented Texans team. I’m going to show a little faith in my team and go with a victory for the green and gold.

LAST WEEK: 11-3

SEASON TO DATE: 57-35

THIS WEEK, give me…

BRONCOS over Saints

PATRIOTS over Jaguars

LIONS over Vikings

BILLS over Titans

COLTS over Dolphins

FALCONS over Seahawks

PACKERS over Texans

BENGALS over Browns

EAGLES over Giants

RAMS over Raiders

COMMANDERS over Panthers

CHIEFS over 49ers

STEELERS over Jets

RAVENS over Bucs

CHARGERS over Cardinals